nonfiction Archives - Page 6 of 665

Wired
by Anastasia Suen (Author) and Paul Carrick (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Be smart about power! Are you reading this by lamplight? That lamp is probably powered by electricity! But how does the electricity get to the lamp? You flip the “on” switch, which is connected to a cord that plugs onto an outlet that’s connected to a cable that’s made up of wires that are connected to wires outside that are all full of electrons zooming from a power plant into your house. . . Don’t worry! It only seems complicated.

Dynamic three-dimensional illustrations track electricity from its source at the power plant to its end point in your home. Back matter includes suggested websites and further reading, as well as electricity safety tips and a glossary and index of electrical terms.

I wrote this 53 word poem after seeing miles and miles of transmission towers on a drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The editor wanted more details about each step of the process, so there are prose sidebars as well.

This is another book that I sold and then revised over and over and over again for the editor. And just like Road Work Ahead, the revisions didn’t satisfy the first editor, so I got the book back and sold it to another publisher. The second editor also wanted the book revised, so 12 years passed between the first draft and the publication date! (And now it’s been in print longer than that — so all’s well that ends well.)

It’s #ThrowbackThursday!
Copyright © 2026 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)

Christina Hammock Koch: Artemis Astronaut
by Carla Mooney (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Discover the life story of NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch.

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and raised in North Carolina, Christina Hammock Koch dreamed about traveling to space since childhood. She visited NASA’s space camp throughout her high school years, which furthered her conviction. In college she studied electrical engineering and physics and then made her way to NASA as an engineer. But she wanted a more varied experience. She joined the Antarctic Research program, a challenge that expanded her horizons.

She went back to NASA as an engineer and spent time in Maryland, Greenland, and Alaska before applying to the space program in 2012. She was admitted, and in 2019 she achieved her dream of traveling to space. She made history by being part of the first all-women spacewalk. Her next goal: Going to the moon . . . and we just saw it happen!

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