"A young readers adaptation of the bestselling book The Disappearing Spoon, chronicling the extraordinary human history of the periodic table."--

Introduction: The disappearing spoon -- Making the table: column by column, row by row. Geography of the elements ; The fathers of the periodic table ; All in the family: the genealogy of elements -- Making atoms, breaking atoms. Where atoms come from: "We are all star stuff" ; Elements in times of war ; Completing the table... with a bang ; Competitive elements: extending the table, expanding the Cold War -- Mistakes and rivalries. Bad chemistry ; Poisoner's corridor: "Ouch-ouch" ; Take two elements, call me in the morning ; How elements deceive -- The elements of human character. Political elements ; Elements as money ; Artistic elements ; An element of madness -- Element science today and tomorrow. Chemistry way, way below zero ; The science of bubbles ; Tools of ridiculous precision ; Above (and beyond) the periodic table.