Author: Anastasia Suen

I LOVE Strawberries!
by Shannon Anderson (Author) and Jaclyn Sinquett (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: With scrapbook-style journal entries, young readers learn how Jolie convinces the “old people” (aka her parents) to let her grow her own strawberries from seedling to table. Growing strawberries is a lot of work and responsibility, but Jolie is ready with the help of her faithful rabbit Munchy! Together they find out just how delicious, rewarding, and sometimes complicated it can be to grow your own food.

Creating a garden calendar and notebook, how strawberries grow, what pests to look out for in a garden, why ladybugs are helpful, and how a good gardener takes care of strawberry plants are all explained in Jolie’s journal entries. Informational backmatter includes tips on growing strawberries, an explanation of integrated pest management for greener, safer gardening – and even tips for how to find a pick your own strawberry patch near you.

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BONUS! Download the coloring pages and Educator’s Guide

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

The Cottonwood Tree
by Serena Mangus (Author) and Anait Semirdzhyan (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Cottonwood trees grow throughout North America and play a critical role in their ecosystems. In this “autobiography,” a cottonwood tree tells its life story beginning when it is only a seed in a bed of fluff, floating over a river somewhere in the American heartland, and ending more than 80 years later when it is toppled by a fierce storm. Along the way the seed grows into a majestic tree, spreading its life-giving branches to birds, insects, and animals.

The tree also recounts its visits over the years by a special human who was born in the same year. As a boy, this human climbs the cottonwood’s branches to watch the river and dream. As a father, he brings his daughter to visit. As an old man he grieves to see the tree knocked down but rejoices when he sees new sprouts emerging from the stump. He knows the tree is not done yet!

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers (Storytelling Math)
by Rajani LaRocca (Author) and Chaaya Prabhat (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: For the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, Bina is determined to make beaded bracelets for her brothers all by herself. She finds out which colors her brothers like and dislike and sets to work. Working with her every-other-one beading pattern causes Bina to discover something new about patterns–and her brothers.

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¡Ahora en edición bilingüe inglés-español! @ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Time to Shine: Celebrating the World’s Iridescent Animals
by Karen Jameson (Author) and Dave Murray (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Have you ever noticed the rainbow-like shimmer on certain bird feathers, insect bodies and animal scales? This effect, called iridescence, changes depending on the angle from which its viewed, and animals across the globe use the effect to both blend in and stand out. Take a closer look at these creatures and their sparkly “clothes” with rhyming couplets and prose text with further context for each animal’s particular environment and adaptation.

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Linda is hosting Poetry Friday at A Word Edgewise

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Eggs from Red Hen Farm: Farm to Table with Mazes and Maps
by Monica Wellington (Author / Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Maps and mazes show children where their food comes from as Ruby and Ned gather eggs from their hens and ride their red truck to deliver the eggs–to the farmer’s market, the restaurant, the school, the grocery story, and the bakery. The baker uses the eggs in her yummiest cookies–and gives them to Ruby and Ned!

Snippet: “I’m good at counting money,” says Ned.
“You take care of business here,” says Ruby. “I’ll make the deliveries.”

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Road Trip Earth: Explore Our Awesome Planet, from Core to Shore and So Much More
by Molly Bloom (Author), Marc Sanchez (Author) and Sanden Totten (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Did you ever wonder why volcanoes erupt? Or why the ocean is salty? How about why no two snowflakes are the same?

Embark on an epic road trip to find the answers to these burning questions and more! Travel deep inside the earth, through the oceans, the land, the clouds, and even into the outer atmosphere in a high-tech ride–to uncover the coolest facts, strangest mysteries, and most incredible marvels of our planet.

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

My new Focus on STEM column, Amazing Animals, is in the April Quick Tips for Schools and Libraries newsletter.

Snippet: Butt-breathers, blue whales, and snowy owls! Celebrate all of the amazing animals who share our earth with these new books and Earth Day activities for the classroom and library.

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Engines!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids
by Donna McKinney (Author) and Tom Casteel (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: From ancient times to now, engines have powered the activities of people’s lives. Readers ages 7 to 10 can explore engines through hands-on STEM projects including building a catapult, a milk-carton conveyor belt, and a magnet-powered car. QR codes link to videos online.

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Flash and Gleam: Light in Our World
by Sue Fliess (Author) and Khoa Le (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Follow four children as they experience many different forms of light in this rhyming STEM picture book.

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Heidi is hosting Poetry Friday at my juicy little universe

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Inside In: X-Rays of Nature’s Hidden World
by Jan Paul Schutten (Author), Arie van ‘t Riet (Illustrator), and Laura Watkinson (Translator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Arie van ‘t Riet is a Dutch artist and medical physicist who uses X-ray equipment to create “bioramas”–X-ray portraits of animals and plants. While teaching the physics of radiation and radiation safety, he became interested in the application of low-energy X-rays to capture delicate objects. Now you can discover nature’s secret world with this collection of X-ray photographs of animals and plants!

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

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.