Review: I Love a Mystery Set
I have found a new gem for our homeschool. We have recently had the opportunity to review the I Love a Mystery Set from Educents. This is a set of 3 books by Eric Yoder and Natalie Yoder called 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! (for ages 8-12) , 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Math! (for ages 10-14), and 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! (for ages 8-12).
They are part of a series called One Minute Mysteries. Here is how the books work: You read a mystery story that’s all on one page. Then you turn the page to read the solution to the mystery. Each solution page contains a photograph or graphic as well. And every story is teaching and reinforcing an important science or math concept. The stories are fun and engaging. What a brilliant way to teach!
Mystery: (from a science book)
Solution: (from the math book)
My 9-year-old son loves math and science, as well as reading mysteries. I figured these books would be right up his alley. And, they are! He would often come and tell me something fascinating he learned–like why ice freezes on a bridge before it does on the ground.
Why the Books Were Written:
These unique books were written by dad Eric with his daughter Natalie. They both have a passion for science and for writing and after living daily life where Eric tried to use mysteries to emphasize the “widespread, real-life applications” of science and math, they decided to write down their made up mystery stories into a book. And then into 3 books!
Awards:
It’s obvious my son and I aren’t the only ones who love the One Minute Mysteries books. The books have received distinctions and won awards such as: International Book Awards Finalist, recommended by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book, Creative Child Magazine 2013 Book of the Year Award, National Parenting Publications Award winner, and Brain Child Tillywig Toy Award winner.
Ways we Used it in Our Homeschool:
- I assigned one of the books to my 9-year-old son to read for silent reading time. He also read some of the mysteries for fun at night before bed!
- I used it in our “couch time” group lesson time. This is a time when I read aloud and do lessons with all my elementary kids at one time. Their grades are K, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th. It’s a breeze to read a few mysteries of science and math every day.
- I used it in place of regular science lessons on some days. It can also be a great supplement to science lessons if you are studying one of the subjects (life science, astronomy, earth science, chemistry, etc.) in the books.
What We Liked:
The stories are really short, and are intriguing because they are mysteries. It was a game for all of us to try to figure out the answer before we turned the page to read. I also loved that there were so many different subjects covered. The stories were fun and can be related to real life, such as calculating distance in the toll road traffic ticket mystery and understanding probability in the rolling of the dice mystery.
Contents:
- 15 Life Science mysteries (classification, bears, horses, bugs, shells, fish)
- 15 Earth and Space Science mysteries (clouds, freezing, rain, sight at night, planets)
- 15 Physical and Chemical Science mysteries (grass, pumpkins, gems, heat)
- 15 General Science mysteries (water, mud, language, sneezing, bird watching)
- 5 More Science Mysteries
- Bonus: 5 Math Mysteries (a preview of the book 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Math)
- 15 Math At Home mysteries (toll road, rolling dice, pancakes)
- Math Outside mysteries (lawns, fences, holes, hiking)
- 15 Math at Play mysteries (jumping through hoops, perfect 10, parade)
- 15 Math Every Day mysteries (rows and columns, clock, volume, overdue)
- 5 More Math mysteries
- Bonus: 5 mysteries from the book 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Science
- Bonus: 5 things from the book 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Math
- 15 Life Science mysteries (cucumbers, whales, roots, flies)
- 15 Earth and Space Science mysteries (aliens, air, soil)
- 15 Physical and Chemical Science mysteries (color, bricks, light)
- 15 General Science mysteries (weight, chill, change, floating)
- Bonus: 5 More Science Mysteries
- Bonus: 5 Math Mysteries (a preview of the book 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Math)
These books are part of a company called Science, Naturally!. In addition to the I Love a Mystery set they sell some other great books which are available at Educents for low prices like:
- If My Mom Were a Platypus: Mammal Babies and Their Mothers
- Leonardo da Vinci Gets a Do-Over
- The League of Scientists: Ghost in the Water
- 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Math
- 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Science
Be sure to follow Science, Naturally! on Facebook and Twitter.
(Disclosure: I received the I Love a Mystery Set and monetary compensation in exchange for this completely honest review.)
