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From the Classroom: If You Like…

By on October 27, 2025   /   For Teachers, From the Classroom  
If you like the Lightning Thief then read Hugo Cabret, with images of both book covers
If you like Funjungle books, read Spy School

Middle grade readers often have strong opinions. In earlier From the Classroom articles we shared how to Build Reflective Readers and reasons why we Don’t Pigeon-Hole Middle Grade Readers. This time I’d like to share a sure-fire way to get kids interested in new books: “If you like…” posters and recommendations.

If You Like … Posters

Every Friday is First Chapter Friday in my fifth grade classroom. Most weeks I read aloud the first chapter of an enticing middle grade book, and students have the chance to sign up to be the first readers. It’s a great way to expose kids to new authors, genres, topics, and formats of books than they might usually read.

If you like scary stories, then try ... with a list of 8 books

But some weeks, I share a group of books related by a theme. This Friday, being Halloween, our theme is “If you like… Scary Stories!” Not only will I share several of the titles above with my students (blurbs this time, not every first chapter), but I will also hang the poster up above our classroom library. This year I went the extra step of adding a basket specifically for “scary books,” to help readers find them easily.

If you like survival stories, with a list of 8 books

Some other popular topics for “If you like…” include survival stories, magical school stories, graphic novels, you name it! I’ve also done versions for genres, as a goal of fifth grade is introducing students to books in various genres (realistic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, and fantasy).

Have Students Make Their Own “If You Like…”

Another strategy is to have students make their own book recommendations using the “If you like…” format. It’s a great way for them to think about what kind of reader would like a certain book, and what other books that same reader might enjoy. Some of them come up with pretty straightforward recommendations, like the one at the top of the article: If you like the Funjungle series by Stuart Gibbs, then you might like The Spy School series also by Stuart Gibbs.

If you like the Lightning Thief then read Hugo Cabret, with images of both book covers

But students also come up with combinations that might seem more unexpected. One students suggested The Invention of Hugo Cabret if you liked The Lightning Thief. She said that “These books are adventurous, and exciting! I recommend these books to readers who like mysteries and fantasy.”

So there you go!

How do you use book talks or book recommendations to inspire readers in your life or classroom?

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Scientists explore 3 Weeks in the Rainforest

By on October 24, 2025   /   Articles  

Rainforest Book cover

Science Rocks! And so do Jennifer Swanson’s books. She is the award-winning author of over 50 nonfiction STEM books for children. A former middle school science teacher for 14 years, she’s also a science communicator, podcaster, and lifelong explorer. Jennifer is a long-time contributor and admin to the Mixed-Up Files blog, creator of the STEM Tuesday blog, and also the STEAMTeam Books promo group. You can learn more about Jennifer and her books at https://jenniferswansonbooks.com/. Most recently, Jen explored the rainforest’s environment with scientists who spent 3 Weeks in the Rainforest. Her forthcoming book captures the diverse ecosystems as well as the ways local communities and indigenous people have adapted to co-exist within this amazing environment.

Jen became interested in the Amazon inventory while at an exhibit of The Field Museum in Chicago while visiting her daughter who was a summer intern. The two decided to visit The Field Museum, and that is where Jen first saw the exhibit about the Rapid Inventory Project. We sat down to watch the short video about the project. Jen was hooked. “The vivid images, the amazing conservation efforts, and the team of awesome scientists made the Amazon come alive.” As Jen walked through the rest of the very informative and descriptive exhibit she was enthralled “to learn how these scientists would count every single animal they saw, collect samples, and literally take an inventory of the biological creatures of that area. But I think the coolest part was that the social scientists made great effort to include the local communities and Indigenous Peoples in their reports. The people who live in that area should have a lot of say in how it would be set up as protected lands.”

Jen recognizes that this inventory is important for readers and for the world. “It is an unbiased way to evaluate the health of an ecosystem, determine its strengths and where it might need help. But I think the best part of the way The Field Museum scientists work is that they do this with the full cooperation and involvement of local communities, Indigenous Peoples living there, as well as scientists from all levels of life. It is the people that live there that know best about the areas and that is a huge part of the recommendation made to the country for protection.”

The narrative style of Jen’s writing gives readers the sense of being right there in the field keeping a diary with the different teams. It creates a close bond for readers. But Jen didn’t trave with any of the teams because it wouldn’t be allowed. Instead Jen interviewed a few of the females scientists in person before the pandemic and interviewed the rest via zoom. Jen added, “Also, I’m not sure I’m as brave as they are to just go through these jungles and live amongst the animals.”

She would love for readers to come away from reading this book with an understanding that “there are ways to help their own environments.” This book isn’t just about the Amazon but could be about each reader’s own backyard or local park. She encourages readers to “take a biological inventory of the plants and animals around where you live. Find out which ones might be indigenous to your area, and which ones are not. Learn how you can help to keep your environment healthy and long-lasting.”

She explains that this ability to see the environment and keep it healthy is why she writes for kids. She says, “I think it’s a great way for them to see how people from different backgrounds and different countries can come together and collaborate to protect one of the world’s most amazing resources: the Amazon rainforest.”

One of the surprising aspects of the inventory team preparations for exploring an area was that a lead team comes and not only creates paths in and out of the rainforest, but they create necessary tables, chairs, canopies of leaves for the teams and then leave these items for local use. Jen feels the coolest part of this book was “talking with the awesome scientists that participated in it. My favorite part was when Dr. Lesley de Souza, an ichthyologist, told me that they just walk right into bodies of water or rivers in the Amazon. No waders, just boots and jeans. I said, aren’t their anaconda in these waters. She shrugged and said, ‘Yes, sometimes. The key is to just not let it wrap itself too far up your leg.’ (Yikes! And Wow! She is sooo impressive)”

Jen’s final chapters focus on the ways people can live and work in a symbiotic relationship with nature and the environment within the rain forests. Jen saw this as a way that kids and their grownups living in urban or suburban environments can create a lifestyle that incorporates this relationship into their lives. “The best thing to do is to learn about the environment where you live. Discover which plants are indigenous, or which might be invasive. Try to support the indigenous ones. Maybe even conduct your own inventory of creatures that live there. Consider planting areas that might help feed or protect these creatures. When you are more aware of your surroundings, you will naturally treat them better which is also better for your own mental health.”

The images in this book are lush and beautiful. Jen explains that the Field Museum provided all of the photos. Charlesbridge Publishing and the Field Museum came to their own agreement about the photos. Although Jen wasn’t involved with that she’s glad it worked out. “They are absolutely gorgeous!”

Jen encourage readers to learn more about the environments we need to maintain the earth and suggested that readers “look into local nonprofit organizations that might support a river, or zoos, or even parks. Find out what they are doing to help the environment and volunteer. If you live near a beach, participate in beach cleanups or help to promote safe turtle nesting. If you find an injured animal call the local rescue group. There are so many ways to help, you just need to look around and reach out.”

Readers are encouraged by Jen if they have the means to visit the Field Museum in Chicago. “I highly recommend it. It’s a fabulous place! There are so many different exhibits that teach us all about history and science. And, you’ll get to experience the book in a different way by walking through the Rapid Inventory exhibit. It’s amazing!”

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Just in Time for Halloween! GREEKING OUT: TALES FROM THE UNDERWORLD – Interview with authors Jillian Hughes and Kenny Curtis

By on October 23, 2025   /   Articles  

When the opportunity to interview Kenny and Jillian crossed my desk, I donned my winged sandals and zoomed to reply. The duo are the creators behind the immensely entertaining Greeking Out podcast from National Geographic Kids and the authors of the popular Greeking Out book series. My eight-year-old grabbed their first two books from the library and quickly requested his own personal copies. For the last year, they have been his constant companions – in the car, at a restaurant, on the couch. Pandora’s Box was opened – except this time, entertaining and enlightening Greek mythology flowed forth. Whew! My son has taught me more than a college course could!

It is with this “fan girl” background that I had the opportunity to read GREEKING OUT: TALES FROM THE UNDERWORLD, the newest addition to the series – and just in time for Halloween! The book retells 20 bone-chilling myths about the afterlife with the humor and kid-friendly voice that makes the entire series irresistible.

Let’s hop in Charon’s boat and visit the underworld in all its spooky story glory!

Emily Starr: My son is a huge fan of your first two books: Greeking Out: Epic Retellings of Classic Greek Myths and Greeking Out: Heroes and Olympians. What lead you to choose “Tales from the Underworld” as the theme for this collection? (It is difficult to express how excited my son is to read it!)

Jillian and Kenny: I’m so glad your son is excited! We’ve heard from readers that the Underworld is a fan favorite, so we figured this would be a great theme for our third book. There are a ton of great stories here, not just about the Underworld itself, but also about things like immortality, love, family dynamics, and death, of course.

The podcast regularly features “field trips” where we retell myths from outside of ancient Greece, but this is our first book that includes stories from mythologies around the world. It’s fascinating how every culture has some concept of the Underworld and the afterlife, and we hope readers enjoy learning about these different mythologies.

Emily Starr: My son learned about Greek Mythology in second grade and that is how he came to find your books. Many of our readers are educators, so what are some ways you suggest your books can be used in the classroom? Are there specific read aloud techniques or activities you recommend?

Jillian and Kenny: We love hearing this! We want these books to be used in the classroom as much as possible. National Geographic Kids put together an Educator’s Guide that features discussion questions and activities that would work well for any of the Greeking Out books:

https://books.disney.com/content/uploads/2024/07/GreekingOut-EducatorsGuide-Update-8844-FINAL.pdf

Emily Starr: Authors also frequent our blog. Can you please share with them how you approach retelling a “classic” story with a fresh take? For example, do you use a specific process or ask yourself a set of questions to breathe new life into a story passed down over generations?

Jillian and Kenny: We always start by doing a lot of research. We’ll read as many different versions of the story as we can and then meet with our producer and subject experts to understand the story from a historical perspective. It’s important that we stick to the plot as closely as possible (we want to make Homer proud), but we’ll add fresh takes to the way we portray the characters. We incorporate humor and jokes to try and establish more of a personality for some of these famous characters. And if they make any questionable decisions —which unfortunately, they do a lot —- we’ll comment on that in a humorous way and point out why we now know that’s wrong.

Emily Starr: In the introduction, you joke about asking really big questions like: “What do you call that little metal thing right below the eraser on a pencil?” So, right away readers are clued in that this isn’t going to be a book of stiff retellings. Can you share a bit about how you see the role of humor when exploring themes of death?

Jillian and Kenny: Humor is essential to the way we choose to tell these stories. Especially with scarier topics, humor is a great way to remind readers that this is just pretend. It also promotes a love of learning. Our goal is to make readers fall in love with mythology, and we’ve found humor to be a great way to do that.

Emily Starr: You pack so much rich information into sidebars. Why did you feel it was important to include facts beyond the story?

Jillian and Kenny: That’s part of the beauty of working with National Geographic Kids. These stories aren’t just entertaining, they’re also incredibly educational. We want kids to learn something about the world while reading this book. The sidebars are the perfect way to promote learning in a quick, fun way.

Emily Starr: If you had to choose a favorite story in this book, what would it be and why? (I know that is a difficult question because I had a very hard time choosing. Although, Princess: 1, Death: 0 is a top contender.)

Jillian: I also love Princes: 1, Death: 0! Savitri is such a great role model. But I also love The World’s Worst Love Story. I had a lot of fun writing that one!

Kenny: Those two are also some of my favs! I also like “War and Death: A Love Story”, because it shows how you can sometimes find happiness and love in very unlikely places – and I really like the story of Odysseus and the Sirens.

Emily Starr: Can you share a bit about what’s coming next?

Jillian and Kenny: We’re working on another season of Greeking Out which will debut this month (October) on YouTube Kids, and a 4th book in the Greeking Out series is in the works. Stay tuned!

JILLIAN HUGHES is a professional writer with her heart in the kids and family industry. She’s a writer for National Geographic Kids’ Greeking Out podcast series and has contributed to other platforms including Pinna, Tinkercast, and iHeart. She also works as a copywriter, crafting marketing collateral for numerous industries. While she enjoys working with all her clients, she is especially partial to collaborating with Kenny—who just happens to be her dad.

KENNY CURTIS has more than 30 years in children’s programming as a performer, writer, and producer. He is one of the creators of National Geographic Kids’ Greeking Out podcast series, which he hosts and cowrites alongside his daughter, Jillian Hughes. Together, Kenny and Jillian have helped develop a number of well-known kids’ content offerings for partners and platforms like Pinna, Tinkercast, Kidz Bop, and 8 Pound Gorilla Records. But Kenny may be best known as the human behind the long-running radio program The Animal Farm on SiriusXM’s original family music channel, Kids Place Live.

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Emily Starr

As a former fourth grade teacher and founder of StarrMatica, a STEM publishing company, Emily Starr has developed award-winning K-5 science curriculum and professional learning materials for 20 years. She is a member of the Iowa State Science Leadership Team, a peer reviewer for the National Science Teaching Association’s journal Science and Children, and a frequent presenter at state and national education conferences. Her debut middle grade nonfiction book will be released in 2026 from the Iowa Ag Literacy Foundation.

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