Bam! Ka-boom! Bu-u-urp! The Carbon Cycle

 

From BAM! to BURP!: A Carbon Atom's Never-Ending Journey Through Space and Time and YOU 

by Melissa Stewart; illus. by Marta Alvarez Miguens 

40 pages; ages 5-8

‎Charlesbridge, 2025

themes: atoms, carbon cycle, science

You’ve probably heard of atoms. They’re the tiny particles that make up almost everything we know in the Universe (including you).

Here’s the thing about atoms: they never disappear. They just keep moving from one thing to another, from one creature to another … from leaves to dinosaurs to fish to … us!

Melissa Stewart takes readers on a journey through the carbon cycle, beginning with a big crash (that’s the BAM of the title) – when a small rocky planet crashed into Earth. Bits of that planet melted, and the atoms (including carbon) rearranged into new molecules – like carbon dioxide spewed out of the cone of a volcano during eruption. In her book, Melissa shows that molecule eventually getting sucked up by a leaf. Once the carbon dioxide is broken down, that carbon atom is used to make glucose – hooray for photosynthesis! And carbon is happy – whoops! I spoke too soon because a long-necked dinosaur just came by and ate that leaf!

What I like about this book: I like how Melissa makes the journey of a carbon atom seem like such an adventure. And how she asks readers to think about where a carbon atom they exhale or burp might go next. I like the “Wonder Wall” she has at the end of the book – a wall full of post it notes with questions (and, thankfully, answers). Additional back matter explains more about the carbon cycle, fossil fuels, and climate change.

After reading this book, I had One Question for Melissa:

Me: In your author note you mention that a kid's question inspired you to trace the path of a carbon atom from us all the way back to dinosaurs and beyond. And this isn't the only time a kid's question has inspired a book (I think aardvark started that way?) - can you talk about the value of listening to the questions kids ask and how they've inspired your own curiosity?

Melissa: I like your question a lot! Yes, my book Can an Aardvark Bark? was inspired by a question from my nephew, Colin. Key aspects of Thank You, Moon and Summertime Sleepers also trace back to experiences with my niece, Caroline, and my nephew, Emile, respectively. Since children are my audience, I always pay close attention to their opinions and ideas. What excites them? What makes them curious? What leaves a lasting impression? I want to understand how they see the world and their place in it, so that my books will truly resonate with them.

Beyond the Books:

Make a list of things you find in your house and around your yard that have carbon in them. (hint: living things have carbon, some rocks have carbon)

Experiment with Fizzy Drink science! You need some fizzy drinks (diet cola works) and some mints (mentos work) and a place where it’s okay for messy science to happen. Here’s a video about carbonation science.

Got rocks? Some rocks, like limestone, have carbon atoms in their make-up. You can test whether rocks have carbon in them by dropping some hydrochloric acid – or even strong vinegar – on them. If they have carbon, they will fizz or foam. Those hard water deposits on your tea kettle are probably calcium carbonate. Go ahead – toss vinegar on them to test. Another good source to test for carbon: baking soda!

Melissa is a member of the STEAM Team Books group. You can find out more about her at her at her website melissa-stewart.com. You can find more about recently released STEM and STEAM at www.steamteambooks.com

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Life on a Very Small Scale

We are made of cells, and cells are made of smaller parts, and those smaller parts are made of things we can’t even see. Today’s books explore the microcosm of life.

theme: life, cells, atoms

 

 

Happy one-year anniversary to Jason Chin’s book, The Universe in You: A Microscopic Journey (Neal Porter Books, 2022). This is one of those picture books that I think is a perfect crossover for the 8-12 crowd. As I recall, my biggest desire when I was in fourth grade was to have a microscope so I could see really tiny things.

The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest bird in the United States.

It measures 8 centimeters (just over 3 inches) from beak tip to tail. “Small enough to fit in your hand,” writes Jason Chin. The Western Pygmy Blue butterfly is smaller than a penny, the smallest bee is 2 millimeters long (that’s the height of two pennies stacked together). And even that isn’t as small as…. A hair, a skin cell, a strand of DNA. This book takes us on a tour of very small things.

What I like about this book: What a great way to explore cells and molecules and atoms and elementary particles without needing to own your own microscope, electron-scanning microscope, and particle accelerator. I like how Jason gets to the building blocks of life, the universe, and everything page by page. And he does it using beautiful language that pulls you along, and some comparisons that make you want to turn the page. Plus there is smaller text that explains stuff, like showing how big a millimeter is, and explaining why dead cells are important. In the end those particles and atoms and molecules are arranged into cells that form you … “a singular person who can think and feel and discover the universe within.”

Back matter includes a spread on the building blocks of matter, with more information about elementary particles (quarks and nutrinos and gluons and more!), atoms, and elements. Another spread focuses on the building blocks of life: cells, genes, single-celled life, and more. This is a great companion to his earlier book, Your Place in the Universe. [review copy provided by the publisher]

If you’re looking for a book for slightly younger kids, and one that focuses on cells, here’s one. I checked it out of the library before the pandemic, and am finally getting around to sharing it!
 

Cells: An Owner's Handbook
by Carolyn Fisher
48 pages; ages 3 - 8
Beach Lane Books, 2019

Hi! I’m Ellie. No, not the dog. Follow the arrow. I’m a cell!

Ellie is a skin cell who lives on the “derriere of a Boston terrier”. You can’t see her because she is very, very, very small – but she has all the working parts of an animal cell: nucleus, ribosomes, mitochondria – the works. Cells make up all sorts of living things: plants, whales, people. Yes, you are the owner of 37 trillion cells (give or take a few). And this handy guide book will help you take care of them so that they last you a lifetime.

What I like about this book: I love the breezy, sassy attitude of Ellie the cell. She is a fun guide to the world of the microscopically small. She shows unicellular (one-celled) organisms, multicellular (many-celled) organisms, and things that don’t have cells at all. I love how she makes complex ideas easier to comprehend (blood cells make blood; bone cells make bone) and how the food we eat and exercise we do are essential to our cells’ health. Ellie takes a cell-fie, explains the small print in the lifetime guarantee, and even tells jokes. Back matter includes blueprints for cells (and jokes).

Beyond the Books:

Look at some things around your house using a microscope (if you have one) or a magnifying lens. Here’s a short list of fun stuff to look at: Velcro, sand, yarn, leaf, tree bark, onion skin, insect wings, moldy bread, a feather, fabric, stamp, snowflakes, and rocks.

Draw a picture of what you see when you look at something under a magnifying lens or microscope.

Write a story about what the world would be like for you if you were the size of a sunflower seed or a grain of sand.

If you want to get a microscope for your kids, Popular Science magazine has a review here. There are even some portable scopes to carry on walks.

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Publishers. Thanks for dropping by today. 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.