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Published on Leave a comment on STEM Friday #Kidlit Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean

This has been a big week for new picture books, but now let's turn our attention to a incredible middle grade title that was released this week, Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean by Patricia Newman and photographs by Annie Crawley.

Planet Ocean gives a global perspective to our ocean. Patricia Newman explains that rather than five oceans, there is actually only one ocean and it covers 70 percent of our planet. It produces the water we need to drink and the oxygen we need to breathe. We all depend on it.

After introducing the importance of the ocean, the book then delves deeply into three specific and very different regions -- the Coral Triangle, the Salish Sea, and the Arctic -- before ending with the stories of young people who have profound connections with the ocean and who are advocates for saving it.

Annie Crawley is an underwater photographer and dive instructor, and her photographs in this book is breathtaking. If nothing else, the side-by-side spread of vibrant, living coral versus a bleached coral reef will make you pause. If you are interested in photography, Annie has a page of pro tips for visual storytelling in the back matter. Plus, throughout the book you will find scan codes that will allow you to use a QR reader on your phone or tablet to view additional visual content by Annie. Talk about making a book come to life!

You can see Annie's amazing work and find out more about the book in this video:

Planet Ocean is a wonderful choice for celebrating Earth Day on April 22 and World Ocean Day June 8. It will appeal to budding oceanographers, marine biologists, conservationists, and up-and-coming underwater photographers. Get involved and pick up a copy today!

Related Activity Suggestions:

Reading age : 9 - 14 years
Publisher : Millbrook Press ™ (March 2, 2021)
ISBN-10 : 1541581210
ISBN-13 : 978-1541581210

Disclosure: This book was provided digitally by the publisher 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. Note: this is a new link as of 10/2018.

Published on Leave a comment on #WomensHistoryMonth2021 #kidlit Code Breaker, Spy Hunter

Today's featured picture book biography is Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars by Laurie Wallmark and illustrated by Brooke Smart.

About the Book

Elizebeth Friedman was brilliant at cracking codes, but her story has been unknown for years because her work was classified. When her papers were declassified in 2015, the general public learned that during the years around World Wars I and II she uncovered spy rings, took down smugglers, and created the first cryptology unit for the CIA (at the time called the OSS).

How did Elizebeth Friedman become a code breaker? It started with a gift for languages.

After she finished college, an eccentric, wealthy man hired her to look for hidden passages in Shakespeare's writing, ones that would give clues to who the true author was. From there, her interest in codes blossomed.

In addition to the fascinating story of Elizebeth Friedman, the book has enough back matter to satisfy the curiosity of future cryptographers. It includes information about "Codes and Ciphers", a "Crack the Code!" activity, an entire page of information about "Cryptography Today," a "Timeline", "Selected Bibliography", and historical "Notes." There are so many pages that it flows out into the end papers.

Top Secret:  Do you see those ribbons of letters on the cover? Laurie Wallmark reveals (in an interview) that those are messages written in code! The coded ribbons can also be found in some of the illustrations. Can you figure out what they say? The back matter may help.

Discussion

Regular blog readers may be wondering how does cryptology relate to STEM? Actually it can be considered a form of applied mathematics. Code breakers look for patterns, a skill that is also useful in science (NGSS Crosscutting Concept). According to the book, when Elizebeth was assembling people for her code-breaking unit:

"She couldn't find enough people trained in cryptology, so she hired mathematicians, physicists and chemists. She knew scientists could think analytically, a skill needed for code breaking."

All in all, Code Breaker, Spy Hunter is a perfect choice for future spies, budding STEM enthusiasts, and up-and-coming historians alike. Examine a copy today!

Related Activity Suggestions:

  1. Check out the Code Breaker, Spy Hunter book page, where you'll find a trailer, cool activity sheets, and more.
  2. Visit Wrapped in Foil blog for The Clothesline Code picture book about two ingenious Civil War spies who devised a code using the pattern of clothes drying on a clothesline (also with a flag code activity suggestion).
  3. To celebrate Women's History Month, find more biographies of Women in STEM and Women Who Count at Science Books for Kids.

About the Creators:

Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark has written picture-book biographies of women in STEM fields ranging from computer science to mathematics, astronomy to code breaking. Her books have earned multiple starred reviews, been chosen as Junior Library Guild Selections, and received awards such as Outstanding Science Trade Book, Cook Prize Honor, and Parents’; Choice Gold Medal. She is a former software engineer and computer science professor. She lives in Ringoes, New Jersey. You can find her website at lauriewallmark.com.
On Twitter: @lauriewallmark
Facebook: @lauriewallmarkauthor
Instagram: @lauriewallmark

Brooke Smart loves telling stories through her illustrations, especially stories about brave women from history. She has always loved to read, and growing up she could be found nightly falling asleep with a book on her chest. Illustrating books as a professional artist is a lifelong dream come true. She is living the busy, tired, happy, wonderful dream in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, their three kids, and their naughty cat named Sunshine. Learn more about her at brooke-smart.com.
Instagram: @bookesmartillustration

 

Reading age : 7 - 11 years
Publisher : Harry N Abrams Inc; Illustrated edition (March 2, 2021)
ISBN-10 : 1419739638
ISBN-13 : 978-1419739637

Disclosure: This book was provided by Blue Slip Media 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.

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Published on 2 Comments on #Nonfiction Monday #kidlit: The Stuff Between the Stars with a Giveaway

Right in time to celebrate Women's History Month we have two brand new picture book biographies of women pioneers in STEM. For Nonfiction Monday, let's start with The Stuff Between the Stars: How Vera Rubin Discovered Most of the Universe by Sandra Nickel and illustrated by Aimée Sicuro. We liked this one so much, we're offering a giveaway in the Rafflecopter window below.

About the Book:

Vera Rubin was an astronomer who discovered some cool and important "stuff".

From a young age, she was captivated by stargazing.

As she got older, she began to investigate swirling clusters of stars, gases, and dust known as galaxies.

Public domain image of a galaxy from Wikimedia.

She studied where galaxies were found in space and how they moved relative to each other. When she saw the stars within galaxies move at different speeds than she thought they should, she demonstrated there was something in between the stars that we can't see or detect, something pulling the stars. That "something" had been previously named dark matter and there is a lot of it!

Discussion:

In addition to revealing groundbreaking science, author Sandra Nickel also celebrates Vera Rubin's passion for her work and how she kept going in spite of numerous obstacles, including others not understanding her work.

It is not easy to explain big concepts like galaxies and dark matter for young readers. Sandra Nickel has nailed it.

Aimée Sicuro's illustrations are out of this world. They vacillate between concrete and abstract, contrasting how grounded Vera was even when her thoughts were in the galaxies. You can see what I mean in the page spread below.

If you are a regular reader, you know how we love back matter and this book does not disappoint. It includes an Author's Note, which puts Vera's discoveries in context, a Timeline of Vera Rubin's Life, Notes about quotes used, and a Selected Bibliography for young scholars who want to delve more deeply.

The Stuff Between the Stars is sure to thrill budding astronomers. It would be perfect to accompany a trip to a planetarium, as well as for Women's History Month discussions. Gaze into a copy today!

Activity Suggestions:

    1. NASA Space place as a fun Galaxy Pinwheel to print out and make, as well as more information about what a galaxy is and more about dark matter.
    2. Galaxy jar craft:  Sandra Nickel describes the movement of stars in a galaxy as "like glitter caught in an invisible halo." Check the internet for instructions for a galaxy jar craft that involves swirling glitter in a paint-filled bottle or jar. One example at Crafty Morning.
    3. Find more biographies of Women in STEM at Science Books for Kids.

    About the Creators:

    Sandra Nickel says that story ideas are everywhere; you just have to reach out and grab them.  She holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her first book, Nacho’s Nachos: The Story Behind the World’s Favorite Snack, was a Golden Kite Award finalist. Sandra lives in Chexbres, Switzerland, where she blogs about children’s book writers and illustrators at whatwason.com. To learn more, visit Sandra's website.

    Twitter:  @senickel
    Facebook: @sandranickelbooks
    Instagram: @sandranickelbooks

    Aimée Sicuro is an illustrator, picture book maker, and surface pattern designer who received a BFA in Illustration from Columbus College of Art and Design. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and young sons. Visit her website to learn more.

    Twitter: @aimeesicuro
    Instagram: @aimeesicuro

    Book Trailer

    Reading age : 6 - 9 years
    Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers (March 2, 2021)
    ISBN-10 : 1419736264
    ISBN-13: 9781419736261

    A giveaway!
    One lucky winner will receive a copy of The Stuff Between the Stars courtesy of Abrams Books for Young Readers (U.S. addresses).

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    Disclosure: This book was provided by Blue Slip Media 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.

     


    Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.