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Be Curious and Pass it On — Science ROCKS!

By on September 18, 2026   /   Articles, STEM   /   Leave a comment

I recently gave a speech on the importance of science education in schools. Unfortunately, studies are showing that in many elementary schools, students are getting 20 minutes of science instruction per day. For some, it might be closer to 20-30 minutes per week. To me, that seems sad. It’s important that we take the time now to understand why this is happening and figure out how we can fix this disturbing trend.

In my TEDx talk, Science is for Everyone. Even YOU!, I offer suggestions for how we can help kids to be excited about science. There are ways that we as adults can support kid’s interest in science as well as the teachers who teach science in the classroom and homeschool.

 

I realize that not everyone loves science as much as I do.  Ever since I started a science club in my garage when I was 7 years old, I have been been hooked! For me, science is how I view the world. But of course, not everyone sees science in that way.

 

Science shouldn’t be intimidating, it should be FUN! At one time, practically every kid was a scientist and asked lots of questions about how things work. The key to all of this is CURIOSITY and AWARENESS.

Let’s talk Curiosity!

  1. Notice the Science all Around You– One way to get kids curious is to encourage them to notice the science that is all around them all the time. Ask kids to look around the room, outside, or wherever they are and name 5 things that come from science. They could be grass, trees, a table, a computer… whatever. When you help kids to become aware of science and the fact that it’s in everything they do, it becomes less scary.
  2.  Fun FACTS! — Most kids LOVE fun facts! I know I do. I guess all of those years watching the Jeopardy show when I was growing up and also having my kids made me really excited to learn obscure and intriguing facts. Try to play that up with your kids, or your grown-up friends, too.

Why are facts so great?

They engage curiosity. A great fun fact can start a discussion. Get kids to ask questions. And promote family interaction. In the age where screen time is ever-increasing, being able to sit down and chat about something cool is a great way to promote family time. Or get kids to read books to discover how things work and why stuff happens. Ever wonder why developing video games is important for space exploration? Check out the Atlas Obscura’s Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World 

Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide to Inventing the World

They provide mini-learning moments. When you are reading something, a fun fact can make you stop and think. It can spur you on to do your own research. It can help you to learn more about something that you maybe didn’t even know you were interested in. These learning moments can take place anywhere at anytime. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been watching television and learned something new from a show that I just had to stop and look up. Learning keeps those brain cells working and energized.

 

They help expand your vocabulary. Some fun facts come about because you aren’t familiar with the topic. Maybe you hear a word that you don’t understand. Or perhaps you hear it used in a way that seems strange to you . Doing the research by looking things up, allows you to not only increase your understanding of the topic, but also to learn new words, new ideas, and gives you a new perspective on the topic. Check out this book below. This book, Actual Factual Files: Ancient Egypt by Workman Publishing is filled with new vocabulary words.

 

Pharoah from Actual Factual Files

They increase critical thinking skills. This is probably one of the most important benefits of curiosity. Being curious can cause you to think about what you just learned.  You might consider the fact. Is it right? Is it a little off? Does it challenge your beliefs? All of these are parts of critical thinking which is incredibly important skill for how we navigate life!

 

Awareness is Key!

Becoming aware of science and how we interact with it on a daily basis is a great way to open up a discussion about science. It encourages people to not be afraid of it, or intimidated, but to ask questions and learn more. If we, as adults, become aware of science and point it out to our children, and each other, then it will become a natural part of our lives.

We don’t need more information about how to teach science, we just need more awareness. Do you cook? That’s chemistry. Drive a car? That’s physics and engineering. Like to go on hikes? That’s environmental, biological, and meteorology. Those are only a few types of science that you will encounter in these activities.  Want to learn about the night sky? Check out this Actual Factual Files: Outer Space book by Workman Publishing

Big Dipper in the Actual Factual Files book

Encourage everyone to be a scientist in their own right and see the world around them. For once we see ourselves as scientists, we will see how important science is. After all, science is our shared language for understanding the world.

 

These books, Actual Factual Files: Ancient Egypt and Actual Factual Files: Outer Space  and the Atlas Obscura’s Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World  by Workman Publishing are excellent resources for awesome fun facts! I think they are really fun and kids love them!

So BE CURIOUS! Encourage AWARENESS! and remember Science ROCKS!

Check out my SCIENCE ROCKS APP for your iPhone and Samsung products!!

Apple App Store   

App Google play 

Jennifer Swanson is the award-winning author of over 50 STEM/STEAM books for kids. She is the creator of the STEM Tuesday blog, STEAMTeamBooks promo group, and the creator and cohost of the Solve It! Science Podcast for Kids. You can find her at www.jenniferwansonbooks.com 

 

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‘Moneyball’ author Michael Lewis’s MasterClass hits home run with Middle Grade craft

By on September 16, 2026   /   Articles, books, For Writers, From the Classroom, Writing   /   Leave a comment

By Faran Fagen

I recently showed a MasterClass to my students from Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball and The Blind Side (both made into popular movies).

As the video rolled, I was reminded of how profound his writing advice is and realized a lot of his advice could apply to middle grade novels.

Here are some of the highlights of his master class and how they apply to our craft:

Lewis focuses on finding your voice, developing an idea, creating characters, structuring a narrative, hooking the audience, simplifying complexity, and crafting strong beginnings and endings. Sounds familiar?

Lewis’s central question is essentially: What is the story here?

He’s especially good at taking subjects that sound complicated or dull—finance, statistics, economics—and finding the surprising human story inside them. His MasterClass specifically teaches how to “make anything interesting.”

One of my favorite Middle Grade writers is Donna Gephart, and she’s an expert on making ordinary things interesting, such as toilet paper or a trivia contest. The same can be said of Nicole Melleby or Jason Reynolds, who bases one book on a thrilling elevator ride in Long Way Down.

Lewis emphasizes character and uses real people in his own books as the engines of his narratives. MasterClass’s description of the course specifically includes developing characters and building a story around them.

Some of the questions Lewis poses: Who wants something badly? Why can’t they have it? What are they afraid will happen? What terrible choice might they make? What will they learn about themselves?

Lewis teaches the importance of hooking an audience and controlling the story from beginning to end. A middle-grade reader doesn’t need constant explosions. They need questions people care about.

One of Lewis’s strengths is relating to the reader. That’s particularly useful for MG writers. You can have sophisticated ideas in a middle-grade novel—grief, inequality, family divorce, identity, friendship, injustice—but the storytelling needs to remain accessible.

Extending Lewis’s message, you want your middle grade reader to understand what the character wants, what stands in the way, and why it matters.

He also said don’t be afraid of the messy first draft. Draft first. Diagnose later. Don’t stop Chapter 7 because Chapter 3 isn’t perfect.

For MG (or any genre really), every chapter should create some version of: pacing, character motivation, missing scenes, exposition, chapter endings, voice during revision.

The Michael Lewis formula I’d give an MG writer:

My Child:
Who is the protagonist?

They want:
What does the protagonist desperately want?

But:
What’s stopping them?

Because:
Why does this matter so much?

Then:
What unexpected thing happens?

So:
What does the protagonist do about it?

Which makes:
How does that decision make things worse?

Until:
What’s the biggest crisis?

Finally:
What choice does the protagonist make?

And afterward:
How has the protagonist changed?

That gets very close to the practical heart of Lewis’s approach: find the compelling human story, build it around memorable characters, create momentum, simplify the complicated parts, and make the reader care what happens next. Happy writing!

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Author Spotlight: Guy Bass

By on September 11, 2026   /   Articles, Author Interviews   /   Leave a comment
Headshot for Guy Bass, author

In today’s author spotlight, Landra Jennings chats with Guy Bass about his newest chapter book, Scrap, illustrated by Alessia Trunfio, and published by Pengiun Random House on 9/1/26, just in time for back to school. Available now!

Cover of SCRAP by Guy Bass, robot with bright light behind it

The first in an original and entertaining sci-fi series for middle school readers from the award-winning author Guy Bass. For fans of the worldbuilding in WALL-E and the themes in The Wild Robot!

The year was Something Something. Humans had spread like peanut butter across the galaxy, looking for new planets to call Somewhere… One of those planets was Somewhere Five One Three.

When the humans arrive on Somewhere 513, they discover that the robots sent to prepare the planet for humanity’s arrival have chosen to keep it for themselves. Only one robot remains loyal: K1-NG, aka King of the Robots. But even with the most powerful robot on their side, the outlawed humans don’t stand a chance.

Ten years later, Gnat and her sister Paige are the only humans left and have spent their lives hidden underground. Now they must venture out in search of the one robot that stood by the humans. There’s just one problem—the once mighty K1-NG has vowed to never help another human for as long as he lives…

 

Interview with Guy Bass

LJ: I’m excited to dig into SCRAP. The interplay between human and machine intelligences has never been more timely. And this one promises to add a lot of adventure to the mix! Where did you get the initial inspiration to write this novel?

GB: I was reading about the export of waste, and the vast piles that have built up all over the world. An image popped into my head of a rusty robot sitting on a pile of discarded robot bodies, each more impressive than the one he was occupying. It’s more or less the image on the cover. I liked the idea of a robot city whose citizens had become vainly obsessed with self-improvement. With enough currency (charge) they could upgrade their bodies – their cases – and then discard the ones they no longer wanted.

I knew Scrap had to start out at the lowest point possible. When he was brought online, he was the most powerful robot ever made but ended up downgraded to the rustiest, crummiest case on the planet. He’s spent years on a pile of parts, angry and bitter and resentful but at the beginning of the book he’s just starting to accept his fate … then the last humans on the planet show up and throw his life into chaos.

C3-PO and R2-D2, Star Wars

LJ: What makes you uniquely qualified to tell this story?

GB: Nothing, except that I told it! My obsession with robots is definitely not unique; a nerdy corner of my generation were co-parented by Transformers, R2-D2 and C3-PO, Machine Man, Robotman, K-9, Johnny 5, Twiki, Zax…

The Unique Twists of Scrap

LJ: How does this title differ from some of your other stories?

GB: Scrap is aimed at a slightly older readership than I generally write for so the stakes are higher, the drama is more intense and the consequences of character’s actions are more significant and far-reaching. The book is also two or three times longer than my usual, so it took me a while to appreciate how much more breathing space I had in terms of world-building and the characters’ inner monologues.

LJ: Did you ever find your characters acting in ways that even you hadn’t predicted?

GB. Absolutely, especially Paige, who’s wildly protective of her little sister. I didn’t imagine her being quite so hard-nosed and intense but the minute she and Gnat were out in the world with nothing but their quest to find the King of the Robots, I found she was unpredictable. I wanted her to warm to Scrap but she was so single-minded and suspicious I wasn’t sure it was going to happen.

LJ: It must have been exciting to see your characters and situations come to life through Alessia’s illustrations. Did you have a particular scene that you liked best?

GB: I’m a huge fan of Alessia’s work. There’s a section in the book where Scrap is trying to get his old body back. He’s convinced it’s being occupied by another ‘bot and takes him on in a gladiatorial arena. Alessia captures the moment perfectly, from Scrap’s determination to the sheer size of the task (and robot) as well as the raucous atmosphere of the ‘Bot Bout stadium.

Finding the Fun

LJ: What do you hope readers take away from this novel?

GB: I hope they enjoy it! Beyond that, I’m hoping not to hope too much. I’m trying to teach myself – badly! – not to anticipate the reader’s reaction – not to obsess too much as I write about what they might think or how I want them to feel. I keep trying to tell myself that while I write, it’s mine. And I should enjoy that because as soon as it’s finished, I have to leave that world and those characters behind and the story belongs to whoever reads it.

LJ: What’s your favorite thing about being a writer and storyteller?

GB: Doing something for my job that I did for fun. I spent my childhood making up stories with my brother and we never thought about sharing them with anyone else. It was enough that we made them. The doing of it – the making of it – was the whole point. I still can’t believe that somebody might entertain the idea of turning one of my stories into a book, and then a bunch of people might actually want to read it.

Looking Ahead

LJ: Is there anything else you’d like us to know? Do you want to share anything about other upcoming projects?

GB: Look for the Stitch Head graphic novels – full-color comic book adaptations of the original novels with artwork by the brilliant series illustrator, Pete Williamson. The Ghost of Grotteskew is the third in the series and it might be my favorite.Stitch Head book cover

However, I can’t possibly suggest that you track down The Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen. It’s a collection of short horror stories with incredible illustrations by David Roberts. But, once you read it, you’ll know about the Sideways Doors and the World Behind the World. Once you’ve read it, it can’t be unread. You have been warned.

 

Because no MUF interview is complete without a…

Lightning Round

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee. I’m more coffee than man these days.

Sunrise or Sunset?

Sunset.

Favorite City (besides the one you live in)?

Tokyo.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor?

Cheesecake.

Favorite Book From Childhood:

George’s Marvellous Medicine.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? 

The power to be wittier in interviews? No wait, flight! But not the flight power I have in my dreams, where if I go too high I get nervous and start to sink back down to earth. Sheesh.

 

LJ: This illustrated chapter book sounds like the start to a series perfect for reluctant readers. Thank you so much for being with us today, Guy!

About the Author and Illustrator

Guy Bass is an award-winning author whose children’s books series include Stitch Head, SCRAP, Skeleton Keys, Spynosaur and lots of books that don’t begin with ‘S’ like Dinkin Dings, Anna Gain, Laura Norder and Noah Scape. In 2010, Dinkin Dings and the Frightening Things won the Blue Peter Award for Most Fun Book with Pictures.

He’s also written plays for both adults and children. He’s previously been a theatre producer, illustrator, temp, gerbil whisperer and has acted his way out of several paper bags. He spent his childhood reading comics and hoping one day to become a superhero. He spends his adulthood in more or less the same way. He lives in London with his wife and imaginary friends.  

Alessia Trunfio was born in southern Italy in 1990 but grew up in Rome, where she still lives. She has wanted to be an illustrator since she was a child but she hasn’t excluded the possibility of becoming an astronaut.

After graduating in 2013 with an Animation Degree from the International School of Comics in Rome, Alessia has worked as background artist for some of the most important animation studios in Italy. She currently works as a freelance artist on various animation and illustration projects. Fundamentally passionate about cinema, anime, literature, indie music, and fried food, Alessia is an eclectic, energetic, and inexhaustible illustrator. She uses digital techniques for her art, which is constantly evolving. Powerful colors, lighting, and everything that can move her, like a beautiful soundtrack or a good book, inspires her work.

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