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STEM Tuesday — Bioluminesence– In the Classroom

By STEM Tuesday on October 8, 2024 / Bioluminescence, STEM Tuesday

This month I learned from the following books that there are a LOT of animals that glow:

Mysterious Glowing Mammals: An Unexpected Discovery Sparks a Scientific Investigation

by Maria Parrott-Ryan

This book tells the story of scientific discovery. I love how it shows the twists and turns that scientists follow when they’re exploring a topic.

Animals That Glow: Fireflies and Glowworms

by Joyce Markovics

This book highlights a few animals that glow on land, specifically fireflies and glowworms.

Animals That Glow: Octopuses and Squid

by Joyce Markovics

This book explores the octopuses and squid that glow in the ocean. Some create their own light, while other harness the light made by other creatures.

Bonus: Luminous: Living Things that Light Up the Night

by Julia Kuo

This picture book is a great introduction to bioluminescence. Simple text is augmented with informative sidebars. The animals highlighted come from all around the world, on land and at sea. This could be a great read-aloud to kick off the exploration of glowing animals.

Animal Research Project

As I mentioned before, there are a LOT of animals that glow. I thought this would make a great research project. Have each student pick an animal that glows and research it – there are enough glowing animals that every student can explore something different.

Have each student create a poster highlighting their glowing animal. Set up an exhibition, showing off all the amazing animals. Each poster should include:

Animal name
Where found – both habitat and geographic location. (Include a range map.)
Image of animal
- For more fun, use glow-in-the-dark paints to illustrate where and what color the animal glows. Use a blacklight to show off the glow.
How it glows
- What makes it glow? Bioluminescence, fluorescence, symbiosis?
When is animal active?
Why it glows?
Other fun facts

Alternatively, turn the research into one or more social media posts. Social media is a great way to impart information to lots of people. The National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service do an exceptional job using social media. As I was preparing for this month’s post, I saw this social media post about glow-in-the-dark scorpions: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=916191667218097

Explore Your Backyard

Fireflies are perhaps the best-known glowing animal. Do a little exploration. Are there fireflies in your area? If not, should there be?

There is a firefly atlas you can explore to help with this: https://www.fireflyatlas.org/map. If you have fireflies in your area, look into how you can contribute to the map. Learn about how you can tell different fireflies apart by their blinking pattern.

If there should be fireflies in your area, but you don’t see any, examine why. What kind of habitat do fireflies need? What can you do to help provide that habitat?

If you don’t (and shouldn’t) have fireflies in your area, are there other local glowing animals and/or plants?

More Resources

You could use this month’s theme to jump into exploring light and/or color. There are also quite a few resources and activities out there that focus on bioluminescence. Here are a few.

NOAA Bioluminescence Education Theme: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/themes/bioluminescence

Smithsonian Ocean: Bioluminescence: https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/bioluminescence

WHOI: How does bioluminescence work? https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/did-you-know/how-does-bioluminescence-work

TeachEngineering: Exploring Bioluminescence in Aquatic Animals: https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/rice-2638-light-dyes-exploring-bioluminescence-activity

Science Buddies: Explore Glow-in-the-Dark Water! https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/tonic-water-glows

Ocean Conservancy: Why Do Animals Glow? https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2019/08/06/animals-glow-bioluminescence

Janet Slingerland has written over 2 dozen books for young readers. One of her latest projects is creating firefly habitat in her backyard. To find out more about Janet and her books, check out her website: http://janetsbooks.com

NEW AGENT: Meet East/West Literary Agent Jim Averbeck

By Erin Dealey on October 7, 2024 / Editor / Agent Spotlight, For Writers

We are thrilled to welcome Jim Averbeck to the Agent Spotlight on The Mixed-up Files of Middle Grade Authors today. Jim Averbeck is NEW to agenting as of his September announcement, but definitely not to #kidlit. He is looking to represent picture book author/illustrators as well as middle grade and YA authors. The first client to join him was the NYT #1 bestselling, critically acclaimed author Ellen Hopkins. We are excited to hear all about his new venture with East/West Literary Agency.

Welcome Jim. Are you ready for some questions?

ED: Your #kidlit resume includes so many “chapters” –from award-winning author/illustrator/ middle grade author, SCBWI RA, to mentor and conference critiques and editorial feedback. How might these experiences influence your approach to agenting?

Jim Averbeck: Thank you for featuring me today. As a middle grade author, myself, I have always appreciated this blog.

ED Fun fact: Jim’s mg A HITCH AT THE FAIRMONT (Atheneum) is mentioned in a MUF post: https://fromthemixedupfiles.com/cope/

Jim Averbeck: As for your first question, I think the biggest influence on my agenting style will be the mentoring/editorial work I’ve done (and still do) with authors who want to make their manuscript the very best it can be.

I’ve had more than a dozen people thank me on social media for helping them polish their manuscript in a way that resulted in them selling their first book. They, and many others, have said they are grateful that I was able to see into the emotional heart of their stories and was able to identify the way to bring it to its best. So I hope to bring that ability to my clients.

ED: How important is the query letter?

Jim Averbeck: It’s an opportunity to give some insight into what is unique about your story and why you are uniquely suited to write it. But ultimately the work has to shine on its own.

ED: In addition to repping picture book author/illustrators, your E/W Literary announcement states: In middle grade, YA, and graphic novels, Averbeck is interested in science fiction, low or historical fantasy, and literary fiction with memorable, quirky protagonists and steadfast supporting characters who break stereotypes and tropes. Are there published examples that come to mind, or books that you wish you had agented?

Jim Averbeck: Great question! Here ’s a list of published books I like:

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The City We Became by NK Jemisin

The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Those books by Laini Taylor about the fierce little fairies (I was super-bummed they didn’t catch on so the series could continue) …

Anything by Neil Gaiman

Anything by Steve Sheinkin

Anything…you know what? How about I just take pictures of my bookcases. Most of what is on them survived the “cull” when I moved 3 years ago, so I probably like the books shown.

Click the photos for an Inside Look at what’s on Jim Averbeck’s shelves!

Jim Averbeck: As for my TBR pile, I just received a copy of Ellen Hopkins’ latest, SYNC, and can’t wait to dig in.

ED: Claudia, one of the main characters in E.L Konigsburg’s book Mixed Up Files… for which our group is named, is a stickler for grammar. Would you stop reading a submission if it has a few typos, grammatical errors, or misspelled words?

Jim Averbeck: Typos and misspelled words tell me the author is careless so maybe I’d stop if the work wasn’t immediately brilliant. Grammar could have been tossed in service to character or author voice so that probably wouldn’t stop me. That said, I really hate it when people can’t get lie vs lay straight! So much so that whenever anyone says “I’m going to lay down” I mentally add “my troubles” to stop from squirming uncomfortably.

ED: Do you plan to notify all who submit to you—both the yays and the nays?

Jim Averbeck: That’s the plan. It would be somewhat rude to leave people hanging. That said, my current system still has a few kinks so it might take a while before it is all running smoothly.

ED: What was your favorite book as a child? What’s on your TBR pile right now? (Besides manuscripts.)

Jim Averbeck: My favorite book as a child was Kathryn Jackson’s and Richard Scarry’s “365 Stories: One for Each Day of the Year” It’s had a number of titles over the years. I still have the same copy I had as a child – a very worn, very torn copy.

ED: Are you interested in being invited to writer’s conferences?

Jim Averbeck Yes.

ED: And now for the question all our readers have been waiting for: How should authors submit to you? Is there a link?

Jim Averbeck: Folks should go to jimaverbeck.com/agenting. There is a button there for submitting a query, as well as information on what to submit.

Endless Thanks to Jim Averbeck for letting us celebrate his new AGENT hat today.

Wishing you great success, Jim.

Let the querying begin!

Happy Birthday, Edward Stratemeyer!

By Julie K. Rubini on October 4, 2024 / Articles

Edward who?

If this thought came to mind, you are not alone.

He was a bit of a mystery man, as he didn’t seek the spotlight. But, what he accomplished in his lifetime still is important today.

To solve this mystery, let’s play like Nancy Drew, pull out our magnifying glass, and follow the clues.

Clue #1 Edward Stratemeyer was an author of many books for boys. 168 to be exact. Most of the books he wrote under his own name.

Some of them he wrote under another name, a pen name, or a pseudonym.

Clue #2 In 1905, at the age of 43, Edward formed the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Edward realized that he couldn’t keep up with the demand for his books and stories. So he created the Syndicate and started creating book outlines, and then hiring ghostwriters to flesh out the story. A ghostwriter sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it? But a ghostwriter is someone who writes a story or book under someone else’s name.

And, Stratemeyer Syndicate sounds like a big business. It was actually just two employees…Edward and his assistant, Harriet Otis Smith.

This is the Syndicate’s letterhead, which was used on official stationery in letters to writers.

Stratemeyer Syndicate - Edward Stratemeyer & the Stratemeyer ...

Clue #3 Edward created many famous series for young readers, including the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, and a series that featured a young, independent, and feisty sleuth.

Yep, Edward created the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, first published in 1930.

The Secret of the Old Clock, published April 28, 1930.

Clue #4 Birthdays were important to Edward Stratemeyer. According to Stratemeyer Syndicate expert James D. Keeline, Edward recognized the importance of these special days with his younger readers. Edward would often reference the birthdays of his young main characters. And, Edward would often gift books to family and friends on their birthdays.

So now that we’ve solved the mystery of Edward Stratemeyer, and in honor of his birthday (October 4, 1862), perhaps a book birthday gift is in order? Here’s a link to the first Nancy Drew Mystery Story, The Secret of the Old Clock. Or, if interested in learning more about the mysterious Edward Stratemeyer and one of his most prolific ghostwriters, Millie Benson, check out my biography here.

Happy birthday, Edward Stratemeyer, and Happy Reading!

To learn more about this amazing author, book packager, publisher, and giant in the world of children’s literature, visit Stratemeyer.org