Book Lists

Historical Fiction: A century of characters you ought to know

By Linda Johns on August 12, 2016 / Book Lists, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers

Sure, historical fiction has the power to transport you to a different era, immerse you in a new situation and maybe teach you a lesson along the way. But that’s probably not how middle grade readers describe why they like certain books. Most likely, they’ll talk about the characters, and maybe about the setting, and most certainly slip in some insights about how things were different — and how feelings were very much the same as now — so long ago. When historical middle grade is at its best, readers connect and can imagine themselves in that world, in that situation.

Looking back to the last century, here are 10 books — one set in each decade — to fuel that imagination and ground compassion.

1900s: When Audrey Met Alice by Rebecca Behrens
1910s: Audacity Jones to the Rescue by Kirby Larson
1920s: Written in Stone by Rosanne Parry
1930s: Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
1940s: The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
1950s: Unstoppable Octabia May by Sharon Flake
1960s: A Night Divided by Jennifer A.Nielsen
1970s: It Ain’t So Awful Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
1980s: A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story by Linda Sue Park
1990s: The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern

What are your favorite middle grade novels set in 20th century decades? It would be wonderful to get your ideas in the comments, and have this as a resource for teachers, librarians, and parents — and the middle grade readers in our lives.

Faster – Higher – Stronger: Books Celebrating the Olympics!

By Andrea Pyros on August 10, 2016 / Book Lists

If your middle schooler has caught Olympic fever, they’ll want to check out these reading materials that provide a history of the games, the science of the hottest summer sports and an in-depth look at some of the most famous athletes of all time.

The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation): The True Story of an American Team’s Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown
An adaptation of the well-reviewed adult title, this is the true story of an inspiring American crew team and their quest to win at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

What Are the Summer Olympics? by Gail Herman

A brief history lesson on the Olympics, from their start in Ancient Greece to their current modern incarnation.

Science of the Summer Olympics by Lisa J. Amstutz, Christine Peterson

In this four-volume set, readers will discover the science behind swimming and diving; track and field; soccer, volleyball and cycling; and gymnastics.

PEOPLE Olympics 2016: The Best of the Games: Gold and Glory
Think of this as a fanzine of all the top athletes competing in the games.

GreatMoments

Great Moments in the Summer Olympics by Matt Christopher

Sports fans will find these incredible stories of athletes like Jesse Owens, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Mary Lou Retton thrilling. A well-written account by veteran sportswriter Matt Christopher.

Sports Illustrated Kids
For a full year of sports-related news, get them a subscription to SI KIds and they’ll always be up on the latest scoop.

Andrea Pyros is the author of My Year of Epic Rock, a middle grade novel about friends, crushes, food allergies, and a rock band named The EpiPens.

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the National Parks with an Interview with Award-winning Author Mary Kay Carson– and a giveaway!

By Jennifer Swanson on August 8, 2016 / Book Lists

Happy 100th Birthday National Parks!!

What better way to celebrate the anniversary of our nation’s greatest natural attraction than with Mary Kay Carson, a children’s author who gave us a peek into the United States’ very own backyard playground in her book:

Park Scientists: Gila Monsters, Geysers, and Grizzly Bears in America’s Own Backyard

BIO BLURB:

Mary Kay Carson is an author of over 50 nonfiction books for young people. Her books include a number of titles in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s award-winning Scientists in the Field series, including The Park Scientists, a 2015 Ohioana Book Award Finalist and The Bat Scientists, an ALA’s 2011 Notable Children’s Books for Middle Readers. Her book Exploring the Solar System was the 2009 recipient of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Children’s Literature Award and the State Library of Ohio selected Beyond the Solar System as a Choose to Read Ohio book for 2015 & 2016. The author lives in Cincinnati with her photographer husband Tom Uhlman and their dog Ruby in a century-old house surrounded by urban green space, deer, hawks, woodchucks, and songbirds.

Thanks for joining us, Mary Kay. We have some great questions for you about your books, your love of SCIENCE, and how you research and write amazing books like the Park Scientists.

Why do you like writing books about science?

I hadn’t really planned on writing for young people, but I landed a much-needed job writing news and feature articles for a science magazine at Scholastic for 4-6th graders called SuperScience. Within the first few months on the job I’d interviewed scientists, written and sketched out a 4-paneled carton that explained center of mass, helped choose photos to accompany a feature article, traveled to a school to interview kids measuring champion trees, come up with story ideas, and assisted the hands-on activities editor in tinkering with experiments set up in the hallway. What can compete with that? Plus kids love science. It taps into their natural wonder of the world around them.

Do you have a favorite memory of first studying science? A teacher who inspired you?

I do have a vivid memory of doing that classic surface tension demonstration with pepper and soap in Mrs. Dockery’s fourth grade class. Seeing the floating pepper magically scoot away from the bar of soap made a real impression on me! I took a number of very well taught biology classes in high school and also attended a year of special vocational high school at the Cincinnati Zoo, too.

You work on the award-winning Scientists in the Field Series by Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt. Can you tell us a little bit about how you select your topic? Do you get to pick it yourself? Do you have to approach the researcher yourself, too?

Yes, yes, and yes! It’s a long-running series, but each title is individually acquired. I choose topics that interest me and have not yet been covered in the series. Then I find a researcher (or research group) willing to participate, write up a proposal, submit it, and hope for the best! It’s a limited series—one or two titles are released twice a year—so it’s pretty competitive and often there’s a long lag time between contract and publication.

Who takes the fabulous photographs for your books? Do you work together to figure out the book’s layout?

For my books in the Scientists in the Field series, Tom Uhlman (http://tomuhlmanphoto.com) is the ace photographer. These are very photo-driven books, each featuring original photography so the photographer and photo resources are part of the submission pitch and acquisition terms. Tom has photographed six SITF books, but ours are the best! (We’re married, full disclosure.) Graphic design and layout is handled by the publisher, though they’re pretty open to our input and vision for the book. And all the photos submitted are coded into the manuscript so the designers know their appropriate placement.

How is each actual research trip? Can you give us examples of what you get to do on the trip?

It can take a lot of logistical planning, but once Tom and I are actually in the presence of the researcher we usually just tag along as she or he does what she or he does. For the Park Scientists book this included a Gila monster tracking trip—hiking through the desert with radio telemetry equipment listening to beeps; seeing how citizen scientists measure giant saguaro cacti in the field; tagging along as Yellowstone’s geologists measure temperatures and gases coming out of a hydrothermal vent; and camping in Great Smoky Mountains with a scientist collecting the tips of red-cheeked salamanders.

Do you have a funny or even scary story that happened to you on one of your trips that you can relate?

Absolutely! A funny one is when we were working on the Inside Biosphere 2 book out in Arizona. Biosphere 2 is a huge place. There’s three acres of forest, savannah, ocean, and desert under the greenhouse structure and an entire subterainean support structure underneath it all where all the HVAC and water systems clean, create, and shuttle “weather” to the various ecosystems above. It’s real maze down in this so-called Technosphere and an easy place to get lost, which we did. It’s connected to the ecosystem by mostly hidden doorways that lead to narrow identical metal spiral staircases. We were supposed to be meeting a scientist on the opposite side of the ocean, but kept popping up staircases in the wrong ecosystems!

Do you have a favorite of your SITF books?

Emi and the Rhino Scientist holds an honored place in the my heart. It was the first SITF book I wrote. It was plucked from the slush pile and featured a scientist at the Cincinnati Zoo, where I’ve known people for decades. Plus Emi was a very special rhino, curious and friendly, patient and a terrific mom. She’s since passed away and her species is more endangered now (perhaps 100 left on the planet) than when we wrote the book ten years ago, so it’s meaningful to me on many levels.

Can you tell us about the new SITF book you are working on?

Mission to Pluto will be released later this year. It’s about New Horizons, the first spacecraft to visit the Kuiper Belt and Pluto. We got to go back east for the Pluto flyby event last July, which was super exciting! It’s finished though, so can’t really say we’re working on it. Tom Uhlman and I just signed on to do a Tornado Scientist book about a researcher studying tornadoes in the southern US. We did a bit of storm chasing this spring, but will really gear up for next season’s storms. Watch out!

This is the 100th year celebration of the National Parks. Are you planning or participating in any activities for that?

Tom Uhlman and I were lucky enough to be invited to the Tucson Festival of books this year where we spoke at their 100 Years of National Parks tent about Park Scientists. The two scientists featured in the Saguaro National park chapters kindly agreed to speak as well, and brought along a live Gila monster!

The local NPR station here in Cincinnati has a terrific Saturday morning radio program called The Book Club @91.7 which I was interviewed for in connection with the Cenntenial, too. You can hear it here: http://wvxu.org/post/mary-kay-carson-park-scientists

Prize TIME!

Mary Kay has generously donated a signed copy of her Park Scientists book to one lucky winner. To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us why you think the National Park system is so important.

And to learn more about Mary Kay and all her other amazing books, please go to www.marykaycarson.com.

Book Lists

Historical Fiction: A century of characters you ought to know

Like this:

Faster – Higher – Stronger: Books Celebrating the Olympics!

Like this:

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the National Parks with an Interview with Award-winning Author Mary Kay Carson– and a giveaway!

Why do you like writing books about science?

Do you have a favorite memory of first studying science? A teacher who inspired you?

You work on the award-winning Scientists in the Field Series by Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt. Can you tell us a little bit about how you select your topic? Do you get to pick it yourself? Do you have to approach the researcher yourself, too?

Who takes the fabulous photographs for your books? Do you work together to figure out the book’s layout?

How is each actual research trip? Can you give us examples of what you get to do on the trip?

Do you have a funny or even scary story that happened to you on one of your trips that you can relate?

Do you have a favorite of your SITF books?

Can you tell us about the new SITF book you are working on?

This is the 100th year celebration of the National Parks. Are you planning or participating in any activities for that?

Prize TIME!

Like this:

Giveaways!

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Book Lists

Historical Fiction: A century of characters you ought to know

Share this:

Like this:

Faster – Higher – Stronger: Books Celebrating the Olympics!

Share this:

Like this:

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the National Parks with an Interview with Award-winning Author Mary Kay Carson– and a giveaway!

Why do you like writing books about science?

Do you have a favorite memory of first studying science? A teacher who inspired you?

You work on the award-winning Scientists in the Field Series by Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt. Can you tell us a little bit about how you select your topic? Do you get to pick it yourself? Do you have to approach the researcher yourself, too?

Who takes the fabulous photographs for your books? Do you work together to figure out the book’s layout?

How is each actual research trip? Can you give us examples of what you get to do on the trip?

Do you have a funny or even scary story that happened to you on one of your trips that you can relate?

Do you have a favorite of your SITF books?

Can you tell us about the new SITF book you are working on?

This is the 100th year celebration of the National Parks. Are you planning or participating in any activities for that?

Prize TIME!

Share this:

Like this:

Giveaways!

Login

Mission Statement