STEM Friday

Seashells: More Than A Home
by Melissa Stewart; illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen
32 pages; ages 6-9
Charlesbridge, 2019

Every day, seashells wash up on beaches all over Earth, like treasures from a secret world beneath the waves.

They come in all sizes, colors, and shapes. That’s because they have so many different jobs to do. In this book Melissa Stewart explains how some shells function to allow the mollusk to dive deeper into the water, or tunnel into the seabed to hide from a predator. Some shells blend in with their background, while others light up.

What I like LOVE about this book: I always learn something new when I read one of Melissa’s books. This time I learned about a clusterwink snail that produces light! I also like that the text is written for two reading levels. For example, large text on the second spread reads, “Seashells can rise and sink like a submarine…” The smaller text adds details to how the nautilus pumps water into the shell to sink.

I love Sarah Brannen’s watercolors. Not only does she show amazing details about the shells, but she includes children drawing shells, and journal sketches with notes. And the colors are so warm and soft I just want to take off my shoes and socks and stick my feet in a sandbox.

I love the end pages that show the mollusk habitats and ranges. And the wonderful spread at the back where you can learn more about the five largest groups of mollusks. One thing Sarah writes in her illustrator’s note sticks with me: “You never see something as clearly as when you try to draw it.” That’s why I try to sketch things I see when I head outside. Drawing what you see in nature makes you slow down and look more closely at the details.

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.

Soar High, Dragonfly
by Sheri M. Bestor (Author) and Jonny Lambert (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Dragonflies are some the world’s most beautiful (and fascinating!) insects — and one many children can find right in their backyards! This scientific look at a dragonfly’s life-cycle includes informative sidebars that let children learn even more about these amazing insects.

Snippet:

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

Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

I love frogs almost as much as I love bugs. One time I even tried to learn the languages of our local frogs. Peeper, American toad, Wood frog – I got the basics. But never enough to ask them the important questions. So I had to get my hands on Steve and Robin’s newest book – which will be released Feb. 26th.

The Frog Book
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
40 pages; ages 6-9
HMH, 2019

Frogs are creatures of two worlds – they spend part of their lives in the water and part on land.

Spread by spread we meet frogs that hop, frogs that fly, frogs bigger than your hand, and frogs smaller than your thumb. Frogs have lived on earth for millions of year. “In fact,” the authors write,” a frog could have been stepped on by one of the first dinosaurs.”

What I like love about this book: I love that each page features a particular froggy feature, from “what is a frog?” to frog adaptations. We discover what frogs eat (and it’s not all flies), frog defenses, and life in the trees. Unfortunately, one-third of all frog species are in danger of extinction due to habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and disease. Back matter includes quick facts about every frog featured in the book: size, diet, home range.

I also love the torn- and cut-paper illustrations. The detail is amazing! And I really love the end papers! They are a luscious mix of bubbly pond shades of blues and greens. If you can’t wait for spring to bring frogs, this book may tide you over the next few weeks.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for more books that include frogs, and some froggy Beyond-the-Book activities.

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

Copyright © 2019 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.

The Everyday Journeys of Ordinary Things
by Libby Deutsch (Author) and Valpuri Kerttula (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Young children are full of questions about how the world works; the processes and machinations behind the scenes. Why does a light come on when you flick a switch? How can cheese from the supermarket have come out of a cow? What happens when you send a text? Where does your poo go when you flush?(!) All very good questions, and all explained–along with many more–with flowing illustrations and chunks of text from the early beginnings to the very end.

Snippet:

See the book trailer.

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

Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Too many people, including some elected leaders, seem not to understand the difference between weather and climate. So I am relieved to find books for kids that are grounded in climate science. Searchlight Books (Lerner) recently published a series on climate change. The books are each 32 pages long, and aimed for students in 3rd -5th grade.

Climate Change and Energy Technology, written by Rebecca E. Hirsch, is divided into four chapters. In the first she clarifies what climate change is. It is not the weather, which changes from day to day. Climate is the “usual weather for a place”, but as we have been learning, what is “usual” has been changing over the past decade. And the warming climate has contributes to more extreme storms, including blizzards.

Hirsch devotes a chapter to energy: fossil fuels, wind, sun, geothermal, and hydro. She examines inventions that increase energy efficiency as well as create new ways to capture, store, and use energy. Think about the increasing number of electric vehicles on the road and the emerging need for quick-charging stations.

Her last chapter explores how we will energize out future. How can we build better batteries? Are there untapped renewable energy sources that we could harness?

“STEM in Depth” sidebars explain how solar panels work and how tidal power is captured. The book ends with four things anyone of any age can do to help reduce their carbon footprint. There’s also a glossary and resources for further investigation.

There are five more books in the series:
Climate Change and Air Quality
Climate Change and Extreme Storms
Climate Change and Life on Earth
Climate Change and Rising Sea Levels
Climate Change and Rising Temperatures

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

Copyright © 2019 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.

Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret
by Trudi Trueit (Author)

Booktalk: Cruz leaves his tranquil home in Hawaii to join 23 talented kids from around the globe to train at the Explorer Academy with the world’s leading scientists to become the next generation of great explorers. But for Cruz, there’s more at stake. No sooner has he arrived at the Academy than he discovers that his family has a mysterious past with the organization that could jeopardize his future. In the midst of codebreaking and cool classes, new friends and augmented reality expeditions, Cruz must tackle the biggest question of all: Who is out to get him, and why?

Snippet: It wasn’t a swish, like a fish or turtle passing. It was a good pull. And it could mean only one thing: shark! Cruz tried to slide to the left side of his board, away from the shark, but it had a firm hold on his ankle. He was being dragged down, away from the surface.

Don’t panic! KICK!

Cruz clung to his surfboard, the only thing that would keep him afloat, and kicked with all his might. If he could manage to turn around, he could use the board to bop the shark on the nose and break loose. As he struggled, a million thoughts raced through his head.

Stupid! Sharks feed at dusk. You should have gone in when Dad called. You’re not supposed to drown. Stupid!

He was swallowing water. He couldn’t breathe.

No. No! NO!

The words pounded in rhythm to his heart.

He would not die this way.

With his lungs burning and his energy waning, Cruz twisted his body in one last effort to strike a blow. He lashed out and his fist hit something smooth and hard. Bubbles swarmed around him. He saw a yellow snake. No! A tube. This was no shark. It was a person!

See the book trailer.

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

Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

I love the National Geographic Kid’s books for early readers. Here are two recent books in their “Readers” series that focus on the ocean

In the Ocean 
by Jennifer Szymanski
48 pages; ages 2-5

This book is a level 1 co-reader, meaning that it’s a book for a shared reading experience between a kid just learning to read and a parent or older reader. It is divided into four chapters of 6 to 10 pages: Water in the ocean; Ocean homes; Animals in the ocean; and People and the ocean.

Each spread introduces a single idea, such as what oceans are, how waves move, or what coral is.

The left side presents text for the older reader. Text on the right side (I Read) is in larger font. Some words are bolded – words about the ocean, places, action words. After each chapter is a section called “Your Turn” – a matching game or other activity for kids to do to further explore the ocean.

Tide Pools
by Laura Marsh
32 pages; ages 4-6

This is a book for kids who are beginning to read on their own. It opens with a color-coded table of contents. Topics are presented in yellow and orange sections, while green indicates an activity. Throughout the pages you’ll find text boxes with seashell icons. Labeled “Tide Pool Talk”, these highlight new words which are also featured in the photo-glossary on the last page. The Q & A boxes are fishy jokes, and others provide labels and information about the photos. It’s a fun way for beginning readers to learn that information comes from text AND captions, labels, and sidebars. I love the “cool facts” about tide pool critters.

Head over to Archimedes  Notebook for another book review (Coral Reefs) and some fun links.

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

Copyright © 2019 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.

Solve This!: Wild and Wacky Challenges for the Genius Engineer in You
by Joan Marie Galat (Author)

Booktalk: From the first wheel to the International Space Station, the miracles of engineering are all around us. Think cars, bridges, skyscrapers, and yes — even bubble wrap! Engineers dream up new ideas and bring them to life while figuring out creative solutions to problems they encounter along the way. But how do they do it? Find out as YOU take the challenges in this book! Then see how different National Geographic explorers tackled the challenge. (Psst! There’s often more than one solution!)

Snippet:
The Situation:
Your friend left a library book at your house, but you can’t return it because you’re quarantined with the flu. Fortunately, you live next door to one another and your bedroom windows are across a mere 15-foot (5-m) expanse. How can you deliver the goods without leaving your room?

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

Copyright © 2019 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Absolute Expert: Dolphins
by Jennifer Swanson, with Justine Jackson-Ricketts
112 pages; ages 8-12
National Geographic Kids, 2018

Justine Jackson-Ricketts is a marine biologist who loves dolphins. Good thing, because she is our guide into the world of dolphins. She does research on community ecology – that means she is learning how dolphins interact with each other and their environments.

In this book she and Jennifer Swanson team up to tell us all about dolphins, beginning with how they are related to each other and where to find them. Then we get a close-up look at dolphins, inside and out. They have streamlined heads so they can cut through water quickly, and their flippers have bones that look almost like fingers. They’ve got rubbery skin, layers of blubber, and a brain designed for problem-solving.

What I like about this book: The photography is gorgeous! And I really enjoy having Justine along for the read, because she (and Jennifer) explain everything in terms a non-dolphin can understand. I love the “Deep Dives” at the end of each chapter – hands-on activities that extend your understanding of life as a dolphin. And I love the Dolphin Personality Quiz. Turns out I’m a bottlenose dolphin. Click-ck-ck! Squeeeek? Bzzzzt!

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

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

Copyright © 2019 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.