If you want to introduce the marvels of modelling continuum systems with PDEs, then try my book "A one-dimensional introduction to continuum mechanics" World Sci. isbn: 978-981-02-1913-0
From the Preface: This book was born out of my desire to introduce the
fascination of the dynamics of continuous media, such as air
and water, to students at an early level. I am especially
keen to explore with students the application of mathematics
in the world that we see and feel around us. Most
introductory treatises on continuum mechanics `dive into the
deep end' of the three-dimensional dynamics of air and
water; while a worthy aim, this does have the difficulty of
introducing important and basic modelling concepts at the
same time as requiring students to use only recently learnt
abstract tools such as multi-variable calculus. Typically,
the three-dimensional continuum equations are then
simplified to show the dynamics in a variety of simple
situations-simple often be- cause the dynamics are
specialised to one dimension. Indeed, it is amazing how many
important models of physical processes are based entirely
within the dynamics of a one-dimensional continuum. This
book approaches continuum mechanics entirely within such a
one-dimensional framework. It can be understood without any
multi-variable calculus, and needs only an elementary
introduction to partial differential equations (such as the
technique of separation of variables). Despite this simple
base we discuss the dynamics of vital physical processes
such as algal blooms, beam bending, blood How, tidal
dynamics, dispersion in a channel, and the greenhouse