Busy, Busy Birds
by Geraldo Valério (Author / Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: This board book introduces young ones to a colorful collection of very busy birds.
Snippet:
Some birds sing.
Red-winged Blackbird
Other birds hum.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Air Show
by Anastasia Suen (Author) and and Cecco Mariniello (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Overdrive e-book | WorldCat
Booktalk: Cougars, Panthers, Camels, and Mosquitos. What do these animals have in common? Their names identify the historic airplanes that take flight at this spectacular air show event.
Snippet:
This week’s author visit mini-comic, What would you name a new airplane?, answers questions about why I wrote about airplanes at an air show.
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Do you enjoy themed collections of hands-on experiments and activities that can be done with little preparation time using stuff from around the house? Then check out the newest in the Junk Drawer Science series, Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don’t Cost a Thing by Bobby Mercer.
High school Physics teacher Bobby Mercer has organized instructions for 50 activities into 4 general categories: “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle”, “Animals and Plants”, “Water and Land”, and “Air.” Each activity has a brief summary of the project and the ecology concepts it covers. Next is a list of the materials needed “From the Junk Drawer.” Once you have gathered the materials, the instructions are given step by step, illustrated with black and white photographs.
Included with each activity is a discussion of “The Science Behind It” and ends with “Science for the Ages”, a description of the age requirements for that particular project — based on safety concerns — plus ways to extend learning. Although the reading age is listed as 9-12, most of the experiments and activities could be used as is or modified for a broader age range.
Many of the activities in Junk Drawer Ecology could also be extended and expanded to follow a child’s interests. Using inexpensive household items to do hands-on science that has potential to grow with the child? It doesn’t get any better than this.
Check Growing with Science blog for the full review and related activity suggestions.
Copyright © 2022 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.
Roto and Roy: Helicopter Heroes
by Sherri Duskey Rinker (Author) and Don Tate (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: When a dangerous forest fire burns out of control, helicopter Roto and pilot Roy are ready to fly to the rescue! They’re braver than brave, tougher than tough, and nothing will stop this firefighting crew from completing their mission.
Snippet:
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
The illustrator, Don Tate, is one of my former students.
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Marie Curious, Girl Genius Saves the World
by Chris Edison (Author)
Booktalk: Young inventor Marie can’t believe her luck when she earns a place at a high-tech summer camp in California owned by tech guru and multi-millionaire Sterling Vance. It’s nothing short of a dream come true. She and the other super-clever campers get to build robots, do supercool science experiments and test out awesome gadgets. But not everyone is a happy camper . . . Someone is sabotaging their robots, so Marie and her new friends team up to catch the culprit. Can Marie outsmart an evil engineer intent on causing a global disaster?
Snippet:
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Penguin Journey
by Angela Burke Kunkel (Author) and Catherine Odell (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: A rhyming picture book about the incredible lengths to which emperor penguins go for their young ones.
Snippet:
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
The Case of the Missing Cookies (Mini Math Mysteries)
by Thomas K. and Heather Adamson (Authors) with Charlie Alder (Illustrator)
Booktalk: Who took the cookies? Be a math detective along with the kids at Lincoln Elementary in this pick-your-own-path mystery. Use your addition, subtraction, and skip counting skills to solve the case.
Snippet: Hurray! Mr. Jeb’s class won this month’s reading prize. The class gets two boxes of cookies from Mrs. Bonn’s bakery. Each box has 12 cookies.
Gina knows there are 19 kids in her class. She wonders, are there enough cookies for the whole class?
If there were enough cookies, turn to page 6.
If there are not enough cookies, turn to page 8.
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Luna’s Yum Yum Dim Sum (Storytelling Math)
by Natasha Yim (Author) and Violet Kim (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: On Luna’s birthday, the whole family goes out for dim sum–but Luna and her brothers can’t agree on how to share their pork buns fairly. How can three people divide up five buns? Should some siblings get more than others? Or should they cut the buns into smaller and smaller pieces so everyone gets the same amount?
Luna and the author both have Year of the Tiger birthdays – and the next Year of the Tiger begins on February 1, 2022!
Snippet:
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
The Physics of Fun
by Carla Mooney (Author) and Alexis Cornell (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: What do skateboarding, snowboarding, trampolining, singing in a band, and playing video games all have in common, besides being fun? They are all made possible with physics! Learn physics on the fly with this activity-based book for ages 12 to 15 that explores the connections between science, sports, and entertainment.
Snippet:
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
The author, Carla Mooney, is one of my former students.
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Chemical Reactions!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids
by Dr. Susan Berk Koch (Author) and Micah Rauch (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: With hands-on science activities and text-to-world connections, readers ages 7 to 10 discover the wonderful world of chemical reactions.
Snippet:
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
