Growing With Science Blog

Month: April 2016 (Page 1 of 2)

#kidlit: The Bat Book by Conrad Storad

April 29, 2016 / / 1 Comment

Last Friday I had the honor of attending a workshop by children’s author Conrad Storad. Interesting fact:  In a short time he will surpass his goal of reading his books to over 1,000,000 children. Yes, that’s 1 million children. Amazing!

In his newest picture book, The Bat Book illustrated by Nate Jensen and Tristan Jensen, Conrad Storad uses a story within a story format to engage young readers. He also throws lots of science into the mix.

In the book Little Boy Bat, the main character who lives under the famous Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas, decides to write a book to help humans learn bats are not frightening. The result is both enlightening and fun.

Children will probably be interested to know that Tristan Jensen was 8 years old when he did some of the illustrations for the book. His contributions are on pages 13-22, with some more detailed insets created by his dad.

The back matter is stuffed. There are two pages of “Facts to drive you batty,” information on “Researching Bats,” “How to Help Bats,” all about Little Boy Bat (what kind of bat he is, etc.), notes from the author and illustrator about how they created the book, and “How to Draw a Bat” activity.

The Bat Book is full of passion about bats and that enthusiasm is sure to spill over to the reader. Don’t be “scared” to pick a copy up today.

Related:

Previous post with loads of bat science activities

flying-dog-bat-fly(Photo via VisualHunt.com)

 

Ages: 5-10
Publisher: Sunbelt Publications (March 25, 2015)
ISBN-10: 189179566X
ISBN-13: 978-1891795664

Disclosure:  This book is my personal copy.  Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

Chaos Theory Book for Young Adults

April 22, 2016 / / 1 Comment

Looking for a way to keep teenagers engaged in STEM?  Chaos Theory Uncovered: How chaos and fractals shape our world by E L Strauss might be just the ticket. It reveals how math can be used to help us understand and make predictions about large, complex events in a beautiful way.

When you first open the book the computer-generated illustrations might just give you chills, particularly the swirling brightly-colored lines against a black background that are visual representations of chaos. The images of fractals are stunning as well, particularly the Mandelbrot set. Magic happens when art meets math.

green-patterned-fractal(Public domain illustration of a fractal From PublicDomainPictures.net)

At the beginning of the text, Strauss helps the reader tiptoe into the topic by starting out with the history of how chaos theory came into being. In this case it started when a meteorologist noticed a problem when he ran simulations on a computer and delved into why the anomaly happened. He eventually proposed a model to explain it that would lead to the so-called “butterfly effect” and the foundations of chaos theory.

The concepts that follow build on each other each other in a logical progression that increases the reader’s understanding while keeping him or her engaged. The clear organization makes the text easy to follow even though the vocabulary is challenging.

The best part about the book is it is not watered down for kids. To get the most out of it, the reader should probably have a working understanding of at least algebra, and an inkling of beginning calculus would be helpful.

Chaos Theory Uncovered: How Chaos and Fractals Shape Our World is sure to help young adults and adults to understand complex math. It might also help some to discover an astonishing new passion. Create your own butterfly effect by picking up a copy today.

Note:  Our book today is in the same series as last week’s young adult book about the universe.

Related Activity:

Vi Hart is the queen of combining math and art, and in this case to study plant structures. Her Doodling in Math: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant is a 3-part series, starting with the following video. Hope it inspires you to try some similar projects.

Rest of series:
Video 2
Video 3

Paperback: 110 pages
Publisher: Thinxygen (November 6, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0620683546
ISBN-13: 978-0620683548

Interested in finding more math books for kids? Try our growing list at Science Books for Kids.

math-books-for-kids

Disclosure:  A .pdf was provided by the author for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

Book for Young Adults Reveals the Universe

April 15, 2016 / / 3 Comments

For STEM Friday we are keeping with the astronomy theme with an amazing book about the universe written for young adults (ages 13+).

It is often difficult to find good nonfiction science books for young adults. By the time readers reach their teen years, if they are interested in science they are often forced to resort to reading books written for adults. That is why we were excited to find Our Universe Revealed: A Cosmic Exploration by E. L. Strauss, which targets this under-served age group.

Skimming through this book, the first thing you notice are the awe-inspiring illustrations.

milky-way-large( – Public Domain)

How can a reader not be enticed to want to explore the universe after looking at photographs of the Milky Way like this one?

Our understanding of the universe is changing rapidly. Strauss guides the reader through a thorough introduction by relating unfamiliar and complex topics to more familiar ones. For example, how do scientists study the history of space? Strauss explains that the processes of uncovering clues are similar to those used here on Earth in the field of archeology, and then gives specific examples.

Do you know what a magnetar is? What about degenerate matter or population III stars? If these terms are unfamiliar, this book will introduce you to them. Strauss, however, doesn’t just string together vocabulary words. The author also explains how the concepts fit in the bigger picture. As a case in point, Strauss shows how our ability to create better technology to explore the universe has greatly increased our body of knowledge.

Although – as the book summary states – Our Universe Revealed is “aimed at bright, gifted, curious and creative teens,” it is also likely to appeal to adults who want a clear understanding of some of the most cutting-edge concepts in astronomy today. Nothing expands your mind like exploring the cosmos and this book is a wonderful way to start.

Paperback: 136 pages
Publisher: Thinxygen; 1 edition (November 6, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0620683562
ISBN-13: 978-0620683562

Disclosure:  A .pdf was provided by the author for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

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