Early Reader Review: Flash Facts edited by Mayim Bialik #DCPartner

Source:  DC sent me this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review. 

Flash Facts edited by Mayim Bialik 

Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date:   February 2, 2021

Written by: Sholly Fisch ∙ Varian Johnson ∙ Darian Johnson ∙ Amy Chu ∙ Dustin Hansen ∙ Amanda Deibert  Vita Ayala ∙ Cecil Castellucci ∙ Corinna Bechko ∙ Michael Northrop ∙ Kirk Scroggs

Illustrated by:  Isaac Goodhart ∙ Vic Regis ∙ Ile Gonzalez ∙ Dustin Hansen ∙ Erich Owen ∙ Andie Tong with Devyn Hansen ∙ Gretel Lusky ∙ Yesenia Moises ∙ Yancey Labat with Monica Kubina ∙ Kirk Scroggs

Cover by Derek Charm 

 

Format: Paperback #DCPartner #DCInvited


Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Have you ever wondered who lives at the bottom of the sea? How robots are built? Or what the fastest thing ever made was?

Well, look no further! Everyone’s favorite Scarlet Speedster is here to answer all your burning questions! Well, look no further! Everyone’s favorite Scarlet Speedster is here to answer all your burning questions! Barry Allen, with the help of some of his close friends, will take readers on an exciting journey that examines everything from the vast expanse of our galaxy to the smallest living organism known to man.

Curated by award-winning actress and author Mayim Bialik, Ph.D., and featuring stories created by an all-star cast of writers and illustrators, this anthology aligns with Next Generation Science Standards and provides a helpful bridge between the lessons taught inside the classroom and how the things we are learning affect our everyday lives. 

Review: 

Flash Facts is a Middle-Grade graphic novel that focuses on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). It has ten stories from different authors and illustrators that focus on something from the STEM field as the plot of their section. There is space, energy, VR, DNA, atoms and so much more to learn about in this book.  Readers begin with a Forward from Mayim Bialik and end with an Afterward from her as well. There are also references, experiments and activities, and bios.

Each comic spread is about 10 pages long and all are different concepts where you learn a lot from the heroes in their environments in creative ways to spur interest in the concepts. I liked the concept of this book, it is an interesting and fun way to share the science behind some of the heroes superpowers and day jobs with the kids that already admire them. 

It does have a few issues though. As a comic book and graphic novel reader, I fully expected to know who everyone was, and I did not. Nor do they really introduce the characters, they jump right into the science. I would have liked a quick "Hi, I'm ...." note for some of them that are not immediately recognizable. Additionally, some of the explanations seems more forced than others from the characters, or didn't sound like real conversations. I think that would have helped with the delivery.

Overall, I liked this graphic novel and think that it is a great way to get more kids reading about STEM and really helping them learn more about it. The hope is that they find one story in this graphic novel collection that takes it to the next level for them and I can really appreciate that.  If you are looking for a STEM themed teaching tool, in your home or in your classroom, this is a great option.

Want to learn more? Additional Resources:

Varian and Darian Johnson Give Us Our First Look at Flash Facts

DC Comics - Flash Facts 

Trailer Release Brief