As a follow up to The Acadia Files:Â Book One, Summer Science, today we have The Acadia Files: Book Two, Autumn Science by Katie Coppens and illustrated by Holly Hatam.
The books in The Acadia Files series are hybrids between chapter books and laboratory notebooks. The chapters start off with a story, complete with characters and dialogue. The story reveals detailed scientific information.
For example when Acadia Greene, who is a curious ten-year-old girl, and her friend Joshua rake leaves, Acadia questions whether the season is called fall because of all the falling leaves. Joshua asks why the leaves fall and Acadia explains:
“Trees kind of take a little nap when it’s cold. Without leaves, it’s easier for them to survive the winter. Trees with broad leaves, like maple or oak, are called deciduous trees…”
After the story, each chapter has a few pages of illustrations and text formatted like a laboratory notebook. For the autumn leaf chapter, there’s a page of colorful leaves and drawings of Acadia’s favorite trees, a glossary page of the new science words she learned (with drawings), and the chapter ends with a question she still wonders about. The illustrations are delightful and really make the book. Educators will appreciate this section as a jumping off place for related activities.
Every chapter covers a different topic. When Acadia visits a frog pond, she notices litter in and around the water and decides to do something about it. Later on she investigates the water cycle, time zones, and the immune system. Most of the topics may loosely tie to the season, but could be relevant all year around.
The bottom line: The Acadia Files: Book Two, Autumn Science is an appealing way to introduce science to kids who might be put off by more traditional informational text. Why not give it a try?
Activity suggestions to accompany the book:
- See our previous post about chromatography as a way to explore color change in leaves
- Previous post about activities to explore the water cycle
- Previous post of autumn activity suggestions (how animals prepare for winter)
- For more children’s books about autumn, try our growing list at Science Books for Kids.
Grade Level: 4 – 7
Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers; 1 edition (September 18, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0884486044
ISBN-13: 978-0884486046
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This looks like a combo book of fiction and non-fiction. What a great blend.