STEM Friday

February 9, 2024February 8, 2024

Casting Shadows

Casting Shadows: Solar and Lunar Eclipses with The Planetary Society ®
by Bruce Betts (Author)
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Booktalk: The year 2024 is set to have multiple solar and lunar eclipses. Learn about the different kinds of eclipses. Then discover when they happen, how to watch them, and the cool things that can happen during an eclipse.

Snippet:

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

February 2, 2024February 1, 2024

Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins, and More Animals with Super Sensory Powers

Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins, and More Animals with Super Sensory Powers
by Cara Giaimo (Author), Christina Couch (Author), Daniel Duncan (Illustrator)
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Booktalk: Meet incredible animals with all kinds of highly developed senses and learn about the jobs they do in this book full of facts and activities.

Snippet:
DO CATFISH HAVE WHISKERS?
Sort of. Catfish look like they have whiskers, but each of those long “hairs” on a catfish’s face is actually an organ called a barbel.

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

January 26, 2024

How the Sea Came to Be

How the Sea Came to Be: (And All the Creatures In It)
by Jennifer Berne (Author) and Amanda Hall (Illustrator)
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Booktalk: Long, long ago, when the Earth was young and new, the world was a fiery place. Volcanoes exploded from deep down below, and steamy, hot clouds rose up high. Rain poured down for thousands of years, filling the world’s very first oceans. There the teeniest stirrings of life began. Earth’s creatures grew bigger and bigger, evolving into exciting forms like jellyfish, coral, and worms. Millions of years passed. Down in the depths and up on the surface, ocean life grew and spread. Now the sea teems with all kinds of animals–squid, turtles, dolphins, barracudas, even glowing fish, all living in the waters where long, long ago, life itself came to be.

Snippet:
Earth sizzled and simmered for millions of years.
It bubbled and burbled and hissed.
It raged and it rumbled, it thundered and boiled,
spewing lava and steamy hot mist.

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

January 19, 2024January 13, 2024

Discovering Life’s Story

Discovering Life’s Story: Biology’s Beginnings
by Joy Hakim (Author)
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Booktalk: When did we start learning the scientific secrets of life? Step back to the Islamic Golden Age, when scholars ask questions about life science and medicine that will establish those fields. Chart a path through the Renaissance, as Leonardo da Vinci dissects cadavers by candlelight to learn human anatomy firsthand. In this first of four volumes spanning hundreds of years of scientific innovation and discovery, follow the evolution of life science up to the late 1800s, when a baffled Dutch biologist finds a tiny infectious particle destroying tobacco crops and gives this particle a new name: virus.

Snippet: This region, which will later be known as part of the Middle East, has a long tradition of supporting libraries. The best of the libraries are like universities: they attract brilliant minds.

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

January 12, 2024January 7, 2024

Britannica’s Encyclopedia Infographica

Britannica’s Encyclopedia Infographica: 1,000s of Facts & Figures–about Earth, space, animals, the body, technology & more–Revealed in Pictures
by Valentina D’Efilippo (Illustrator), Andrew Pettie (Author), Conrad Quilty-Harper (Author)
@ Amazon* | Bookshop*

Booktalk: This authoritative encyclopedia is perfect for visual learners: it reveals astonishing information about space, Earth, animals, humans, and technology through 200 infographics, including maps, charts, timelines, and more!

Grasp facts at a glance as you turn every page: discover the size of our Sun in comparison to the largest star in the universe; find out which animal can leap 200 times its body length; learn how many cups of snot your body makes a day; compare the sizes of the biggest beasts that have ever lived; witness what happens in a single second across the world.

Snippet: Most of the 200 infographics that you will find in this book represent facts, which we call data. Translating data into pictures helps us to understand information at a glance and can even make us go “Wow!”

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

January 5, 2024January 4, 2024

One Tiny Bubble

One Tiny Bubble: The Story of Our Last Universal Common Ancestor
by Karen Krossing (Author) and Dawn Lo (Illustrator)
@ Amazon* | Bookshop*

Booktalk: Meet LUCA–our Last Universal Common Ancestor, the itty-bitty organism that every unique life-form on Earth can be traced back to. This sprinkle-sized blob was formed from the dust of exploded stars, water, and a lot of heat. LUCA was a single cell that split into two, and these cells multiplied into more organisms that grew and changed. Over the billions of years that followed, the descendants of LUCA evolved into bacteria, mushrooms, sharks, fir trees, lions–and humans! All the extraordinary life on Earth began with LUCA, through a miraculous process that could also occur on other planets.

Snippet:
LUCA was a squishy blob with no legs or arms.
No eyes or mouth.
Tinier than a cupcake sprinkle,
it triggered mighty changes on our planet.

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

December 15, 2023December 14, 2023

Wheels Make the World Go Round

Wheels Make the World Go Round: Simple Machines for Kids
by Andi Diehn (Author) and Micah Rauch (Illustrator)
@ Amazon* | Bookshop*

Booktalk: Learn how wheels work along with axles and how they use mechanical advantage to make it easier to move heavy objects from one place to another.

Snippet:
If you were designing a wheelbarrow,
how would you make it move
so you could easily push it?

Skis?
Stilts?
Springs?

BONUS! Download the Teacher’s Guide

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

December 8, 2023December 7, 2023

Superpowered Animals

Superpowered Animals: Meet the World’s Strongest, Smartest, and Swiftest Creatures
by Soledad Romero Mariño (Author) and Sonia Pulido (Illustrator)
@ Amazon* | Bookshop*

Booktalk: Learn fascinating facts about 22 of the most incredible animals on Earth.

Snippet:

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

December 1, 2023November 30, 2023

Engineering in Plain Sight

Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment
by Grady Hillhouse (Author)
@ Amazon* | Bookshop*

Booktalk: In his book trailer the author introduces the book and show snippets from several chapters.

Snippet:
Table of contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Electrical Grid
Chapter 2: Communications
Chapter 3: Roadways
Chapter 4: Bridges and Tunnels
Chapter 5: Railways
Chapter 6: Dams, Levees, and Coastal Structures
Chapter 7: Municipal Water and Wastewater
Chapter 8: Construction Glossary

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

November 17, 2023November 16, 2023

Asking Questions

My new Focus on STEM column, Asking Questions, is in the free November Quick Tips for Schools and Libraries newsletter from Booklist.

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