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Category: Book Review (Page 7 of 63)

STEM Friday #Kidlit Robo-Motion: Robots That Move Like Animals

October 29, 2021 / / 2 Comments

Want to put some cutting-edge technology in your STEM? Check out this new one-of-a-kind picture book, Robo-Motion: Robots That Move Like Animals by Linda Zajac.

With side-by-side photographs of robots and their real life inspirations, the author reveals twelve robots that are designed to look and/or move like animals, from bats to kangaroos. And the robots aren’t just for fun. Using simple language, she points out how each one is designed to perform specific tasks that would be difficult for humans to carry out.

For an example — that isn’t in the book — engineers have designed a drone that looks like and flies like a hawk or falcon. Why? To take a pass over runways at airports before an airplane takes off. The drone scares away any birds hanging around that might be hit, a hazard to the plane and to themselves. Cool project and there are many more like this in the book.

The back matter includes a brief discussion of biomimicry, a glossary, and a list for further reading.

The best part is the book ends with a gentle call to action challenging young readers to dream up and design their own animal robots.

Robo-Motion will excite budding robot engineers and animal lovers alike. Investigate a copy today!

Related Activity Suggestions:

  1. Check out the teacher resources on Linda Zajac’s blog. You will need a Google Drive account to download.
  2. Robot activities for ages 3-7 at Inventors of Tomorrow website. (has numerous ads)
  3. Animal robot lesson at NSTA (requires purchased robots)

You can see many examples of animal robots in this video. It does have ads, so check for suitability before sharing with children.

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 4 – 9 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Millbrook Press ™ (September 7, 2021)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1541581261
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1541581265

Disclosure: This book was an e-ARC by the publisher. 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. Note: this is a new link as of 10/2018.

Chemical Reactions! #Kidlit #STEM Projects for National Chemistry Week

October 21, 2021 / / 3 Comments

Right in time for National Chemistry Week October 17–23, 2021, we have Chemical Reactions!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids by Dr. Susan Berk Koch (website) and illustrated by Micah Rauch.

You can find tons of so-called chemistry experiments on the internet. The problem is it takes time to find the legitimate ones (in among the ads), and weed out the ones that are not age-appropriate or don’t work. Dr. Koch has done all that for readers ages 7-10, plus added the background and educational materials needed for successful learning.

The book starts with a historical timeline and a periodical table of the elements. The introduction lets young readers know why they should study chemistry, as well as introduces vocabulary words in convenient sidebars.

The following chapters are activities grouped based on chemical principles. Chapter 1 is about mixtures and how to separate them. Chapter 2 is about chemical reactions such as photosynthesis and making crystals. Chapter 3 covers water and the concepts of acids and bases. Chapter 4 plunges into gases and Chapter 5 explores manmade compounds, for example, the metal mixes in coins. Scattered throughout are QR codes that take you to extras like relevant YouTube videos.

The back matter has an extensive glossary, an explanation of metric conversions
, places you can find out more,  a list of the essential questions asked in each chapter, plus a full index.

The book is illustrated with diagrams, photographs and some fun cartoons, like the one you see on the cover.

Chemical Reactions! is perfect for budding chemists and students who love their learning hands on. It would also be a wonderful resource for a unit on chemistry or to develop experiments for an elementary-level science fair. Check out a copy and see what develops.

 

Related activity suggestions:

It is hardly necessary to supplement such a wonderful selection of activities, but here are a few.

 

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 7 – 10 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Nomad Press (October 15, 2021)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1619309416
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1619309418

Disclosure: An e-ARC of this book was provided by the publisher. 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.

STEM Friday #Kidlit Night Becomes Day

October 15, 2021 / / 3 Comments

Today we have an astounding picture book, Night Becomes Day: Changes in Nature by Cynthia Argentine.

The premise of Night Becomes Day isn’t easy to explain, but simply amazing. It is an introduction to periodic scientific processes such as life cycles, the water cycle, and the rock cycle. However, no topic is treated separately. Argentine overlaps the concepts, comparing and contrasting, to show the general qualities of transformations.

To help clarify, let’s look at an example. the author compares the ancient process of forming a diamond crystal deep in the Earth (part of the rock cycle) to the brief, fragile formation of a snowflake (part of the water cycle). These complex processes are revealed using age-appropriate text matched with high quality stock photos. She pairs words like quick – slow, hot – cold, dull-brighten to show the contrasts.

It appears simple on the surface, but there’s a lot more going here if you pay attention. Take the subtle framing device. The words of the beginning:

Night becomes day.
Flower becomes fruit.

are inverted as the book closes, giving a nested effect.

Fruit becomes flower.
Day becomes night.

So cool!

While you are catching your breath from that, here comes the back matter to knock you over. Argentine’s author’s note explains how changes occur in both living and nonliving things, how connections are made, and how the science of making connections is Ecology. In the next section, “A Closer Look At The Science of Change,” is actually a zoomed out view of the text, explaining the big picture. In the diamond versus snowflake spread, for example, she explains how chemistry, geology, and physics are all involved in the process of forming crystals.

Night Becomes Day: Changes in Nature helps young readers see how natural processes relate to one another. Reading it might just transform them!

Activity Suggestions:

Be sure to visit Cynthia Argentine’s beautiful website.

This books has inspired me to come up with more posts about Ecology. In the mean time, try:

Another review, with more from the author at Archimedes Notebook

Edit:  Check out the Lerner Blog for more great information about the book. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom for links to the free teaching guide.

 

 

Ages:  4-9
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Millbrook Press ™ (October 5, 2021)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1541581245
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1541581241

Disclosure: An e-ARC of this book was provided by the publisher. 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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