Build a House, a Bridge, and More...

Last week it was all about beaver building a lodge. So this week I’m sharing books about engineering and architecture. Because… building!

themes: building, engineering, STEM

Bear Builds a House 

by Maxwell Eaton III 

32 pages; ages 4-8

‎Neal Porter Books, 2022

(Bear has been) caring for a friend’s house, but now it’s time to build one of her own.

First, thought, she needs to find a good building site. Then she needs to plan the house and hire some help: Beaver to saw and mill trees, Woodchuck to excavate, and some other woodland crafts-mammals. This book provides a great overview of what goes into building a house. We see the site plan and architectural drawings, complete with elevations (drawings that show what the house will look like from each side). Bear has many things to do: source building materials (local lumber), put in a foundation, install water and sewage systems, frame the house, cover the roof, put in some solar panels and a woodstove, and insulate the house against weather extremes.

What I like about this book: I like the way Maxwell Eaton uses labels and lists to show what is being done and what materials are used. I love the introduction to the house-building crew, and the undercurrent of “is it done yet?” and the final scene when everyone enjoys the housewarming party. Back matter includes a note from the author, in which he points out the environmental costs of various inputs in the construction project. And I like the duck.

How Was That Built?: The Stories Behind Awesome Structures 

by Roma Agrawal; illus. by Katie Hickey 

80 pages; ages 7& up

Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2022

Though there are plenty of illustrations in this book, it feels more like an illustrated nonfiction book for older readers. Author Roma Agrawal is a structural engineer. She has designed bridges and skyscrapers, and spent six years working on The Shard (the tallest building in Western Europe). In her book, Roma shows how engineers and architects approached a variety of challenges: how to build a dome, how to build underground, how to build on ice, in space, in the sea. 

What I like: I like the detailed illustrations, with explanatory text. I like the diversity of engineering problems addressed. And I really like the occasional “try it at home” activities.

Working With Buildings and Structures (Kid Engineer series)

By Izzi Howell; illus. by Diego Vaisberg

32 pages; ages 9+

Kane Miller Publishing, 2022

From sketches to physics to materials selection, this book provides kids a great introduction to building things. With plenty of hands-on activities, this is a perfect book for the kid who wants to explore engineering and architecture. Using nothing more than paper and tape, can you build a structure sturdy enough to hold your math book?

Beyond the Books:

Design and build a house using materials you have in and around your house. You might have blocks, or Legos – but remember to check what’s available in the recycling bin and outside. You might want to use twigs to frame a dome…

Build a bridge out of paper. Here’s a video showing some engineering ideas, and here’s some more bridge-making ideas.

Try making your own mud bricks. Here’s how.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Beavers: Ecosystem Engineers!

 The Lodge That Beaver Built 

by Randi Sonenshine; illus. by Anne Hunter 

32 pages; ages 4-8

Candlewick Press, 2022  

theme: animals, homes, ecology

This is the crunch in the darkening wood, of teeth against bark where the willow once stood, on the shore near the lodge that beaver built.

Bit by bit, log by log we watch beaver build a dam, then a lodge, helped by her young ones. But that lodge is more than a home for beaver and her family. Goose builds a nest on top. Turtle hides below. Ducklings, herons, moose … an entire community grows up in and around the lodge that beaver built.

What I like about this book: The text is rhythmic, patterned on “The House that Jack Built” and a whole lot of fun to read. And the ink-and-colored pencil illustrations are so inviting and just welcome you into beaver’s world. 

And there is Back Matter! Now, some folks argue that back matter shouldn’t be needed if the book tells the tale completely. But here’s the thing: as a former teacher (and homeschooling parent) I always wanted to know more about whatever was in a book. So I love, love, love it when an author gives more info – in this case more about beaver architecture and engineering, their amazing tree-cutting teeth, and family life. Plus there’s a glossary and resources for curious young naturalists.

Beyond the Books:

Watch a video about how beavers build a dam. Here’s one, but you can find plenty online.

Beavers are ecosystem engineers. They can help reforest the landscape and regulate water flow. Got flooding? Erosion? Dry creek beds? There’s a Beaver for That!

Build your own beaver dam. You’ll need sticks and mud and leaves – and a plastic tray (a take-out container works well). Check out this video for some tips.

Randi visited the blog on Monday and shared a bit about the swamp where she grew up. If you didn’t catch it earlier, here’s the link

Randi is a member of #STEAMTeam2022. You can find out more about her at her website, www.randisonenshine.com

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Octopus Escapes and a House in the Sky

Today I'm featuring two books about animals. Both were published by Charlesbridge this year.
themes: animals, humor, homes

Octopus Escapes
by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer; illus. by Frank W. Dormer
32 pages; ages 2-5

Octopus waits. 
Guard closes gates.

What happens at the aquarium after everyone leaves for the day? In this story, octopus escapes. He slips and slides down hallways, turns and hides from the security guard.

What I like about this book: I am a big fan of "night at the museum" stories... and of octopuses. They are clever mollusks, able to open jar lids and squeeze through tight spaces. This midnight romp through the aquarium features fun to read aloud rhyming couplets.  The back matter (you knew I was gonna mention back matter!) is all about the amazing behavior of octopuses. They are brilliant problem-solvers and, YES, there are documented cases of octopuses escaping their tanks and cruising through aquaria since the 1870s. Though I don't think any of them went bowling...  The simple, cartoonish illustrations add to the charm.

A House in the Sky
by Steve Jenkins; illus. by Robbin Gourley
32 pages; ages 3-7

Animals, like people, often need a cozy place to sleep, a hideaway for escaping danger, or a sage place to raise a family. They need a house.

Steve Jenkins highlights fourteen different animals and their homes. From nest to shell, he shows a diversity of ways animals solve their housing problems.

What I like about this book: Each page features large, easy-to-read text telling something about an animal and its home. Perhaps the home is a shell that was found, or a case that is built of stick or stone. Some animals nest in trees, some underground, some build with clay, and one lives on the back of a whale! Short sidebars provide more information about the animal. For extra-curious kids (or parents who need a quick answer to all those questions) there's more information about each animal in the book.

I also like the realistic watercolor illustrations by Robbin Gourley. They invite one to linger on the page, searching for details.

Beyond the Books:
Visit an octopus. If you can get to an aquarium, check out the octopus tank. If there's no aquarium around, check out this video of an octopus escape.

What examples of animal homes can you find as you walk around your neighborhood or through a park? With leaves falling off trees, it might be easier to see bird nests. Perhaps there are wasp nests, holes chipped into trees, and other homes. Learn more about animal architecture here.

Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. We're also joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Activity books for emerging scientists, engineers, and explorers

Summer is here! If you've got a road trip planned - and even if you don't - you may be looking for a fun activity book that keeps kids involved in STEM exploration over the summer. Here are three that provide for lots of open-ended investigation.

Iggy Peck's Big Project Book for Amazing Architects
by Andrea Beaty; illus. by David Roberts
96 pages; ages 5-8
Abrams, 2017

 Do you like to build things? Doodle? Dream up new creations? If so, this book is for you! Graph-paper-ruled pages are filled with engineering and architectural challenges, ideas, and things to imagineer (that's like imagining and engineering all smooshed together).

The book introduces the story of Iggy Peck and then gets you started with a list of things that might be useful for architectural designs - from rubber bands and paper clips to boxes, plastic bottles, and a T-square. There's a great show-and-tell about balance, rhythm, and movement in design, and then you're on your own to design a new city hall, school, or haunted house. There's a similar book for emerging engineers called,  Rosie Revere's Big Project Book for Bold Engineers.

My Steam Notebook
by Darcy Pattison
156 pages, ages 6-10
Mim's House, 2017

Don't let the subtitle, "150 years of primary source documents from American scientists" fool you - at its heart, this is an activity book. There are indeed documents, photos of pages from scientists' notebooks and photos. One scientist loved to keep lists, another went on an ant safari and drew maps. As for STEAM, that refers to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.

After introducing a scientist and his or her notebook, there are a few pages that are blank on one side and graph-paper-ruled on the other for you to jot notes, draw observations, make maps, record data... in effect, turn this book into your own scientist's notebook. There's a fill-in-the-blank table of contents at the front, and a make-your-own glossary at the back, for new words you discover as you explore your world.

Doodle Journeys
by Dawn Devries Sokol
160 pages; ages 8-12
Amulet Books, 2018

This fill-in journal is just the right size for tucking in a travel bag or backpack, which makes it the perfect thing to take along whether traveling by car or plane (or sail boat, canoe, bicycle, foot). It's designed to dip in anywhere, and use during more than one trip.

Introductory pages include items you might want to pack in a "travel tool kit" - things like pens, colored pencils, glue stick, tape, small scissors, a small ziplock to collect stamps, receipts, candy wrappers, etc. for collage.... stuff that could easily fit into a pencil pouch.

The book is divided into three chapters: Doodle Drills to get you going; Imaginary Trips for the creative mind; and Real Journeys for in-real-life adventures - even if it's just a walk to the library. You can fill the pages with drawings and observations of plants, animals, buildings, and other things you see, as well as use Dawn's prompts.

So go. Get a journal or an activity book. Explore new ideas, new places, and fill the pages. Review copies provided by publishers.

Celebrating Women in Science ~ Archaeology and Architecture

Archaeology: Cool Women who Dig
by Anita Yasuda; illus. by Lena Chandhok
112 pages; ages 9-12
Nomad Press, 2017

March is Women's History month, and I can't think of anything more appropriate than to share a couple of books from Nomad's "Girls in Science" series.

Archaeology begins by making an important distinction between collecting and archeology - you might have a stamp or coin collection, but archaeological collections demand careful notes and context that provides insight into he society that created the artifacts.

Chelsea Rose, for example, studies a Gold Rush town in Oregon. In addition to field work and interviews, she researches census records, mining claims, and newspapers. Justine Benanty is another archaeologist, but her passion is maritime archaeology and slave ships. So in addition to sifting through documents, she dives deep into cold water to uncover the facts.

Our world may be mapped, but the past remains largely unexplored. Which means there is a lot of room for you - if you love history and enjoy solving mysteries. It's not all about deserts and dirt - there are space archaeologists, and garden archaeologists!

Architecture: Cool Women who Design Structures
by Elizabeth Schmermund; illus. by Lena Chandhok
112 pages; ages 9-12
Nomad Press, 2017

Are you creative? Do you like solving problems? Architecture combines art and science - not only do you have to understand physics and engineering, but you get to design beautiful buildings. Or bridges.

Patricia Galvan designs post offices and modernized schools. She works at a small firm where she gets to see projects through, from start to finish. Farida Abu-Bakare remembers that she was inspired by the computer game "Sim City". And Maia Small is an urban designer. She remembers building structures in her back yard when she was a kid.

While the young women agree that the jobs they do are fun and challenging, they say that they are treated differently than men in the same position. They tend to be cut off when talking, or their proposals may not be taken seriously by their male colleagues. Still, they can't think of more fulfilling work. Their advice: study hard and try to get a mentor when you head into the working world.

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup . Review copies from the publisher.

Up! Up! Up! Skyscraper

Up! Up! Up! Skyscraper
by Anastasia Suen; illus. by Ryan O'Rourke
32 pages; ages 3-7
Charlesbridge, 2017

Dig, dig, dig!
Pour, pour, pour!
Pound, pound, pound!

What's going on behind that tall board fence? Put on your hardhat and let's find out.

Machines and people work together to build a skyscraper. So tall it touches the clouds. So if they're building up, why are they digging down? Because tall buildings need sturdy foundations.

Anastasia Suen takes readers behind the fence and into the world of a construction site. Active language engages kids in what's going on, and additional text explains why. Bolt by bolt, beam by beam, we travel up, up, up to the top of the building. Once the skeleton is completed it's time to put the "skin" on - the metal and glass panels that hold everything in. And then, at last, with a fold-out page that extends high above the others, we see the finished skyscraper.

Beyond the book:
Want to see one under construction? Check out this video.

For older kids interested in architecture, click over to my review of Architect Academy (ages 7 and up).

Then pull out the bin of blocks and build, build, build your own tower!

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. Review copy provided by publisher.

Architect Academy

Architect Academy
by Steve Martin; illust. by Essie Kimpimaki
64 pages; ages 7 & up
Kane Miller, 2016

Part activity book, part "training manual", this book presents architecture in a fun way. In the first pages you'll get your trainee architect badge and a peek at what's in store: you'll learn about famous buildings, create designs for buildings, develop math skills architects need, and carry out special projects.

The first "assignment" is to design your very own dream home, complete with floor plans and a model. Then it's off to site plan review and drawing plans to scale. Congratulations! You are now a Qualified Draftsperson and ready for construction. But first, some math.

This is a perfect book for the kid who likes to build. It brings together diverse aspects of architecture and construction, including discussion of materials, climate, and design. You can even build a bridge (punch-out parts on the jacket). Kids will be introduced to eco-architecture, landscape architecture, and naval architecture. At the back is a pull-out game, poster, and lots of stickers you can use to mark your progress through the academy "lessons".

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. Review copy provided by publisher.

What in the World? Look Again

What in the World? Look Again: Fun-tastic Photo Puzzles for Curious Minds
by National Geographic Kids
48 pages; ages 8 - 12
National Geographic Kids, 2015

This is not your average book. For one thing, it's good for your brain. For another, the format is completely different: it's a 10-inch (plus a smidgen more) square. And that makes it interesting.

There are pages of amazing photos: birds, frogs, ocean creatures, unusual architecture, feathers, scales, stones and bones.... and more. Some close-up; some from a distance; some not even real. And all of them are pieces of puzzles - that's where the "good for your brain" part comes in.

Your brain, it turns out, is a muscle just like your heart and your biceps. You exercise your arms to get strong, and your heart to stay fit. So why not exercise your brain, too? Picture puzzles help strengthen your visual perception. They also strengthen cognitive skills - that's the ability to think and process new information.

This book has different kinds of puzzles. "What in the World?" pictures challenge you to think about what you're looking at. It might be a piece of a photo, like an animal's nose or a snake eye. Each puzzle has an anagram clue, in which the letters of the word(s) are all mixed up.

"Real or Fake" asks puzzlers to determine which photos are real and which are faked. It's not as easy as it sounds, especially in this age of digital photography. So be skeptical about what you see. "Take a Look" puzzles require time: you have to search for things in a large picture. Think: "I Spy" or "Where's Waldo".

"Up Close" puzzles are photos taken with microscopes. A scanning electron microscope can magnify something 50,000 times - so it may look a lot different than the way you see it in the real world. The challenge is to match a photo (like magnified pollen grains) with a flower.

"Hidden animal" puzzles challenge you to find spiders, butterflies, and other critters that blend in with their background - and that calls for attention to detail. "Optical Illusions" trick your brain, while "Double Takes" make you take second - and third - looks to determine what the differences are between two photos.

What makes this a STEM pick? Well, if you want to be a spy (or a biologist or an explorer or an engineer, astronomer, geologist) you have to be really good at observing and remembering details. And a good scientist doesn't believe everything he - or she- sees in a photo - especially if someone else takes the photo. Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. Review copy from the publisher.