It is a tiny little spider, it’s body is less than 1/3 of an inch long. I have seen these spiders many times before with their long front legs stretched out in front, but they are so small, I never really looked at them carefully.

In a closer view you can see the front legs have a soft, feathery appearance, which led to the common name of feather-legged orb weaver. They are also called cribellate orb weavers.

It’s amazing when you look at a macro photograph how the color and details pop out.

I learned from Nature at Close Range that the cribellate orb weavers have no venom, but catch their prey in the hairy front legs.

Now that I have been formally introduced to my fuzzy little neighbor, I’ll be sure to pay more attention to it in the future.

If you or your children are interested in learning more about your spider neighbors, try:

I have more information about these books at baby spiders and some books.

Super Women in Science by Kelly Di Domenico contains the biographies of women scientists who made outstanding contributions to their fields of study. Starting with the tragic story of Hypatia, born in the year 355, through the first African-American woman in space, Mae Jemison, this book briefly summarizes the lives of women in the light of the times in which they lived. Each chapter summarizes the life of a single woman, listed in chronological order.

Some of the women, like Rachel Carson, are household names. In other cases the author has chosen a less well-known scientist. For example, instead of a biography of primatologist Jane Goodall, Di Domenico introduces us to Birute Galdikas, a woman who studies orangutans in a similar ground-breaking way that Goodall studies chimpanzees. It is fun to learn about someone new.

Most of the women had to struggle against bias to continue working in science. For example, Maria Goeppert-Mayer won the Nobel Prize in 1963 for physics, but had to work as a volunteer because no university would hire her early in her career. Hearing the same setbacks due to gender bias again and again is a bit disheartening, but it does reflect the realities of the times.

Part of the high-quality Women’s Hall of Fame Series, this particular volume does have a few minor flaws. For example, in the second chapter on fossil-hunter Mary Anning, some of the scientific names are not properly capitalized. The list of sources in the back, however, are extremely helpful for children who get excited about the life of one of these women and want to find out more.

Super Women in Science is likely to be inspiring not only children interested in science, but also those interested in history. Although listed as a middle grade book, I think older children will also find it useful.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 102 pages
Publisher: Second Story Press (January 1, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1896764665
ISBN-13: 978-1896764665

This post was prepared for Nonfiction Monday, a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. (I usually participate in this carnival at my Wrapped in Foil blog.) For more information, stop by Anastasia Suen’s Nonfiction Monday page. This week’s carnival is at Bookish Blather.

Thanks to the publisher for providing this older book for review.

With great timing, I just had a grandma ask me to recommend a book for her 4-year-old granddaughter, who is interested in bugs.

Here’s a few of our favorite picture books, both fiction and nonfiction. They are in no particular order and there are many other very good books about insects and spiders out there. I chose these because of they haven’t lost their appeal over the years.

Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries have a wonderful nonfiction series, asking the question “Are you…?” Are you a butterfly? Are you a grasshopper? Are you an ant? All are beautifully done and well-researched books. The child is brought into the story in a creative way.

At that age, the First Discovery Series books are fun to explore nonfiction. They have clear acrylic pages that change the scenes when you turn them. We have The Ladybug and Other Insects by Gallimard Jeunesse and Pascale de Bourgoing and Butterflies.

Lois Ehlert’s books are visually lovely, and Waiting for Wings is no exception. This book gives the child a chance to learn about both butterflies and plants.

Diane Cronin and Harry Bliss have a lovely series of fiction books with invertebrate main characters. Diary of a Spider, Diary of a Fly and Diary of a Worm are sweet and funny. We discovered them at a bit older age (6 or 7), but I think an advanced four-year-old child would enjoy them.

Two Bad Ants might also be for a bit older child, because in this classic fiction book the ants get into scary situations and the illustrations are not as bright and colorful. Children with a sense of adventure and a good imagination will enjoy it.

We like the ubiquitous Eric Carle books, such as The Very Busy Spider. They are fiction, as Carle has the butterfly in A Very Hungry Caterpillar emerging from a cocoon. (Butterflies don’t make cocoons.) I just substitute the word pupa and explain why.

Ruth Heller’s How to Hide a Butterfly has fascinating illustrations to explore and a wonderful rhyming text. There are insects and spiders hidden in each two page spread.

I hope you find something useful here.

Do you have any favorite picture books about insects that I’ve missed?

All the books on this list are personal copies that we purchased. For information on my affiliation with Amazon, see the disclosure page.

First of all, I am sad because this year my parents decided to log the small woods that is on their property. They knew I wouldn’t be happy, so they didn’t let it slip until it was already done. And they were right. I felt loss for the walnuts and oaks who had been standing since as long as I can remember. I miss them.

Arbor day also reminds me of the story of Herbie the elm tree, which is a poignant one. Rambling Woods has a good summary of the Herbie story.

Maybe I miss the trees more because here in the desert trees are small and shrubby. A big tree is a rare and beautiful sight.

In any case, a book that came in the mail this week struck a chord with me.

I will say up front that this is an adult book, it is not written for children.

Keepers of the Trees:  A Guide to Re-Greening North America by Ann Linnea has the details right. It is printed on recycled wood-free paper.

Linnea writes about the stories of fourteen men and women who are dedicated to conserving trees, including herself. She includes people from a diversity of outlooks, races, genders, lifestyles and backgrounds, all brought together by their love of trees.

The author has a compelling writing style and sets just the right tone. The book isn’t preachy or heavy-handed at all. Basically, it is about the people and their work.

People like Corella Payne, who researches public health issues such as asthma for her job, and then volunteers as a Treekeeper for public parks during her off hours. Corella sees the link between being outside with nature, and overall health and well-being.

The story of Merve the logger stands out in my mind because of my recent experiences. Merve has been selectively and sustainably logging the same spot in Canada for years. Although he has removed the same amount of timber that he would have gotten if he had simply clear cut, the forest remains in place, still viable and diverse. He respects the soil, leaves natural drainage systems intact and tries to take trees that are mostly at the end of their natural life cycle. Inspiring!

The layout of Keepers of the Trees is visually appealing, with many color photographs and figures. In the back is a list of practical things that you can do if you are interested in “tree-keeping.” Suggestions include planting a tree, adopting a tree, and mentoring a child.

I think I will take up that suggestion to mentor a child by taking my son to see another cork oak I found out about recently. Seems like the right thing to do on Arbor Day.

And if you are interested in helping a child learn more about trees, check my review of the Leaf and Tree Guide at Wrapped in Foil.

Edit: Tricia has a fabulous list of children’s books about trees at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

What are you doing for Arbor Day?

Please read the disclosure page for information about my affiliation with Amazon. Book was provided by publisher.

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has just come out with their list of Outstanding Trade Science Books from 2009. Go take a look for summaries of each book, reviews, and links to related websites for further investigations on each topic.

Some examples of recommended science books, organized by theme:

Flying Animals

Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest: Where Birds Begin. Irene Kelly. Holiday House. ISBN 978-0-8234-2102-2

What Bluebirds Do. Pamela F. Kirby. Boyds Mills Press. ISBN 978-1-59078-614-7

A Place for Birds. Melissa Stewart and Higgins Bond (Illustrator). Peachtree Publishers. 32pp. Trade ISBN 978-1-56145-474-7

Face to Face With Penguins. Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott. National Geographic Children’s Books. ISBN 978-1-4263-0561-0.

Flying Eagle. Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and Deborah Kogan Ray (Illustrator). Charlesbridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57091-671-7.

Up, Up, and Away. Ginger Wadsworth and Patricia J. Wynne (Illustrator). Charlesbridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58089-221-6.

Here’s the book trailer for Up, Up, and Away:

In the Trees, Honey Bees! Lori Mortensen and Cris Arbo (Illustrator). Dawn Publications. ISBN 978-1-58469-114-3

Cold and Snow

Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia. Sy Montgomery. Color photographs by Nic Bishop. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 978-0-618-91645-0.

Under the Snow. Melissa Stewart. Illustrated by Constance R. Bergum. Peachtree Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56145-493-8.

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder. Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-6866-2

Ice Scientist: Careers in Frozen Antarctic. Sara L. Latta. Enslow Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7660-3048-0

Water and Oceans

Winter’s Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again. Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, and Craig Hatkoff. Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-0-545-12335-8.

Our World of Water. Beatrice Hollyer. Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an Imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8050-8941-7

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau. Dan Yaccarino. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-375-85573-3.

Into the Deep: The Life of Naturalist and Explorer William Beebe. David Sheldon. Charlesbridge Publishing. 48pp. Trade ISBN 978-1-58089-341-1

Over the Coasts: An Aerial View of Geology. Michael Collier. Mikaya Press. 120pp. Trade ISBN 978-1-931414-42-5

If you are interested in biographies of scientists and inventors, any book from Mike Venezia’s series is a good place to start.

(Please check the disclosure page for information about my affiliation with Amazon.)

Have you read any good science books lately? I’d love to hear about it.

I went through the list of nominated nonfiction picture books and picked out some science and nature books that you might find interesting and/or useful. (And by the way, I am a round II judge for this category.)

Nic Bishop Butterflies and Moths by Nic Bishop

Nic Bishop is an award-winning photographer and author, and this book is sure to win him more honors. His photographs of butterflies, moths and their caterpillars are fascinating. Not only does he get close up, but from an unusual angle or catching the subject in action. The photos can stand alone, but he adds a lyrical and informative text as well. If your children are interested in insects, be sure to take a look at this one.

For a more extensive review, see my children’s book blog, Wrapped in Foil.

For kids interested in space, we have books released just in time for the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca

Check out the trailers:

One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh and Mike Wimmer (Illustrator)

Another version of the lunar landing, also well done.

This trailer is longer because it is a TV news interview with the illustrator Mike Wimmer. In the beginning they show some illustrations from the book. If your child is interested in art, the interview shows his studio and Mike painting.

Cars on Mars: Roving the Red Planet by Alexandra Siy

This one was actually nominated for the middle grade nonfiction category instead of the picture books because the text is more extensive and in depth than the usual picture book, but I thought you might want to take a look. Children’s book reviewers have been raving about it since its release. It is about the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.

You Are the First Kid on Mars by Patrick O’Brien

This book really stretches the definition of nonfiction, because it details an imaginary trip to Mars. The scientific details and photorealistic illustrations are what make it credible.

Oceans/Aquatic life

Winter’s Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned To Swim Again by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, and Craig Hatkoff

I already wrote about some of the activities surrounding the release of this book in a previous post.
Winter’s Tail is the heartrending story of a young dolphin named Winter who lost her tail after becoming entangled in a crab trap line. After she healed, she was fitted with a prosthetic tail.

Bubble Homes and Fish Farts by Fiona Bayrock and Carolyn Conahan (Illustrator)

Parents might be put off by the word “fart” this title, but don’t be. It is a gem of a nonfiction book based on the scientific theme of how animals create and use bubbles. With soft watercolor illustrations and plenty of cutting-edge information, even the scientifically savvy will find something new here. For example, the “farts” are not flatulence, but Fast Repetitive Ticks (FaRTs) made by herring at night as a form of communication.

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins

Steve Jenkins is an incredibly popular author of children’s nonfiction. Add some out-of-this world papercut illustrations and you have one unbeatable book.

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog has a more extensive review with spreads from the book.

And now, check out this really cool widget from Amazon. (I’ve provided information about my affiliation with Amazon in the the disclosure page – see button in the header of the blog).

What do you call these seashore isopods?

Today we’re going to be using pill bugs, the ones that look like a pill when they roll up.

Although most people associate pill bugs with moist environments,  surprisingly we have pill bugs in the desert that can tolerate a much drier climate. They are common and active residents of our back yard, although they do seem to prefer the irrigated areas.

Pill bugs are fun to investigate.  First, prepare a temporary holding container with a walnut-sized wad of moist paper towel and a few bits of carrot for food. Look outside under stones or logs for pill bugs. Note:  always return the rocks or logs to their original position when through, and be careful if you live where there are poisonous critters that live under rocks. You might want to tip them with a bar.

When you find some pill bugs, gently transfer them to the container. After they unroll, you can look at them through a magnifying lens. Study how they move and their body parts.

Check the “Using Live Insects in the Classroom” Isopod Information Sheet for a detailed description of their morphology.

1. Draw or build a model pill bug.

Gather materials such a paper, cardboard, chenilles and/or clay and create a pill bug model. Pay particular attention to what they look like, because the more details you add, the more realistic the model will be.

2. Do all your pill bugs look alike? We found some of ours were entirely dark gray whereas others had gold or yellow spots on their backs.

Any ideas why pill bugs might be different colors?

3. When the pill bugs roll up, can you still see their antennae? Our desert pill bugs can roll up with their antennae inside, other species can’t. Why might that be?

4. Build a simple maze and test some of your ideas about pill bugs. We built ours out of light cardboard, like a cereal box. We taped it down with masking tape so it wouldn’t fall on the pill bugs. Be careful that no sticky edges are exposed, because the pill bugs might get stuck. We also found certain pill bugs wouldn’t cross the masking tape, so try to keep the tape on the outside of the maze. While planning, you might want to sketch your maze on graph paper or use a computer.

We tested the idea that pill bugs would prefer darkness to light. We also offered them different types of food.

In the video, we wondered if the pill bugs would explore a complex maze with a lot of turns to find food. We set two pill bugs in the maze entrance together. See what happened:

We had fun and learned a lot about how pill bugs behave. Hope you give it a try.

Once we were done, the pill bugs went back to nature unharmed.

For more information and great science activities with pill bugs, I highly recommend:

Rolypolyology (Backyard Buddies) by Michael Elsohn Ross, Darren Erickson (Illustrator), Brian Grogan

It seems to be out of press, but you should be able to find it at your local library. It is filled with fantastic ideas.

Other pill bug books:

A Pill Bug’s Life (Nature Upclose)
by John Himmelman

I’m a Pill Bug (Nature: a Child’s Eye View) by Yukihisa Tokuda, Kiyoshi Takahasi; Kiyoshi Takahashi (Illustrator)

Pill Bug (Bug Books) by Stephanie St. Pierre

Nature Close-Up – Pill Bugs & Sow Bugs and Other Custaceans by Elaine Pascoe

Pill Bugs Up Close (Perspectives) by Greg Pyers

Compost Critters by Bianca Lavies

Previous post on pill bugs

Right about the same time I found this mother cellar spider carrying her babies last week,

I also found this mother black widow guarding her egg sacs.

Female spiders often lay eggs in sacs, and sometimes guard them afterward. Black widows are also known to create multiple egg sacs, often three.

Some spiders, like wolf spiders, carry their babies on their backs for a while. The female cellar spider above was the first I had seen carrying her offspring in her legs.

To learn more, there are a number of great picture books about spiders. The first two are about baby spiders in particular.

Sneaky, Spinning Baby Spiders by Sandra Markle

As you can tell from the cover, this book has fantastic close up photographs. It covers spiders from throughout the world. Look for my in depth review at Bouncing Baby Spiders

Up, Up and Away by Ginger Wadsworth and Patricia J. Wynne (Illustrator)

This newly released book has a totally different feel, although it covers a similar topic. Be aware, if your children are sensitive, that the trailer shows an illustration of one spider eating another and a near miss by a predator.

Nic Bishop Spiders by Nic Bishop

Edit: Just found a cool trailer for this one too. If you are interested in how the make the photos for the book, take a look.

Time For Kids: Spiders!
by Editors of Time for Kids

Are You a Spider? by Tudor Humphries

These books are always wonderful, and I love how she brings the child into the story by comparing what humans do to what spiders do.

Spinning Spiders (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Melvin Berger and S. D. Schindler

Spectacular Spiders by Linda Glaser

The Magic School Bus Spins A Web: A Book About Spiders
by Joanna Cole, Jim Durk (Illustrator), Bruce Degan (Illustrator)

Spiders (Live Oak Readalong) and CD by Gail Gibbons

The original is apparently not available, but Gail Gibbons books are always well done.

For older kids, try:
Uncover a Tarantula: Take a Three-Dimensional Look Inside a Tarantula! by David George Gordon

For more information, see my review Tarantulas Inside and Out.

Certain insects and arachnids also seem to prefer hollyhocks.

Shiny metallic-green flies were resting on the leaves this morning.

Aren’t they pretty?

Any ideas what they were doing?

Called long-legged flies, the small green flies are predators waiting to catch other insects for food.

Tiny, pale green leafhoppers like this one are a meal for long-legged flies.

Another fly I found isn’t quite so welcome.

This tiny yellow and black fly is an adult leafminer. The fly will lay its eggs in the hollyhock leaves. The larvae will feed between the upper and lower surface of the leaf causing a winding light-colored tunnel. Fortunately the damage is relatively cosmetic (looks only).

Other creatures already hard at work on the bottom leaves of some of the plants are spider mites.

The spider mites make fine webs like spider webs, hence the name. In our hollyhocks, the mites quickly build up, causing the leaves to turn yellow and die.

Hopefully, some predators will show up that eat spider mites. Here’s a sign that at least one predatory insect is about to make an appearance. Do you know what the stalk is?

I’ll give you a hint:  it is on the underside of the leaf (I flipped it over).

Last weekend we went to a birthday party. The guest of honor had an electric bubble blower toy and a small bottle commercial bubble formula poured into a tray. The toy made a cloud of bubbles as it was passed from child to child, and soon the children had used up the bubble solution.

While one of the parents went inside to make more, one of the children added a bit of her soda to the container. There was enough bubble formula residue to blow bubbles, but something unusual happened. A few of the bubbles lingered long after the rest. They turned white and seemed stiffer than usual bubbles. We immediately wanted to know why. Do you have any ideas? I’ll give you a hint, the soda was regular, not diet.

Answer:  Most bubbles pop when their walls get too thin because of evaporation the water or because gravity pulls the water down. In our dry Arizona air, bubbles burst particularly quickly. Commercial bubble formulas typically contain a bit of glycerin, which is thought to slow evaporation and make the bubbles last longer. Other substances, such as sugar, fruit pectin or corn syrup can have the same effect. Sweetened soda typically contains corn syrup, so by adding soda to the solution she made longer lasting bubbles.

We were also interested in how else the bubbles had changed. We all decided that the bubbles had a nice soda smell. We tried to see if the color had changed, because the soda was dark brown. We couldn’t see any differences. Have you ever looked at the colors in a bubble closely? Think of ways to study the color of bubbles and leave a comment. We’ll have the results in a later post.

Looking for more? Try:

Pop! A Book About Bubbles (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1)
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and Margaret Miller (Illustrator)

This book is for the younger set. The summary says ages 4-8, possible younger.

Bubble-ology (Great Explorations in Math & Science -GEMS) by Jacqueline Barber

This book says it is for grades 5 -9. I am usually thrilled with GEMS books, but this one seems a bit thin to me. It still has nice experiments, obviously well tested. Given all the information out there on bubbles, this one is useful because it pulls the experiments together in a logical way and does discuss the science behind them.

Experiments With Bubbles (Getting Started in Science) by Robert Gardner (Author)

Fizz, Bubble & Flash!: Element Explorations & Atom Adventures for Hands-On Science Fun! (Williamson Kids Can! Series)
by Anita, Ph.D. Brandolini (Author), Michael P. Kline (Illustrator)

How to Make Monstrous, Huge, Unbelievably Big Bubbles (Klutz) by David Stein and The editors of Klutz