Stories Start with a Seed

 As a gardener, I’m always looking for new picture books about seeds, gardens, and the gardeners who plant them. 

themes: seeds, science, perseverance

     

Beansprout 

Art and words by Sarah Lynne Reul 

48 pages; ages 4-7

Charlesbridge, 2025 

This book opens with students gathered on a rug as their teacher says, “In this paper bag.. I have one hundred secrets. One hundred tiny surprises. Because this bag contains one hundred … Mystery Seeds!”

Each student chooses a seed to plant. They draw what they think will grow, and water their seed, and watch and wait for something to poke up out of the soil. Everyone’s seed sprouts except for Ben’s. The sprouts grow into seedlings, but not the nothing in Ben’s pot.  And then Ben discovers the bag filled with seeds that weren’t chosen and comes up with a new idea.

What I like about this book: As one who has planted seeds that haven’t germinated, I identify with Ben! I, too, have wondered when something – anything – will sprout. I like how Sarah Lynne Reul shows Ben’s excitement at planting time, his dismay – and then second-guessing his seed’s (and his) worth – and his teacher explaining that “sometimes things don’t grow and we don’t know the reason why.” I love that even as Ben considers never planting another thing, he discovers the bag of leftover seeds teetering on the edge of the teacher’s desk, way too close to the garbage can! I love the back matter: what is a seed? How does a seed know when to grow? What can you do if a seed doesn’t grow? 

And I really, really LOVE the art! Sarah’s illustrations are done in mixed media, with watercolor paints, tissue paper prints, and collage. The edges are cleanly cut, not torn, and give the feel of more than 2-D.  Make sure you spend time with the front AND back end papers!

Not only is March the perfect time to be thinking of seeds to plant, it’s Women’s History Month. And I have the perfect book, which was published last year - today I’m celebrating its One Year Anniversary.

Gifts from Georgia's Garden: How Georgia O'Keeffe Nourished Her Art 

by Lisa Robinson; illus. by Hadley Hooper 

‎40 pages; ages 4-8

Neal Porter Books, 2024  

Georgia painted flowers so lush and large they filled the canvas – petunias, poppies, lilies, and more…

But she was also a gardener who tended her crops using organic methods, planting marigolds to protect her plants from pests. And while she waited for her seeds to sprout, she painted. She raised her food, sewed her clothes, ground grain for bread – and all the while painted the skulls and bones and things she found in nature.

What I like about this book: Lisa Robinson shows that the act of tending her garden and feeding friends inspired Georgia O’Keefe’s art. I like that back matter shares more about Georgia O’Keefe and some of the basic concepts of sustainable gardening: conserving water, companion planting, attracting beneficial insects, and composting. There’s also a recipe to try.

Beyond the Books:

Plant some seeds. Think about things you like: beans, flowers, carrots … maybe a pumpkin? Before you plant your seed, take a good look at it and write down some of the things you notice. 

Watch your plants grow! Draw pictures of what you see as your plant grows. What do the leaves look like? How tall does it grow? When does it begin to flower? Do any insects hang out on your plant, eat the leaves, or gather pollen from the flower? NOTE: if you don’t plant any seeds, or if your seeds don’t grow, you can “adopt” a plant you find already growing – maybe in a neighborhood garden or park.

my attempt at a poppy!

Paint a flower ~ or make a collage of a flower in the style of  Georgia O’Keefe. She painted her flowers large, so viewers could really see the details. Look into the center of the flower and think: how can I show this using paint or paper? Or both? Then make art!

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 copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Spider in the Garden

 I see lots of crab spiders in the flowers, and wolf spiders running through the mulch. But the other day I found this Nursery Web spider hanging out on top of a lupine leaf. I couldn't quite look it eye-to-eye, but I got close... so close that I could see the silk coming out of its body.

This week pay attention to the spiders hanging around on the plants nearby. They might be hunting, waiting in ambush, or spinning a web. What do you discover by looking close?

The book review is still on vacation, but drop by next Wednesday for some more backyard science.

Explore Outdoors ~ Garden Cats

 A couple weeks ago, while counting pollinators for the Great Sunflower Project, I noticed this handsome caterpillar clinging to a stem in the fleabane. I was attracted to its stripes - beautiful colors! But when I asked my lepidoptera friend what it was, she said "what color are the spiracles?" Those are the tiny breathing holes on the side. I have no idea, because I can't find this sneaky cat now!

 

This week take a closer look at the caterpillars hanging out on the stems and leaves of plants around your yard. You might discover unexpected beauty!

Book reviews are on vacation for a couple weeks ~ see you next Wednesday for some more backyard science exploration.

Everything is Connected, sometimes by dust

A River of Dust: The Life-Giving Link Between North Africa and the Amazon 

by Jilanne Hoffmann; illus. by Eugenia Mello 

48 pages; ages 5-8 with interest for older kids

‎Chronicle Books, 2023  (July 25)

theme: ecology, nonfiction, air

Millions of years ago, no ocean lay between us. You and I were one.

Even though the continents are now separated by miles of ocean, the dust of the Sahel travels across Africa and the Atlantic Ocean to reunite with its ancient home in the Amazon basin. The combination of lyrical language and richly colored illustrations take readers on a journey of thousands of miles. 

What I like about this book: Ecologists often say that everything is connected. In this book, Jilanne Hoffman shows how small particles from a thin slice of land between the Sahara and the savannah are essential to the plants and animals of the Amazon. I like how she infuses the text with a sense of longing: When I reach you, we become one once again.  And there is enough Back Matter to satisfy even the most curious minds.

After reading A River of Dust I knew I needed to talk with Jilanne.

Me: Your back matter provides tons of information - and just as many questions - about how dust and climate are connected. How long did you spend researching this topic before you knew you were ready to write the book?

Jilanne: My initial research spanned about six months, starting with the information provided on NASA’s website, and then using JSTOR, the amazing online journal database. I wrote the initial rough draft, which was way too much like a travelog, within the first six months. That version contained no reference to plate tectonics, and it had no back matter. I wanted to put the narrative in place before shaping what turned out to be an overwhelming amount of information. 

Over the next three years, I followed dust trails everywhere, and discovered the man I call “the grandfather” of dust collection, Joseph Prospero, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami. He’s been collecting the dust that crosses the Atlantic for decades, and he kindly reviewed sections of my back matter. He even sent me a pre-published paper describing the history of research involving African dust transport. I followed his trail of journal articles, and then branched out to study everything from the effects of phosphorus and iron in plants and animals to how drought in the Sahel affects the quantity of dust that ends up in the Saharan Air Layer (a 2 to 2.5-mile-thick layer of the atmosphere starting a mile above the surface of North Africa). 

some of the research papers I read...

I followed trails of scientists who used data from NASA’s earth observation satellites (including CALIPSO) to model how rainfall, or lack thereof, affects climate in the short and long term and more! But eventually, I was able to shape the research into “Questions for Curious Minds,” that included plate tectonics, too! After all, the book is also about separation and reconnection. 

After the book was acquired, I kept researching because: 1) I wanted to lean more into plate tectonics so the narrative could come full circle; 2) I needed to respond to the fact checker questioning specific flora and fauna choices in each biome; and 3) I wanted to respond to a sensitivity reader who pointed out that I hadn’t mentioned how human inhabitants have altered some of the soils in the Amazon over thousands of years. There’s also the question of how much phosphorus comes from burning vegetation from Southern Africa, not just North Africa. So once again, I delved into journal articles discussing  anthropogenic sources of phosphorus and soil studies, and found that while the soils in certain Amazonian corridors, usually along rivers, have been purposefully enriched by human activity, the majority of the soils in the Amazon have not. But the amount of phosphorus provided by burning vegetation is still—ah—up in the air. 

And as we went into final, I found a new study suggesting that a larger proportion of the dust crossing the Atlantic may come from a spot in the Sahara to the west of the Sahel’s Bodélé depression. It’s a difficult analysis. So I decided to include a sentence about that, and we changed the title to include North Africa, not just the Sahel. Writing about science is a race to stay current!

Me: Wow! That is a lot of work! Not only does dust blow from Africa, but you mention that dust from the Gobi Desert feeds the trees of the Sierra's. Where does this river of dust end up?

Jilanne: Yes, the Gobi Desert is also a major source of a river of dust on Earth, especially in the spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The dust causes significant air pollution (like all dust storms) in northern China and Mongolia and even further south while spreading across the North Pacific and spilling over the Western United States. A study conducted by UC Merced researchers suggests that the Gobi provides 18-45% of the dust deposited in the Sierras, depending on location. The remainder of the dust originates from California’s Central Valley. The Los Angeles Times likened the whole process to the way a dirty sponge gets rinsed out by rain and snow along the western slopes of the Sierras. 

Me: Are there any citizen/community science projects that encourage people to collect dust falling onto their rooftops? This is a hot topic (so to speak) because the smoke from Canadian wildfires left lots of dust and ash on my roof - which came down in the rain. I usually collect rainwater to water plants, but not this stuff - it was black!

Jilanne: Yes, “ash rain” is a big problem during fire season! You don’t want to be collecting that! 

A variety of citizen science projects collect and analyze dust around the globe. But from my understanding, they tend to be adult-oriented. One recent project was spurred by the enormous dust transported from North Africa in 2021 to Europe. Citizen scientists collected dust samples on snow in the Pyrenees and French and Swiss Alps and found differences related to mineral content, particulate size, amounts on south vs. north-facing slopes, etc. and recorded their findings. The results have not yet been published. 

Other citizen science projects focus more on specific contaminants that can be found in dust, including lead. Breathing air that contains heavy metal particles is especially concerning for children and their brain development. But all sorts of contaminants and even viruses hitchhike their way around the globe on the vehicle of dust, so there’s really no way to avoid it. Wearing a filtration mask during fire season or Spare the Air days may become more the norm in the future as our world heats up. 

Me: Thank you for joining us today. Jilanne has created a downloadable educator guide that includes a group of cross-curriculum activities, including one that asks kids to monitor and report on the air quality where they live. And the guide offers a wonderful “Simon says” PE activity that involves throwing “dust particles” in different directions, depending on the time of year and wind direction name called out by the teacher. You can find it at her website here.

Beyond the Books:

You can monitor the air quality in your area using the AirNow website or app. Sometimes the air quality changes throughout the day, so you might want to check a couple times a day. Are there times of the year when air quality is worse or better? 

Make a simple dust monitor. All you need is some graph paper (I use centimeter ruled), an index card (or panel of milk carton), Vaseline, and a few common supplies. Then tie them to a tree or tape to a lamp post or the outside of a window. A perfect way to collect wildfire dust and pollen! Here’s how to make the card. 

Jilanne Hoffman is a member of #STEAMTeam2023. You can find out more about her at her website. 

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ My, What a Long Tongue You Have!

 Have you ever watched a butterfly (or a moth) up close as it slurps up nectar from a flower? If so, you've noticed that it has a very long ...

 

... tongue! 

Skipper: The better to get into those tubular clover flowers, my dear!

 

Actually, butterflies - and moths - don't have tongues. What they have is a proboscis, a long, straw-like tube that comes in handy when you're trying to drink sweet stuff out of flowers. Imagine having your mouth extended into a long tube! 

And then imagine tasting with your feet. Though, to be fair, moths and butterflies can sense aromas with their antennae - and a good part of "taste" is what we smell. 

This week, check out butterflies and day-flying moths visiting flowers in your neighborhood. 

Try to get close without bothering them, and check out their proboscises (and yes, that is the plural!) Here are a couple of moths I've seen tasting flowers in and around my garden: 

 

Hummingbird moth on teasel

Virginia Ctenucha moth (say "ten-OOCH-ah")

Explore Outdoors ~ Milkweed visitors

 I started growing milkweed in and around my garden for the Monarch caterpillars. It turns out that lots of things love my milkweed. Over the seasons I spy skippers, honey bees, fritillaries, a variety of native bees, ants, the Monarchs (of course) and other butterflies, and even hummingbirds who hover long enough to check out the flowers. There are milkweed bugs and milkweed beetles, ladybugs, and crab spiders that hang out under the leaves waiting to snatch an unsuspecting fly.

 

And then there's this beetle - a daylight firefly that doesn't light up the sky, and who is nibbling milkweed buds.

This week choose a flower that's in bloom and watch the insects that visit it. How many different kinds of insects do you see? And do any birds drop by? Are there spiders lurking on the blossom or hiding in the leaves?

In Defense of Dead Plants

Last spring was a tough time for new book releases, what with libraries, schools, and book stores unable to host public events. So this spring I’m sharing some STEAM books that I didn’t get time to review, and I feel are worth another look. And since spring is here and plants are beginning to grow, I thought today would be perfect for looking at…

Herbaria: A Guide for Young People 

by Kelly LaFarge 

34 pages; ages 8-12

Missouri Botanical Garden Press, 2021

The first thing I noticed about this book is that it’s almost as big as my plant press! 

The second thing I noticed was the question on the back cover: What good is a dead plant? It’s a good question, for sure.

Live plants give us oxygen. They capture carbon. They provide fruits and leafy greens for us to eat, and food for animals. They clean pollutants from the air, provide shade, moderate temperature, and beautify the world.

Dead plants, says Kelly LaFarge, “can be as useful to us as living ones.” Especially when they are collected in plant museums, called Herbaria. Just as scientists use museum collections to study birds and mammals and insects, they use herbarium collections to study plants. Medical researchers can use samples of plants to aid in their inventions of new medicines. Farmers can learn about weeds, and ecologists can study plant diversity and their geographical range.

Remember the Lewis and Clark expedition? Back in 1803 President Thomas Jefferson directed them to bring back information about the plants and animals found west of the Mississippi. They observed, recorded, drew pictures of, and collected plants from the west – information that helped leaders understand more about the new world. Those samples are preserved in an herbarium, available for researchers interested in learning how the plant populations have changed in the past 200-plus years.

In addition to introducing the why of Herbaria, LaFarge shows how plants are collected and preserved. Her text illustrations are augmented with lift-up flaps (what’s inside a plant press?), field notebook pages, envelopes, and other interactive things to explore. There’s a glossary and a list of herbaria to visit, should you be so inclined. There’s even a side bar about a kid who discovered a new species in his backyard.

This weekend, pay attention to the plants growing around you. On Monday, come back to find out how to make a simple plant press so you can create an herbarium of your own.

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. Review copy provided by the author.

Explore Outdoors ~ An Earthball by my Porch

 There's a small bit of old board laying in the grass next to my porch. I probably used it to level a flower pot a few years ago. Over the years moss and lichens began growing.

Then, mid-September, a very strange thing showed up. 

Kind of roundish.

Kind of tough and leathery-ish.

Nestled into the grass and moss like an egg. But with a tiny hole at the top.

I figured it was a fungus of some sort. But what? 

Turns out it's an Earthball. Also called the Pigskin Poison Puffball. It doesn't have much of a stipe (stem) - just a tiny bit that connects it to the soil.

I decided to watch it for a couple weeks to see what happened.

I checked on my Earthball every day for about... three days. Then I forgot. I'd charge out the door on my way to the garden, the library, the mailbox. And I'd say "oh, I'll take a good look at it when I get back."

Over the span of 20 days, the Earthball aged. It got scaly and looked a bit deflated. Nothing had eaten it - somehow I thought it might be nibbled by one of the chipmunks that hang out on the porch. But no, the animals left it alone. I guess nobody wants to partake of Pigskin Poison Puffball.

Three days later it had split, in an uneven tear. A dusting of black spores covered the moss and grass. 

Want to learn more about Earthballs? Here's a great post from Fungus Fact Friday.

What sort of fungi are hanging around your porch?

Everything is Connected

This month I’m diving into books about Earth’s ecosystems, starting with this one…

Biomes: Discover the Earth’s Ecosystems with Environmental Science Activities for Kids
by Donna Latham ; illus by Tim Casteel
128 pages; ages 9-13
Nomad Press, 2019

A biome is a life zone, with a distinctive climate and geology, specific water resources, and its own biodiversity. Some scientists say there are five biomes, others list six. Author Donna Latham presents nine: coniferous forest, deciduous forest, tropical rainforest, desert, mountains, temperate grassland, tropical savanna, tundra, and ocean. Regardless of how you sort them, the big point is that they are all connected, and a disaster that takes place in one biome (such as an oil spill) often affects other biomes.

What I like about this book: Each chapter presents a biome and the ecosystems within that biome. Readers get into soils, food chains, and plant and animal adaptations. There are fun sidebars with tidbits, QR codes to links (all links are listed at the back), and plenty of hands-on stuff to explore. Experiment with erosion, study the impact of salt on seed germination, make a terrarium, and explore your home turf. Oh yeah – and make sure to keep a notebook like a scientist does.

There are also photos and (yay!) comics. The tone is fun and informal while being informational. Back matter contains a glossary and metric conversion chart. This is a great “text” for kids who want to learn at home this fall and winter.

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. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Join the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Evening Grosbeak by GBBC participant Ted Schroeder, Oregon

This weekend is for the birds! The 22nd Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)  happens Friday, February 15 through Monday, February 18. You’re invited to join me and other volunteers from around the world. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an expert birder or just beginning to watch the birds hanging around your backyard.

The GBBC mission: to count the birds you see for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count, then enter your checklists at birdcount.org. You can do this by yourself or with family and friends.

This year, Cornell Lab of Ornithology says participants will probably see more finches and grosbeaks. They are moving farther south than usual in what's called an "irruption." This type of movement is often sparked by poor cone, seed, and berry crops in parts of Canada. It’s also a good year for sighting Red Crossbills, Common Redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks, Common and Hoary Redpolls, and Red-breasted Nuthatches.

 Downy Woodpecker by Charlie Prince, Alabama.

"The Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way for all bird watchers to contribute to a global database of bird populations," says Dr. Gary Langham, vice president and chief scientist for the National Audubon Society. "Participants in the Great Backyard Bird Count help scientists understand how things like climate change are impacting bird populations so we can better inform our conservation efforts."

Last year, GBBC participants submitted more than 180,000 bird checklists, reporting a record 6,456 species. That’s more than half the known bird species in the world.

How to get started:
1. Visit birdcount.org. There you’ll find instructions, a “How To” slide show, answers to your questions, and bird lists.

2. Check out the links, where you’ll find an online Bird Guide, tips for identifying “tricky” birds, and more.

3. And head over to Audubon for a great introduction to 15 common birds.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Mud Season

If you live in the northeast, you know about mud season. Squeezed in between winter and spring, it can run anywhere from the last part of March to the beginning of May.

It sounds boring, but there's so much to do:

• hunt for bird and insect tracks
• watch mud dry
• paint with mud
• take a mud bath
• make mud pies
• measure mud depth 
• test its friction coefficient - mud hockey anyone?

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Be a Bird Scientist

Downy Woodpecker by Errol Taskin/Project FeederWatch

Hang a feeder in our yard and here’s who shows up to nosh on the goodies: blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, goldfinches, hairy woodpeckers, juncos, mourning doves, nuthatches, red-bellied woodpeckers, sparrows, turkeys … and squirrels. Not everyone perches on the feeder; turkeys and doves strut and peck below, gleaning seeds that get dropped.

Regardless of where they feed, watching the birds is a lot of fun. Not only do you learn who is hanging out in your backyard, but birds can be entertaining. And by keeping track of birds that come to your feeder, you can help scientists.

How? Get involved in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Project FeederWatch. Beginning in November (once the bears are hibernating), you load up the feeders and a couple times a week count the birds that visit. Feeder Watchers submit data from November through April. That data helps scientists track movements of winter bird populations as well as long-term trends in the bird populations. The data has shown how some populations have expanded their northern range as the climate has warmed.

Beyond Feeder Watch:

• What do the birds visiting your feeder do? Do they eat seeds or carry them away?
• Watch where individual birds land, and write down where they hide their seeds. If they push seeds into bark crevices on the trunk of the tree, how high? Maybe some birds hide seeds near the top and others closer to the ground. If they cache seeds on branches, do they tuck them under bark chips on the upper side of the branches or the undersides? Do they hide seeds near the tips or closer to where the branches join the trunk?
• Do different birds collect seeds at different times of day?
• Does weather affect feeding behavior?

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ A Seedy Walk

Head out on a seedy field trip. Pull a large pair of old socks over your shoes and up your legs. Then head outside and walk through a weedy area - maybe next to a country road, or at the far end of a park, a hay field or even your garden.

You might be surprised by how many seeds "hitch" a ride.

When you get home, pull the seeds off your socks and take a close look at them - a magnifying lens will help. Can you figure out what plants they come from?

Sort them by what they look like. If you have some potting soil, fill up some paper cups and plant the seeds. Can you grow them into new plants?

Two books for animal-lovers

My kids loved frogs. And otters, crickets, turtles ... they always wanted to know what made animals work. Here are two books that help answer some of those questions.

theme: nature, nonfiction

See-Thru Frogs (see-thru books series)
by Sherry Gerstein
28 pages; ages 7-10
Millbrook Press, 2016

The cool thing about frogs is that you find them anywhere: in ponds, in the wooded areas behind a park, even in sewers under city streets. In this book, kids learn how frogs breathe, swim, and leap.

What I like about this book: The "see-thru" pages help illustrate the insides of frogs - their skeleton and internal organs. You can see that we share similar bones with frogs (backbone, humerus) - but their food bones are much longer and they don't have neck bones so they can't turn their heads like we can.

There are tips on distinguishing frogs from toads, an overview of the class Amphibia, and a spread celebrating the diversity of frogs.

 Animal Legs
by Mary Holland
32 pages; ages 4-8
Arbordale Publishing, 2016

Legs and feet come in many shapes, numbers, and sizes. They are used to paddle, jump, cling, dig, warn others, catch food and even taste food! The way an animal's legs and feet look can tell you a lot about how it lives.

Mary Holland is a naturalist who observes animals closely and takes wonderful photographs. In this book she focuses her attention on legs.

What I like about this book: The close-up photos of caterpillar legs, spiny mantid legs, butterfly and frog feet, grouse and mole toes. Every page is packed with details about webbing, spines, flaps, toenails. Some animals walk on their toes; others walk on their toenails. We walk on our whole foot.

I also like the back-matter: extra information for curious minds and a matching game. 

Beyond the books

Listen for frogs. Last week we were still hearing wood frogs, but with cold weather the frogs may be going into hiding. You can check out frog calls here.

What can you do with your legs and feet? Jump? Walk? Run? Can you pick up a pencil with your toes? What else can you do?

What kinds of legs do you find in your neighborhood? Check out the birds and bugs, reptiles and amphibians and mammals you see. Look at tracks they leave in the mud and snow. What do you notice? Are they furry or scaly? Do they have 2 legs or more? How many toes? Do they hop or run?

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. We're also joining PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from publisher.

Bioengineering: How nature inspires human designs

Bioengineering, Discover How Nature Inspires Human Designs
by Christine Burillo Kirch; illus. by Alexis Cornell
128 pages; ages 9 - 12
Nomad Press, 2016

Engineers use the principles of physics to design and build machines, tools, and houses. Biologists study living things. Mash them together and you get Bioengineers: people who apply engineering principles to biological functions so they can create something people use.

Take Leonardo Da Vinci. He studied how birds and bats fly, and then designed a flying machine. He may have been the first person to document his use of bioengineering- through notes and sketches.

Bats use sonar to find the fruit and insects they eat. They send out a sound signal that bounces back off objects - letting the bat know where their dinner is. Submarines use sonar, too, and now engineers have developed walking sticks with sonar  that will help blind people navigate more easily. Pretty cool, right?

Sometimes bioengineering begins with a backyard observation. The guy who invented velcro was out walking with his dog when he discovered burdock burrs clinging to his clothes and the dog's fur. Most people would just pull them off, but de Mestral was curious about how the burrs clung so well. When he looked at them under a microscope he saw that the burrs had tiny hooks that could catch on loops in fur (and clothes). Ah-ha! What if you could make a fastener like that? One side with hooks, one side with loops?

Someone watching maple samaras whirl through the air got the idea to develop a small aircraft. Now engineers at Lockheed Martin are working on a tiny drone that looks a lot like a maple seed.

This book introduces kids to a wide range of applications of bioengineering, from medical applications to wind power, farming, clothing, architecture, transportation, and 3-D printing. There are 25 hands-on projects, including "backyard bioengineering", and tons of links to primary sources. Back matter includes a glossary, resources (including a list of QR codes) and an index.

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

Very Hungry Caterpillars

gypsy moth caterpillar (creative commons)

How much can a single caterpillar eat? A lot! Caterpillars are basically eating machines. They need to be if they hope to get through all those instars (larval stages), into a cocoon or chrysalis, and reach adulthood in time to mate or migrate.

One summer the gypsy moths were so numerous we could hear frass dropping on leaves like rain. Bits of leaves littered the ground - crumbs dropped by the herbivorous gluttons devouring our forest canopy. Reference books mentioned that gypsy moths could defoliate entire forests - but there was not one word on how much an individual caterpillar consumed.

So we decided to take prisoners and find out for ourselves. Or plan of action: give them leaves and see how much they eat over 24 hours. Sounded easy enough.... So we made up cozy homes cells for our captives, one caterpillar per gallon jar, and gave them leaves. Before feeding them, though, we traced each leaf onto a piece of centimeter graph paper. That made it easy to approximate leaf area by counting squares and parts thereof. The next day we took out what was left of the leaves and traced them. Now we could figure out how much they ate.

Summer is the perfect time to go caterpillar watching. And there are so many things to discover about caterpillars: what they like to eat, how they move, where they hang out in the hot part of the day...

Here are a couple of handy resources for budding caterpillarologists (people who study caterpillars):

Everyone needs a field guide, and Caterpillarology is full of hands-on ways to look at these guys.

Also check out  the Butterfly School.

Drop by STEM Friday to see what other science books and resources bloggers are sharing.   

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are fun - and they sharpen our observation skills. Here's one that connects science to literacy: an alphabet scavenger hunt. Go for a walk around your neighborhood, or a nearby park, or the school yard ... and find something for each letter of the alphabet.

Sounds simple enough. But things in nature get complicated, depending on how we see things. For example: how would you tag this "find"? Would you call it a

• D for dandelion, or
• S for seed, or
• P for parachute, or
• M for milky sap?

And what about this guy? Is it:

• I for insect, or
• D for dragonfly?
• B for blue, or
• V for wing veins? 

 Then there's this one:

• F for fungus? 
• N for nibbled?
• S for smooth? 
• G for gills (they're underneath)

So many ways to see things...

Drop by STEM Friday to see what science books and other resources bloggers are sharing.

Flight of the Honey Bee

Flight of the Honey Bee
by Raymond Huber; illus. by Brian Lovelock
32 pages; ages 3 - 7
Candlewick Press, 2013

Theme: nature,insects, nonfiction

A honey bee tackles different jobs over her short lifetime: she cleans the hive, babysits larvae, helps build and guard the nest, serves as scout and harvests food.

"This is the story of a scout..." begins Raymond Huber. "Scout has spent her whole live in the crowded hive. Now it is time for her to fly out and explore the world - time to search for flowers from which to collect pollen and nectar for food."

We follow Scout as she picks up scents with her antennae, dodges a hungry blackbird, and finds shelter from a sudden storm. Finally she makes it home and dances her dance to tell her sisters where to find the best nectar and pollen.

What I like about this Book: Aside from the marvelous honey-colored cover and those wise bee-eyes staring out at the reader? I love the name "Scout" - it's perfect for a bee on a reconnaissance mission. I like the "fact notes" tucked into the page: how many bees in a hive, how far a honey bee travels to find honey. I love the warm, honey-color running through the illustrations, and the splatters of color like bits of pollen that manage to get on every page. There's great stuff at the back, too - notes on how to "save the bees" and an index for impatient folks who want to quickly flip to the facts.

Bee-yond the book: Although Scout's story is set in the fall, right now is a perfect time to get outside and get to know your neighborhood bees. Go on a Bee Walk to see who's buzzing around your neighborhood. You might recognize honey bees and bumble bees, but there are lots of other bees around too - like the metallic green bees that hang around my flowers. If you're not sure what's buzzing in your yard, here's some help.

Make your Yard Bee- (and Butterfly-) Friendly. When honey bees and bumble bees and all the other kinds of bees in your neighborhood visit flowers, they do more than take nectar home to their nest. The also carry pollen from one flower to another. A lot of the food we eat depends on bee-pollination - like strawberries. How could you have strawberry shortcake without bees? Learn how to make your yard pollinator-friendly  here.

Learn the Waggle Dance. That's how Scout tells her sisters where to find the honey. You do a waggle run, then circle 'round right. Do the waggle run, then circle 'round left. Here, let the bees show you:

Drop by STEM Friday to see what other science books and resources bloggers are sharing.   Today's review is part of PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.

  On Monday we'll scout the Nonfiction Monday round-up, where you'll find all kinds of great nonfiction for children and teens.  Review copy provided by publisher.

Woolly Bear Secrets Revealed

The Secret Life of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar

by Laurence Pringle; illus by Joan Paley

32 pages; ages 5 - 7

Boyds Mills Press, 2014

“Bella is no ordinary caterpillar,” writes Laurence Pringle. “She is a banded woolly bear...” So begins this introduction to the secret life of a well-loved caterpillar.

Bella has 16 legs – how do you even walk on 16 legs? Not to worry – Pringle explains how different legs help Bella climb, move, and even help her eat. And eat. And EAT… woolly bears, it turns out, eat a lot. And produce a lot of frass (a cool word for caterpillar poop).

Bella eats all summer long, and then finds a safe place to sleep away the winter. In the spring, wooly bears wake up and start eating. Again.

Perhaps you’ve seen Bella and her buddies wandering about your yard searching for tender grass and tasty dandelion leaves to nibble. If so, take a few moments to watch them. If you have a glass plate or petri dish, put a woolly bear in it and watch how they walk. If you have a sandy area, put a woolly bear down and see what sort of tracks it makes.

Then help it get to a green and grassy place  because soon, very soon, Bella will spin a cocoon and change into an Isabella Tiger Moth. And then, one day later this summer, she’ll lay her eggs that will hatch into baby woolly bears.

Pringle gives us a great view into the every day life of a common caterpillar, and Joan Paley's bright and bold illustrations are perfect for spring. 

Drop by STEM Friday to see what other science books and resources bloggers are sharing.  Review copy provided by publisher.