Posts Tagged middle-grade nonfiction

STEM Tuesday– Chemistry– Book List

By on February 3, 2026   /   Chemistry, STEM Tuesday   /   Leave a comment

 

Chemistry is everywhere! It helps us understand how the world works. Explore many aspects of chemistry with biographies, a cookbook, a graphic novel, a study guide, amazing true tales, and several fascinating informational texts!

Cover of the book Who Was George Washington Carver?

Who Was George Washington Carver? by Jim Gigliotti

This book introduces Carver, a famous American agricultural scientist, educator, and scientist. Born into slavery in 1864, Carver became the first Black student at Iowa State Agricultural College and then its first Black professor. His research with plants which focused largely on peanuts, revolutionized Southern agriculture.

Cover of the book Maria Orosa Freedom Fighter, Scientist and Inventor from the Philippines

Maria Orosa Freedom Fighter: Scientist and Inventor from the Philippines by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco

This book shares the inspiring biography of a remarkable woman who studied chemistry and pharmaceutical science and created super-nutritious foods to save the lives of many people in the Philippines during a time of crisis.

Cover of the book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Elements The Powers, Uses, and Histories of Every Atom in the Universe

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Elements: The Powers, Uses, and Histories of Every Atom in the Universe by Lisa Congdon

Learn about all 118 elements in this book for children age 10 and up. The book includes images that take the reader on a periodic table journey. Along the way it also includes infographics and information about scientists.

Cover of the book Science Comics The Periodic Table of Elements Understanding the Building Blocks of Everything

Science Comics: The Periodic Table of Elements: Understanding the Building Blocks of Everything by Jon Chad

Mel, an anxious chemistry student, dreams of the land of the elements in this graphic novel. Readers learn about the elements and periodic table as Mel and Hydrogen battle against their evil nemesis Elemancer. The book’s imaginative and interesting story are likely to appeal to older elementary and middle school students and provide a fresh approach to understanding the periodic table.   

Cover of the book Chemistry for Curious Kids

Chemistry for Curious Kids: An Illustrated Introduction to Atoms, Elements, Chemical Reactions, and More! by Lynn Huggins-Cooper

This book provides clear, easy to follow explanations that support understanding of the states of matter, chemical building blocks, the periodic table, and scientific tools. Illustrations, questions, and thoughtful arrangement of key ideas make complex chemistry content accessible.  Other titles in this STEM series focus on biology and science and math.

 

Cover of the book The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists

The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists: Good Science Makes Great Food: 70+ Recipes, Experiments, & Activities (Young Chefs Series) America’s Test Kitchen

This book explains everyday cooking phenomena and helps children understand the “why” in food preparation. It’s full of hands-on experiments that explain how chemical interactions transform food. It will encourage young chefs to ask questions, observe, measure with precision, collect data, analyze, and answer the food science questions they find intriguing.

Cover of the book The Radium Girls

The Radium Girls: Young Readers’ Edition: The Scary but True Story of the Poison that Made People Glow in the Dark by Kate Moore

This book is the true and shocking story of hundreds of girls who worked in factories, painting watch dials with radium. With each new dial, they licked the paintbrush to create the finest possible tip. At first the fact that they glowed was a marvel but the novelty turned controversial and horrifying as radium poisoning overtook them. Their heroic courage and resolve led to advances in laboratory regulations and research.

Cover of the book Our World in Pictures The Elements Book

The Elements Book: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Periodic Table (DK Our World in Pictures)

With remarkable pictures and text, this book offers a fascinating tour of the elements, substances that cannot be broken up into smaller ingredients. It looks at the unique and sometimes surprising properties of the elements and explains where they come from, what they can do, and how they can be used.

Everything You Need to Ace Chemistry in One Big Fat Notebook by Jennifer Swanson

This book uses diagrams, graphics, mnemonic devices, and compelling characters to delve into atoms. elements, compounds, mixtures, the Periodic Table, chemical reactions, chemical calculations, and so much more. It’s a great companion for students studying for a chemistry exam.

Cover of How Do Molecules Stay Together?

How Do Molecules Stay Together?: A Book About Chemistry by Madeline J. Hayes

This book uses a question-and-answer format to explain a variety of chemistry concepts: atoms, elements, compounds, states of matter, and chemical reactions. It includes a simple and effective explanation of condensation, evaporation, freezing, and melting. The book is part of the How Do Series.

Cover of the book the Disappearing Spoon

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean

This book is full of fun and fascinating chemistry stories. Anecdotes of adventure, conflict, drama, and obsessions reveal how elements influenced our world. First published in 2011, this book continues to bring the history of chemistry alive.

Cover of the book Marie Curie for Kids

Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries, with 21 Activities and Experiments by Amy M. O’Quinn

Learn about Marie Curie in this engaging book. Many are familiar with Curie’s brilliance in chemistry and physics as the first woman to win a Nobel Prize through boiling mercury off to reveal pure radium metal. Alongside Curie’s brilliance in atomic physic discoveries, the reader learns about Curie’s role as a mother, her scientific partnership with her husband, inclination to forget sleeping and eating, refusal to monetize her scientific discoveries, and her health concerns. Twenty-one hands-on activities and experiments further the text, along with a list of resources and interesting sidebars.

 

This month’s STEM Tuesday book list was prepared by:

New Realeases Nov 2025

Bev Schellenberg is an author (A Prince Among Dragons; A Princess Among Dragons), as well as a writer of creative nonfiction, poetry, and picture books. She’s an advocate of STEM who was a science fair national winner and high school robotics club sponsor, and passionate about young people discovering, following the passion inside them and flourishing. She’s taught grades kindergarten to grade 12 and is currently an academic advisor, careers teacher, and armchair futurist. Learn more about Bev at BevSchellenberg.com.

 

 


Carolyn Pfister is a STEM Content Developer, writer/illustrator, and coordinator of the California Early Math Project. She is interested in encouraging family and community STEM opportunities and maintaining 

children’s early love and success with math and science. Carolyn writes a monthly Substack on behalf of the California Early Math Project – https://carolynpfister.substack.com/. Learn more about Carolyn at Carolynpfister.com

 

Back to Top

STEM Tuesday Author Interview: Jasmine Ting

By on January 27, 2026   /   Forests/Temperate Trees, STEM Tuesday   /   Leave a comment

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!

Today, we’re interviewing Jasmine Ting, author of Forests in Danger (A True Book: The Earth at Risk). The book explores forests around the world and invites kids to learn how climate change is impacting these biomes and what we can all do to protect these ecosystems!

 

Forests in Danger

Andi: What forest fact that you learned surprised you the most? For me, it was the sheer number of insect species in the Amazon rainforest!

Jasmine: I think the fact that 25% of the world’s modern medicines come from rainforest plants surprised me. I feel like we’re all so used to this idea that medicine is produced in laboratories and those types of environments that we forget—many of the things we have come from nature. Though, of course, Indigenous people who safeguard these forests are very well aware.

Andi: What is your research process like?

Jasmine: I wish I could say I was the type of person who goes to the library and starts with books, but like any other person in the 21st century, I begin with Google. I look up basic facts to get a general survey of the wealth of knowledge out there, from reliable sources and outlets, of course. (Nat Geo, The Smithsonian, etc.) Then, when I spot certain interesting tidbits that require deeper dives, I do that. I usually end up in a rabbit hole with too many open tabs, but I tend to be able to navigate my way through my browser.

Andi: How do text elements like fun facts and a timeline help kids learn?

Jasmine: I love having fun facts and elements like timelines because they make information easily digestible, and memorable. Sure, the entire book is easy enough for kids to read, but not everyone will realistically remember every single fact on every page. Having those text elements, which are visually straightforward and not enclosed in blocks of texts, makes things stand out and stick.

Andi: I loved Jack Dalton’s interview! Why include this in your book? What might kids take away from his experiences?

Jasmine: Well, quite frankly, all authors working on the series were asked to include a “kid hero” interview. But I certainly recognize the significance of having this in the book. It adds a level of relatability, to hear from another kid and have that voice speak to them about the matter. It also, hopefully, gives a sense of inspiration—that a kid (like them) is out there, doing something about forests that are in danger.

I think what kids might take away from Jack’s experiences is that they have tools at their disposal to do small things about the causes they care about. Those small things they do can snowball and create a big impact. But caring—really caring—about something enough to do something about it is the first step.

Andi: You make it clear that forests are in trouble—but you also include a sense of hope. Why is that important to you as someone who writes for kids?

Jasmine: It’s not very constructive to just impart this sense of doom and gloom. It’s important for kids not to grow up with a defeatist mindset, especially when they’re the ones who will be inheriting this Earth we live on. They need to know that not all hope is lost, that there are people who care about this world and their future, and there are certainly ways that they can do their part.

Andi: What is your favorite experience you’ve had in a forest?

Jasmine: One of my favorite experiences to date has been going to Masungi Georeserve in Rizal, Philippines. I went with my family, cousins, and uncles and it was a fun adventure through guided trails within the nature preserve. Beyond the photo opportunities and time with family, it was great quality time getting to know my home country’s natural resources and environments. Our tour guides were very knowledgeable not just about the richness of our country’s forests, but also the threats they face. It was a bit of a wakeup call for me.

 

Jasmine TingJasmine Ting is a journalist currently based in New York City who calls the Philippines home. She is always hungry for stories, for adventure, for the truth… but, mostly, for good food!

 

Andi DiehnAndi Diehn is the author of over 20 children’s books. She also works as a children’s book editor and marketer at Nomad Press.

 

Back to Top

STEM Tuesday– Forests/Temperate Trees — Writing Tips & Resources

By on January 20, 2026   /   Forests/Temperate Trees, STEM Tuesday  

Hello, and welcome back to STEM Tuesday’s Writing Tips and Resources. I’m Stephanie.

The intersection of trees and writing is a well-traversed one. I’ve been meaning to write about it for years, to really analyze the motif across children’s literature. Trees are symbolic of many nouns… people, places, things, and ideas. At least for me, trees invoke feelings of magic, wonder, stability, and safety. I feel confident in surmising the same is true of others; otherwise, why are they so prevalent in these writings?

As an English major, Sigmund Freud captured my attention because of his essay The Interpretation of Dreams which in my humble opinion—along with The Uncanny—remains his most relevant work informing literary analysis. In the former essay, he explored the significance of dream-elements in proportion to each other. In terms of story (the supposed dream), and in service of the writing craft, how could his insights become writing exercises? That is, if Freud gave writing prompts about symbolism and metaphors, what would they look like?

Writing Exercise 1:

Freud wrote, “What is clearly the essence of the dream-thoughts need not be represented in the dream at all” (322). For this prompt, write a story about a tree without using the word tree. You may use any other tree-related words (branch, roots, etc), but nothing including the letters T-R-E-E in that order. After making a solid effort for at least 15 minutes, what did you find about the exercise? After pushing past the initial frustration of the task, what then? How did avoiding the word “tree” lead to a deeper exploration of it?

Writing Exercise 2:

Freud also wrote, “What appears in dreams, we might suppose, is not what is important in the dream-thoughts but what occurs in them several times over.” To reiterate more simply, not everything in the dream (or story, in our case) is of equal importance. The symbols that recur frequently or intensely are of higher significance. If you’ve never tried a controlling metaphor, one that lasts an entire story, now’s your chance. What does your tree represent? Take your tree story and look for places to reinforce your meanings. Meaning-making requires the discarding of the unlike qualities in favor of parallel groupings, so only bring up details that reinforce, not contradict, your metaphor.

Now if you’ve made it through my Freud-inspired prompts, you’re a trooper. This next one comes from a much more kidlit-friendly source: Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine.

There’s an old saying about forests and trees—that it’s easy to lose sight of one when focused on the other. To me, this is exactly the trick of storytelling: coordinating details and plot, scene and summary, moments and eons. As writers, it’s easy to get caught up in the metaphorical branches of line editing. But losing sight of the canopy is a consequential mistake. A story made entirely of descriptions of leaves isn’t going to cut it, but neither is a story full of faraway woodlands. To write well is to control pacing and distance.

Writing Exercise 3:

(Revision.) Take a passage of at least four consecutive sentences—any volunteer sentences will do—and revise it two ways. First, slow the pacing to a leaf-level, microscopic exploration of a moment. In painfully minute detail, describe everything. Try to triple or quadruple the number of sentences. Next, speed up the pacing while still retaining some semblance of the details from the original, but building the story out with explanation or context. You can be equally verbose, but the pacing must be quicker.

So, what did you think of today’s prompts? For more writing tips and tricks, check STEM Tuesday’s archives and/or visit me at StephanieWritesforKids.com.

Best,

Stephanie Jackson

With published work in Cricket magazine and the online poetry journal Dirigible Balloon, Stephanie Jackson writes everything kidlit: poems, articles, and board books through YA. In addition to holding an English degree, she regularly attends writing retreats and bookish events including Storymakers, WIFYR, and the Books For Young Readers Conference. She’s been a member of 12×12, Inked Voices, and other such mentoring groups. Current professional affiliations include SCBWI, The Author’s Guild, and NCTE. Personally, her hobbies include genealogy research and teacherly things. She’s a stay-at-home parent of four kids ages 5-14, and plans to teach ELA in secondary schools.

Back to Top