Let’s get moving this month with a selection of STEM titles that delve into locomotion — planes, trains, automobiles and other modes of transportation that require science to create.
Save the Crash-test Dummies by Jen Swanson, illustrated by Tamika Grooms
Explore how autos are made even safer by using crash-test dummies for design. An entertaining look at the history of car production, as well as the science and engineering behind these machines we can’t seem to live without.
Who Built That? series by Didier Cornille – Books include Bridges: An Introduction to Bridges and Their Designs; Skyscrapers: An Introduction to Skyscrapers and Their Architects; and Modern Houses: An Introduction to Modern Houses and Their Architects
As important autos are to us, we couldn’t go far without bridge, tall city skyscrapers, and our own homes. A behind-the-scenes peek into how these marvels of engineering were constructed and who designed them.
Wild Buildings and Bridges: Architecture Inspired by Nature by Etta Kaner, illustrated by Carol Wiens
Another title to explore that focuses on building and bridge construction. Architects look to nature to solve structural design problems, for instance mimicking the long roots of grasses to keep buildings standing in an earthquake.
Terrific Transportation Inventions by Laura Hamilton Wasman
The sometimes wild and wacky stories of how the inventions we take for granted came to be. Did you know early cars had three wheels, not four? How did we figure out how to launch humans into space? Read this title to find out these answers to these questions and more!
Bio-Inspired Transportation and Communication by Robin Koontz
We’re developing a theme of inventors and engineers looking to nature for inspiration. Find out how the flying squirrel inspired skydiving technology and how the octopus inspired water travel.
Biofuels by Patricia Newman
Follow a student who interviews experts about alternate sources of energy to power our cars, airplanes, and other machines that run on gasoline. This title covers the history of biofuels, how they are used today, and what we can expect in the future.
Titanic: Voices From The Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
Moving about the world also has its share of disasters. Perhaps one of the most famous is the sinking of the Titanic. Hopkinson brings this terrible moment of history alive in this book.
Green Transport: Exploring Eco-Friendly Travel for a Better Tomorrow by Rani Iyer
More on eco-friendly alternatives as transportation industries strive to create green options. This comprehensive title explores traditional energy sources and their impacts, alternative fuels, and mass transit issues as cities move toward more sustainable solutions.
Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (Young Readers’ Edition) by Ashlee Vance
Discover a true visionary revolutionizing three industries at once — space, automotive, and energy — in this fascinating biography edited for young readers.
Milestones of Flight: From Hot Air Balloons to Space Ship One by Tim Grove
Grove gives readers a look into transportation history and science in this book. Illustrated with photographs, documents, and diagrams from the Smithsonian’s collection.
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.
Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the fourth Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!
Kerrie Logan Hollihan: Mummies Exposed! takes an in-depth look at human bodies that were preserved either with intent or by Mother Nature. (Some call the latter “serendipitous” mummies but “natural” is a friendlier term for my middle grade readers.) I tell their stories of discovery—and, thanks in part to STEM research—at least part of the stories of the dead themselves: ten children, women, and men across space and time, explaining why these people (like us) were mummified or how their bodies survived the process of decay.
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Art Baltazar and Franco have created many award-winning, all-ages comics. Their latest creation, Superman of Smallville, shows readers what it was like for Clark Kent in Smallville Middle School. He struggles to keep his identity secret in the face of bullies, first crushes, and an alien threat. The Mixed-Up Files sat down with these two super men of comics and asked them what it was like to create this origin story for the Man of Steel as well as creating great comics for kids and adults.