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Category: Science Books (Page 7 of 87)

STEM Friday #Kidlit Stretch to the Sun

November 26, 2021 / / 3 Comments

Let’s celebrate nature with the picture book Stretch to the Sun: From a Tiny Sprout to the Tallest Tree on Earth by Carrie A. Pearson and illustrated by  Susan Swan.

How do you start a story about the tallest tree in the world? If you’re Carrie Pearson, you start it with a bang!

Creak! Crack! Kaboom!
A giant tree falls, broken,
and the forest floor trembles.

And with that dramatic event comes the opening needed for another tree to be born, one that will live over 1200 years and grow to about 380 feet tall. That’s about as tall as a 35 story building. Amazing!

Susan Swan’s illustrations are equally amazing. She used Adobe Photoshop to create collages of found objects and hand painted papers that are enthralling. The trees are the central characters, of course, but she also features many animals of the Redwood National Park, giving young readers hidden treasures to search for on every page.

Other highlights include a surprise single gate-fold spread that helps emphasize the height of this magnificent tree.

The back matter shines as well. Besides an Author’s Note that explains how the book came about, there are many remarkable facts about coast redwoods, a bibliography, as well as information about where you can learn more and what you can do to help preserve redwoods.

Stretch to the Sun is a one-of-a-kind book about a one-of-a-kind tree. It will thrill young nature lovers. Get lost in a copy today!

Activity Suggestions:

1. Visit Carrie Pearson’s website for resources including an activity and discussion guide, NGSS standards, and a fun trailer for the book.

2.  Learn how to measure the height of a tree in the second activity from this previous post (scroll down.)

3. Visit our tree category here at the blog for many more posts.

4. Want to read more? Try our growing list of children’s books about trees at Science Books for Kids.

 

 

 

 

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 – 8 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Charlesbridge; Illustrated edition (October 9, 2018)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1580897711
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1580897716

 

Disclosure: 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.

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.

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