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STEM Friday #Kidlit Little Killers Has a Big Impact

We all know middle grade readers who can be a little jaded and hard to please. That’s why you should make sure you have Sneed B. Collard III’s newest, Little Killers: The Ferocious Lives of Puny Predators in your arsenal.

With just enough humor sprinkled in, Collard introduces us to some lesser-known predators that have a big impact regardless of their size.

Take the pteropods. More commonly known as sea angels or sea butterflies, he calls them the “potato chips of the sea” –isn’t that great imagery?– because so many critters eat them. But it turns out at least some of these “potato chips” have a bite. The sea angels turn on their mostly vegetarian cousins the sea butterflies and eat them!

After revealing the killer instincts of invertebrates from flatworms to driver ants, the final chapter is a call to action to protect these creatures that we often don’t see or notice, but which serve such important roles in ecosystems.

The book is illustrated with eye-catching stock photographs, like the closeup of the driver ant worker on the cover. A few photographs show young scientists at work, allowing kids to relate.

Little Killers will grab the attention of both budding biologists and reluctant readers.  Get your claws on a copy today!

Related Activities:

Get to know more about tiny predators

  1. Most of us know that lady beetles (also called lady bugs) eat aphids.

convergent lady beetle

Did you know that another stage of their life cycle eats even more aphids than the adults?

Lady beetle larvae don’t look much like their adult parents, but they are even hungrier! When you see them on plants, don’t be alarmed. You should leave them alone.

Let’s look at the rest of the stages.

To start out, adult lady beetles lay eggs that look like tiny orange footballs.

The eggs hatch into voracious larvae.

Any idea what the orange blob below is?

 

If you look very closely at the base where the blob attaches to the plant, you might see a clue. That is the outside skin or exoskeleton of the lady beetle larva.

This is the lady beetle pupa. Doesn’t look much like the beautiful beetle that will emerge in a few days, does it?

Keep your eyes open this spring for lady beetles. Learn about the kinds of lady beetles living in your neighborhood and watch for their life stages.

2. Sea angels are incredibly beautiful, but you are unlikely to see one unless you visit an aquarium.  They are snails without shells that swim in the ocean.

And they are also “Tiny Killers.”

 

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 – 12 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Millbrook Press ™ (March 1, 2022)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1728415691
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728415697

Want to entice  younger readers? Try the picture book, Beaver and Otter Get Along…Sort of: A Story of Grit and Patience Between Neighbors by Sneed B. Collard III and illustrated by Meg Sodano. It came out in September.

Meet the author and learn more about the book in this video.

Be sure to visit Sneed’s website

and see our reviews of his books in previous posts.

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 4 – 8 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dawn Publications (September 7, 2021)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1728232252
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728232256

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.

#Nonfiction Monday #kidlit Good Eating: The Short Life of Krill

Today we have a real treat, Good Eating: The Short Life of Krill by Matt Lilley and illustrated by Dan Tavis.

Krill are shrimp-like crustaceans that live in the ocean. They are incredibly important as an integral link in ocean food webs.

As the punchline of this humorous picture book says,

…krill are really good at eating and krill are really good eatin’.

Matt Lilley spells out the complex metamorphosis of one species, the Antarctic krill, Euphasia superba.  We learn about all the unusual developmental stages — some discovered not that long ago — and also about how krill can glow, shrink if there isn’t enough food, and live for a relatively long time for their size (if they aren’t eaten).

The delightful illustrations by Dan Tavis match the flavor of the text perfectly. The pink-orange color of the krill and the blue of the ocean water are a lively example of complementary colors. Plus, Tavis obviously did his homework regarding krill anatomy and metamorphosis.

Back matter includes “Krill:  Good Eating”, which explains why krill are considered to be keystone species; “More Krill Facts”; and “Learning More”, places to read more about krill.

Good Eating: The Short Life of Krill is likely to inspire budding oceanographers and marine biologists. It is a perfect read to accompany a trip to an aquarium or to the ocean. Delve into a copy today!

Related Activity Suggestions:

1. Learn more about krill and see them in action in this video.

2. What are crustaceans anyway?

Crustaceans belong the the Phylum Arthropoda or arthopods. Most live in the water, like lobsters, shrimp, crabs, crayfish, and krill, although a few live on land, such as pill bugs (previous post). Yep, pill bugs are crustaceans.

Some crustaceans are closely related to insects. Details that separate the two groups include the fact that crustaceans have two pairs of antennae (or one pair of antennules –which look like antennae– and one pair antennae). The head and thorax of crustaceans are often fused, and they have leg-like appendages on the abdomen that was used for swimming (insects only have legs on the thorax).

  • Make a poster with photographs of all the different kinds of crustaceans you can find.
  • Take a personality quiz at Monterey Bay Aquarium website to see what kind of crustacean you are (it will ask you to sign up for their newsletter, but you can skip that step.) I was a brine shrimp.

3. Visit Matt Lilley’s  website to download a free reader’s guide and coloring sheet.

4. See another review at Archimedes Notebook blog

5. Check out our growing list of ocean-themed children’s books at Science books for Kids.

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 6 – 8 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tilbury House Publishers (January 11, 2022)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0884488675
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0884488675

Disclosure: An e-arc of this book was provided 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.

Great Backyard Bird Count #GBBC 2022

Want to participate in a child-friendly citizen science project that has been ongoing for 25 years? The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up February 18-21, 2022.

 

The Great Backyard Bird Count is one of our favorite bird-centered STEM activities. All you and your family members need to do is count the birds you see over 15 minutes (at least once over the four day period) and then report your findings. Although it is called “backyard,” you may count birds anywhere they are found, including parks, preserves, or fields. There is plenty of information and instructions about getting started at the website.

This year there is a free webinar for participants on Feb 16, 2022. Register here.

This is a wonderful project to revisit year after year. Perhaps you can spot new birds and/or population trends in your own community.  For example, the other day I spotted a Crissal Thrasher (All About Birds page) perched on top of a saguaro. That C-shaped curved beak was incredible and I wondered how it could eat with it.

What can you find? Time to grab those binoculars and meet your bird neighbors!

Related Activities:

Looking for children’s books about birds?

1. Check out Taking Flight: a List of Children’s Books About Bird Migration at Science Books for Kids

Taking-Flight-childrens-books-about-bird-migration-300x270

2. The list of children’s books for young birdwatchers at Science Books for Kids

childrens-books-for-young-birdwatchers

You may also want to try:

Are you planning to participate in The Great Backyard Bird Count? What kinds of birds do you see in your backyard? We’d love to hear.

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