By applying scientific insights to seemingly inexplicable phenomena, award-winning author Sylvia Funston gives young readers a chance to defuse some of the more threatening offshoots of their imaginations.

Funston starts with phobias and ends with mythological monsters, and in between deals with everything from psychic dreams to extraterrestrial beings. The Scary Science approach summarizes the lore surrounding a phenomenon before turning to science to gain deeper understanding. For example, in the section on full moons, Funston acknowledges that “the moon does have the power to affect our behaviour, but exactly how that works is still a mystery.” Scary Science doesn’t pretend to have the definitive answers, but instead presents probable explanations (such as the effects of increased gravitational forces a full moon exerts). This non-authoritarian style allows readers to continue to marvel at life’s mysteries while providing them with enough knowledge so that they need not fear the unknown.

The book is wonderfully produced (aside from the cheesy cover photograph and lame quotations culled for the back cover), and each page is filled with colourful drawings, insightful sidebars, and enlightening photos. As a result, the eye-candy offsets Scary Science’s potentially daunting encyclopedic nature. There is plenty of textual information, but it’s presented in a non-threatening manner that should engage rather than turn away readers. Scary Science also takes the “science is fun” approach to learning and contains quizzes, activities, and experiments designed to make learning interactive.

By providing well-written, coherent introductions on a variety of phenomena, and in the process debunking the dark, Scary Science offers the chance for a phobia-free lifestyle without sacrificing the literary fun. How many psychotherapists can make similar claims?