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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)

Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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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)

Copyright © 2019 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.

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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)

Copyright © 2019 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.

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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!

Copyright © 2019 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.

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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)

Copyright © 2019 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.

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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!

Copyright © 2019 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.

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In Focus: Forests

In Focus: Forests
by Libby Walden (Author) and 10 Illustrators

Booktalk: Ten illustrators delve into the woodlands to explore the creatures, culture, and conservation of our forested areas. Each spread of this over-sized book opens in the middle with a gatefold on both the left and the right giving each topic 6 pages of content. See all four parts of the rain forest, wind your way through the fir trees, and dive to the depths of the kelp forest to uncover the fascinating facts of these unique ecosystems.

Snippet:

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

Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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The Moonflower

The Moonflower is back in print, newly revised, and as gorgeous as ever.

by Peter Loewer; illus. by Jean Loewer
32 pages; ages 6-10
Peachtree, 2019

theme: flower, nature, night

When the sun has set in the West…

The Moonflower is a lyrical and accurate account of nature at night. Beginning with sunset, we meet the crickets, moths, bats, and owls that populate the night. Eventually the moonflower opens and we get an up-close look at pollination.

I grabbed a copy of the original from the library to see how the new version compares. The title page has been updated, and the pages have a crisper look to them. Sidebar material is easier to read. And new information is included. There is more information about bumble bee nests and how bees see the world around them. The original book tells how to translate cricket chirps into temperature; this new printing includes calculations for degrees Celsius. Bats get more press in this updated version, as do moths. Overall, the sidebars and back matter have more connections to math and science.

What I like about this book: I have always liked it for its language. Bats don’t just fly, they swoop and glide. The moonflowers open “like a movie in slow motion” and hawkmoth wings beat so fast they are blurred with speed.

The back matter is still there. As before, there are directions for planting and growing your own moonflower. The glossary has grown, over the years, to reflect the additional information in sidebars.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for some Beyond-the-Book activities.

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

Copyright © 2019 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.