Posts Tagged nonfiction

STEM Tuesday — Let’s Explore Botany!– Interview with Author Sally Walker

By on October 23, 2018   /   Botany, Common Core & NGSS, 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 Sally Walker, author of this month’s featured botany book, CHAMPION: The Comeback Tale of the American Chestnut Tree. Among its favorable reviews is one from Kirkus, calling it, “A compelling, inspiring true story of a species rescued from extinction through decades of determined innovation.” 

 

 

Mary Kay Carson: Why did you write Champion?

Sally Walker: I’ve known part of the American Chestnut tree’s story since I was in high school. My biology teacher assigned a leaf collection project. We could only include trees native to New Jersey, where I lived. Any tree was okay, with the exception of the American Chestnut tree, because, he said, it was extinct. My father, however, knew that wasn’t true. It turned out that American Chestnut tree was my dad’s favorite type of tree.  And he knew they were not extinct: Their roots still survived in New Jersey forests (and in other states) and gave rise to new sprouts. These saplings grew for 10 or so years, and then succumbed to the chestnut blight. Even so, the roots continued to send up more sprouts. My dad and I visited a forest not too far from our home. A half-hour trek into the woods, and we found a chestnut sapling. I was thrilled to be able to add one of its leaves to my leaf collection project.

There’s nothing I enjoy more than a good mystery, and the story of the American Chestnut tree is like a Russian Matryoshka doll: mystery within mystery within mystery. I channeled my inner Nancy Drew and hoped readers would join me as I hunted for clues. Clues that would explain why American Chestnut trees died, and clues that would lead to a solution that would restore the trees to health.  I wrote the story for people, young and old, who, like me, enjoy spending time outdoors. Who like wondering about the natural world. And who listen to the songs that trees sing.

Sally M. Walker has brought science to life in more than 20 books for young readers, including Secrets of a Civil War Submarine and Blizzard of Glass. Her research has seen her corresponding with experts in archaeology, geology, forensic anthropology, and genealogy, interviewing scientists, and touring the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, where she saw the H.L. Hunley and her artifacts. Walker lives in DeKalb, Illinois. sallymwalker.com

MKC: Could you share a memorable moment—or two—from your research for Champion?

Sally: My most thrilling chestnut experience occurred while I was visiting England. Castanea sativa, the European Chestnut, thrives there. The massive trunks of several-hundred-year-old chestnut trees are unbelievable. Seeing them—and hugging one—let me imagine how very majestic the American Chestnut trees growing in our forests had been before the blight killed them.

When I first walked into the American Chestnut Foundation’s orchards, in Virginia, I was astounded to see many hundreds of young chestnut trees. Healthy, lush with leaves. A flash of blue caught my eye—an indigo bunting landed in one of the larger trees.  I felt as though I’d entered a magic kingdom.  AND THEN I LEARNED HORRIBLE NEWS!  The team I was working with would be inoculating the young trees with the fungus that gives American Chestnut trees the blight. Some of the trees we inoculated would have some resistance to the blight, but most of them would die. But I did my job, knowing that the young trees that lived would become parent trees for new blight-resistant generations.

MKC: Did you set out to write a STEM book? 

Sally: I don’t choose to write STEM books. I write about what interests me. Finding fossils and cool rocks. Watching insects, animals, and fish. Understanding how a submarine rises and sinks. When I am gardening, using a stick and a small rock to help me shift a larger rock to a new place. I guess most people would say this is science—the “S” in STEM. But for me it’s simply the way I was raised. My parents encouraged me to ask question, exploring the world to find answers, and experiment. To use my mind and imagination.

I have a college degree in geology and archaeology, but that was from before the term STEM was invented.  I studied those areas because they are incredibly fascinating and fun, full of puzzles and mysteries. What I love about STEM is that it shows kids that science, technology, engineering, and math are interrelated. As they learn, students can draw connections among the fields and see how each part affects the other, often in a way that relates directly to some aspect of her or his life. STEM creates a network.

MKC:  Any recommendations for readers who enjoyed Champion? 

Sally: Deep Roots: How Trees Sustain Our Planet by Nikki Tate and Treecology: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring the World of Trees and Forests by Monica Russo are nonfiction, while End of the Wild by Nicole Helget and Wishtree by Katherine Applegate are fiction.

Win a FREE copy of CHAMPION: The Comeback Tale of the American Chestnut Tree!

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 this week is fellow tree freak Mary Kay Carson, author of Mission to Pluto and other nonfiction books for kids. @marykaycarson

 

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Wonders of Weird with Kelly Milner Halls

By on October 19, 2018   /   Author Interviews  

I am very lucky to have the opportunity to chat with multi-award winner author Kelly Milner Halls! This interview came about at a perfect time. We are less than two weeks away from Halloween and chatting with Kelly about her just-released book “Death Eaters. Meet Nature’s Scavengers.” What an occasion to connect a holiday kids enjoy with fascinating science about the real death eaters of nature.

Kelly writes about the ‘wonders of weird,’ real and unproven (yet). She is the author of over 50 books and numerous articles, and her work is well known for being carefully and thoroughly researched and presents the most current information in a way kids love.

“Death Eaters” has already caught the eye or librarians and reviewers:

Junior Library Guild Selection
Fall 2018

Cybil Award Nominee
September 2018

Booklist
September 2018

So, are you ready for a treat (no trick, despite being close to Halloween)? Kelly tells us about nature’s team in charge of recycling all biological matter on the planet. I knew some of this fascinating creatures, but others took me by surprise.

MUF:  Why did you write this book about death eaters?
KMH: When I was a kid, I found a dead kitten in my tree house. It broke my heart, but I knew my father would help me bury it. After we laid it to rest, I was afraid of what was happening to its little body. Then I was curious. I felt bad for being curious, and confessed it to my father. He explained to me what happened to bodies in the earth. As sad as I was, I felt better knowing the kitten at least had a purpose in death–to feed other creatures that helped keep balance in the world. So I decided to explore that topic with young readers.

MUF: What death eaters did you include in your book?
KMH: I tried to include a good cross section of animals from the extensive realm of death eaters. I covered some (but not all) bacteria, insects, small mammals, large mammals, birds and sea creatures.

MUF: Do you have a favorite death eater?
KMH: I was astonished to discover pill bugs are death eaters. I knew they ate metals from soil, including iron from blood spilled. But I didn’t know they’d actually eat tiny bits of flesh too. It was fun to make a discovery that was so new to entomologists.

MUF: What are you most excited about this book?
KMH: I’m pleased that Millbrook was bold in their photo selections. Not all kids will love this book, I recognize that. But those that do will appreciate the pictures that don’t shy from telling this story. Gore wasn’t essential. Truth was.

MUF: How can teachers use this book in the classroom?
KMH: Teachers can use this book to encourage respect for all animals, even maggots and flies. We all have a purpose in the circle of life, and once we understand that, it is much easier to spread the love. I’m all about love, so that pleases me. I also love that death eaters are the ultimate recyclers. Recycling is so important to saving the world. I hope kids will step up to do their part and are grateful it doesn’t include eating carrion.

MUF: How long have you been interested in the Wonders of Weird, as you have named your website?
KMH: I was a weird kid and I am a weird older lady. I have always been fascinated by the strange, surprising, and odd…the weird. So my books often reflect that mindset.  I also love helping kids understand that being weird is being unique. It’s also pretty fun.  If I can help them learn to love themselves and others, I’ll have helped make the world a kinder place.

Kelly Milner Halls

MUF: Let’s talk about Halloween. If you were a little girl today, what would your Halloween costume be?
KMH: My favorite costume as a kid was Robin (as in Batman and Robin).  But today I’d probably like to be Pikachu.

MUF: What is your favorite part of working on a book?
KMH:I love research more than anything else. Second would be sharing what I’ve discovered with kids at school visits.

MUF: What’s your advice to young readers who love weird stuff?
KMH: Don’t be embarrassed by your unique point of view. Each of us has a purpose in this life, and it’s not to be like everyone else. We are meant to discover our unique passions and use them for making the world a better place. Who you are is exactly who you were meant to be. So celebrate it!  And I’ll celebrate it, too.

This has been wonderful, Kelly. Thank you for being with us today! And thank you to all MUF followers for reading. Who knows?  “Death Eaters. Meet Nature’s Scavengers” might inspire your Halloween costume this year.

 

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STEM Tuesday — Let’s Explore Botany!– Writing Craft and Resources

By on October 16, 2018   /   Botany, Common Core & NGSS, STEM Tuesday  

 

Botany?

When I first applied and joined up with the STEM Tuesday team, there was one general subject I secretly wanted to avoid at all cost. A subject which is one of my weakest scientific areas. Botany.

It’s not that I am a complete putz when it comes to botanicals. I cultivate a vegetable garden every year. I enjoy both the gardening process and reaping the benefits of the garden’s production. My paternal grandfather taught us grandkids how to plant petunias in my mother’s flowerbeds not long after we were out of diapers. My maternal grandfather kept a big, spacious garden where he grew tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, horseradish, and all things which could be made into spicy canned deliciousness.

I must confess, however, when it comes to the study of plants, I fall short. I can spend hours studying an animal cell or bacteria or a virus. A plant cell? Not so much. I can make a pretty solid salsa out of the tomatoes, peppers, and onions from my garden; yet can tell you very little about the seed anatomy, the root system, the physiology, or the leaf structure of that tomato plant.

With my relative ignorance out in the open, what can I offer to the STEM Tuesday Botany Craft & Resource game this month?

I can ask a simple question that lies at the core of an inquiring STEM mind:

How can I learn more about _______?  (Which, in this case, is botany.)

I can suggest doing what STEM thinkers have done for centuries and go to work.

  • Observe. “Hey, that thing is pretty awesome.” 
  • Ask why. “Why is that thing as awesome as it is?”
  • Research. “I need to find out what makes that thing awesome.”
  • Go where your interests take you. “This thing is like that thing and it’s also awesome.”
  • Dig deep into those directions that interest you. “Whoa! This thing and that thing are both are part of something bigger.”
  • Be open and willing to learn. 
  • Be willing to do the work to learn.

I cleaned the remaining vegetables off all the plants in my garden this past weekend in front of an early frost and snow shower. The plants were pulled and thrown into the compost pile and the last containers of homemade salsa and pasta sauce were canned and now sit in the pantry. Gardening season 2018 has come to an end. But the learning is just beginning for the gardener. Time to hit the STEM Tuesday Botany book list and see where my plant learning journey takes me over the winter.

As my wife, who teaches first grade, often reminds her rock-headed husband, we are never too old to learn something new.

Finally, never forget that life viewed through the lens of an inquiring STEM mind is a much richer life.

Keep asking questions!

Keep learning!

STEM rocks!

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal opportunity sports enthusiasts, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/training related topics atwww.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.com. Two of his essays will be included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books release later this month. He can be found roaming around the Twitter-sphere under the guise of @coachhays64.

 

The O.O.L.F Files

The Out Of Left Field files this month focuses on the fun side of botany in an attempt to make up for my shortcomings on the subject as outlined in the above post. And if you find yourself hungry at the end of chasing the links, the final link can easily take care of your appetite, one way or the other.

 

 

 

 

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