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I’ll Take a Little Science with my Fiction, Please

By on May 15, 2015   /   Book Lists, Common Core & NGSS, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Teachers  

I have a confession. I’m a huge science geek!  That’s probably why I write nonfiction books– mostly about science and engineering.  But I also like to read  fiction, too.   Even though I tend towards high stake action- adventure, mystery, humorous, and even a little fanasty on occasion, I sometimes miss seeing the science in those books.

So I have to say that I have been delighted to see the trend of science creeping into fiction books lately.  Here are a few good ones that you might want to check out if you are into science, too. These books will surely help you “get your geek on”!

 

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
Believe in the possible . . . with this “warm, witty, and wise” novel from “New York Times” bestseller, three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer L. Holm
Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer.
Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far?
Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?
With a lighthearted touch and plenty of humor, Jennifer Holm celebrates the wonder of science and explores fascinating questions about life and death, family and friendship, immortality . . . and possibility.

 

 

Wake Up Missing  by Kate Messner

Four kids . . . Two weeks in the Florida Everglades . . . One top-secret science experiment that could change them “and “the world as they know it . . . Meet Quentin, a middle-school football star from Chicago; Sarah, a hockey player from Upstate New York; Ben, a horse lover from the Pacific Northwest; and Cat, an artistic bird watcher from California.The four have little in common except the head injuries that landed them in an elite brain-science center in the wild swamps of Florida. It’s known as the best clinic in the world and promises to return their lives to normal, but as days pass, the kids begin to notice strange side effects and unexplained changes.

 

Frank Einstein and the Anti- Motor Motor by Jon Scieszka 


Frank Einstein loves figuring out how the world works by creating household contraptions that are part science, part imagination, and definitely unusual. After an uneventful experiment in his garage-lab, a lightning storm and flash of electricity bring Frank’s inventions—the robots Klink and Klank—to life! Not exactly the ideal lab partners, the wisecracking Klink and the overly expressive Klank nonetheless help Frank attempt to perfect his Antimatter Motor . . . until Frank’s archnemesis, T. Edison, steals Klink and Klank for his evil doomsday plan! Using real science, Jon Scieszka has created a unique world of adventure and science fiction—an irresistible chemical reaction for middle-grade readers.

 Edison’s Gold by Geoff  Watson

Solving a centuries-old family mystery is Tom Edison’s only hope to stop his family from moving to Kansas. His famous name­sake and great-great-grandfather, Thomas Edison, had discovered the secret formula for changing metal into gold, and now Tom and his friends are on a whirlwind adventure to find the key to this monumental discovery. But can the three friends uncover Edison’s secret formula in time and escape the clutches of an evil billionaire?

Full of gadgetry, historical rivalries, secret societies, and bad guys galore, Geoff Watson’s Edison’s Gold is a thrilling adventure for middle-grade readers.

 

 

E ye of the Storm by Kate Messner

In the not-too-distant future, huge tornadoes and monster storms have become a part of everyday life. Sent to spend the summer in the heart of storm country with her meteorological engineer father, Jaden Meggs is surprised at the strides her father’s company StormSafe, has made with custom shelters that keep her family safe in even the worst of storms. At her exclusive summer science camp, Eye On Tomorrow, Jaden meets Alex, a boy whose passion for science matches hers. Together, they discover that her father’s company is steering storms away from the expensive neighborhoods and toward the organic farming communities that are in competition with his bio-engineered food company, NatureMade. Jaden must confront her father, but when she does, she uncovers a terrifying family secret and must call on both her scientific knowledge and her faith to save the people she loves most from one of her father’s monster storms.

Brendan Buckley’s 6th grade Experment by  Sundee T. Fraizer

Brendan Buckley is headed to middle school on a whole new adventure. When his alternative energy idea gets him paired with new girl Morgan Belcher for the national science competition, Brendan is skeptical. But their partnership clicks, and they embark on a methane-producing experiment involving bottles, balloons, and the freshest cow manure they can find.
As Brendan spends more time on the experiment, he has a lot of big questions: Does his police detective dad really think he’s a science-nerd whimp? Will he and Khalfani, his best friend and Tae Kwon Do sparring partner, remain best friends? And can Brendan prove that his scientific pursuits really “could” be world-changing?

 

 The Secret Chicken Society by  Judy Cox

When Daniel’s class hatches chicks as a science project, he adopts them. When he finds out that his favorite bird, Peepers, isn’t a hen but a rooster, and therefore illegal to keep in the city of Portland, the Secret Chicken Societyis quickly formed to save Peepers. This warmhearted chapter book about an environmentally-conscious family will provide plenty of clucks and lots of chuckles for young readers.

download (25)The Contagious Colors of Mumpley Middle School by Fowler Dewitt

Wilmer has always known that the greatest science comes from the keenest observations. So when he observes his classmates looking a little green…and orange…and chartreuse-fuchsia polka-dotted…he knows that it’s up to him to find the cause of this mysterious illness—and its cure.

But with his arch nemesis, Claudius Dill, hot on his heels; the eagle-eyed biology teacher, Mrs. Padgett, determined to thwart his plans; and a host of fluorescent classmates bouncing off the walls at increasingly dangerous speeds, can Wilmer prove he has what it takes to save the sixth grade from a colorful demise before it’s too late?

If you know of any more “science-y” middle grade fiction books, please feel free to share below. I’m sure all of us science lovers out there would be thrilled to add them to our “to be read” list!

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40891_1381959640245_1569575144_30796630_633978_nJennifer Swanson is a  self-professed science geek and the author of over 20 nonfiction books for kids. You can find her at her website at www.JenniferSwansonBooks.com

 

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The Neptune Challenge (and some thoughts on dreams)

By on May 14, 2015   /   Author Interviews, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, Giveaways, Writing  

Polly Holyoke’s exciting new novel, The Neptune Challenge, is a sequel to her award-winning Neptune Project. Indiebound says:

“Genetically engineered to survive in the ocean, Nere and her friends are recovering from their treacherous journey to Safety Harbor, an undersea refuge founded by the scientists of the Neptune Project. But plenty of enemies prowl just outside the colony’s boundaries, and when two of the children are kidnapped, Nere, her loyal dolphins, and the other Neptune kids must set out on an expedition even more perilous than their first.”

neptune challengePolly stopped by the MUF to share some of her thoughts about writing and daydreaming:

On the Importance of Daydreaming

There’s no question about it. Daydreaming is an under-valued occupation in today’s society.

Look at how we treat our best daydreamers: our children. We over-schedule them with sports and after school activities and give them electronic gadgets that captivate their brains by the hour.  Worst of all, we chastise kids for daydreaming when we should be rewarding them for staring out the window and letting their minds wander. Chances are, the dreamy student in the back of the class is the person who someday may find the cure for cancer, or a new equation that will help us travel to the stars, or invent a formula that revolutionizes battery technology. If only we could encourage that child to daydream more.

Since I was fortunate enough to make the state reading list down here in Texas last year, I’ve visited EIGHTY different campuses and seen thousands and thousands of children. My Neptune books are about genetically altered teens struggling to survive in the sea. I’m amazed that kids in third to eighth grades rarely ever question the wild premise of my stories. Instead of asking skeptical questions, students stare rapt at the blow ups of my book covers that depict kids their age talking to dolphins and swimming through the ocean. They ask, what is it like to be pulled by a dolphin? Have I ever fired a spear gun myself? What does it feel like to breathe water?

Middle graders accept the impossible and the improbable, and they will happily join a writer on a journey into impossible worlds with improbable premises, as long as writers take the time to make that world rich and exciting and full of detail.  Young people’s minds are so open to daydreaming and new ideas. It is our job as writers, educators, and parents to keep providing our kids with books that fire their imaginations.

Daydreaming is natural as finding dragons and castles in clouds, but it is also a mental ability that one can hone with practice. I’ve been daydreaming ever since I was little (which does not, by the way, improve my driving skills). But I was lucky enough to live in a family and attend schools where writing and daydreaming were encouraged.  We need to schedule our children’s days at school and at home so they can daydream. I’m afraid if our kids don’t slow down and unplug, they will forget this vital skill that can benefit our entire society.

Now, I’m going to follow my own advice. I’m going to unplug from my computer, watch some clouds, and let my mind wander. Who knows what new story ideas may occur to me today!

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Thanks so much, Polly! To enter a giveaway for a signed copy of her new book, plus a dolphin bookmark/necklace, please leave a comment below.

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Why doing research no longer scares me

By on May 13, 2015   /   Book Lists  

Image 4Research. This word used to scare me. In fact, there was a time when I thought research was only something that non-fiction or historical fiction authors had to do—an arduous process involving hours spent in musty stacks, chasing down obscure citations. At writing conferences when there was a session on research, I would make sure to steer clear of this sort of workshop. Perhaps my fear came from deep seeded trauma over writing up my bibliographies for research reports in school. Yet over the years, I have come to learn to love research and it has become an important part of my writing process.

When I was writing a chapter book series that involved a character playing soccer, I tracked down a soccer coach and had him (very patiently) explain what “off-sides” meant and the difference between full-back and half-back. I needed to do this because I had never watched a soccer game (she blushes to admit this) and, of course, I needed to understand more than the basics in order to write about it. At the time, my oldest child was only 18 months and I hadn’t yet signed him up for soccer. Little did I know that a few years later, I would have three sons in soccer and two of them in travelling soccer. So yes, now someone could interview me about soccer. Okay, that might be a stretch. But I could be interviewed on what it is like to be a soccer mom!

For my first middle grade novel, Things Are Gonna Get Ugly, I attended a middle school dance. Sure, I had been to middle school dances, but had been decades ago. I wanted to see how they felt now. Honestly, except for the music, it was all the same. Sixth grade boys wrestling and chasing each other across the dance floor as if they were on a school playing field. Clumps of girls dancing together and only a few couples who actually were slow dancing. Yes, going to the dance helped me to re-remember what it was like.

When I was writing The Hot List, I visited middle school bathrooms. Why? Well, because the middle school bathroom is a key setting in that book, and once again I wanted to get it right. My forthcoming middle grade, Queen of Likes, is set in Portland, and I had fun, using the Internet to armchair travel. Although I’ve been to Portland a few times, it was through Internet searches that I discovered and Voodoo Doughnut and I just knew that my character had to eat their signature Voodoo Doll doughnut. My main character also ends up doing community service at a historical society. Naturally, I decided to spend some time at my local historical society in order to learn more about it. Suddenly, I was learning about ephemera boxes, Sanborne maps and the importance of archival boxes. I was learning right along with my character! I loved visiting the historical society so much that I think I might even attempt some historical fiction in the future.

Right now I’m working on a science fantasy novel, and while I’m not obviously able to take a space ship to another galaxy, I am researching Polar nights and electricity as they come into play in some way in my imagined world.

So, yes, I am now a huge fan of research. Whether it be interviewing someone, armchair traveling or pawing through a box of ephemera. In fact, I like it so much I have to nudge myself and say, Hillary, it’s time to stop researching and to start writing!

Hillary Homzie is the author of the forthcoming Queen of Likes (Simon & Schuster MIX 2016), The Hot List (Simon & Schuster MIX 2011) and Things Are Gonna Be Ugly (Simon & Schuster, 2009). She can be found at hillaryhomzie.com and on her Facebook page.

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