April 2020 – STEM Friday

April 24, 2020April 23, 2020

Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery

Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery
by Meeg Pincus (Author) and Yas Imamura (Illustrator)

Booktalk: For decades, as the monarch butterflies swooped through every year like clockwork, people from Canada to the United States to Mexico wondered, “Where do they go?” In 1976 the world learned the answer: after migrating thousands of miles, the monarchs roost by the millions in an oyamel grove in Central Mexico’s mountains. But who solved this mystery? Was it the scientist or the American adventurer? The citizen scientists or the teacher or his students? Winged Wonders shows that the mystery could only be solved when they all worked as a team–and reminds readers that there’s another monarch mystery today, one that we all must work together to solve.

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

Know any parents teaching school at home due to the pandemic?
Share my makerspace (DIY) articles published by the American Library Association.

April 17, 2020April 16, 2020

Common Critters: The Wildlife in Your Neighborhood

Common Critters: The Wildlife in Your Neighborhood
by Pat Brisson (Author) and Dan Tavis (Illustrator)

Booktalk: A familiar cast of characters–worms, slugs, caterpillars, ladybugs, robins, mourning doves, houseflies, spiders, squirrels, skunks, and others–crawls, runs, buzzes, and flits through this celebration of neighborhood wildlife in verse. The back matter has more information about the critters in the book and advice for writing poetry.

Snippet:

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

Know any parents teaching school at home due to the pandemic?
Share my makerspace (DIY) articles published by the American Library Association.

April 10, 2020April 9, 2020

Play Like an Animal!

Play Like an Animal!: Why Critters Splash, Race, Twirl, and Chase
by Maria Gianferrari (Author) and Mia Powell (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Celebrate all the different ways animals play, from rhinos taking mud baths and parrots somersaulting through the air to kangaroos boxing and dolphins diving through the surf. Back matter gives more information about the featured animals in the book and how playing benefits animals — and you!

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

Know any parents teaching school at home due to the pandemic?
Share these Makerspace (DIY) projects for kids.

April 3, 2020April 2, 2020

Boats Will Float

Boats Will Float
by Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum (Author) and Brett Curzon (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Explore the many types of watercraft navigating our lakes, rivers, and oceans, including trawlers, tankers, and cruise ships. Back matter includes detailed descriptions of each type of watercraft mentioned.

Snippet:
Early morning, rise and shine,
Fishing boats with nets and line.

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