@roberta3

September 5, 2022

Swoop and Soar: How Science Rescued Two Osprey Orphans

At Growing with Science blog this week, we are highlighting the exciting new picture book Swoop and Soar: How Science Rescued Two Osprey Orphans and Found Them A New Family In The Wild by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp.

In the first part of the book, we hold our breaths following the perilous journey of two newly-hatched osprey chicks. One night a storm destroys Swoop and Soar’s nest and the chicks fall to the ground. Nearby, another osprey family has lost their offspring, but still come back to their nest. With a little help from Jane, will the new family adopt the homeless chicks?

What comes after is not so much back matter as a second fascinating book about ospreys and how biologist Jane Veltkamp works hard to rescue them.

With Swoop and Soar, get hooked by the nail-biting story of the chicks, then stick around for some amazing information about ospreys. Highly recommended!

Check Growing with Science for the full review and activity suggestions.

July 11, 2022July 9, 2022

No Boundaries: 25 Women Explorers and Scientists

At Wrapped in Foil blog, we are featuring No Boundaries: 25 Women Explorers and Scientists Share Adventures, Inspiration, and Advice by two National Geographic Explorers, Clare Fieseler and Gabby Salazar.

The authors gathered an amazing group of women to highlight. They have included diverse women working on a wide range of projects from all around the world, from Linguistic Anthropologist Sandhya Narayanan to Volcanologist Stephanie Grocke. Inspiring!

As you would expect from any book by National Geographic, the illustrations are eye-popping full color photographs. Even better, we learn about how Visual Storyteller Hannah Reyes Morales and Conservation Photographer Jenny Adler capture some of those amazing images.

No Boundries is perfect to help girls evaluate potential careers. Discovering what careers are possible and how women achieved their goals is a absolute treasure. Explore a copy today!

And pop over to Wrapped in Foil for our full review.

May 30, 2022May 29, 2022

Our Seasons: The World in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn

As spring moves to summer, it is a good time to explore the unique board book, Our Seasons: The World in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn by Sue Lowell Gallion and illustrated by Lisk Feng.

Our Seasons is a sculpture as well as a book. Each spread is cut in the shape of a globe sitting on a base. Opened, the book can stand alone because the front and back covers fasten together with magnetic closures, giving it three dimensions.

The text is layered. For those who aren’t familiar with that term, there is a primary rhyming text that would be good for reading aloud to younger readers and a prose secondary text that is perfect for older children who want to learn more.

Our Seasons will likely capture the attention of young artists. It would also be perfect for a lesson on seasons. Open up a copy today!

Be sure to visit Wrapped in Foil Blog for more information and an activity suggestion.

May 9, 2022May 8, 2022

Honeybee Rescue: A Backyard Drama

Just in time from World Bee Day May 20, we have the nonfiction picture book, Honeybee Rescue: A Backyard Drama by Loree Burns and photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz.

When a honey bee colony gets too crowded, a portion of the bees split off to find a new place to live, which is called “swarming”. Sometimes the bees of the swarm set up their new nest in an inconvenient place, like inside a house. Find out how bee rescuer Mr. Jon Nelson safely captures wild honey bees and moves them into a hive box for relocation. It’s a fascinating process!

Photographs are detailed and close-up, so the reader feels like they are standing right next to the bee rescuer.

The most amazing part is that Mr. Nelson doesn’t wear fancy protective clothing. That because he lives in a place where the honey bees are relatively gentle and because he knows exactly how to act around bees to keep them calm.

Honeybee Rescue would be perfect, of course, for budding beekeepers and entomologists. However, it might also be important to share with young readers who are scared of honey bees. Reading about things that frighten us often lessens those fears.

In any case, sweeten your week with a copy of this heartwarming book!

And be sure to visit Growing with Science blog for more information and activity suggestions.

April 25, 2022April 25, 2022

Becoming Beatrix: The Life of Beatrix Potter and the World of Peter Rabbit

Today at Growing With Science Blog, we are celebrating the middle grade biography Becoming Beatrix: The Life of Beatrix Potter and the World of Peter Rabbit by Amy M. O’Quinn.

On September 4, 1893, a 27-year-old woman with thick brown hair and bright blue eyes penned a letter to a friend’s sick child. To cheer him up, she wrote a story and decorated it with pen and ink drawings of a family of rabbits. It was not unusual for her to do this; she was always writing letters to children that contained stories and drawings. What was special about this particular letter was several years later she would turn the story into her first book for children, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Beatrix Potter went on to write more than 20 books. Many are still available and popular today, even though they were written over 100 years ago.

Author Amy M. O’Quinn reveals Beatrix Potter’s life from her early childhood in a privileged but highly-restricted household, to her later years as a farmer and conservationist. The journey of this beloved children’s book author and illustrator is fascinating, full of hardships and disappointments as well as successes.

Beatrix continued to write even after she could no longer see to draw. Her last book, Wag-by-wall (illustrated by J.J. Lankes), was published after her death.

Becoming Beatrix is smaller in size, 5.5 by 8.5 inches, which echoes Beatrix Potter’s own ideas about book size.

“She’d loved Anna Barbauld’s tiny child-sized book when she was young and was inspired to create something similar that would easily fit into small hands.”

The illustrations are mostly historical photographs, giving a sense of the times and places Beatrix lived. It also has design touches that celebrate Potter’s illustrations, including rabbits in the beginning of chapters and carrots between sections.

Becoming Beatrix Potter is perfect for young fans of Beatrix Potter and those interested in women’s history. The book would be wonderful to accompany a trip to Hill Top Farm. Get lost in a copy today!

We seem to have a gardening theme going on today at Nonfiction Monday. Visit Growing with Science to learn about Beatrix Potter’s gardens and growing your own storybook theme garden based on The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

March 28, 2022

Moving Words About a Flower

Perfect to read for National Weed Appreciation Day (March 28) and then have on hand for National Poetry Month (April), comes the gorgeous new picture book Moving Words About a Flower by K. C. Hayes and illustrated by Barbara Chotiner.

At its simplest, this book is about the life cycle of dandelions. Open the first pages, however, and you will be surprised and delighted. It is filled with bright, bold shape –or also called concrete– poems. The words form images in many fun and creative ways. For example, in this spread can you find lightning and rain?

After the rain, a dandelion grows in a crack in the sidewalk in the city.

When the dandelion plant is mature, its seeds fly out to the countryside, where we learn more about how dandelions grow and what happens to them.

The back matter has a lovely diagram of the life cycle of a dandelion, when it blooms, how the seeds fly, and their value as food.

Young readers will want to explore Moving Words About a Flower again and again. Use it to inspire lessons on life cycles, poems, and art.

Look for activity suggestions at Growing With Science blog.

March 7, 2022March 6, 2022

Breaking Through the Clouds: The Sometimes Turbulent Life of Meteorologist Joanne Simpson

Right in time for Women’s History Month, we have a wonderful new picture book biography, Breaking Through the Clouds: The Sometimes Turbulent Life of Meteorologist Joanne Simpson by Sandra Nickel and illustrated by Helena Perez Garcia.

Joanne Simpson’s story is one of perseverance. When she was a girl, Joanne discovered the joy of watching clouds. As she sailed in her boat– or flew in her plane in later years– she learned the importance of paying attention to the weather.

Joanne went to the University of Chicago about the same time World War II broke out. They needed someone to teach Air Force officers about winds, and Joanne an aptitude for weather and knew how to fly, so they asked her to take over. Once the war ended, however, and Joanne decided to continue her studies, her professors didn’t agree. They told her:

“No woman ever got a doctorate in meteorology. And no woman ever will.”

Joanne wasn’t willing to give up. She worked hard.

She discovered so many important things that she achieved her dream.

Breaking Through the Clouds is a perfect choice for Women’s History Month, as well as for budding historians and budding scientists. Get inspired by a copy today!

Be sure to visit Growing with Science blog for the full review and activity suggestions.

February 21, 2022February 20, 2022

Good Eating: The Short Life of Krill

Today at Growing With Science blog we are featuring the new nonfiction picture book, Good Eating: The Short Life of Krill by Matt Lilley and illustrated by Dan Tavis.

Krill are shrimp-like crustaceans that live in the ocean. They are incredibly important as an integral link in ocean food webs.

As the punchline of this humorous picture book says,

…krill are really good at eating and krill are really good eatin’.

Matt Lilley spells out the complex metamorphosis of one species, the Antarctic krill, Euphasia superba. We learn about all the unusual developmental stages — some discovered not that long ago — and also about how krill can glow, shrink if there isn’t enough food, and live for a relatively long time for their size (if they aren’t eaten).

The delightful illustrations by Dan Tavis match the flavor of the text perfectly. The pink-orange color of the krill and the blue of the ocean water are a lively example of complementary colors. Plus, Tavis obviously did his homework regarding krill anatomy and metamorphosis.

Good Eating: The Short Life of Krill is likely to inspire budding oceanographers and marine biologists. It is a perfect read to accompany a trip to an aquarium or to the ocean. Delve into a copy today!

And stop by Growing with Science for the full review and activity suggestions.

November 22, 2021November 22, 2021

Who Is a Scientist? by Laura Gehl

Want to encourage young readers to consider careers in STEM? Check this collection of 14 mini-biographies, Who Is a Scientist? by Laura Gehl.

The layout of the book was a lovely surprise. On the first page is a photograph of a woman in a bright red skirt doing what looks like a flamenco dance in the middle of a field. No lab coats in sight! Readers soon learn that the featured woman is Isha M. Renta López, a meteorologist who also loves to dance and play volleyball. The next page shows her with a weather balloon and explains a bit about her job using short sentences and vocabulary appropriate for ages 4-9. Throughout the rest of the book, we find similar spreads with candid photographs of the featured person doing their hobby on the left and a professional one of them doing their job on the right.

The book features a diverse group of people, so young readers learn scientists can be any race or gender. Although they all call themselves “scientists”, a full range of STEM is represented, including a mathematician, engineers, and those in the computer technology field.

It also shows scientists have fun hobbies. The book helps youngsters relate to people in STEM fields and encourages them to give STEM a try.

As the last page says,

Who is a scientist?
One day…maybe you!

Who Is a Scientist? is perfect for children interested in learning more about STEM and scientists. Investigate a copy today!

We have the full review and activity suggested today at Wrapped in Foil Blog.

October 18, 2021November 13, 2021

Secrets of the Sea: The Story of Jeanne Power, Revolutionary Marine Scientist

Looking for a new picture book biography? Look no further than Secrets of the Sea: The Story of Jeanne Power, Revolutionary Marine Scientist by Evan Griffith and illustrated by Joanie Stone.

Jeanne Power was born in France, but moved to Sicily with her husband in 1818 when she was 23. Formerly a busy seamstress, she was likely not used to staying at home. To pass the time, she began to study the animals and plants of her new surroundings. The ocean intrigued her the most, but how could she observe what was going on in the water? Build one of the first glass-sided aquariums of course!

During her studies, Jeanne Power concentrated on the paper nautilus, which is a type of octopus. At the time, no one was sure whether the nautilus borrowed the delicate shells they carried from other creatures or whether they grew them. Jeanne Power figured out the answer. It wasn’t always smooth sailing, but she was able to publish her findings.

Matching the compelling story, Joanie Stone’s beautiful digital illustrations, from the bubbling water of the end papers to last pages of the text, reflect the vibrant blue palette of the ocean Jeanne Power loved so much. Gorgeous!

The back matter is extensive, including notes about “Jeanne’s Life and Legacy,” “The Paper Nautilus,” information about “Marine Biology and Conservation,” a “Note on Historical Research,” and a “Bibliography.”

As the compelling story of a remarkable woman, Secrets of the Sea would be a great choice for a science unit on oceans or for Women’s History Month. Explore a copy today!

For our full review and activity suggestions, visit Wrapped in Foil blog.