Meet My Family!

Meet My Family!: Animal Babies and Their Families
by Laura Purdie Salas (Author) and Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Illustrator)

Booktalk: What kind of families do animal babies have? All different kinds! Meet a wolf pup cared for by the pack, a young orangutan snuggling with its mother high in a tree, a poison dart frog tadpole riding piggyback on its dad, and more. Rhyming verse and informational text help you discover just how diverse the animal kingdom really is!

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It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Back from the Brink ~ Saving Animals from Extinction

Back from the Brink: Saving animals from extinction, by Nancy F. Castaldo

176 pages; ages 10-12. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2018

“We are not alone on this great spinning planet,” writes Nancy Castaldo. “Alongside us are countless creatures with whom we share the earth’s space and resources. Sometimes we collide, and when we do, it’s usually the animals that lose out.”

In the introduction, Nancy discusses preservation, the Endangered Species Act, and how humans can work together to help repair some of the damage done to wildlife populations. Individual chapters highlight whooping cranes, gray wolves, bald eagles, the giant Galapagos tortoises, American alligators, California condors, and American bison.

Having never had the opportunity to visit the Galapagos, I was intrigued to learn about the tortoises. They are big – weighing 500 or more pounds – and live a long time. One tortoise, owned by Charles Darwin in 1835, died in 2006! These tortoises are crucial member of their ecosystems, Nancy writes. They help distribute seed for plants that, in turn, provide food for birds and lizards.

The problem: goats. Goats introduced to the islands have destroyed the forests that provide important shade and moisture for the tortoises. People brought goats to the island; people can help remove them so the island ecosystem can recover and provide a safe home for the tortoises. Nancy shows how that is happening on one of the island, allowing tortoises to come back from the brink of extinction.

I love the way Nancy ends with a Call to Action. There are specific things that people – even kids – can do to help preserve wildlife. For example, planting native plants could help save endangered butterflies. Making sure your microtrash (bottle caps and other small plastic bits) ends up in the trash bin keeps plastic out of the mouths of wildlife. Preserving wetlands in your area will help the birds and other wildlife that depend on those habitats. Reducing the use of herbicides and other pesticides will keep birds – and humans – healthier.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.

I Want to Be a Doctor

I Want to Be a Doctor
by Laura Driscoll (Author) and Catalina Echeverri (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Doctors help sick and hurt people feel better. When little brother Jack hurts his foot, the family gets to meet all kinds of doctors. <em<(Level 1 beginning reader).

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It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean

Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean: Remembering Chinese Scientist Pu Zhelong’s Work for Sustainable Farming
by Sigrid Schmalzer (Author) and Melanie Linden Chan (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In the early 1960s, while Rachel Carson was writing and defending Silent Spring in the U.S., Pu Zhelong was teaching peasants in Mao Zedong’s Communist China how to forgo pesticides and instead use parasitic wasps to control the moths that were decimating crops and contributing to China’s widespread famine.

This story told through the memories of a farm boy (a composite of people inspired by Pu Zhelong) will immerse young readers in Chinese culture, the natural history of insects, and sustainable agriculture.

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It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Summer!

Summer officially begins next week! Here’s a fun pop-up book to kick off vacation:

Summer, by David A. Carter

12 pages; ages 3-5. Abrams Appleseed, 2018

The summer day is long and warm…

Each spread in this book features brief text and depicts plants and animals that children might see during the summer.

What I like about this book: It’s fun! When you turn the page, a plant or tree pops up (plus the squash that vines from one side of the spread to the other). Birds, animals, fruits, and the occasional feature are labeled, and there is plenty of detail to explore on the page. It almost begs kids to get up and head outside to explore summer. My recommendation: tuck this one in your picnic basket.

 

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for more books and some hands-on explorations.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.

Charlie Builds

Charlie Builds: Bridges, Skyscrapers, Doghouses, and More!
by Bob Bianchini (Author / Illustrator)

Booktalk: Charlie and his dad build everything together. They build sandcastles at the beach, they build blocks in Dad’s office, and they even build a doghouse for Rocky and a tree house high above the backyard. But Charlie’s favorite thing to build is a pillow fort where he and Dad can cuddle together. A rhyming STEM board book!

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It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

What Do They Do With All That Poo?

At Growing with Science today we are highlighting the new picture book What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz and illustrated by Allison Black.

Kids of a certain age love these topics.

For the text, Jane Kurtz uses a two level approach. Across the top of the pages is a bouncy rhyme, which is fantastic for educators who want to read the book aloud to young children. Across the bottom of the pages are denser sentences geared for older readers who want to find out more information.

Using twelve animal examples, — from bats to rhinos — Kurtz explains how the variation in their poo results from differences in the animals’ nutrition and digestion. For example, panda poo is mostly undigested bamboo, so it is green and not smelly at all. On the other hand, penguin poo is fishy.

The author also includes information about how zoos handle the disposal of animal wastes, including composting. There’s even a surprise or two at the end.

What Do They Do With All That Poo? is a perfect book to accompany a trip to the zoo, farm, or wildlife habitat. Check out a copy today!

See the rest of the review and more stuff at the blog.

Just Like Us! Ants

Just Like Us! Ants

by Bridget Heos ; illustrated by David Clark

32  pages; ages 4-7

HMH Books for Young Readers, 2017

Did you know that ants have been farming for longer than humans? And that in addition to raising crops, they herd (and milk) animals? Ants also build roads, sew, and construct rafts to survive floods.

What I like about this book: On each spread, Bridget Heos introduces a different way in which ants are like us. She uses plain language, tinged with humor, to show how ants live in communities, delegate chores, and deal with traffic. An ant’s first job is often that of a babysitter – just like us! Babysitter ants feed their young charges, and give them baths. They’d probably raid the fridge if ant nests had refrigerators. Another thing ants do is wage war on other colonies. Meanwhile, the queen and loyal helpers carry the larvae and flee to safety.

I also like the artwork. David Clark’s cartoonish illustrations add a touch of humor while showing the details we need to know. Occasionally he integrates photos of real ants doing real work.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for a review of Spiders! Strange and Wonderful, plus some hands-on activities.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.

Coder Academy

Coder Academy
by Sean McManus (Author) and Rosan Magar (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Have fun this summer as you explore all the skills a coder needs — both on and off the computer — in this interactive book.

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It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

How to Code a Sandcastle

How to Code a Sandcastle (a Girls Who Code book), by Josh Funk; illustrated by Sara Palacios.

44 pages; ages 4-8. Viking, 2018

It is the last day of summer vacation. Which means today is my very last chance to build a sandcastle!

Pearl has been trying to build a sandcastle all summer long, but things keep happening to them. Today, though, she’s got the perfect plan and the perfect building partner – her trusty, rust-proof robot buddy, Pascal. All she has to do is tell Pascal what to do, and how to do it.

What I like about this book: I like the fun way Josh Funk introduces coding. When Pearl tells Pascal to build a sandcastle, he doesn’t know what to do. Pearl realizes she needs to give her robot more specific instructions, so she figures out the steps needed for castle construction and, through trial and error, creates the code that tells Pascal what to do. Then, because she is tired of repeating the same instructions, she figures out how to create a loop of code so Pascal will continue doing the same thing over and over and over again.

I like the personality illustrator Sara Palacios imbues in Pascal. He is delightful! And I love the clever way Josh codes “the end” and his dedication. This book will make you want to get a bucket and plastic scoop and head to the beach to code your very own sandcastle.

Check out my interview with Josh Funk on the GROG Blog. And head over to Archimedes Notebook for some more beach reading and hands-on activities.

 

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.