Posts Tagged kidlit

STEM Tuesday: Peeking into the Mind of a Scientist/Engineer Book List

By STEM Tuesday on November 6, 2018 / Engineering, STEM Tuesday

STEM TUESDAY from the mixed up files

During the month of November, we feature a list of fascinating books about famous scientists and how they think. As an extra layer, we’d like you to consider this list from the nonfiction authors’ points of view as well. What parts of these scientists lives did we focus on? What did we leave out? What do you think interested us the most? Whether you realize it or not, every nonfiction story has an angle–something that connects us AND our readers to the topic. See if you can find it in the books listed below as you dive into the minds of these scientists who have shaped their fields.

Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill by Heather L. Montgomery; illustrated by Kevin O’Malley

Readers will meet up with a scientist searching for a cancer cure, a boy engaged in animal anatomy, and citizens joining together to save an endangered species, with the help of roadkill. A great title for kids who enjoy a little gore with their science.

Charles and Emma: The Darwin’s Leap of Faith by Deborah Heligman

Delve into the complex world of the Darwins in this award-winning title that introduces readers to the relationship of this famous couple.

Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d by Mary Losure

Read about the growing mind of one of the world’s greatest scientists in this award-winning nonfiction narrative of Isaac Newton. A wonderful read for budding scientists.

Radioactive! How Irène Curie and Lisa Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World by Winifred Conkling

A fascinating look at two groundbreaking and mostly unrecognized scientists who contributed to the science of nuclear energy and the race to build the atomic bomb. Readers might be more familiar with the work of Curie’s famous mother, Marie, but she was important in her own right. A terrific read for Women’s History Month and every day after.

Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scouts to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo

An inspirational memoir about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by her membership in Girl Scouts. Acevedo is currently the CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA.

Google It! A History of Google: How Two Students’ Mission to Organize the Internet Changed the World by Anna Crowley Redding

Discover how two college students came up with an idea that has changed our world.

The Hyena Scientist by Sy Montgomery; photographs by Nic Bishop

Noted nonfiction author debunks the stereotypes of hyenas in her latest Scientists in the Field title focused on scientist Kay Holecamp.

Think Like a Scientist in the Gym by Christine Taylor Butler

In this title, the readers are the scientists testing their scientific thinking by performing a series of fun experiments using basic gym equipment. Consider asking students to record results in a science notebook.

Alexander Graham Bell for Kids: His Life and Inventions, with 21 Activities by Mary Kay Carson

This 2019 finalist for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Hands-on Science is a perfect title for budding inventors. Readers will learn about Alexander Graham Bell’s many inventions and have the opportunity to try their hand at creating some of their own.

FICTION PAIRINGS about kids thinking like scientists:

The Lost Tribes series by Christine Taylor Butler

Christine Taylor-Butler is a trained civil engineer, and she creates smart science-centered characters in this adventure-mystery series. Five friends team up to find their missing parents, who they discover are on a secret science mission. The friends must solve puzzles, crack codes, and think logically as they race against time to find their parents and save the universe.

The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Readers of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate will enjoy this next tale of young, inquisitive Calpurnia. A wonderful fiction title to pair up with one of the above informational books.

***** And Finally, we’d like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!! STEM Tuesday is celebrating our ONE YEAR Anniversary!! Thanks to all of our readers who have followed us faithfully the past year. We couldn’t do it without you. YAY for STEM/STEAM Middle Grade Books!!***

STEM Tuesday book lists prepared by:

Nancy Castaldo has written books about our planet for over 20 years including her Crystal Kite award-winning title, Beastly Brains: Exploring How Animals Think, Talk, and Feel, which delves into the study of cognition, both animal and human. Nancy’s research has taken her all over the world from the Galapagos to Russia. She enjoys sharing her adventures, research, and writing tips with students during her author visits. She strives to inform, inspire, and educate her readers. Nancy also serves as a Regional Advisor for SCBWI. Her 2018 title is Back From The Brink: Saving Animals from Extinction. www.nancycastaldo.com

Patricia Newman writes middle-grade nonfiction that inspires kids to seek connections between science, literacy, and the environment. Her Sibert Honor-winning Sea Otter Heroes dives inside the mind of marine biologist Brent Hughes as he solves a food chain mystery. Other titles include: Zoo Scientists to the Rescue, a Bank Street College Best Book and Plastic, Ahoy!, a Green Earth Book Award winner. New in 2018: Eavesdropping on Elephants: How Listening Helps Conservation. Educators describe her author visits as “phenomenal,” “fantastic,” “passionate,” and “inspirational.” Visit her at www.patriciamnewman.com.

Blast Off with Author Suzanne Slade and her new Space Book

By Jennifer Swanson on October 3, 2018 / Articles, Author Interviews, STEM

I am so excited to be interviewing author Suzanne Slade about her new book

Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon (Peachtree Publishers)

Powerful free verse and stunning illustrations tell the true story of the American effort to land the first man on the Moon. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced that the United States would try to land a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. During the two thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine days following his speech, eighteen astronauts climbed into spaceships; three of them died before even leaving the ground. Eight rockets soared into space. And four hundred thousand people―engineers, technicians, scientists, mathematicians, and machinists―joined Project Apollo in hopes of making the dream a reality.

Award-winning author and mechanical engineer Suzanne Slade joins up with New York Times best-selling illustrator Thomas Gonzalez to tell the powerful story of the successes, failures, triumphs, tragedies, and lessons from Apollos 1 through 10 that led to the first Moon landing.

Junior Library Guild Selection

Starred Review Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal

Thanks so much for joining us, Suzanne.

What first drew you to this story? Why did you feel it needed to be told?

The Apollo moon missions are of great personal interest to me — probably because I have a mechanical engineering degree and worked on rockets in an earlier career.

I decided to write COUNTDOWN: 2979 DAYS TO THE MOON because I wanted to convey the struggles, successes, and surprises of the early Apollo missions that led to the first moon landing. The book covers the details of 2979 incredible days: from President Kennedy’s announcement that America should land on the moon (May 25, 1961), to Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon (July 20, 1969.)

COUNTDOWN shares notable events including Apollo 1’s deadly fire and Apollo 8’s first glimpse of the far side of the moon, as well as lesser-known details such as why Apollo 7 staged a mutiny and refused to wear helmets, and how Jim Lovell made chocolate pudding in space.

Is there a reason why you think this story is so pertinent now?

The 50th anniversary of the first moon landing is approaching soon — July 2019. I hope this true story of courage, ingenuity, and perseverance inspires readers as they join in the celebration.

Although the Apollo missions were decades ago, their discoveries are still relevant today and important for our future.
These missions helped us to learn about the moon (it’s history, geography, how it was formed, etc.), and they continue to help scientists today learn about space, space travel, Earth, other planets, and much more.

(Fyi – Check out the Air and Space Museum’s “Top Ten” Apollo discoveries list. #2 is my favorite.)

I understand that it took you 8 years to complete all of the research for this book. Can you speak to how you felt during that time?

With any nonfiction project, I expect the research to be comprehensive and time-consuming. Since COUNTDOWN is a middle grade (I usually write picture books) about a technical topic, the research was particularly tedious and intense.

My engineering degree, and experiences at McDonnell Douglas Space Systems working on rockets for NASA, provided a technical background which helped me understand the basics of the Apollo spacecraft (Saturn V rocket, command module, service module, lunar module), but I still had a lot to learn.

To your question, during my research for the book I felt inspired, discouraged, curious, frustrated, overwhelmed, exhilarated, and many other things. But the overriding emotion was excitement. It was thrilling to delve into the details of this amazing time and discover fascinating facts about the missions and astronauts that I’d never heard before. It was especially rewarding to write this amazing story for curious readers. I think they’ll be blown away by the astounding Apollo missions.

Can you give a few insights into how you found your sources?

Of course, I focused on primary sources — NASA transcripts*, Apollo photo archives, NASA websites, and astronaut biographies.

Email inquiries to astronauts resulted in interviews with Alan Bean (4th man on the moon) and correspondence with astronaut Walt Cunningham. I was unable to find contact info. for some astronauts, and a few didn’t reply to my emails . But I was very grateful for the many reliable sources I found, and to the experts who enthusiastically helped with the accuracy of the project.

[*NASA Transcripts are public domain. Discussions between astronauts in flight and mission control are found in the Apollo Flight Journal. Dialogue after landing on the moon is in the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal .]

I also visited museums where I studied Apollo spacecraft and space suits first-hand. After the manuscript was complete, I asked several experts to vet the story. Thankfully, Dr. Dave Williams (PhD from NASA), and three others lent their expertise to the project. My “Sources Doc,” which contains all the sources for the facts in the story, ended up 51 pages long.

This book is in verse. Do you write all of your books in verse? And if not, why did you choose to do that for this one?

Only a few of my books are in verse. Actually, I didn’t choose this format for COUNTDOWN, the story did.

Here’s how it happened. After years of research it was finally time to start writing, so I sat down to pen Chapter 1. To my surprise, the words came out in short, energetic lines. The text felt powerful, tense, and urgent, just like the events they described. So I kept writing in free verse. With some books, it seems the story knows how it wants to be told and the author has to go with it.

Do you have a particular passion for writing STEAM/STEM books?

Science and math were my favorite subjects all through school. In my free time now, I find myself reading about new science discoveries, watching science documentaries, or asking my son about his latest research projects, so science seems to be one of my favorite topics to write about.

Why do you think young readers would find this book interesting? Important?

It’s been nearly 50 years since the first moon landing. This incredible event is often summarized in history books with a few lines or paragraphs that discuss the Apollo 11 landing and Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon.

I think readers will be fascinated to discover more about the details and determination it took to get to the moon. The accomplishment of the Apollo team, who made countless sacrifices to put the first human on the moon, is nothing short of a miracle!

I hope COUNTDOWN allows readers to gain a deeper understanding of the the inspiring 2979 days that led to the moon landing. Also, Thomas Gonzales’ illustrations are simply stunning! His glorious art is detailed, powerful, and emotional — just like the missions.

COUNTDOWN recently released on Sept. 1. How has the book been received?

COUNTDOWN is a 2018 Junior Library Guild Selection, and has received Starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. I was invited to present the book at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC (which happened to be the day it released,) so that was exciting.

Any new works on the horizon that you can discuss?

I have two more “space” picture books releasing March 2019, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing: A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon (Little, Brown) and Daring Dozen: The Twelve Who Walked on the Moon (Charlesbridge).

Those books sound fabulous, too. Congratulations on all your successes!

Suzanne is generously offering to giveaway a COUNTDOWN book mark which contains an authentic moon rock!! To take advantage of this amazing opportunity, please leave a comment below.

The first annual STEM Tuesday CoSTEM contest!

By STEM Tuesday on September 13, 2018 / Articles, Giveaways, STEM Tuesday

STEM TUESDAY from the mixed up files

Greetings STEM Tuesday fans!! I know you’re all thinking… this isn’t a Tuesday. You’re right.

We were SO EXCITED about our

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY CONTEST,

that we had to take over a Thursday post to announce it.

Q. What do you get when you cross a costume contest with STEM Tuesday?

A. The First Annual October CoSTEM contest!

Muwahahaha (Cue eerie, ghostly music)

As a way to celebrate one whole year of STEM Tuesday blogs, we thought we would do a mash-up of literacy and STEM costumes. So drag out your favorite books, take a good look at the theme, then create an amazing, one-of-a-kind, spectacular costume.

Contest Rules:

This contest is open to all school-aged students, ages 5 and up.
Submit a jpeg of yourself or your class dressed as your favorite STEM book.
Be sure to let us know the title and the author of the book.
The book must be for readers ages 8 and up.
All submissions are due by midnight EST November 6th, 2018. (no exceptions!)
Submissions MUST come from an adult who will grants us permission to post this image on the Mixed Up Files website.
All images will be judged by the STEM Tuesday team. We will be looking for creativity, subject (how close you are to the theme of the book), and authentic (how exact is the STEM theme displayed)
Winners will be posted on the STEM Tuesday blog on November 8th, 2018.
Send your images to the following email: stemmuf@gmail.com