STEM Tuesday

STEM Tuesday–A Partridge in a Pear Tree and other Birds this Holiday Season– Book List

By on December 3, 2019   /   Birds, STEM Tuesday  

 

Happy December! We’ve decided to have fun with the holiday song featuring a partridge in a pear tree and highlight some of our favorite middle-grade STEM titles about birds. Take a “gander” at these books for the budding ornithologists in your classroom.

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgKakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop

The last remaining Kakapo parrots live on a remote island off the coast of New Zealand. Explore recovery efforts in this Scientists in the Field title by noted author Sy Montgomery.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Beauty and the Beak: How Science, Technology, and a 3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp

Discover the uplifting story of how one bald eagle was treated with a 3D-printed prosthetic beak after a devastating shooting.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgMoonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95  and  The Race to Save The Lord God Bird both Phillip Hoose

These two titles from a National Book Award-winning author tell the stories of two fascinating birds. Moonbird is a banded bird, who has flown the equivalent mileage of flying to the moon and halfway back. In The Race to Save The Lord God Bird Hoose recounts the dramatic story of the ivory-billed woodpecker.

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Snowy Owl Invasion!: Tracking on Unusual Migration by Sandra Markle

If you found Moonbird fascinating, this title will also keep you turning the page. Markle’s book describes the unusual sightings of snowy owls during 2013 and the reasons they were found outside of their native Arctic home.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World’s Brightest Bird by Pamela Turner, photographs by Andy Comins, with art by Guido de Filipppo

If you think that the term “bird brain” is an insult, think again. Turner investigates the intelligence of crows in this Scientist in the Field title. Readers will never look at a crow in the same way again.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org I Love Birds: 52 Ways to Wonder, Wander, and Explore Birds with Kids by Jennifer Ward , illustrations by Alexander Vidal

Ward offers some great activities for young birders in this early middle grade.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Owling: Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of Night by Mark Wilson

While we’re sleeping the night is alive with creatures, including owls. Wilson brings the night alive in this book about these nighttime predators.

 

 

Like Phillip Hoose, Sneed B. Collard III is an author who returns to the subject of birds again and again. Check out these three titles:

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Fire Birds: Valuing Natural Wildfires and Burned Forests

Natural forest fires impact many human and animal species, including birds. Sneed reveals the complex relationships between fire and thriving plant and animal communities.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Warblers and Woodpeckkers: A Father-Son Big Year of Birding

Discover Collard’s birding expeditions with his 13-year old son. A wonderful book about a passion for birding and a parent-child bonding experience.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Woodpeckers: Drilling Holes and Bagging Bugs

It’s always a treat to watch a woodpecker pound a tree with its beak to reach a tasty meal, but how do they do it without getting brain damage or harming their beak? Collard delves into the world of woodpeckers in this book.

 

STEM Tuesday book lists prepared by

Nancy Castaldo has written books about our planet for over 20 years including, THE STORY OF SEEDS, which earned the Green Earth Book Award, Junior Library Guild Selection, and other honors. Nancy’s research has taken her all over the world from the Galapagos to Russia.  She strives to inform, inspire, and empower her readers. Nancy also serves as the Regional Advisor of the Eastern NY SCBWI region. Her 2018 multi-starred title is BACK FROM THE BRINK: Saving Animals from Extinction. Visit her at www.nancycastaldo.com. 

Patricia Newman writes middle-grade nonfiction that empowers young readers to act on behalf of the environment and their communities. A Sibert Honoree for Sea Otter Heroes, Newman has also received an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book Award for Eavesdropping on Elephants, and a Green Earth Book Award for Plastic, Ahoy! Her books have also received starred reviews, been honored as Junior Library Guild Selections, and included on Bank Street College’s Best Books lists. During author visits, she demonstrates how young readers can use writing to be the voice of change. Visit her at www.patriciamnewman.com.

 

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STEM Tuesday– CSI – Forensic Science and Anthropology- Interview with Author Chana Stiefel

By on November 26, 2019   /   CSI - Forensic Science and Anthropology, 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 Chana Stiefel, author of FINGERPRINTS: Dead People DO Tell Tales.

Mary Kay Carson: How’d you come to write this book?

Chana Stiefel: Enslow Publishers was doing a series on True Forensic Crime Stories and the editor contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in writing a book about fingerprints. I was instantly intrigued–mainly because I was a fan of the TV show CSI, I’d never written about forensic science before, and was excited to take out my magnifying glass and dig into the research. That’s one of the best parts of being a science writer: You often get to research and write about topics you know very little about–until you feel like a mini expert.

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MKC: Did your exhaustive research lead to some interesting finds?

Chana: Oh my goodness, yes! Fingerprints are so fascinating. Did you know that…

  • No two people on the planet (not even identical twins) share the same fingerprints. This has made fingerprints a great tool for solving crimes since the early 1900s.
  • Fingerprints develop as a baby grows in its mother’s womb—by the 19th week of development! The variety of patterns of fingerprints is determined both by genes and the movements of the fetus’s fingers inside its mother. Tiny movements affect the growth of dividing skin cells on each finger.
  • Fingerprints may have evolved to increase friction (for instance, helping early humans grip tools).
  • As we grow and age, our fingerprints stay the same! That’s why a fingerprint might help solve a crime years after it’s committed.

I could go on and on! Ever since writing this book, I have never looked at fingerprints the same way. So think before you spray Windex on that mirror or countertop! 🙂

Chana Stiefel is the author of more than 25 books for kids about exploding volcanoes, stinky castles, and other fun stuff. Recent non-fiction titles include ANIMAL ZOMBIES…& OTHER REAL-LIFE MONSTERS (National Geographic Kids, 2018), which was selected as a Top Ten YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant YA Readers in 2019. Chana’s next picture book, LET LIBERTY RISE (Scholastic, 2021), illustrated by Chuck Groenink, is the true story of how children helped build the Statue of Liberty. Chana loves visiting schools and libraries and sharing her passion for reading and writing with children. To learn more, please visit chanastiefel.com and follow @chanastiefel on FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram.

MKC: Do you choose to specifically write STEM books?

Chana: I’ve always been passionate about science and nature and I love to share my interests with kids. After college, I earned a Master’s in Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting at NYU School of Journalism. (That’s where I met the awesome Mary Kay Carson and many other talented science writers.) While there, I got an internship down the block at Scholastic’s SuperScience Blue, an elementary science magazine (also a Mary Kay hangout) and later became an editor of Scholastic’s Science World, a biweekly science magazine for middle schoolers. Since then, I’ve written several STEM books on tsunamis, earthquakes and other natural disasters, as well as books on wild weather and cool scientists. Last year, my book Animal Zombies and Other Bloodsucking Beasts, Creepy Creatures, and Real-Life Monsters was published by National Geographic Kids.

MKC: Who did you write this book for?

Chana: This book is geared toward middle school and up. I hope to spark kids’ interest in forensics by making the science as interesting and relevant as possible. For example, many schools are using fingerprinting to have students securely sign in. Theme parks have also used fingerprinting to ensure that season passes are only used by the purchaser. I also wanted to include plenty of information so that readers could debate the merits of fingerprint science. It’s not foolproof. Many innocent people have been wrongly convicted based on fingerprint evidence. Also, some people feel that creating a national fingerprint database invades privacy. (ie, Who has access to your fingerprints? At what point does a process that increases security invade privacy? Are you willing to give up some privacy in order to stay safe?) Finally, I included various jobs related to fingerprint science that might intrigue readers, including crime scene technicians, fingerprint examiners, and so on. In general, my goal is to open kids’ eyes to the wonders of the natural world and help them see how science plays a role in our daily lives. Sometimes the coolest facts are on the tips of your fingers!

Win a FREE copy of FINGERPRINTS: Dead People DO Tell Tales!

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 is Mary Kay Carson, author of The Tornado Scientist, Alexander Graham Bell for Kids, Mission to Pluto, Weird Animals, and other nonfiction books for kids. @marykaycarson

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Middle Grade Birthday Book List!

By on November 22, 2019   /   Articles, Book Lists, Fiction, Fun!  

Well, today is my birthday . . . so to celebrate, I thought I’d make a list of some great middle grade books about birthdays. Enjoy!

 

Moon Shadow by Erin Downing

Thirteen-year-old Lucia Frank discovers that she can become the girl she’s always wanted to be with the help of a little “moon magic” in this charming novel about the value of friendship, family, and finding yourself.

Lucia Frank has never had time for her mom’s “new age” nonsense. She doesn’t believe in any of that stuff. All she wants is to figure out how to get her best friend, Will, back and cope with her parents looming divorce. But then something strange happens on the night of her thirteenth birthday.

When the eclipsed moon slips into the shadow of the earth, Lucia’s Shadow slips out. Now hidden in a moonstone, the Shadow waits for Lucia to sleep so it can come out to play.

Lucia’s Shadow seems unlike her in almost every way: daring, outspoken, and unwilling to let anyone push her around. But it actually isn’t the anti-Lucia…in fact, her Shadow is very much like the person Lucia wishes she could be. At first, Lucia is eager to undo whatever magic happened on her birthday so life can get back to normal. But when she realizes her Shadow is doing and saying things she has only dreamed about, she wonders if maybe things aren’t all bad.

With a little help from her Shadow, she’s turning into the kind of girl she’s always wanted to be.

 

The Squatchicorns by Ellen Potter and illustrated by Felicita Sala

When a tribe of Sasquatches flee from a mysterious curse, they take refuge in Hugo’s home, Widdershins Cavern. These new Sasquatches look a bit . . . odd. For example, they all have unicorn horns on their heads! Always open to meeting new creatures, Hugo befriends one of these strange squidges, Nobb. Nobb offers to escort Hugo though the North Woods so that Hugo can attend Boone’s birthday party. Having never been inside a Human house, Hugo finds the experience confusing and somewhat disastrous. Just when it looks like Hugo may have ruined Boone’s birthday, they set out on a mission to solve the troubling curse in Nobb’s cavern.

 

Dork Diaries 13: Tales from a Not-So-Happy Birthday by Rachel Renée Russe

Nikki and her BFF’s Chloe and Zoey have been planning a birthday party of epic proportions! There’s just one problem—Nikki’s mom says no way to the budget they need to make it happen. Nikki’s ready to call the whole thing off, but some surprising twists might take that decision out of her hands, and help comes from the person Nikki would least expect. One way or another, this will be a birthday that Nikki will never forget!Anna has been best friends with Sadie for as long as she can remember. So Anna is utterly perplexed when, on Anna’s birthday, Sadie unceremoniously stakes claim to Anna’s new pony necklace, then suddenly stops speaking to Anna altogether. Did Anna do something wrong? With a little help from her wiener dog, Banana, as well as some sage advice from her family, Anna makes some important discoveries about what it means to stand up for herself, and how to be a true friend.

 

 

 

Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split by Anica Mrose Rissi, illustrated by Meg Park

Anna has been best friends with Sadie for as long as she can remember. So Anna is utterly perplexed when, on Anna’s birthday, Sadie unceremoniously stakes claim to Anna’s new pony necklace, then suddenly stops speaking to Anna altogether. Did Anna do something wrong? With a little help from her wiener dog, Banana, as well as some sage advice from her family, Anna makes some important discoveries about what it means to stand up for herself, and how to be a true friend.

 

 

 

Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon

Harriet Hamsterbone is not your typical princess. She may be quite stunning in the rodent realm (you’ll have to trust her on this one), but she is not so great at trailing around the palace looking ethereal or sighing a lot. She finds the royal life rather . . . dull. One day, though, Harriet’s parents tell her of the curse that a rat placed on her at birth, dooming her to prick her finger on a hamster wheel when she’s twelve and fall into a deep sleep. For Harriet, this is most wonderful news: It means she’s invincible until she’s twelve! After all, no good curse goes to waste. And so begins a grand life of adventure with her trusty riding quail, Mumfrey…until her twelfth birthday arrives and the curse manifests in a most unexpected way.

 

 

 

 

Waste Of Space by Stuart Gibbs

Tensions are running high when multi-billionaire Lars Sjoburg is poisoned and everyone is looking to Dash Gibson to solve the case.

Moon Base Alpha was supposed to be an exciting place to live, but Dashiell Gibson didn’t expect for it to be this exciting. He’s already had to solve a murder and locate a missing moon base commander. Now, he just wants to have a calm, quiet thirteenth birthday. But, of course, trillionaire (and total pain) Lars Sjoburg ruins it—by being poisoned.

Now there’s another potential killer loose on Moon Base Alpha, and Dash is forced to identify the most likely suspects. Suddenly Dash finds himself with a target on his back. Whoever poisoned Lars will stop at nothing to keep his—or her—identity a secret.

 

Katie’s Lucky Birthday by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Tammy Lyon

Katie is happy to be the person of the day when she celebrates her birthday at school. But when she realizes that her friend Pedro’s birthday is in August, she wants to find a way to share her birthday with him. Come celebrate with the lucky birthday girl, Katie Woo!

 

 

 

 

 

Patrick Griffin’s First Birthday on Ith by Ned Rust

Breathtaking suspense and surprising twists come together in Patrick Griffin’s First Birthday on Ith, the second book of the page-turning Patrick Griffin and the Three Worlds trilogy by Ned Rust.

After learning Earth is about to be destroyed, 12-year-old Patrick Griffin is on a mission. Under the protection of a powerful griffin, Patrick and his friend Oma travel through abandoned cities on the planet Ith, hiding from the enemy while they work out a plan to overthrow the alternate world’s sinister government.

Back on Earth, the gigantic jackalope Mr. BunBun and nine adorable numbats race to warn humans about impending doom. But time is running out. The evil Rex Abraham is back on Ith and will stop at nothing to continue his domination of the Three Worlds.

 

 

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