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STEM Tuesday — Earth Day 50th Anniversary Celebration– Book List

By on April 7, 2020   /   Articles, Earth Day, STEM Tuesday  

We are avid Earth Day proponents. If you’ve ever heard us speak, you’ve probably heard us say that every day is Earth Day. This month we feature a number of new environmental titles for children, many with activities that young readers can do while sheltering in place during the coronavirus pandemic. According to a March 18, 2020 article  in Scientific American, “a number of researchers today think that it is actually humanity’s destruction of biodiversity that creates the conditions for new viruses and diseases like COVID-19, the viral disease that emerged in China in December 2019, to arise—with profound health and economic impacts in rich and poor countries alike. In fact, a new discipline, planetary health, is emerging that focuses on the increasingly visible connections among the well-being of humans, other living things and entire ecosystems.”

Now, more than ever, it’s time to show our children how to become better stewards of our planet and appreciate the beauty around us. 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet by Anuradha Rao With stars from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, this book profiles twenty environmental activists of color from around the world. Their individual stories show how they went from kids who cared about the environment to leaders in their communities.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Wildlife Ranger Action Guide: Track, Spot & Provide Healthy Habitat for Creatures Close to Home by Mary Kay Carson Dive into citizen science with a new book from a respected STEM author. This book is all about showing young readers how to make the world a better place for honey bees, monarch butterflies, frogs, lizards, and more. We love books that encourage children to take an active role in protecting wildlife.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Garbage: Follow the Path of Your Trash with Environmental Science Activities for Kids by Donna Latham; illustrated by Tom Casteel When we say, “Throw it away,” where is away? This book helps children track what happens to their garbage. Where does it go? Does it break down? How? Can we decrease the amount we’re throwing away? The authors include a number of hands-on STEM activities to get kids doing…and thinking!

 

  Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and Its Ecosystems by Rachel Ignotofsky In this illustrated tour of Earth’s ecosystems, Ignotofsky makes conservation science accessible and entertaining using art, maps, and infographics. Young readers will discover how our planet works and how to become better stewards of its life-giving processes.

 

 

  Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org The Organic Artist for Kids: A DIY Guide to Making Your Own Eco-Friendly Art Supplies from Nature by Nick Neddo Did you know the natural world can provide art supplies? This title connects kids to their wilderness roots and reminds them that art used to be made with all-natural materials. Through a number of different art projects, such as creating your own paintbrushes and paint, Neddo shows young readers how to practice awareness and perception, two skills necessary to the creative process. A great antidote to Nature Deficit Disorder!

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines by Paul Fleischman This Green Earth Book Award title offers a wake-up call for middle-grade and young adult readers as they try to make sense of the flood of environmental news. Readers discover there is more at work than merely wanting to help — money, politics, history, and psychology are all connected.

 

 

  Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living An Eco-Friendly Life by Linda Sivertsen Sure, we want to be eco-friendly, but how do we accomplish that? Siversten offers dozens of tips on how to shop, dress, eat, and travel with a lighter carbon footprint.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Human Footprint: Everything you will Eat, Use, Wear, Buy, and Throw Out in Your Lifetime by Ellen Kirk A powerful visual tool from Ellen Kirk and NatGeo that helps kids visualize the extent of their consumption. Did you know we each consume 13,056 pints of milk; take 28,433 showers; and eat 12,888 oranges, 14,518 candy bars and buy $52k,972 of clothes in our lifetime?

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children’s Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green edited by Dan Gutman Dan Gutman assembles essays from a number of noted children’s authors to show young readers what’s happening to our planet and how they can take action to save our world.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Friends of The Earth: A History of American Environmentalism with 21 Activities by Pat McCarthy A collection of inspiring stories about the women and men who had the foresight to preserve Yosemite, Mt. Ranier, the Grand Canyon, and the Florida Everglades. Through these stories, young readers form a picture of American environmentalism and conservation. McCarthy helps kids act with 21 eco-activities.

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Rachel Carson and Ecology for Kids: Her Life and Ideas with 21 Activities and Experiments by Rowena Rae Rachel Carson’s life and work were rooted in the study of nature. She’s best remembered for her book, Silent Spring, which exposed the harmful effects of chemical pesticides in the US. In addition to Rachel Carson’s biography, this title includes a timeline, resources, sidebars, and 21 hands-on activities to inspire our next generation of environmental thinkers.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky and Frank Stockton An urgent look at overfishing in our world ocean. A world without fish affects ocean ecosystems, our economy, biology, politics, history, culture, food, and nutrition. Stockton’s graphic images offer a unique representation to the frightening possibility of a world without fish.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg  Greta Thunberg is the Swedish teen that has rocked the climate change argument. She began with once-a-week protests, which sparked a global movement among millions of tweens and teens. This title features a collection of her inspiring speeches at climate summits around the world. Greta has been nominated for  a Nobel Peace Prize and was Time’s 2019 Person of the Year.  

 

Looking for more Earth Day titles? Check out the annual Green Earth Book Award lists. And don’t forget the following classics that might already be part of your collection:

  • The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest by Lynne Cherry
  • The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
  • Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

STEM Tuesday book lists prepared by

Nancy Castaldo has written books about our planet for over 20 years including, THE STORY OF SEEDS, which earned the Green Earth Book Award, Junior Library Guild Selection, and other honors. Nancy’s research has taken her all over the world from the Galapagos to Russia.  She strives to inform, inspire, and empower her readers. Nancy also serves as the Regional Advisor of the Eastern NY SCBWI region. Her 2018 multi-starred title is BACK FROM THE BRINK: Saving Animals from Extinction. Visit her at www.nancycastaldo.com. 

Patricia Newman writes middle-grade nonfiction that empowers young readers to act on behalf of the environment and their communities. The Sibert Honor author of Sea Otter Heroes, Newman has also received an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book Award for Eavesdropping on Elephants, a Green Earth Book Award for Plastic, Ahoy!, and a Eureka! Gold Medal from the California Reading Association for Zoo Scientists to the Rescue. Her books have received starred reviews, been honored as Junior Library Guild Selections, and included on Bank Street College’s Best Books lists. During author visits, she demonstrates how young readers can use writing to be the voice of change. Visit her at www.patriciamnewman.com. Stay tuned for her upcoming Planet Ocean – fall 2020.

 

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Women In STEM (Math & Science) – Author Interview with Laurie Wallmark, and Giveaway

By on April 6, 2020   /   Author Interviews, Book Lists, COVID-19, For Librarians, For Teachers, Giveaways, Homeschool Resource, Nonfiction, STEM, Teacher Tips  

 Today we’re interviewing Laurie Wallmark, author of Numbers in Motion, and several other titles.

 

                               

This book features the STEM topics of mathematical equations and science, and how Sophie Kowalevski became the first woman in the world to receive a doctorate in mathematics that required original research and inspired a generation of mathematicians.

Sophie was also the first to hold a university chair in mathematics, and the first to be the editor of a major scientific journal.

 

  1. Tell us about Numbers in Motion and what inspired you to write the story of Sophie Kowalevski.

As long as I can remember, I’ve loved math. Why? Because it’s fun! Although several of the people I’ve written about before have been talented mathematicians, they were recognized in different fields. I thought it was time to share a woman mathematician’s story with kids.

 

2. How did you do your research for this book? How did you organize all the information you learned about Sophie?

I researched her life through books and professional journal articles. A book that was especially helpful was written by Sophie herself, A Russian Childhood.

I use the program OneNote to organize all my research. I have a separate tab for each book, each of which includes a section for notes and for quotations. It’s very important to be able to go back to your notes and find the source for what you’ve written. In addition, I have tabs for my bibliography, a timeline of Sophie’s life, and, while I was researching and writing the book, an ever-expanding list of possible scenes to write.

 

 

3. How do you envision teachers and librarians using this book in classrooms?

The true value of picture books is that they can be used on so many levels. To start with, there is of course the text and illustrations of the story. Especially in a book like mine that takes place in another time period, there are many possibilities for discussing how the world has changed.

In addition, most nonfiction picture books, including mine, include some basic back matter such as a timeline and a bibliography. Numbers in Motion also has three more pieces of back matter. My author’s note tells how, in addition to being a mathematician, Sophie was also a writer. Next, for students (like me!) who might want to know more about Sophie’s math, I explain in more detail the problem she solved–the rotation of solid bodies. Finally, I include how Sophie Kowalevski’s name was transliterated from the Cyrillic alphabet. This presents a great opportunity to discuss how people’s (possibly even some of their classmates’) names might be spelled different ways when written in our Roman alphabet.

 

4. Can you suggest three questions related to women in mathematics for student discussions?

  1. Why do you think we haven’t heard of as many woman mathematicians as men?
  2. Do you think woman and girls have the same natural ability in math as men and boys?
  3. Do you think there are any women working in mathematics today who have made important discoveries

 

 

5. What do you want readers to take away from Numbers in Motion?

Sophie loved math and overcame many obstacles to pursue her studies. I think the big take away from Numbers in Motion is it’s worth pursuing your dreams, even if other people say you can’t or shouldn’t.

To read more about Laurie and her work, click here.

 

Want to own your very own copy of Numbers In Motion? Enter our giveaway by leaving a comment below! 

 

You may earn extra entries by blogging/tweeting/facebooking the interview and letting us know. The winner will be announced here on April 13, 2020 and will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (US only) to receive the book.

 

 

 

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5 Weird Facts I Learned About the Ocean by 11-year-old Grace

By on April 3, 2020   /   Articles, Author Interviews, Giveaways, New Releases  

Welcome, eleven-year-old Grace (main character in Alice Kaltman’s new middle-grade novel, The Tantalizing Tale of Grace Minnaugh). Thanks for stopping by MUF to tell us all about the ocean. And thank you to your creator, Alice Kaltman, for offering to give away a copy of your story!

Enter the giveaway below. 

The Tantalizing Tale of Grace Minnaugh

The Tantalizing Tale of Grace Minnaugh by Alice Kaltman

5 Interesting/Fun/Weird Facts I Learned About the Ocean by Grace Minnaugh, main character in The Tantalizing Tale of Grace Minnaugh by Alice Kaltman

I guess you could say I, Grace Minnaugh, lead a decidedly double life. When I’m on land, I’m all girl, but when I’m fully submerged in seawater I’m all mermaid. I only discovered my mermaid self when I moved to California from Ohio, where there isn’t a puddle of seawater anywhere except maybe at aquariums, so you can imagine my surprise when I first transformed.

I learn new things about life underwater every time I take a dive. Some of these oddities are particular to me, myself, and I as a mermaid, and some are honest to goodness facts that sounds too fantastical to be true. Here are my top five ocean-y shares:

 

  • I breathe fish-style underwater, with magical gills that pop out from behind my ears once I’m in mermaid mode. Breathing with gills is awesome. I take sips of water through my mouth, and exhale the water through my gills. My gills dissolve the oxygen from the water (The O in the H2O), and pump it through my blood to my cells. My gills feel like little curtains flapping behind my ears. Ticklish, but not annoying. It’s a relaxing tickle, more like a scalp massage.
  • I adore dolphins. Even before I became a mermaid I thought they were the most amazing animals on the planet. Did you know that merpeople and dolphins share a very cool power, aside from being lovable and super friendly? We both navigate through the water using a technique called echolocation. We emit bio sonar waves from our foreheads that rebound off creatures and plants and tell us how far away and how big they are. This is a crucial skill to have when we’re about to encounter a hungry Great While or Tiger Shark. Usually those guys leave us alone, but when they’re particularly peckish, our flesh-eating shark friends can be a tad unpredictable. Better to use echolocation and find a hiding place to chill for a while then be a shark’s midday treat. Interesting sidebar: Dolphins have gigantic foreheads, which human scientist have decided to call melons, because, duh, they look like melons, but we merpeople have much more attractive, normal-sized foreheads.
  • Some merpeople, but not all, can swim really fast, like faster than a speedboat fast. I’m one of those lucky ones. I wish you could see me kick my monofin as rapidly as possible, while the water courses through my gills, and my hair streams behind me like a sail. I suppose you’ll have to read “The Tantalizing Tale of Grace Minnaugh” to find out more about this particular mer-superpower. I can’t even describe how stupendous it feels.
  • One of my favorite sea species of all times is the sea slug. Those little creatures store up sun rays like plants and illuminate like little blobs of sunshine underwater! Sea slugs are particularly handy—if slippery— to have around when you’re fluttering through a super dark underwater cavern many meters under the surface. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve nearly gotten lost, but for those little babies lighting my way. My all time favorite type of sea slug is the Flabellina polaris, or Tanglewing. It is covered with tendrils tipped with light, like a magical illuminated feather; beautiful, but super slimy to the touch so beware!
  • Lastly, I’m not sharing this to be a mer-Debby Downer, but rather, to alert you to something you can do to help save our oceans: One of the most spectacular living entities underwater are the many, many species of coral. I can’t even begin to tell you how beautiful they are—the shapes, the sizes, the awe-inspiring colors, and how important they are to the ocean ecosystem. But coral reefs are being destroyed all over the globe. It really stresses me out. One thing that kills coral is when humans use non-reef friendly sunscreen and swim with that stuff sprayed or glopped all over their bodies. These products are super bad for coral, in a variety of ways. You can read more about it here, but in the meantime, tell your parents to just buy mineral sunscreens, especially lotions containing non-nano zinc dioxide as the primary active ingredient. Everything else is poison!
Alice Kaltman, author of The Tantalizing Tale of Grace Minnaugh

Alice Kaltman, author of The Tantalizing Tale of Grace Minnaugh

About The Tantalizing Tale of Grace Minnaugh by Alice Kaltman 

Eleven-year-old Grace Minnaugh is not a fan of big changes. She’s miserable during her first weeks in the seaside town of La Toya, sulking like a spoiled brat. Her family embraces the California lifestyle and Grace decides to embrace the seductive beauty of the sea. One fateful morning, while taking a predawn swim, she is caught in a thunderstorm. Without the ocean skills to survive, she’s sucked below the surface, convinced she will drown. Instead, a new life begins. Gills rip open from behind her ears and her legs fuse together to form a fishtail. Grace Minnaugh is a mermaid, and a gorgeous one at that. On land, Grace is still the same walking, talking social misfit she’s always been. But in the salty sea, she’s an underwater marvel. Grace decides not to tell a soul about her flip-floppy double life, but things get complicated when Grace befriends Alfie DeCosta, a kid who’s obsessed with finding an elusive shipwreck off the coast of La Toya. Grace knows exactly where the shipwreck is. But she can’t tell Alfie about it, or can she?

 

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