How do we stop climate change?

How do we stop climate change?
by Tom Jackson (Author) and Dragan Kordic (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: The middle grade book uses a visual thinking technique called ‘mind mapping’, where complex ideas are broken down into a clear flow of visual information. The ‘mind map’ connects the information, making it easy to grasp so readers can understand climate change and take practical actions to help protect the planet.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

What’s in Your Pocket?: Collecting Nature’s Treasures

Today at Growing with Science blog we are featuring  What’s in Your Pocket?: Collecting Nature’s Treasures by Heather L. Montgomery and illustrated by Maribel Lechuga, a set of mini-biographies of nine scientists.

When children collect and sort items they find in nature, they are learning important STEAM skills. In this book you will meet a boy who collected rocks and beetles, another who collected seeds and seed pods, and a girl who slept with earthworms under her pillow. Keep reading to find out which famous naturalists and scientists these curious children grew up to be.

They’ve created collections
They’ve made discoveries.
They’ve changed the world of science.

Maribel Lechuga’s vibrant illustrations perfectly capture each child’s wonder and surprise at the new things they stumble on.

The back matter gives a more complete biography of each of the people featured in the text, plus a charming note from the illustrator about how artists also appreciate and observe nature. In her author’s note, Heather Montgomery explains the need for collecting responsibly. She also gives some important rules for respecting nature, respecting your family and community, and for protecting yourself when you gather from nature.

What’s in Your Pocket? is a delightful celebration of the collections made by youngsters who became famous scientists and naturalists. It is sure to inspire the next generation to make their own discoveries. Check out a copy today.

For more information and STEAM activity suggestions, see Growing with Science.

Copyright © 2021 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.

Where Are You, Agnes?

Where Are You, Agnes?
by Tessa McWatt (Author) and Zuzanna Celej (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Agnes Martin was born on the Canadian prairies in the early twentieth century. In this imagining of her childhood, Agnes spends her days surrounded by wheat fields, where her grandfather encourages her to draw what she sees and feels around her: the straight horizon, the feeling of the sun, the movement of birds’ wings and the shapes she sees in the wheat.

One day, Agnes’s family moves to a house in a big city. The straight horizon and wheat fields are gone, but Agnes continues to draw what she sees and feels around her. No one except her grandfather understands what she is trying to capture — not her mother, who asks, “Where are you, Agnes?” when she sees her daughter engrossed in her drawing; nor her siblings, who think her art is ugly. Still, Agnes keeps trying to capture what she sees inside her mind.

Agnes Martin grew up to become a famous abstract expressionist artist.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Night Creatures: Animals That Swoop, Crawl, and Creep While You Sleep

Doing a unit on nocturnal animals? You will want to take a look at Night Creatures: Animals That Swoop, Crawl, and Creep While You Sleep by Rebecca E. Hirsch and illustrated by Sonia Possentini  (Millbrook Press ).

 

The book starts in a soft, lyrical settling-down-to-bedtime voice.

A cool night breeze
blows softly on your face
As night creatures wake…

Soon, your heart begins to race as bobcats leap, owls pounce, and rabbits run away.  No worries, however, because the quiet descends again as night turns into day.

Young readers will enjoy Sonia Possentini’s marvelous illustrations. They use a pallet of blues, greens and black tree silhouettes to reflect nighttime, but also capture the warm hues of a bobcat’s coat or an owl’s feathers.

Night Creatures is a celebration of animals that are active when many people are sleeping. Slip into a copy and discover what you have been missing.

For more information and related science activity suggestions, visit Growing with Science blog.

Copyright © 2021 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.