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STEM Tuesday — STEM in the News? We have a book for that!

By on August 30, 2022   /   Award-winning MG STEM Books, STEM Tuesday  

    Have you been following the awesome STEM activities/innovations/inventions in the news lately? Wish you could share those with your students?

STEM Tuesday can help– We have a Book for Every topic! And also a classroom project or activity.

Just go to our home page HERE and search for the topic that you’re looking for!

 

Here’s how it works:

Say you’re interested in having your students follow the Artemis 1 launch progress with NASA

  •    Check out the NASA STEM page here    – It’s packed with TONS of information and great activities for your students.
  •    Encourage their curiosity by having them read more books about space. But where do you find them?
  • LOOK at our SPACE page

We highlight a few books like these:

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Don’t forget to check out the In the Classroom and the Writing Tips and Resources Page for that month.

 

Want to transition to learn more about becoming an astronaut? Check out our Astronauts and Space travel topic featuring books like these:

 

And here is an excerpt from the In the Classroom page

Consider Being an Astronaut

Do a little career exploration and determine if you have what it takes to be an astronaut.
What is NASA looking for in astronauts? Find out here: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features/F_Astronaut_Requirements.html

There is a short video where astronauts talk about what kinds of people NASA looks for in astronauts here: https://youtu.be/4fXsAvv96Gw.

Take an Astronaut test – would you be a good candidate? https://www.astronaut-test.com/quiz

NASA has a behind the scenes look at astronaut training from about 15 years ago. Poke around the information and read entries from an astronaut trainee’s journal here: https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/support/training

Then answer the question. Do you have what it takes to be an astronaut? Why or why not?

Pick astronaut or another career and do a little research into it.
What kind of skills and/or training does it require?
What is a typical workday like?
What is the pay range?

One place to look for career information is the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/k12/students

 

 

I think you get the picture. STEM Tuesday has TONS of great resources!

For the James Webb Space Telescope go HERE

For climate change go HERE

For examples of amazing people of all backgrounds doing amazing things check out our Diversity in STEM topic HERE 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

We have almost FIVE YEARS of awesome content, right at your fingertips and it’s all free!

But if there is a topic we’ve missed, please let us know.

STEM ROCKS!!

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Review of Fleur Bradley’s DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND and BOOK GIVEAWAY!

By on August 29, 2022   /   Giveaways, New Releases  

I’m so thrilled to post a review of Fleur Bradley’s newest middle grade book, DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND! Plus, you could win a hardcover copy of this spooky, adventurous story. Just enter the contest at the end of this post. U.S. residents only please. Contest ends September 5th. 

About Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley:

From the critically acclaimed author of Midnight at the Barclay Hotel comes a thrilling new middle grade mystery novel inspired by Alcatraz Prison.

Tori, Marvin, and Noah would rather be anywhere else than on the seventh-grade class field trip to Raven Island prison. Tori would rather be on the soccer field, but her bad grades have benched her until further notice; Marvin would rather be at the first day of a film festival with his best friend, Kevin; and Noah isn’t looking forward to having to make small talk with his classmates at this new school.

But when the three of them stumble upon a dead body in the woods, miss the last ferry back home, and then have to spend the night on Raven Island, they find that they need each other now more than ever. They must work together to uncover a killer, outrun a motley ghost-hunting crew, and expose the age-old secrets of the island all before daybreak.

My review:

Daybreak on Raven Island sucks you in from the very first chapter infused with mystery, intrigue, and foreboding. This dark tale begins with three unlikely friends thrown together on a fieldtrip to Raven Island—home of tragedy, misery, and an abandoned prison with gloomy tales to tell.

Tori, Marvin, and Noah are soon trapped in a sinister puzzle they must unravel before the next day using all their knowledge, wits, and uncovered resources. This field trip quickly becomes more than just a day off from school when we discover Tori, Marvin, and Noah each have a secret connection to this haunted island. The suspense intensifies as these kids begin to experience unexplained phenomenon that shakes up their sense of self and what they thought they knew—and leads to darker dangers they could never have anticipated.

If you love ominous, atmospheric stories, then you’ll love Daybreak on Raven Island. The suspense quickly grows with this diverse set of characters who all carry woeful baggage. They work well in contrast to each other to unravel the secrets of Raven Island—and soon discover not all is as it seems.

7 things to love about Daybreak on Raven Island:

  1. A haunted island with an abandoned prison, lighthouse, mansion, and spooky forest (my fave combo!).
  2. Ravens who watch over the island … and follow you (think Hitchcock’s The Birds but in a good way!).
  3. History comes alive—literally before your eyes.
  4. Gobs of spooky foreshadowing to give you creepy chills.
  5. Ghosts galore (of course!).
  6. A dark and tragic history to be uncovered.
  7. New friendships forged under tough circumstances.

Fleur does a wonderful job of creating not only a unique set of characters but a unique setting that comes alive. The landscape and wildlife are eerie characters themselves that at times hinder and aid our three young investigators.

With each scene the situation worsens, leaving us to wonder if Tori, Marvin, and Noah will indeed survive their night on Raven Island to see daybreak. Throw in a ticking clock, ghostly help, tragic mystery to solve, and a terrifying world to navigate in the dark and you’ve got a chilling mix for a compelling story.

I’m a big lover of touring historical prisons, imagining them in their heyday and the people who lived there—and died there. I checked off a bucket list item to tour Alcatraz several years back, and would have given anything to stay overnight on that island with an abandoned prison! This book happily fulfilled that yearning 😊. Be sure to check out Fleur’s new, Alcatraz-inspired story. It’s scary, has a murder mystery, and tons of real history folklore as its inspiration. And don’t forget the very Hitchcock-y ravens…

About Fleur:

Fleur Bradley is the author of the (scary) middle-grade mystery Daybreak on Raven Island, and award-winning mystery Midnight at the Barclay Hotel (Viking/Penguin Random House). Her story The Perfect Alibi appeared in Mystery Writers of America’s middle-grade anthology Super Puzzletastic Mysteries, edited by Chris Grabenstein (HarperCollins). Fleur regularly does school and Skype visits, as well as librarian and educator conference talks on reaching reluctant readers. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and two daughters, and entirely too many rescue animals.

Connect with Fleur:

Website: Fleur Bradley (ftbradley.com)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fleurbradley/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FTBradleyAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FTBradleyAuthor

 

Enter to win a copy of Daybreak on Raven Island below or purchase a copy here!

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Author Spotlight: Erin Petti

By on August 26, 2022   /   Articles, Author Interviews  

In today’s Author Spotlight, Lisa Schmid chats with Erin Petti about her latest middle-grade novel, Thelma Bee in Toil and Treble (Snowy Wings Publishing-September 6, 2022) a sequel to The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee as well as what inspires her to write spooky stories.

Lisa: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Erin. Please tell us all about Thelma Bee In Toil And Treble. 

Erin: Hi Lisa! Thelma Bee in Toil and Treble is a spooky paranormal adventure through the peculiar world of Thelma Bee. She’s a sixth grader with a knack for the scientific method and a group of amazing ghost-hunting friends – also, she’s got a secret. There’s powerful magic in her family’s lineage and she’s just scratching the surface to figure out what it means for her middle school life.

When her school’s acappella group starts acting suspicious, reports of paranormal activity spike in her hometown, and a classmate goes missing, Thelma and her crew have to work together to untangle the mystery and stop a sinister plan from shrouding her hometown in a dark magic that might just feel eerily familiar to our heroine. This is the sequel to Thelma’s first adventure, The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee!

Lisa: This sounds awesome! What inspires you to write spooky stories?

Erin: For me, the realm of the paranormal allows my characters to ask some really interesting, abstract questions, and explore some really big and complicated emotions within the safety of a fun and thrilling story. There are just endless possibilities as a storyteller when you’re working with these elements.

Lisa: How much of your real-life experiences play a role in the stories you tell?

Erin: While my characters and demons are (of course!) all fictional, the emotions that build the architecture of the story are all real. Thelma is a kid before she’s anything else, and she’s got issues that she’s working through that will ring true to anyone who’s ever tried to navigate the adolescent years.

Additionally, lots of the locations and settings in Thelma Bee are from real life – the river that runs through fictional Riverfish, MA is based on the Assabet River in the town of Maynard, MA! Lots of Maynard and Winthrop MA are reflected in my little fictional New England town.

Lisa: Do you believe in ghosts? If yes, have you had any first-hand experience with the paranormal?

Erin: I do believe in ghosts! I don’t think that I have seen one myself, but when I was working at the historic The House of Seven Gables in Salem, MA, one of the folks on my tour told me that she saw the ghost of a small girl watching me when I was in the attic. But she said not to worry, because the little ghost girl liked me. And then I thought about that during every other tour I ever gave at that job!

Lisa: What books did you like to read when you were a kid?

Erin: In middle school I discovered The Hobbit and began a full-scale exploration of Middle Earth during Sustained Silent Reading time (my fave time of day). I also loved the Redwall series by Brian Jacques and definitely started reading The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice too early but loved those books like crazy.

Lisa: What is your writing process?

Erin: I usually get inspired by the energy of a location – a town, a cave, something about the spirit of a place. Then the characters begin to form, and I do a lot of freewriting in a notebook. That usually becomes a loose (soooo loose) outline, and then it’s onward from there!

Cut to the 8 millionth revision and you’ve got yourself a book!

Lisa: What advice would you give a new writer?

Erin: I think one of the most powerful things you can do is finish. Finish the sentence. Finish the paragraph. Then, finish the draft. Once you’ve done that you have proven to yourself that you can write a whole book – and you’ve got something to play with! Let go of the inhibitions and get that first draft out!

Lisa: What are you hoping readers will take away from Thelma Bee Toil and Treble?

Erin: This time, Thelma’s story is about finding inner strength and learning to trust yourself to do the right thing when there’s no adult who can guide you. I hope readers get a feeling for that, that they’re strong and smart like Thelma and if they had to, they could rise to any fight. But also, if I’m being really honest, more than anything, I want readers to feel like they’ve got an amazing group of friends in Thelma, Alexander, Izzy, and the whole crew.

Lisa: What are you working on now?

Erin: I’m writing the third Thelma Bee book! I haven’t announced the title yet, but I will say that it’s the MOST classically Halloween-centric of all her stories so far. Stay tuned!

Lisa: What advice would you give 12 year-old Erin?

Erin: I would tell her that worrying about other people’s perception of you actually takes away your own sparkle. Don’t change who you are for anybody! Also, yoga isn’t weird, it’s cool and will change your life. And keep reading, kid.

Lisa: How can readers obtain a copy of the book?

Erin: The book can be preordered at your local independent bookstores, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, or any place books are sold.

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