Jennifer Swanson - STEM Tuesday

Sustainable living protects the environment, and it’s something everyone can try. Here are the books I read that promote sustainable living, covering topics students can experiment with in their in-school classrooms or at-home ones. Let’s Eat: Sustainable Food for a Hungry Planet by Kimberley Veness Readers will take a look at the impact of pesticides, fertilizers, food chains, and commercial fishing on our food and environment.   Classroom activity: Try the activity in this book to find out where their food comes from. After students record their meals for a whole day, including where their food came from, go beyond the book’s activity and have students make a map showing those places. It will give them a real picture of how far their food must travel, and how that travel can affect the environment. It may help them make more environmentally friendly food choices. Additional resource: National Geographic Kids, https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/primary-resource/sustainable-living-geography-primary-resource/ The Nitty Gritty Gardening Book: Fun Projects For All Seasons...

Hello Mixed-Up Filers! I’m pleased to welcome Sheela Chari, author of the new mystery series, The Unexplainable Disappearance Of Mars Patel, for an interview at Mixed-Up Files today.                                     Hi Sheela, thanks for joining us today at Mixed-Up Files. Thank you for having me—it’s great to be back! Years ago, I was one of the original members, and I loved interviewing other writers! These days, writing, teaching, and being a parent has taken over much of my time. But it’s definitely fun to be in this familiar space again.   About THE UNEXPLAINABLE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARS PATEL The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel follows Mars Patel and his pals on their quest to find their missing friend, Aurora, who might be part of a chain of other disappearances around the world leading back...

  Let’s jump into books this month that help us keep our bodies and our environment healthy. This list includes books on feeding our hungry planet, gardening projects that you can do at home, and why our federal protections are important to our food safety.  Let’s Eat: Sustainable Food for a Hungry Planet by Kimberley Veness Readers will take a look at the impact of pesticides, fertilizers, food chains, and commercial fishing on our food and environment. The Nitty Gritty Gardening Book: Fun Projects For All Seasons by Kari Cornell, photographs by Jennifer S. Larson Why rely on others for your fruits and veggies? This book provides readers with easy projects to jumpstart your own gardening. The Poison Eaters: Fighting Danger and Fraud in our Food and Drugs by Gail Jarrow “Revolting and riveting” is how Kirkus described this book that takes a look at why we need protections and...

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! Today we’re interviewing Rosemary Mosco, author of Science Comics: Solar System: Our Place In Space. This hilarious STEM-filled graphic novel starts in the imagination of its two character, Sara and Jill who design the spaceship “Unbored.” It is crewed by their intrepid pets, Riley, Fortinbras, Pepper and Mr. Slithers. The science is both approachable and decodable for even the most reluctant reader. It’s a must-have for classrooms looking to expand their libraries. “…Like having a Time Life Science Library in comic books. Which is awesome!” —Popular Science   Christine Taylor-Butler: Rosemary, you grew up in Ottawa, Canada surrounded by nature. I love that you say you can walk into the woods and find 20-30 hilarious things to use as comic prompts. But how does that work if the subjects...