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STEM Tuesday Exploration — Interview with Author Jennifer Swanson and Giveaway

By on January 30, 2018   /   Author Interviews, Common Core & NGSS, Exploration, STEM Tuesday  

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the fourth Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!

Today we’re interviewing author Jennifer Swanson who wrote this month’s featured book, Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact.

The book invites readers along on a journey of exploration to two very different but similarly extreme environments—outer space and the deep ocean. Through fascinating text, interviews with experts, and hands-on activities, Astronaut-Aquanaut challenges young people to think about limitations on human explorers and how technology strives to overcome them.

Mary Kay Carson: Congratulations on Astronaut-Aquanaut being chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection! How did you come to write this fabulous book?

Jennifer Swanson: Well, it all started with a conversation I was having with my National Geographic Kids editor, Shelby Lees. We were discussing a different book on space that I was doing with her and talking about how astronauts train to go into space. I happened to mention that it was probably much different from how people trained to work under the ocean. That got me thinking. Was it different? I had to find out! Like any good nonfiction author, I  started researching. To my surprise, I found out that astronauts and aquanauts do a lot of things in common when training. As we say in the writing world, that fascinating tidbit of information was my HOOK! and one I was sure would make a great book!

Buy a copy of Astronaut-Aquanaut!

MKC: It looks like you got to interview some famous aquanauts and astronauts. Do you have a favorite moment or happening you’d like to share?

JS: There are so many with this book. Being a science geek and getting to talk to real astronauts and aquanauts made me feel like I was a groupie talking to a bunch of rock stars. Probably my two favorite moments were speaking with Dr. Kathy Sullivan on the phone for an hour (she was the FIRST woman to walk in space! And I remember her doing that)  and also meeting Fabien Cousteau in person. He is an amazing aquanaut in his own right, but also grandson of the famous Jacques Cousteau, who I grew up watching on television.  But really, talking to all of these experts was quite thrilling!

MKC: Why do you choose to write STEM books? 

STEM author Jennifer Swanson

JS: I LOVE STEM. I have since I was a kid. I was 7 when I started my own science club in my garage. My love of science has followed me my whole life. I have a B.S. in chemistry from the U.S. Naval Academy, and a M.S. Ed in K-8 science education. Aside from writing books for kids about science, I also teach middle school science online for Johns Hopkins University. I guess you could say that I am the epitome of a science geek. And proud of it!

MKC: For readers who loved Astronaut-Aquanaut, what other middle-grade books would you suggest?

Wow. There are so many!  Smash! Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe with the Large Hadron Collider by Sara Latta is really cool! Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly is one of my favorites. The movie was AWESOME, too! All of the Scientists in the Field series books by HMH.  As for fiction, there is The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm and Michelle Houts’ new Lucy’s Lab series. I really loved that– it reminds me of me as a kid. There are so many great books with STEM and STEAM in them these days. It’s such a great time for all of us who love it!

MKC: Could you give us a peek into your process by sharing where you are right now on a current project and how you’re tackling it?

JS: Well, that’s an interesting question. I typically juggle several projects at once, sometimes simultaneously. Right now I’m waiting for edits on a long-term young-adult nonfiction STEM book that I did. I also just turned in an outline for another middle-grade STEM book and am about to have a call with the expert to do my initial interview. I like to make sure that my books with experts highlight their passion about their research because that really brings depth to the story. Finally, I am knee-deep in researching another topic and plan to start writing that proposal soon. I seem to work better with a lot of things going at once. 🙂

More about this week’s author……

Jennifer Swanson dreams of one day running away to the Museum of Science and Industry–then maybe she could look at all the exhibits and try out all the gadgets without competing for them with her kids. An author of twenty nonfiction science books for grades 3-6, Jennifer’s goal is to show kids that Science Rocks! She lives in sunny Florida with her husband, three kids and two dogs. When not writing she’s on the hunt for fun science facts. Learn more about Jennifer and her books at www.JenniferSwansonBooks.com.

• • •

Win a FREE copy of Astronaut-Aquanaut!

Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below. The randomly-chosen winner will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (within the U.S. only) to receive the book.

Good luck!

Your host this week is Mary Kay Carson, fellow space geek, science nerd, and author of Mission to Pluto and other nonfiction books for kids.

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How Many Ideas are Needed to Create a Great MG?

By on January 29, 2018   /   For Teachers, For Writers, Writing  

I’ve been participating in StoryStorm by Tara Lazar and absolutely love being challenged to come up with at least one book idea a day in January. The ideas often start slowly then multiply faster than bunnies once I get used to grabbing all the ideas around me before they vanish. The goal is to reach 30 ideas. I’m over 55 ideas and hope to have even more by the end of the challenge. What a fantastic feeling! But…I noticed that only two of those ideas are MG.

It didn’t really hit me until now that I usually come up with tons of picture book ideas before choosing my favorites to turn into manuscripts while I tend to focus on one MG idea, fleshing it out, interviewing the characters, and letting it breathe for a bit before running it through Joyce Sweeney’s Plot Clock and diving into a first draft.

I’ve always had major ‘aha’ moments for my middle grade novels. The idea hits and follows me around, insisting I pay attention. It feels so magical! But I never really thought about attacking a new MG from another angle until I was given a simple interview to fill out at a writing intensive. I felt like I was throwing random things together to create a character, but after writing for so long, I automatically found ways to weave possible issues into the character. We had to write a scene for that character and I think it has potential. Of course, I’ll have to flesh it out first. It’s great to have a new way of coming up with MG ideas in case one isn’t stalking me when I’m ready to plunge into a new project.

I decided to create my own interview questions, in case I need them in the future. If you’re looking for inspiration, I hope filling this in will help you (hint, you don’t have to fill it out in order—hop around as needed):

Name and nickname:

Age/gender:

Physical characteristics that make him/her stand out:

What this character wants most in the world:

Greatest fear:

What his/her friends are like?

What’s his/her home and school situation like?

External flaws:

Internal flaws:

What would this character do if he/she won the lottery?

What would this character miss most if he/she didn’t have any money?

What wouldn’t he/she want anyone else to know?

How would this character describe himself/herself?

How would others describe him/her?

I hope the ideas flow for you! Are there any questions you’d add to this list? I’d also love to know how you come up with the ideas for your manuscripts—or if you’re a teacher, how your students come up with ideas.

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Pitchers & Catchers

By on January 26, 2018   /   Book Lists, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, Nonfiction  

 

“It’s like a—a country or somethin’,” Joey-Mick went on. “Baseball, I mean. A place where everybody’s crazy about the same thing.” – KEEPING SCORE by Linda Sue Park

Pitchers and catchers report!

It’s that time of the year again. Spring training time. Baseball time! Those are magic words to a baseball person.

Baseball.

Baseball at Night by Morris Kantor, 1934 (Photo credit: American Art Museum on Visualhunt.com/)

It’s in my blood. It’s been that way since I was old enough to walk. A bat in my hand feels as natural as a clarinet or a trumpet to a musician. To folks who don’t really enjoy or understand sports, that’s about as well as I can explain the importance of sports to sports kids. It’s part of who they are.

Softball and baseball-crazed kids are my kind of kids. I can identify with their love of the game. I also firmly believe this love of sports can help these kids on their road to becoming lifelong fans of another important activity…READING!

Sports books can be used as gateways to draft the reluctant reader onto the reader team. They give familiar and safe subjects to the reader; subjects they can understand even if the text or the narrative is a challenge.

Pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training signals the start of the Major League Baseball season. It also means it’s time for middle-grade baseball books to report to the shelves of middle-grade readers.

To get some of your favorite middle-grade readers off the bench and in the batter’s box, here’s a short list of middle-grade-ish book titles with a baseball component.

And now, for today’s starting lineup,

MUDVILLE by Kurtis Scaletta
KEEPING SCORE by Linda Sue Park
SUMMERLAND by Michael Chabon
BIG LEAGUE BATBOY by Jerry Gibson
THE DISTANCE TO HOME by Jenn Bishop
HOTHEAD by Cal Ripkin, Jr.
A RAMBLER STEALS HOME by Carter Higgins
THE BATBOY (or anything else) by Mike Lupica
THE GIRL WHO THREW BUTTERFLIES by Mick Cochrane
CHAMP by Marcia Thornton Jones
SAFE AT HOME by Sharon Robinson
SOAR by Joan Bauer
CLUTCH by Heather Camlot
THE BROOKLYN NINE by Alan Gratz
ONLY THE BALL WAS WHITE by Robert Peterson
PROMISES TO KEEP by Sharon Robinson

As evidenced by the number of times I struck out in my baseball playing days, I know I missed more than a few great middle-grade baseball books to recommend. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment. 

(And while you’re at it, can you suggest some middle-grade softball books? I know a bunch of young softball players who are searching for some softball books.)

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