Posts Tagged nonfiction

STEM Tuesday– Light Pollution– Book List

By on July 7, 2026   /   Light Pollution, STEM Tuesday  

What Happened to our Starry, Starry Night?

If you go outside on a moonless night, what do you see? A planet, maybe a handful of stars if you’re lucky. Unfortunately, for too many of us the city lights diminish the night sky. Streetlights and other artificial lights do more than illuminate our world. They create problems for plants and animals living in and around our cities, including seasonal migrators.

Book cover - bird and moth perched on three ornate lights lit at night.

Who Hid the Stars? How Light Pollution Changes Our World by Danio Miserocchi & Maciej Michno; illus. by Valentina Gottardi, and translated by Sylvia Notini

This well-documented book examines how city lights affect birds and bats, reptiles and insects – even trees and flowers. It also provides hope, sharing things cities and people can do to minimize light pollution. Back matter includes ideas for bringing back the stars (dark skies) and resources.

Book cover - person sitting on a slope watching te setting sun.

Saving the Night : How Light Pollution is Harming Life on Earth by Stephen Aitken

Full of fascinating photos and facts, this book examines many interactions creatures and plants have developed with light, the differing effects of various sources of light pollution on land and in our waterways, conservationists working to preserve the night, and successful projects. It includes suggestions for reducing our individual light pollution. 

Book cover - glowing frog on a black background.

Dark Matters: Nature’s Reaction to Light Pollution by Joan Marie Galat

A blend of science and memoir that focuses on the environmental consequences of increasingly artificially lit night skies. She describes its impact on sea turtles, fireflies, birds, and bats and provides basic steps to address light pollution.

Book cover - shapes spiral on and above the earth.

The World at Night: Discover the World That Wakes When You Sleep by Ben Lerwill

A browsable book broken into sections including the night sky, oceans, forests, and cities. From penguins to city rats, it explores how animals sleep, how they see at night, and the environmental and health effects of artificial light on animals, including humans.

Book cvoer - parent and child sit staring at the night sky.

In the Dark: The Science of What Happens at Night by Lisa Deresti Betik, illustrated by Josh Holinaty

Combining lightly comic illustrations with amazing graphics and charts, it explores the biological functions of sleep and darkness on people, animals, and plants. Did you know plants do math at night? It also examines issues caused by artificial lights on migrations, animal and plant behaviors, and the science of the night.

Book cover - newly hatched sea turtles heading for the ocean.

Follow the moon home : a tale of one idea, twenty kids, and a hundred sea turtles by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson

Informational fiction inspired by the student-initiated Lights Out for Loggerheads program in South Carolina. The story presents a model for community engagement, and back matter outlines actions appropriate for preteen environmentalists.

Some Hands-On Appreciation Of The Dark:

Book cover - a magnifying glass and birds, racoon, amphibians, and insects and some of their tracts.

The Animal Adventurer’s Guide : How to Prowl For an Owl, Make Snail Slime, and Catch a Frog Bare-Handed, by Susie Spikol  

While not dedicated to night prowling, these animal-focused activities will get kids outside at any time of the year whether light or dark.

Book cover - shadowy figures of adult and child looking at stars in the sky.

Sky Gazing : A Guide to the Moon, Sun, Planets, Stars, Eclipses, Constellations by Meg Thacher.

This was actually a featured book a couple years ago (link) but we wanted to mention it again as a resource for sky-watchers. Each section includes activities that focus on the sky, the moon, the sun, planets, and stars and constellations.

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

Photo of Sue Heavenrich

Sue Heavenrich is an award-winning author, blogger, and bug-watcher. A long line of ants marching across the kitchen counter inspired her first article for kids. When not writing, she’s either in the garden or tromping through the woods. Her books for middle-grade readers include Funky Fungi: 30 Activities for Exploring Molds, Mushrooms, Lichens, and More and Diet for a Changing Climate. Visit her at www.sueheavenrich.com

Photo of Maria Marshall

Maria is a children’s author, blogger, and poet who is passionate about making nature and reading fun for children. She’s been a judge for the Cybils Awards since 2017, and a judge for the #50PreciousWords competition since its inception. Two of her poems are published in The Best of Today’s Little Ditty 2016 and 2014-2015 anthologies. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she bird watches, travels the world, bakes, and hikes. Visit her at www.mariacmarshall.com.

Back to Top

STEM Tuesday– Bridges and Skyscrapers– Writing Tips & Resources

By on June 16, 2026   /   Bridges, STEM Tuesday  

 

It’s summer! I know everyone is busy, so here’s a short and sweet STEM Tuesday Writing Tips & Resources post in place of my normal rambling dissertation on the beauty and significance of STEM in a literary world.

I am the son of an engineer, a civil engineer. My dad was an engineer to his very core. He thought like an engineer. He fixed things, like our bikes, broken baseball bats, toys, etc., with an engineer’s approach. He packed the trash and the garbage cans every week with an engineer’s efficiency. He wrote everything in that classic engineer’s script—an engineer to the core. 

Me? I am not an engineer. I am a microbiologist. My approach to life is messier than my father’s, and my handwriting is nowhere near the neat and precise handwriting of an engineer. However, that is not to say I did not learn a thing or two from him. In fact, I gleaned many things about how he worked and went about his business that still stick with me in my creative life. One of those is his particular area of civil engineering expertise, bridge construction. 

 

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, 2011 (Almonroth, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

The main function of a bridge is to connect. A functional bridge is built through solid design and execution of its structural parts. The pilings and the caps support the deck and create the stability necessary to establish the desired connections.

For example, an island in the middle of a large lake or sea is not easily accessible until a bridge is built that connects one place to the next. As writers and creators, we can bring this concept of bridge building into building stories, 

Outlining or developing the plot points of the story provides the structural plan to assist in the execution of the story. The plot points are the islands sitting isolated in the open water. Once we get our plot points envisioned, the next step is to work to build the structural parts through design and execution.

The storytelling magic happens with the type and style of the bridges we build to connect the plot points. The stories that grab readers contain bridges with interesting features, bridges that are fun to traverse. The successful story bridges make the journey a more enjoyable experience beyond simply getting from one plot point island to another.

One tool I use to create the plot islands for outlining my stories is the Brooks Model from Larry Brooks’ excellent book, Story Engineering.

  1. Opening Scene/First Page
    1. 3 Essentials
      1. Whose story is it? Protagonist
      2. What’s happening here? There’s a world & there’s something off in it.
      3. What’s at stake? The specific conflict for the protagonist.
  2. Hooking Moment (In first 20 pages)
  3. Exposition/A setup of inciting incident(optional)
  4. First Plot Point (@ 20-25%)
  5. First Pinch Point
  6. Context Shifting Midpoint (reactionary to action @~50%)
  7. Second Pinch Point (~60%)
  8. Second Plot Point (75%)
  9. Ending/Resolution – New Normal

These nine points give me destinations to target. Once these are loosely set in stone, the drafting begins, and my creative brain switches from planning mode to bridge-building mode. The job becomes creating and building effective bridges to transport the reader to the next destination in an entertaining and engaging manner. The goal is to engage the reader in such a way to keep them traveling along the bridge instead of wanting to stop halfway across, racing for the railing, and jumping off the bridge deck into the water below.

As you ponder your stories, don’t forget the power of building bridges to get your story to its target destination. Adopt a bit of a civil engineer’s mindset into your creative work, but feel free to leave the perfectly formed engineer’s writing script behind if you so choose.

 

Tower Bridge, London (© User:Colin / Wikimedia Commons)

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal-opportunity sports enthusiast, 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/life/training-related topics at www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.com. Two of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101,  are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming Bluesky under the guise of @mikehays64.bsky.social and @MikeHays64 on Instagram.

 

The O.O.L.F Files

This month on the Out Of Left Field (O.O.L.F.) Files, we cross the bridge and explore bridges!

The Randolph Bridge on Tuttle Creek Lake in Riley County, Kansas

This was the first big bridge project my civil engineer dad worked on in the early 1960s for the Kansas Department of Transportation. After it was completed, he transferred back to Kansas City in 1964. I now live and work within 30 minutes of the bridge and still get a great deal of joy visiting and driving across the mile-long bridge.

Here’s a YouTube drone video that uses the Randolph Bridge as a backdrop to show the drone’s features.

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks

I highly recommend Story Engineering and its companion Story Physics. It’s one of those craft books I reread every few years to not only refresh my creative skills, but to revitalize them. It’s a reminder that discipline and structure actually help me be creative rather than stifle my creativity.

The Mike Hays Best Bridge in Fiction Award goes to…

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge  by Ambrose Bierce

Robert Enrico’s 1961 short film adaptation of the story is a must-watch.. I remember watching this in school and being completely mesmerized. Of course, we’d already read, or supposed to have read, the story, so the infamous Ambrose Bierce “Gotcha” moment was already played out. Nevertheless, it is a fantastic short film. Below is the Vimeo link to the movie.

https://vimeo.com/91150431  

 

 

Alcántara Bridge, Spain (Dantla from de.wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

Back to Top

STEM Tuesday– Bridges and Skyscrapers– In the Classroom

By on June 9, 2026   /   Bridges, STEM Tuesday  

For this month’s theme, I read two books about bridges and read/wrote two books about skyscrapers. Two of these books were on this months book list and two were “bonus” books. Here’s what I read/wrote.

blue book cover of "Skyscraper" by Lynn Curlee, featuring a vintage-style illustration of the Chrysler building

Skyscraper

by Lynn Curlee

Skyscraper is presented in picture book format and includes beautiful illustrations. It follows the history of skyscrapers in general and then focuses on specific, noteworthy skyscrapers. Through this history, Skyscraper explores advances in design, construction, and materials that facilitated the building of the world’s tallest structures. This book is a bit older, so some of the later information is a bit outdated.

 

The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York

by Peter J. Tomasi, illustrated by Teo Duvall

If you like graphic novels and want to fully immerse yourself in Washington and Emily Roebling’s story, read The Bridge. This book follows the design and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, including the politics and intrigue surrounding it. The book includes details about the ground-breaking processes used to construct the bridge, as well as the health and safety issues these new techniques raised. As Washington struggled with his health, his wife Emily took over the on-site oversite of the bridge, raising additional issues to be overcome.

Bonus Books:

Engineering the Eiffel Tower book cover.Engineering the Eiffel Tower

by Janet Slingerland

This book covers the design and construction of the Eiffel Tower, including the controversy surrounding the tower when it was built. It includes a look at Gustav Eiffel, the tower’s creator, including important life events that led up to his building of the Eiffel Tower.  At the end are a list of fast facts, as well as a set of questions to answer based on the book.

 

Book cover for Golden Gate: Building the Mighty BridgeGolden Gate: Building the Mighty Bridge

by Elizabeth Partridge, illustrated by Ellen Heck

Golden Gate: Building the Mighty Bridge is a picture book that follows a lighthouse keeper’s family as the Golden Gate Bridge is constructed right in front of them. Each two-page spread includes an illustration that follows the bridge from its concept through its construction.

 

As always, there are lots of different things that can be done with these books.

There are lots of great museums/sites to visit. Here are a few:

Here are some websites and activities to explore:

Here are a few other ideas for exploring bridges and skyscrapers.

Create a Timeline

Skyscraper follows the design and construction of key skyscrapers through history. Put together your own skyscraper timeline. This is great as a group activity.

For each skyscraper, illustrate or print a picture to show on the timeline. Make sure the scale is the same for each skyscraper so everyone can see how their heights compare to one another.

Do some research on the architect, building materials, construction processes, cost, and other interesting facts about the building. Consider including breakthroughs in materials, understanding, or other critical events on the timeline.

Explore a Local Marvel

Pick an interesting local bridge or skyscraper. Think about how to search for information about its design and construction. Do some online searching, using keywords like “design” and “construction” along with the name of the structure. Visit a local library to see if there is information there about it. Meet the research librarian there to get some help with the research. If possible, visit the structure in person. Some structures provide informational tours.

Think about how to present the information found about the structure:

  • Write a “biography” of the structure. Think about how to tell its story, using inspiration from this month’s books. Include photos found during the research.
  • Put together a “Get to Know Me” poster for the structure. Include basic information and fun facts. Think of fun ways to describe the height/length and weight of the structure – for instance, how many giraffes tall is it and how many school buses does it weigh?
  • Make a graphic novel or assemble a photo essay about the construction of the structure.

Janet Slingerland has written over 2 dozen books for young readers. To find out more about Janet and her books, check out her website: http://janetsbooks.com

Back to Top