Tag Archives: science

When You Breath, by Diana Farid and illustrated by Billy Renkl

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This book is a work of art. It is pure poetic beauty. It is outstanding.

You receive amazing illustrations by Billy Renkl such as the imagery of our lungs being upside trees, with the comparison of the branches of trees to the capillaries in our lungs. As Diana Farid tells us,

“When you breath–whoosh–

breath fills

the upside-down tree

inside your rising chest.”

This book delivers a beautiful blend of poetry, science and art. Conveying the feeling that you, are connected, a part of, of the larger natural world. You breath in the sky and stardust and atoms of the universe! Every page has stunning imagery worthy of frame and display in home or institution. The marriage of wording and illustrations is perfectly lovely in this poetry book.

My Tiny Pet

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When a young girl’s parents decide to simplify and downsize from their “ginormous” house with its (very) many pets, she worries that her pet-owning days are over. She learns about some wonderful new “pets” in her science class, organisms such as nematodes, paramecia and, her favorite, tardigrade (water bear). She makes a case for this new pet and her parents agree. The little girl is thrilled, because she can take her new pet anywhere – even to a new, smaller home!

This book introduces many discussion-worthy ideas that can lead in many different directions – research, narrative writing, art and science, to name a few. What does pet ownership entail? How many pets are too many? What are the many microscopic organisms around us? Can we collect and observe some of those organisms?

Text is spare and the illustrations are lively and colorful. The final page has a photo of the tardigrade and an author’s note with more information. Wow! This book is a great addition to your collection, simply due to its versatility and usefulness as a teaching tool. Plus, the kids will love the little critters inside. Highly recommended.

30 – Minute Rainy Day Science Projects

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Ten simple science projects with materials that are easily found and clear, numbered (and, often illustrated) steps, make this book a necessary addition to the library. The directions are clear, a time frame is noted and a ‘science takeaway’ is given for each accessible project. There are typical nonfiction features, such as index, glossary, and further information. There are QR codes with more digital content, including more projects. Parents and teachers will appreciate the safety notes at the beginning of the book and the wrap-up (clean up!) notes at the end. There are very few pictures of children (one Caucasian girl and one Asian boy). The rest of the illustrations feature hands performing the steps of the project or just the materials used.

This book is part of a STEM maker series that includes five other books on topics like robotics, sustainable science, chemistry, edible science and outdoor science projects that are all 30 minutes or less. This book will not be on the shelf very long.

The Frog Book

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The Frog Book is a 33 page mix of glorious illustrations and amazing facts about some of the over 6,000 (that we know of so far) amphibians that inhabit most parts of the world. Information is presented in small bites under such page headings as “What is a frog?” and “Finding a mate”. While this information could tend to be somewhat dry if presented in a flat, fact-filled tome, it is nothing short of incredible in this incarnation. Many of the pictures are presented half life-sized, except for a few notables (the largest and smallest, fore example). Some of the illustrations are labeled and there is a fine two page spread of the life cycle of a typical frog. Students will love the detailed information given in this book and, I am sure, will ask to share some of the more ‘interesting’ facts such as the facts that the golden poison frog has enough poison to kill ten adult humans and the hairy frog (yes, it does look a little hairy!) can break its own finger bones that penetrate its skin and act like claws. Wow! I want to learn more about frogs now! This magnificent book will enthrall your young scientists and turn your non-scientists into frog experts hungry for more!

Astronomy You Can Nibble

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Apparently, science and food go together very well. This was a fact I didn’t realize until I picked up the book, Astronomy You Can Nibble. This slim and colorful book begins with a definition of “Astronomy”, moves through the current study of the subject and continues through six easy, recipes that illustrate the subject. Each recipe has numbered steps, many with corresponding photos along with lists of ingredients and tools. Students will certainly enjoy this topic when they can eat the constellations while they study them or discuss the eclipse while munching or cookies that illustrate the phases of a solar eclipse. I know that I would remember my astronomy lessons if I had eaten my way through them!

This book is part of six book set that touches on geology, math, engineering, technology, chemistry and the above-mentioned astronomy. Purchase these books for your K-2 students. Theses books will not be on the shelves for long1