Beatrix Potter, Scientist (She Made History)
​by Lindsay H. Metcalf ill by Junyi Wu

The connection between art and science is symbiotic. Scientists record observations with accurate representations of phenomena. Artists rely on a careful study of anatomy and physiology to inform their art. It is no surprise that artist Beatrix Potter studied her surroundings and recorded her findings with precision. What is remarkable is that her published books are not scientific treatises, but instead are delightful fantasies. Metcalf gives young readers fresh insight into the life of the author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Each summer Beatrix’s family would travel to Scotland. It was there that the young girl met Charles McIntosh , the postman who encouraged her study of life forms. She was a dedicated researcher, making meticulous drawings, examining small animal skeletons, and preparing slides for microscopic observation.

The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman narrated by Simon Vance

It's Kate's birthday and rich Uncle Herman, who wears a banana yellow suit and is a bit unorthodox, presents her with a most unusual gift: a train. Not a toy. This is a mammoth-sized steam-belching machine on a track in her backyard. When Kate and her younger brother Tom climb aboard, they begin an adventure that is beyond their wildest imaginings. The Silver Arrow is a dream come true. Tom and a Kate create their ideal train with such delightful cars as a library car, a swimming pool car, and even a candy car. But the children soon learn that this will not be a pleasure excursion. They are tasked with transporting endangered species to less hostile environments. Kate is the conductor. She is charged with protecting and finding proper homes for animals such as a white bellied heron and a fishing cat.  Yes, they really exist. I looked them up.

TinkerActive Workbooks

​TinkerActive Workbook series is designed for young learners ages 5-8.  Three disciplines are covered within each grade level: English, Math, and Science.  The workbooks are sturdy, with stiff, laminate covers.  This will protect from spills that may occur. Thick quality paper, pages with round corners.  A lot of thought is evident in the creation of this series.

Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like an Inventor
by Temple Grandin with Betsy Lerner

Calling All Minds is an intriguing mix of inventor mini-biographies, images of registered inventions from the U.S. Patent office with step-by step project instructions.  Grandin frames these elements within a running narrative describing her personal journey of discovery.  She introduces readers to her thinking process, her experiments with various concepts, and schematic drawings of her creations.  The book is organized into five general sections: "Things Made of Paper," "Levers and Pulleys," "Things Made of Wood," "Things That Fly", and "Optical Illusions." Each section includes a cornucopia of material that is loosely connected. Like the discovery process, they do not flow in a strict linear fashion, instead inviting moments of serendipity along the way.

Explorer Academy by Trudi Trueit

National Geographic takes on a new publishing venture with Explorer Academy, a fiction series combining action-adventure with science, technology and world exploration. Twelve-year-old Cruz Coronado is a member of Explorer Academy, an international team of young people training to become the world's future scientists. Trueit has created stories with action, intrigue, and suspense galore. At one point in my reading I replied to a request from an individual near me, saying “I can’t come right now. Cruz is trapped underwater and can’t breathe.”

Crafty Cat series by Charise Harper

Comics, a charming cat, and crafts. What more could you ask for? Crafty Cat and the Crafty Camp Crisis is a story of expectations, making friends, and dealing with bullies is appropriate for younger readers. Back pages include directions for making each of the six monster crafts described in the text.

Bonus: There's No Place Like Home

KidLitTV stories, crafts & activities Celebrated actors read children's books.

Activity guides from Just Us Books Create with Jarrett  J. Krosoczka

​Plan your day with this suggested daily schedule from NESCA (Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents. Accessed via Lorena Germán

Red Rover: Curiosity on Mars by Richard Ho ill by Katherine Roy

Here's an intriguing approach for an informational picture book: anthropomorphize a mobile space laboratory. Red Rover: Curiosity on Mars introduces young readers to Curiosity, a two-thousand-pound laboratory exploring the geology and climate of Mars for seven years. With succinct sentences and elegant language Richard Ho describes the mission, history, and accomplishments of the scientific endeavor. ​It ...is quiet...but not still. Vast...but not empty. Barren...but not lifeless. Near the book's conclusion the perspective shifts. Moving beyond Curiosity's close-up view, the planet Mars takes up the narration and provides readers with an expanded view of space exploration.

Nina Soni, Former Best Friend
​by Kashmira Sheth ill by Jenn Kocsmiersky

Nina Soni’s life just got more complicated. She accidentally destroys her best friend's art project. Nina fears that Jay will no longer be her friend. She is stymied when her teacher assigns a Personal Narrative Project. She has nothing to write. Her life is as boring as plain rice. ​Then she discovers an interesting phenomenon that will be the basis for her person narrative. To her dismay, she learns that her idea is the same experiment used by  Jay at last year's science fair. She is discouraged. When her sister's birthday party plans fall through, Jay and Nina come together and develop a clever solution to the birthday dilemma. Upon reflection, Nina realizes that retelling events of the past twenty-four hours will make an interesting writing project.

For=get-ful-ness means your mind becomes so full of new thoughts and ideas that it pushes out the old ones.

Former means once-upon-a-time.

Scientific Discoveries

Dish soap

Lemon juice

Baking soda

Vinegar

Lunar Landing July 20, 1969

Go for the Moon: A Rocket, A Boy, and the First Moon Landing by Chris Gall From childhood, Chris Gall has always been fascinated with rockets and space exploration. Go for the Moon: A Rocket, A Boy, and the First Moon Landing chronicles the parallel stories of the Apollo 11 launch and a young boy’s attempt to replicate the event on a personal and considerably smaller scale. His rocket is a water rocket that he transports via a little red wagon. He builds a lunar module from cardboard boxes and climbs inside. He and his brother replicate the difficulty of precisely reaching the moon with a soccer ball and a stone. Gorgeously illustrated and chock full of fascinating facts, the generous trim size invites readers to experience the Apollo11 mission from a kid’s point of view. Grab a glass of Tang and share in the adventure. ​Copy provided by publisher ​Pub date: June 11, 2019 Publisher: Roaring Brook Press ISBN: 978-1250155795 Rocket to the Moon!:  ​Big Ideas That Changed the World ​by Don Brown Big Ideas That Changed the World, a series created by Don Brown, "celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately remade the world." Rocket to the Moon! is the first book in Don Brown's Big Ideas That Changed the World series This volume recounts the history and development of rockets. ​A substantial portion of the book is devoted to the United States' space exploration, including the "space race" with Russia. The narrative culminates with the successful Apollo 11 lunar landing. ​Line drawings, and link wash are clean and straightforward, moving the narrative along. The full-page panel of the moon's surface appropriately gives readers pause. Pacing shows the module’s slow descent to the Sea of Tranquility with a series of jagged-edge panels. Horizontal panels zoom in on one footstep as it descends the ladder to the moon's surface.

T-Minus: ​The Race to the Moon by Jim Ottaviani ill Zonder Cannon Kevin Cannon Jim Ottaviani’s fictionalized retelling of the race between the USA and the USSR to reach the moon is a gripping, emotionally charged saga. T-Minus: The Race to the Moon chronicles the development of space exploration and the back stories of key players such as Robert Goddard and Sergei Korolev. The failures, successes, political intrigue come to a climax when Apollo 11 reaches its destination and NASA's astronaut takes the first steps on the moon. Hard to put down. Read the author’s notes for information on his storytelling process as well as suggested bibliography. Inventive placement of rockets which break out of rigid panel frames and span the entire vertical space is noteworthy. The black and white line art is well-suited to the subject matter. Public library copy. ​Pub date: May 9, 2009 Publisher: Adallin ISBN: 978-1416949602 Countdown: ​2979 Days to the Moon  by Suzanne Slade ill Thomas Gonzales Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon chronicles events leading up to and concluding with the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969. The narrative begins with the challenge uttered by President John F. Kennedy in May 1961. ​Suzanne Slade, a mechanical engineer who worked on several space projects including the development of Saturn V rocket, is well qualified to write this superlative work of nonfiction. Her lyrical text vivifies the marvel of space exploration. The free verse is accompanied by direct quotations, systematically describing each of the eleven Apollo missions. ​Gonzalez' paintings are enhanced with infographic spreads located between chapters. Generous trim size (10.3" x 11") while accessible and easy to handle, gives added emphasis to the grandeur of this achievement. The book's text, with clear clean font is thoughtful placed, awarding the narrative added significance. For contrast, pages describing the Apollo 8 expedition as it moves to the far side of the moon are black with striking white text. ​

Video Resources

Field Trip

Superlative Birds by Leslie Bulion ill Robert Meganck

Bulion takes flight (most of the time) in her latest collection of STEM inspired poetry. This antholog of verse celebrates the avian species. Meet a dozen birds, each exhibiting a distinguishing characteristic that can be classified as superlative. Discover which bird has the widest wingspan (wandering albatross), most feathers (emperor penguin), longest round-trip migration (Arctic tern), and most accurate hearing (barn owl). Lots of fascinating trivia tidbits here.

​Thoughtful page design presents engaging text that is easy to read. A superlative trait appears as side vertical banner. A corresponding poem describes the bird's unique and noteworthy characteristics. All poetic verses are accompanied by a brief science note containing additonal information. Meganck's softly-colored line drawings, while anatomically accurate have a whimsical appearance, especially the bird’s facial expressions. Charming! The narrator, a chick-a-dee, provides running commentary on each page and ties individual pages together with a common thread.

More Poetry Please

Explorer Academy: The Falcon's Feather by Trudi Trueit

National Geographic takes on a new publishing venture with Explorer Academy, a fiction series combining action-adventure with science, technology and world exploration. Twelve-year-old Cruz Coronado is a member of Explorer Academy, an international team of young people training to become the world's future scientists. The Falcon’s Feather, second in the seven-book series, finds Cruz aboard the academy's flagship and headed to northern aquatic seas. He will be trained to swim in frigid waters and pilot a deep-sea exploratory vessel. The ship is equipped with fascinating technological gadgets: a helmet with an embedded computerized translator which allows the wearer to communicate with marine animals, clothing with bio-luminescent properties and the ability to change appearance to blend with surroundings, a drone that appears as a tiny insect but can transmit messages.

They killed your mother. They will not hesitate to kill you, too.

Extra. Extra. 

The Truth Behind

​Meet the real National Geographic Explorers who helped inspire the science in the book series. Watch them in action and find out how they’re changing the world through science and adventure in “Explorer Academy: The Truth Behind.”

Rocket to the Moon!: Big Ideas That Changed the World
​by Don Brown

Big Ideas That Changed the World, a series created by Don Brown, "celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately remade the world."  Rocket to the Moon! is the first book in the BIG IDEAS series, exploring the development of rockets. ​Rodman Law, a New Jersey daredevil parachutist in the early 1900's, is the character who narrates the chronology. He provides commentary and adds his own witty asides.  I bet I'm the first guy to try flying in a rocket. OK, OK, there's a sketchy story about a Turkish guy who did it in 1633, but come on, 1633? I'm not buying it, so I'm claiming the title. Briefly mentioned are the Chinese invention of gunpowder, as well as fifteenth and sixteenth century experimentation with rockets. The narrative progresses with greater detail when detailing the research of twentieth-century Russian, American, and Romanian scientists and the work of American-German aerospace engineer Werner von Braun. His association with Hitler's Germany is mentioned. ​​

They lightened Eagle by discarding an impressive pile of junk: boots, a camera, canisters, scoops, a shovel, space suit parts, and an empty storage container. They left a bag of barf, too, so watch your step if you're ever on the Sea of Tranquility.

Don Brown Comics

Rocket History 

Contrary Creatures: Unique Animal Opposites
​by James Weinberg

Weinberg uses bold graphic design to compare animal characteristics. The cover sets the stage with a wave-like separation between life on land and life underwater. The title font remains the same for both words. However, color and text position offer important informational cues. The demarcation between the two environments is neatly pierced with shafts of light streaming from the sky and penetrating the deep water.  ​Interior pages include comparisons of animal size, habitat, as well as distinguishing features and behaviors. There is even a nod to imaginary animals found in stories and legends. A listing of the creatures along with a brief description of each can be found at the back of the book.

Home for a Penguin, Home for a Whale
​by Brenda Williams   ill Annalisa Beghelli      

Images of ocean life, both in the water and near the shore, follow a wave-like motion across two-page spreads. Brenda Williams’ rhythmic couplets undulate along with these animals, visually reinforcing the text’s aquatic theme. Annalisa Beghelli uses various shades of blue as the primary background. Generally the deeper blues are at the bottom of the spreads, with color values becoming lighter near the page top. Animals are depicted with a light whimsical touch.  Sharks and barracudas to not appear particularly menacing. A fun read aloud with a bonus: a tiny sea snail is hidden on each page, waiting to be discovered.