STEM Friday

May 17, 2019May 16, 2019

When the Stars Come Out

When the Stars Come Out
by Nicola Edwards (Author) and Lucy Cartwright (Illustrator)

Booktalk: As we delve into the magical realm that is our universe at night, we discover what makes it so extraordinary . . . from moonbows to shooting stars and from the polar night to the northern lights. Experience how different habitats, from the city to the ocean, come alive when the sun sets. Meet animals that make their own elaborate beds and others that sleep while swimming or flying. Explore the history of human sleep across the globe and dive into a world of dreams.

Snippet:
Sleep and Dreams
All living creatures need sleep to survive. Meat-eating animals tend to get more time asleep than plant-eating animals, as the plant-eaters usually spend lot of time watching out for meat-eaters who may want to snack on them! A good comparison is the giraffe, who sleeps for around half an hour on average, and the lion, who snoozes for more than 15 hours a day!

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

May 17, 2019April 12, 2019

Meet the wild neighbors…

Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife
by Sarah Grace Tuttle; illus. by Amy Schimler-Safford
48 pages; ages 4-8
Eerdman’s Books for Young Readers, 2018

In the night
under the table
a mother mouse
scurries back and forth…

From the mouse in the house to weeds in sidewalk cracks, Sarah Tuttle offers a close look at the wildlife sharing our cities. There are birds – lots of birds, snails, and insects galore. Bats, cats, and sign of skunk. All shown through the lens of poetry.

What I like about this book: I like that Sarah uses poetry to give us a way into observing the lives of our wild urban neighbors. There’s a fun poem about the courtship dance of pigeons – I can almost see them strut, turn, and dip as they try to gain the attention of the ladies. I like that the poems take us through the seasons of city living. And I really like that Sarah has included back matter – more facts about the wildlife that she’s introduced in the poems. I also like the artwork: collage landscapes and garden scenes.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for some more books about our wild neighbors and a handful of Beyond-the-Books activities.

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

May 10, 2019May 9, 2019

Thinkers and Tinkers

My new Focus on STEM column: Thinkers and Tinkers is in the May Quick Tips for Schools and Libraries newsletter.

Booktalk: Thinkers who like to tinker will enjoy these inspiring pairings of project books and biographies.

Snippet: Some thinkers are also tinkerers. As they think, they play, working with their hands, trying this and that until it’s just right. Thinkers and tinkerers build and plant, paint and code. They make things that others can see, hear, and use. These new biographies and DIY project books will help inspire the thinking, tinkering makers at your school or library.

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

May 10, 2019April 5, 2019

Dogs in Space

Dogs in Space
by Vix Southgate; illus. by Iris Deppe
32 pages; ages 5-7
Kane Miller, 2019

It was a cold, gloomy night in the backstreets of Moscow.

The year is 1951. Belka and Strelka are among the strays living on the streets. They rummage through trash cans, scrounging for any food they can find. One night they smell fresh meat. While other strays cower in the shadows, Belka and Strelka approach the man, begging for more food.

That man was Oleg, a scientist, and he was searching for two dogs brave enough for an important space mission.

What I like about this book: We learn about the space race through the story of Oleg and these dogs. Even though their mission is simple – orbit the earth – these canine cosmonauts need special training. They need to be able to stay calm when loud noises happen around them. They need to be able to stand on a vibrating platform.

Belka and Strelka pass the tests and earn their very own space suits. In 1960 they launch into space, blazing a trail for human astronauts to follow.

Of course there’s back matter! One spread explains the space race, and another gives a timeline of space exploration from 1960 to 1998. What’s next? Possibly a trip to Mars.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for another review and some beyond-the-book activities.

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

May 3, 2019May 2, 2019

The First Men Who Went to the Moon

The First Men Who Went to the Moon
by Rhonda Gowler Greene (Author) and Scott Brundage (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Celebrate Apollo 11’s historic moon landing with cumulative tale verse and informational text.

Snippet:

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

May 3, 2019April 5, 2019

You Can Be an Entomologist

You can be an Entomologist
by Dino Martins, PhD
32 Pages; ages 4-8
National Geographic Children’s Books, 2019

Dino grew up loving insects, so he became a scientist who studies insects. All you need to be an insect water is curiosity and patience. Curiosity because once you start watching insects you’ll be asking tons of questions about what they’re doing, why they look the way they look, and how can they fly backwards? Patience because you have to watch quietly and wait for insects to arrive.

What I like about this book: Dino explains why scientists study insects and how the research he and other entomologists do helps farmers and other people. Some insects pollinate food crops; others eat leaves or fruits. In one chapter he describes how entomologists do their research. If you guessed that they use insect nets and record observations in notebooks, you are correct!

I especially like that Dino includes a section on how insects help people – and that he thinks there are plenty more insects waiting to be discovered.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for some entomology activities.

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

April 26, 2019April 26, 2019

Flower Talk

Flower Talk: How Plants Use Color to Communicate
by Sara C. Levine (Author) and Masha D’yans (Illustrator)

Booktalk: A cantankerous cactus explains the significance of different colors of flowers in terms of which pollinators (bees, bats, birds, etc.) different colors “talk” to.

Snippet:

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

April 26, 2019

Ocean Emporium: A Compilation of Creatures

We’re in the mood for a trip to the beach today at Wrapped in Foil blog, so we’re highlighting Ocean Emporium: A Compilation of Creatures by Susie Brooks and illustrated by Dawn Cooper.

What is an emporium? By definition, it is a large store that carries a diversity of items, like you would find in a well-stocked department store. In this book the word is used in the sense of a place where you can see an array of different animals.

The first spread introduces readers to an ocean food web and all the different groups that are featured in the rest of the book.

The rest of the two-page spreads are “collections” of related animals, from two different hermit crabs on pages 8-9 to eight species of sharks on pages 36-37 to ten “Creatures of the Deep” on pages 52-53. Each spread features a main paragraph which explains some unique characteristics of that group, along with another paragraph or two of interesting facts scattered within the illustrations.

Dawn Cooper’s digital illustrations capture a gorgeous assortment of actual creatures. They are both realistic and artistically rendered with brilliant color and detail, yet softened as if they are underwater. The texture of the paper adds to the illusion of looking into an aquarium or tide pool.

Ocean Emporium would be lovely to accompany a trip to the beach or an aquarium. It will entice both nature lovers and art lovers alike. Dive into a copy today!

April 26, 2019March 26, 2019

Spot, Spike, Spiral ~ patterns in nature

Spot, Spike, Spiral (Board book)
by Sarah Grace Tuttle; illus. by Miriam Nerlove
28 pages; ages 2-4
Creative Editions, 2019

Spot. Spike. Spiral.

This book introduces nine spotted, spiked, or spiraled creatures. The text is simple, the art vibrant and richly detailed. Pages invite you to linger and study the colors and patterns of the blue poison dart frog, the wattle cup caterpillar, the rainbow millipede.

What I like about this book: I love the vibrant watercolor illustrations. I love the way Miriam Nerlove captures texture and movement. And I like the simplicity of the text. Spot. Spike. Spiral. What I really like, though, is the last spread that shows each of the animals featured in the book.

This is a wonderful companion to their earlier book, Dot, Stripe, Squiggle, published last August. That book introduced young observers to nine sea creatures, from red-spotted blennies to zebra lionfish and sea nettles. What both books do well is to shine a light on the simple shapes and patterns that children can see in their environment. Even if they don’t remember the names of the beetles, mollusks, or fish, children will recognize spots and squiggles, spikes and spirals.

For activities and another book, head over to Archimedes Notebook.

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

April 19, 2019

Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet

At Growing With Science blog today we are looking up at the night skies for the Lyrid Meteor Shower and also reading Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet by Curtis Manley and illustrated by Jessica Lanan.

Just Right introduces young readers to idea that planets exist outside our solar system while at the same time exploring the things that make the Earth special.

Although “Goldilocks” in the title might give you the idea that this is a work of fiction, it is actually well-researched, detailed nonfiction. Readers learn about exoplanets, telescopes, the magnetic field, and much more.

What really makes the book work is that readers are guided on their path to discovery by a young girl who is shown in most of the illustrations (see the cover). As she moves on her journey from a park through a visit to a planetarium and back home to look at the night sky, the illustrator creates a story line that children relate to and understand. This is picture book nonfiction at it finest.

Just Right is guaranteed to thrill budding astronomers. It is also perfect for units on planets or space. Look up a copy today!