Posts Tagged nonfiction

A Shout Out for the STEM Tuesday Team!!

By on March 30, 2021   /   STEM Tuesday  

stem tuesday image

 

As we come up on our fourth anniversary of STEM Tuesday (yes – FOUR years!) I thought it would be a great time to remind you of the AMAZING authors who make STEM Tuesday possible.

The STEM Tuesday blog posts are written by a group of award-winning children’s authors, teachers, and writers who are passionate about presenting STEM/STEAM topics in a way that kids of all ages will find exciting, inspiring, and engaging.

You can find more information about each of them by visiting their websites, purchasing some of their books, and also inviting them to your schools and conferences.

Meet the STEM Tuesday TEAM!

Nancy Castaldo, authorBook The Story of SEedsNancy Castaldo      @NCastaldoAuthor

Nancy Castaldo has written books about our planet for over 20 years. Her 2016 title THE STORY OF SEEDS: From Mendel’s Garden to Your Plate, and How There’s More of Less To Eat Around The World introduces older readers to the importance of seeds, farming, and the crisis we currently face. It received the Green Earth Book Award and many other accolades.

 

 

author christine Taylor-butler

book The Circulatory System
Christine  has written more than 80 books including The Lost Tribe series. She has been an advocate for diversity in character representations and led by example.

Taylor-Butler majored in civil engineering and architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating in 1981. She has written nonfiction for Scholastic, including for their True Book educational series.

 

image of author Mary Kay CarsonBook - Wildlife Rangers
Mary Kay Carson is a nonfiction children’s book author. She’s written more than fifty books for kids about wildlife, space, weather, nature, and other science and history topics.

 

 

 

 

 

JAnet Slingerland authorAtoms and Molecules Book
Janet Slingerland is the author of more than 20 books for readers in grades K through 12. Her favorite subjects include STEM, history, and the history of STEM.

Janet grew up reading, writing, and conducting science experiments. After working for 15 years writing computer programs, She started writing books.

 

 

 

 

Author Carla MooneyBook The Human Genome  Carla Mooney 

@Carlawrites

Carla Mooney is an award-winning children’s author from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

She is the author of numerous nonfiction and fiction books and magazine articles for children and teens. She has won several nonfiction awards for her books.

 

 

Author Patricia Newman

Planet Ocean BookPatricia  Newman

@PatriciaNewman

Award-winning author Patricia Newman shares her excitement for writing and hopes to inspire readers and writers of all ages to share their vision of the world.

 

 

 

author Karen Latchana Kenney

book Folding Tech   Karen Latchana Kenney

@KLatchanaKenney

Karen writes books about animals, and she looks for them wherever she  goes—from leafcutter ants trailing through the Amazon rain forest in Guyana, where she was born, to puffins in cliff-side burrows on the Irish island of Skellig Michael. She especially enjoys creating books about nature, biodiversity, conservation, and groundbreaking scientific discoveries—but also  civil rights, astronomy, historical moments, and many other topics.

 

Kirsten Williams Larson authorWood, Wire and Wings book  Kirsten W. Larson

@KirstenWLarson

Kirsten used to work with rocket scientists at NASA. Now she writes books for curious kids. Kirsten is the author of WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: EMMA LILIAN TODD INVENTS AN AIRPLANE, as well as 25 nonfiction books for the school and library market.

 

 

 

Author Sue HeavenrichBook Diet for a Changing Climate Sue Heavenrich

Sue Heavenrich is an independent environmental journalist and children’s writer. She has written for a variety of magazines including Ranger Rick, Highlights, Cobblestone, and Organic Gardening as well as local and regional newspapers. She writes the “Archimedes Notebook” science column for Ithaca Child, a bimonthly parenting publication.

 

 

 

Author Heather L. MontgomeryWho Gives a Poop? book Heather L. Montgomery 

@HeatherLMont

Heather L. Montgomery writes for kids who are wild about animals. Her 14 nonfiction books include SOMETHING ROTTEN: A FRESH LOOK AT ROADKILL, LITTLE MONSTERS OF THE OCEAN: METAMORPHOSIS UNDER THE WAVES, and BUGS DON’T HUG: SIX-LEGGED PARENTS AND THEIR KIDS.

 

 

Writer Maria MarshallMaria Marshall

@MariaMarshall_

For as long as anyone can remember, Maria had a book in her hands. During the summer of herthird grade year, she read every book in the Library’s children’s section A to Z. She loved to write, make up stories, and create elaborate treasure hunts and maps for my brother and sister. So she went to college and wrote for four years to earn a degree in English and Political Science. Then she took my love of writing and telling stories to Law School. Maria is passionate about using picture and chapter books to make reading and nature fun for children. Check out her Picture Book Buzz Blog

 

Writer Mike Hays Mike Hays

@coachhays64

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. He also is a history fanatic, especially regional history. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night.

 

And me,

author jennifer swansonBook Beastly Bionics  Jennifer Swanson

@JenSwanBooks

Jennifer Swanson is the award winning author of over 40+ nonfiction books for children, mostly about science and technology. Jennifer’s love of STEM began when she started a science club in her garage at the age of 7. While no longer working from the garage, Jennifer’s passion for science and technology resonates in all her books but especially, BRAIN GAMES (NGKids) and SUPER GEAR: Nanotechnology and Sports Team Up (Charlesbridge), Astronaut-Aquanaut, and Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner, Save the Crash-test Dummies. Her  BRAIN GAMES book was even #13 on the The Planets.org 50 Best Science books Ever Written.

 

We hope you are enjoying our STEM Tuesday blog. If you use it in your classroom or homeschool, please let us know. And if you have a topic that you would like us to cover that we haven’t yet, leave your suggestion in the comments below.  GO STEM!!

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STEM Tuesday — Natural Disasters — Author Interview with Amy Cherrix

By on March 23, 2021   /   Natural Disasters, 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 Amy Cherrix, author of EYE OF THE STORM: NASA, Drones, and the Race to Crack the Hurricane Code.

Mary Kay Carson: Tell us a bit about Eye of the Storm and how you came to write it.

Download a Discussion & Activity Guide for the book.

Amy Cherrix: Eye of the Storm is the story of an elite group of NASA meteorologists and the Hurricane Severe Storm Sentinel mission (HS3). These scientists and engineers re-purposed military drones to conduct high-altitude hurricane research. This Global Hawk drone was built for use in dry climates. Global Hawk is so delicate, it cannot take off during so much as a light rain shower, yet it can fly safely high above hurricanes–the most violent storms in nature’s arsenal. How’s that for irony? The drone is loaded with remote control science instruments that measure humidity, air pressure, temperature, and more. The Global Hawk’s pilot flies the aircraft using a computer mouse and keyboard from a control room on the ground that is hundreds, or thousands, of miles away from the aircraft.

I stumbled onto this incredible story while engaging in my favorite Saturday morning activity. I love to pour a big cup of coffee and surf the NASA.gov website (an activity I highly recommend to science enthusiasts and story writers). When I read about the HS3 mission, I knew I had a great book idea on my hands. I sent emails to the mission’s principal investigators and within an hour, replies from NASA were pouring into my inbox. NASA is a public agency and its scientists love to share their work. I accepted a generous invitation from the mission’s principal investigator, Dr. Scott Braun, and visited NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the coast of Virginia to observe the mission. I interviewed drone pilots, engineers, meteorologists, and mechanics. Every single person was deeply invested in the mission’s success. It was inspiring.

MKC: Anything you’d like to share about the time you spent with researchers while writing this book?

Amy: The scariest part of writing this book was not knowing if the team would have a hurricane to study while I was visiting Wallops Flight Facility. What would I write about if nothing happened while I was there? But sometimes, things just work out for the best.  Hurricane Edouard formed soon after my arrival and was the best storm the HS3 team had studied to date! It was an ideal sample, staying far out to sea, not threatening land, and it spun for days. They were thrilled and it was an unexpected honor to be present at such a high-point of the mission.

MKC: Why do you choose to write STEM books?

Amy: I write STEM stories because I have always been insatiably curious about science and the natural world. When human beings try to overcome the forces of nature—whether it’s gravity, or the weather—challenges abound. Scientists confront these impossible challenges everyday. That’s their job. I’m fascinated by that kind of determination, patience, and persistence.

Amy Cherrix is the acclaimed author of In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race, as well as two middle-grade nonfiction books in the award-winning Scientists in the Field series: Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife and Eye of the Storm. Her newest STEM picture book is Animal Architects (9/7/21), from Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster. www.amycherrix.com

MKC: For readers who loved The Eye of the Storm, what other middle-grade books would you suggest?

Amy: I highly recommend every book in Houghton Mifflin’s Scientists in the Field series, of which Eye of the Storm, is a part. There’s something for everyone; thrilling stories about science in the fields of geology, biology, seismology, meteorology, genetics; just about any branch of science you can imagine. These books show young readers that science is much more than a white coat and a laboratory. Science is adventure!

MKC: Could you share where you are right now on a current project and how you’re approaching it?

Amy: I’m working on a new STEM picture book series for Beach Lane Books called Amazing Animals. I just finished the first book in the series that publishes on September 7, 2021 called Animal Architects, illustrated by Chris Sasaki. Many animals, both on land and in the sea, build amazing structures to help them trap food, attract mates, or hide from predators. From undersea cities of coral, to a mother penguin’s palace of pebbles, the natural world is a construction zone. I spent months reading books, watching nature videos, taking notes, and studying photographs to collect their stories. The second book, Animal Superpowers, publishes in fall 2022. I approached Animal Architects with a spirit of wonder. I wanted to inspire readers’ curiosity. To do that, I created a list of the various structures animals and insects build. Then I imagined what questions young readers might ask of nature’s builders. The answers I found surprised me at every turn. For example, before writing this book, I’d never given termites a second thought. But I learned that some species of termites build giant, naturally air-conditioned towers. How cool is that? These tiny insects work together as a colony to build a home that helps them survive as a group. We can learn a lot from nature. I hope this new series inspires young readers to ask their own questions about the natural world, and consider what actions they can take to protect our planet and its creatures.

Win a FREE copy of EYE OF THE STORM!

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 is Mary Kay Carson, author of Wildlife Ranger Action Guide, The Tornado Scientist, Alexander Graham Bell for Kids, Mission to Pluto, and other nonfiction books for kids. @marykaycarson

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Catherine Urdahl Interview + VIRGINIA WAS A SPY Giveaway!

By on March 17, 2021   /   Author Interviews  

We’re very excited to spotlight author Catherine Urdahl today on the MUF blog and her new book Virginia Was A Spy! (Cathy has generously offered to send a signed copy of Virginia Was A Spy to one lucky winner–US+Canada. See details at bottom.)

Hi Cathy! Thank you for sharing Virginia Was A Spy with me. This was such an interesting biography about a trailblazing woman who was a spy . . . but as your book reveals, she was much more than a spy.

About the Book

Can you give us a short summary about the book?

Virginia Was A Spy is the true story of World War II heroine Virginia Hall. Virginia was an American who overcame huge obstacles—including an amputated leg—to become the first female secret agent working in occupied France. She was a master of deception and disguises. At one point she posed as an elderly milkmaid, selling homemade cheese to the Nazis in order to get close to them and listen in on their secrets.

When did it come out?

The book was published in August 2020.

Tell us who would especially enjoy this book (as it’s both a picture book and aimed at lower middle-grade readers). I wrote this book for ages 8 and up—anyone who’s interested in spy/adventure stories, incredible (and unrecognized) heroines, and World War II history. In addition to the main story and the wonderful illustrations by artist Gary Kelley, the book includes back matter with more details for older readers.

About the Author

Can you describe your writing journey? Did you enjoy writing as a child? Did you always plan on writing for kids?

I’ve always loved reading. My favorite part of school—especially in the early years—was going to the library. Once I was so lost in my book I didn’t notice that my class had left. I wrote (and illustrated) my first homemade book in second grade. In high school and college I wrote poems and short stories. Then I went to work in corporate communications, writing articles for company newsletters and brochures. But more and more, I dreamed of writing for children. I finally started writing, taking classes, and meeting with a critique group. After a lot of practice—and a lot of rejection—I published my first book, Emma’s Question, in 2009 and my second book, Polka-dot Fixes Kindergarten, in 2011.

What draws you to writing nonfiction? To biographies about women?

I love learning about people in history—what they did and, more important, why they did it. Whether I’m writing fiction or nonfiction, character is the most fascinating element for me. Researching a real person is like getting to know someone layer by layer and figuring out how their actions impacted history and even how we live today.

I especially love writing about unrecognized women like Virginia. History books are filled with the stories of men. But women were there, too—often behind the scenes, since both laws and stereotypes kept them from the roles that made men famous. Each of these women made specific contributions—and became part of the larger story of women’s rights and roles in our society.

What message do you hope readers will take away from Virginia Was A Spy?

Virginia fought for the right to be herself and fulfill her purpose. She heard no a lot—from the men of the U.S. Foreign Service, who said a woman with a wooden leg could not be a diplomat; from downed pilots who didn’t trust a woman to help them escape; and from British spymasters who thought it too dangerous for her to return for a second mission in France. Countless people underestimated her ability, both because of her gender and her amputated leg. But Virginia didn’t take no for an answer. More than anything, I hope readers are inspired by her determination to be herself and to make a difference.

Research and Writing Process

What got you interested in the life of Virginia Hall? Why did you think this was an important story to tell?

I first read about Virginia in an anthology about women in World War II. I admired her courage; she actually fought for the right to be a spy, despite the extreme danger. She didn’t let anything stop her—not even her heavy, wooden leg, which she had to drag through snow drifts on a 30-mile escape hike through the mountains. I wanted to honor her courage and determination, as well as her significant contributions to the Allied victory in World War II. But on a more personal note, I was drawn to write about someone so different from myself. I sometimes struggle to find courage to take action—even though the risk is NOTHING like Virginia faced. Maybe I could learn from her, even though I definitely do not have what it takes to be a spy!

Virginia was always unconventional—doing what others thought was unacceptable for women at the time and fighting against those who wanted to hold her back. Which of Virginia’s roles during her life surprised you the most and why?

Virginia’s whole life was surprising, given expectations about women’s roles at the time. But for me, the biggest surprise comes near the start, when she volunteers as an ambulance driver. Virginia had traveled to Paris to escape her disappointment about being rejected by the U.S. Foreign Service. But when war broke out, she took a huge leap from being a young woman exploring her favorite city to a person risking her life to rescue injured soldiers near the front lines. As an American, she could have returned to the United States, but she chose to stay in France.

Your book contains so many fascinating details about how Virginia operated as a spy (like putting a flowerpot in her window to signal she was home). What was the most interesting detail you found in your research? There were so many interesting details—it’s hard to choose. But one of my favorites is how Virginia and her doctor friend disguised downed Allied pilots as French farmers and helped them escape the country. Many of the pilots didn’t speak French, so if the Nazis stopped them their covers would be blown. To solve this problem, the doctor bandaged their necks and gave them notes explaining they had suffered throat injuries and could not talk.

Virginia went to great lengths to hide her identity (even changing the fillings in her teeth). Why did you think it was important to include these kinds of details in your book?

Specific details help readers enter into the story and understand what being a spy really involved. Imagine changing all the fillings in your mouth! Secret agents like Virginia had to pay attention to every little detail. If they didn’t, they increased their risk of being caught. So the little details are important in telling the story of a spy.

What took more time than you anticipated when researching/writing/revising?

I had so much interesting information, but I couldn’t include it all. I had to decide which details were most important for showing Virginia’s character and the actions she took. I also had to figure out how to shape these details so the book would read like a story and not just a list of facts. Both of these things involved lots and lots of rewriting and lots and lots of cutting!

For Teachers

How can teachers use this book in their classrooms?

My website—www.catherineurdahl.com—contains several free classroom activities, including a step-by-step biography-writing project and a character-trait activity, as well as profiles of other female spies. Teachers also could use the book as part of a study of World War II—as a way to highlight the work of all the unrecognized heroes.

Cathy launched her book with a spy hunt in the summer of 2020 at Excelsior Bay Books in Excelsior, MN, that my son and I had fun playing!

Are you doing school visits or events related to this book? Tell us more! (What grade range? What’s your focus—history, writing, or both?)

I love doing school visits—both virtual and, when it’s safe, in-person! I use Virginia Was A Spy for grades 3 and up (including middle school and high school) and tailor the visit to the specific grade level. I offer a variety of programs, including a “story-behind-the story” presentation, which talks about the overall brainstorming/research/writing/revision process, as well as presentations on biography-writing, women’s history, and spies.

For younger students, I offer presentations using my earlier books—Polka-dot Fixes Kindergarten and Emma’s Question.

I love this book, Cathy. Thanks so much for sharing it with us on the MUF blog!

Please click the giveaway link below BEFORE SATURDAY MIDNIGHT and comment, retweet, follow MUF, etc. for a chance to win a signed copy of Virginia Was A Spy. The winner will be announced on Sunday, March 21.

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