middle grade Archives - Page 310 of 374

The Empire State Building (American Places: from Vision to Reality)
by Meish Goldish (Author)

Booktalk: In 1930, anyone walking down Fifth Avenue in the middle of New York City would have seen an incredible sight. A forest of giant steel beams rose hundreds of feet into the sky. Thousands of men stood on the beams cutting, drilling, and hammering. The workers were constructing the Empire State Building–?the tallest skyscraper the world had ever seen.

Snippet: Before the late 1800s, most buildings were supported by wooden or stone walls. However, these materials weren’t strong enough to support buildings higher than ten stories. In 1855, a process was invented to make steel that was extremely strong and inexpensive. This steel could be used to make beams and columns that supported very tall buildings.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

The Exact Location of Home
by Kate Messner (Author)

Booktalk: Kirby “Zig” Zigonski lives for the world of simple circuits, light bulbs, buzzers, and motors. Electronics are, after all, much more predictable than most people–especially his father, who he hasn’t seen in over a year. When his dad’s latest visit is canceled with no explanation and his mom seems to be hiding something, Zig turns to his best friend Gianna and a new gizmo–a garage sale GPS unit–for help. Convinced that his dad is leaving clues around town to explain his absence, Zig sets out to find him. Following one clue after another, logging mile after mile, Zig soon discovers that people aren’t always what they seem . . . and sometimes, there’s more than one set of coordinates for home.

Snippet: As soon as Mom leaves for her shift at the diner, I open the door to her room. The laundry is half-folded on the bed, and the papers and envelopes from downstairs are sticking out from under the towels. I sit down and shuffle the pile. She must have Dad’s new phone number here somewhere.