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The Anatomy of a Middle Grade STEM book — AND a Giveaway!

By on July 16, 2021   /   Articles, Giveaways, STEM  

People are always asking me where I come up with ideas for my STEM books. After all, if you’ve seen my books, I tend to use out-of-the-box angles to get kids excited about some interesting STEM topics.

Astronaut Aquanaut book by Jennifer Swanson

 

Take my Astronaut-Aquanaut book. This one compares and contrasts SPACE and the OCEAN. Pretty cool concept, especially when you learn that while these two places are very extreme enviroments, it takes a lot of similar training and equipment to go both places. Which would you rather be?

 

 

 

Then there’s my Save the Crash-test Dummy book. It’s the history of car safety engineering, told through the lens of a day in the life of a crash-test dummy. Yes, you read that right.   Save the Crash-test Dummies book by Jennifer Swanson

A crash-test dummy. Probably NOT a job you want to have. But it’s a great way to get kids interested in car safety. (Shhh… don’t tell the kids they are learning about Newton’s Laws of Motion)

 

 

 

 

So HOW do I come up with my ideas? And then HOW do I turn these ideas into books? Well, I’m going to give you a peek inside my creative process. It’ll be fun. You might even say, SPORTS-tacular. 🙂

Yep, I’m going to use my new book that releases next Tuesday, July 20th, from Black Dog & Leventhal, as my example. I’ll take you through how this book started as an idea, then a proposal, then… a book. (With amazing illustrations by Laurène Boglio)

The Secret Science of Sports book by Jennifer Swanson

STEP 1: Come Up with an IDEA

  • The easiest thing to do is write what you KNOW. — For me, I grew up with 3 brothers and a father who love sports. It was natural that I would as well. After all, I spent most of my days playing baseball in the backyard with my brothers, shooting hoops in the driveway, swimming laps in the pool for swim practice, running, hiking, biking, etc. You name it, I’ve played the sport. It only seemed natural that I write a book about something I know and love.
  • Write something that INTERESTS you. This one should also be easy. If you know the topic, hopefully, you’ll like it. I do happen to like sports, which is good.
  • Find the HOOK– This can be the tough part! After all, just because YOU like it and find it interesting, does not mean that others will. You need to  think about how you can make this topic exciting to others. For this book, it was natural to combine my love of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) + Sports =  STEM Sports Book (Exciting!)

 

WHY STEM and Sports? To me, combining STEM and sports seemed natural. Many people watch sports and just look at the game, but I see the physics, the technology, and the math everywhere. I thought if I could get kids (of all ages) to see that, they might find it cool to know as well. Besides, using something a lot of people love (sports), with something everyone learns (science and STEM), that just seemed logical to me. Good thing my editor agreed. 🙂

 

STEP 2: Write the proposal and a really good pitch

Writing middle grade nonfiction book proposals are not for the faint of heart. They take a lot of time and research, but are totally worth it. Here is a great place that offers tips just for this:  https://www.dystel.com/nonfiction-proposals

Writing pitches is not easy either. You need to include enough information to make the editors interested, but not too much to make it boring. Keep your voice fun and entertaining (it should match your voice in the book) and have LOTS of energy.

Here is  my first pitch: Hey! Want to know the secret to winning at sports? It’s not what you’d think. It’s… SCIENCE! Yep. To be great at sports you need to know about physics, biology, neuroscience and even a little engineering. Who would have thought that science class would be the best place to learn how to be a better athlete. Shh…. don’t tell anyone.

 

STEP 3:   WRITE the manuscript!

So now that you’ve sold the book. Yes, I skipped over the hardest part, selling it.  It can take awhile or in the case of this book, it was relatively short. An editor happened to be looking for a book on this topic at just the right time that my proposal was ready. Pretty great, huh? That does not happen all the time. But let’s face it, part of this career is just plain luck, right?

Anyway, as I began writing, I knew I wanted this book to be different. First of all, it had to have  a cool kid-friendly voice. Here are the first few sentences:

If you picked up this book, it’s probably because you like sports. Maybe you want to see if it has tips for how to improve your game (it does), or how to become more fit (it has that, too), or just because you want to learn more about different types of sports (also there). But wait, the title says, the Science of Sports. That means that this book also teaches you about science. What does a sports book have science in it? Those two subjects seem so different. It’s not as if sitting in a science class can teach you more about your sport than practicing it. Actually, it can.       

©Jennifer Swanson, Secret Science of Sports 

 

But most of all, I wanted kids to USE this book. After all, science is best when it’s in action. So, I as I wrote about the science and STEM, I had the readers DO activities like these:

Secret Science of Sports book page

 

 

Secret Science of Sports Book page 25

I also included images that showed the readers how the STEM was actually happening.

Secret Science of Sports Book - Soccer pages

 

 

Again, my editor was totally on board with all of these ideas, thankfully. When you add in the amazing illustrations by Laurène Boglio it is really COOL! Readers get their own STEM sports-tastic view of the world!

So, THAT’s how I created my latest book. It was tons of fun and easy to write. For me, it was simply a trip through my sports-filled life. My hope is that readers of all ages find this book interesting, exciting, and useful. I want this book to get taken outside, sloshed through the mud-filled soccer fields, have sports drinks from tennis and football players spilled on it, and yes, even get a little wet from being beside the swimming pool.

It’s also a  PERFECT companion for those of you that will sit down to watch the 2021 Summer Olympics

Sports Book with Olympic rings

Finally, there NEEDS to be more STEM Middle grade books in the world, consider writing one. Kids of all ages will love you for it. GO STEM/STEAM!

I am giving away one copy of my Secret Science of Sports book. Leave a comment below with your favorite sport or favorite sports memory to be entered. 

 

 

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STEM Tuesday — STEM in Sports — In the Classroom

By on July 13, 2021   /   STEM in Sports, STEM Tuesday  

While school may be out, there are plenty of sports science activities that kids can try at home. After reading the books on this month’s list, try some of these activities (or ones found in the books) or check out the list of resources to learn about drag, body fat, torque, sports medicine, and much more!

 

Super Gear: Nanotechnology and Sports Team Up by Jennifer Swanson

Nanotechnology and sports? Using a fun voice, easily understood analogies, and great graphics, this book explores the molecular properties of nanoparticles and the amazing developments that scientists have made in using harnessing them to improve the clothing, shoes, and equipment of athletes. Side bars and “Science in Action!” experiments help demonstrate and explain this cutting-edge science.

Activity

Do some historical research on sports equipment of the past versus modern equipment. Look at the first footballs, old tennis rackets, and tennis balls. See if you can find some old sports equipment at an antique or thrift store, or check out an online museum gallery (such as the National Museum of American History Sports &. Leisure collection: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/subjects/sports-leisure). Make an evolution timeline of a certain piece of sports equipment, noting how the materials have changed and why. Use images to illustrate how much that piece of gear has changed over time.

Check this out!

Super Gear Discussion and activity guide: https://jenniferswansonbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/super-gear-discussion-activity-guide.pdf

 

Sports Science & Technology in the Real World by Janet Slingerland

Discover how scientists, engineers, and mathematicians are using science to help athletes – and how this same technology is being used in everyday applications. This book provides a peek into the cutting-edge technology being developed and includes primary source sidebars and discussion questions.

 

Activity

Technology is designing better gear to protect athlete’s bodies. You can try too–design a better bike helmet! Analyze your bike helmet: what kind of padding does it have? How is it shaped? How do you think it could be better? Read about how bike helmets work too (try this article: https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/bike-safety.html). Draw your dream bike helmet, labeling all the ways it can better protect your head.

Check this out!

ABDO Booklinks, Sports Science & Technology: http://www.abdobooklinks.com/browse/title/?pid=21894

 

Learning STEM From Baseball: How Does A Curveball Curve? And Other Amazing Answers for Kids! by Marne Ventura

Numerous sciences play a role in baseball. From physics to virtual reality, engineering to woodworking this book does a great job of introducing many of the ways science, math, and technology have interacted throughout baseball’s history. The in-depth endnotes offer great resources for further exploration.

 

Activity

Baseball is all about physics—with the right force, you can get motion—a fast pitch or a home run hit! But gravity is always pulling down, so angle matters too. Try seeing how far you can throw a baseball by adjusting the angle you throw it. You need a baseball, objects to mark where the ball lands, a measuring tape, and a notebook/pencil. First throw the ball straight forward as hard as you can three times. Mark where it lands and measure the distance. Record the results and average the distances. Then try this with a slight angle upward three times. And then with a steep upward angle three times. Why method of throwing made the ball go the farthest? Why do you think that method worked best? How do you think that gravity affected the ball with the different kinds of throws?

Check this out!

Exploratorium, Science of Baseball: https://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/

Further Resources

Check out these sites for more fascinating and fun STEM sports resources:

 

author Karen Latchana KenneyKaren Latchana Kenney loves to write books about animals, and looks for them wherever she goes—from leafcutter ants trailing through the Amazon rain forest in Guyana, where she was born, to puffins in cliff-side burrows on the Irish island of Skellig Michael. She especially enjoys creating books about nature, biodiversity, conservation, and groundbreaking scientific discoveries—but also writes about civil rights, astronomy, historical moments, and many other topics. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and son, and bikes, hikes, and gazes at the night sky in northern Minnesota any moment she can. Visit her at https://latchanakenney.wordpress.com.

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Author Interview + Giveaway: THE VERDIGRIS PAWN by Alysa Wishingrad

By on July 12, 2021   /   Articles, Author Interviews, Giveaways  

We’re so pleased to welcome author Alysa Wishingrad to MUF, here to talk about her new middlegrade novel, THE VERDIGRIS PAWN. She tells us about the book, what the title means, and more about her career and journey to kidlit author.  

THE VERDIGRIS PAWN is the story of Beau, heir to the ruler of the Land, a man so frightening, people only dare call him Himself. Beau has been raised isolated and alone. And despite the harsh and judgmental treatment he gets from his father, Beau has no idea of the brutal tyranny Himself unleashes upon his subjects, and how hated and feared their family is.  This all changes when he meets Cressi, a young servant, who opens his eyes to the realities of life in the Land – especially about Mastery House, a terrible and brutal place where the children of the poor are sent to be raised and trained to be servants in exchange for payment of their families taxes.

The Verdigris Pawn by Alysa Wishingrad

This discovery of the truth sets Beau off on an epic adventure as he tries to undo the poisoned legacy of his family. But in order to restore fairness and equality to the Land, he must think of things like a real-life game of Fist (a board game similar to chess!)  But when you’re reviled throughout the Land and false heroes lurk around every corner, leading a rebellion is easier said than done.  This is a story about how appearances aren’t always what they seem and how real power can come from the most unlikely places.

MUF: What does the title mean?
AW: The title refers to the key game piece in Fist, in which either the king must knock the verdigris pawn off the board, or the pawn will unseat the king. As for Verdigris, it’s an alchemical reaction that turns copper and brass a beautiful blue-ish green color when it oxidizes. A great example that we can all call to mind is the Statue of Liberty. Just as the pawn in fist can be transformed into the king, Beau, Cressi and Nate, my three central characters, all also go through life-changing transformations.

MUF: This is your debut kidlit novel. What career path led you to write a book? Why MG?
AW:  I wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I was constantly telling and writing stories as a kid. I graduated college with a degree in playwriting and moved back to NYC with the intention of writing plays. But life and work, and a measure of insecurity about my words, got in the way. I followed another career path for about 15 years, but writing would not leave me alone. It was when I moved up to the country to raise my kids that I got back to it.

As for why I write MG, simply put, I love this age. I think MG readers are truly some of the smartest and open people there are. It’s this beautiful knife’s edge time between childhood and the teen years, before the cynicism and deep seeded doubts can take hold. It’s a time of realizing you have a voice and striving to use it. This is fertile terrain both for telling stories and for learning about ourselves.

MUF: You say that your novel is, a “new take on the classic middle grade books we all grew up with.” Can you speak more to that? 

AW: There’s a very classic feel to this story, to the way it’s constructed, and I think in the writing as well. It might bring to mind classic fantasies such as the Chronicles of Prydain and Diana Wynn Jones’s work. But while it nods to those stories, it also poses questions that are urgently relevant to our world while challenging some deeply held cultural assumptions.

One of the themes the story explores is who gets to write history, and how is it even possible to tell the entire story from all sides. I like to think that the book will encourage readers to examine issues around power; what does it mean to have it, how can you claim your power when you feel powerless, and can power be wielded to enhance rather than sacrifice the greater good.

Author Alysa Wishingrad

MUF: Speaking of classics, what are a few of your favorite classic MG titles?
AW: I used to get lost in Mary Norton’s The Borrowers books for hours on end– oh, how I wanted to have little people living in the walls of my house. I loved how resourceful they were, how clever and united as a family they were, especially through all the very hard times they faced

This one I mention with a caveat that I haven’t re-read it in a very long time, and I’m sure there are elements that do not hold up today, but E.B. White’s Stuart Little was another book I re-read so many times. I loved that here was this mouse who was unconditionally welcomed into the family. That no one questioned that he was different was a picture of the world as it ought to be. And then somehow he aged at twice the rate of his sibling and was ready to go off and explore the world long before they were. There was so much hope and inspiration in that story for me. The blending of the world as we know it with the potential for the fantastical is still the terrain I like to explore as a writer.

MUF:  What new MG book(s) do you love? 

AW:  Oh gosh! How much time do we have?

I have been blown away by so many of my fellow 2021 debuts – but I’ll just stick to the fantasy titles for now since that’s where my heart lives.

Root Magic by Eden Royce is gorgeous, magical historical fiction.

The Gilded Girl by Alyssa Colman is a wonderful magical retelling of The Little Princess with a social conscious.

I love the infusion of mythology with adventure in Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne.

And last but not least, The Wolf’s Curse by Jessica Vitalis, which will be out in September, is a lyrical and fantastic examination of grief, love and life.

MUF: Can you tell us one thing you learned while writing The Verdigris Pawn?
AW: I learned that white paging a book  (starting over from the blank page) is nothing to fear. In fact,  it’s incredibly liberating. Sometimes beginning anew is the best way to get to the heart of a story.

I’ll explain.

I had a meeting early on with my editors to address some issues on how the story was rolling out. The longer we talked the more I realized that I couldn’t patch it, I couldn’t revise my way to a fix. So, I metaphorically balled the book up into a giant 375 page wad, threw it over my shoulder and started over.

The arc of the story has always been the same, but how it rolled out changed – and so very much for the better!

That experience of doing what I once thought of as the unthinkable has made me more daring, and freer as a writer.

Find Alysa on Twitter @agwishingrad, on Instagram @alysawishingradwrites, and her website at www.AlysaWishingrad.com  (where you might find some Pawn-ish treats and facts).

Thank you so much for having me, I’ve loved chatting with you!

Enter for your chance to win a free copy of THE VERDIGRIS PAWN!

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