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.

Explore Outdoors ~ Make your own (very quiet) Fourth of July Explosions!

 With the Fourth of July just a couple days away, I thought I'd share some alternatives to fireworks. These hands-on activities will provide plenty of pop, sizzle, and fizz without the big noise.

Chances are you have many of the ingredients in your cupboards, but check the materials lists in case you need to stock up before Friday. Then, after the parade and potato salad, invite friends and family to create their own Fourth of July celebration in your back yard.

Exploding paint Bags ~ more pop than boom!

Blobs in a Bottle ~ a simple take on lava lamps. All you need is oil, water, food coloring - and some alka-selzer.

Erupting Rainbow ~ Of course vinegar is involved!

Fizzy sidewalk chalk fireworks ~ pffff!

For more activities, check out this post from a few years ago

I'm taking a summer break to explore nature in my neighborhood, and catch up on some writing. And of course, I'm tucking a bunch of books in my beach tote for summer reading! 

Enjoy! See you in August!

Very Bouncy Science - and History

 

Bounce! A Scientific History of Rubber 

by Sarah Albee; illus. by Eileen Ryan Ewen 

48 pages; ages 6-9

‎Charlesbridge, 2024

themes: rubber, science, invention

 It can bounce, bounce, bounce!

Rubber has been around for thousands of years, and chances are that you’ve got some in your dresser drawer or maybe even your pocket. Where that rubber came from, what makes it so stretchy, and how it’s been used throughout history is the meat of this book.

What I like about this book: Sarah begins with how Indigenous people living near rainforests in Mexico and Central America created and used rubber. 

She explains how European explorers took rubber back with them – along with the gold and riches they stole – and how rubber became part of our lives. Sprinkled throughout are spreads labeled “The Science” where she explains bounce, polymer chains, and why pure rubber fails in heat and cold.

I also like the illustrations – they add a touch of fun to this bouncy history. And there is Back Matter! Sarah discusses names of the Indigenous people, and shares some of the troubling details about the sometimes violent history of the rubber industry and some of the environmental issues. She also includes a timeline of the last 3,500 years of rubber history.

Bouncy Science Beyond the Books: 

Compare bounciness of a variety of balls. You’ll need a hard surface for your bounce test and a way to measure height - you can tape a couple yard-sticks or tape measure against a fence, wall, or tree. Drop each kind of ball from as high as you can reach and write down how high it bounces.

Measure stretchiness of a rubber band. First, measure the width (how “fat” the rubber band is) and the loop-length (how long it is before you stretch it). Now hook one end of the rubber band over the end of a ruler and gently stretch the rubber band. How far can you go? If you’re outside, you can let go and see how far your rubber band flies. Try different rubber bands – and remember to pick them up when you’re finished.

Make your own rubber from plants in your yard. Caution: don’t do this if you are allergic to latex! Break open the stem of a milkweed or dandelion and collect the latex in a spoon. Cover the end of your finger with the sap, all the way to the first knuckle-bend and let the sap dry. After 10 to 15 minutes, roll the dried sap off your finger. It will make a slightly stretchy band. To make a “rubber” ball, put a half a teaspoon of sap into 1/4 cup of water and stir with a straw. Slowly add a little bit of vinegar. The acid in the vinegar will make the latex stick to the straw. Gather the latex into a ball, squeeze out the water, and give it a bounce.  

 

Sarah Albee is a member of #STEAMTeam2024. You can find out more about her at her website.

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. 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.

Mole Day!

 

Mole and Tell (Celebrating Science)
by Catherine Payne and John Payne; illus. by Elisa Rocchi
40 pages; ages 7-10
Science, Naturally!, 2023

What’s that date written on the board?

When the students file into Mr. Cantello’s fourth-grade science class, they notice a date written on the board: 10/23. What does it mean? Is it a field trip? A test? Maybe it’s Earth Day? Not Earth Day, Mr. Cantello says, but it is a science holiday. It’s Mole Day, October 23.

Is this a day to celebrate spots on our skin? To celebrate tiny animals that tunnel underground? Nope. It’s a celebration of a number. Avogadro’s number, to be exact: 6.02 x 10²³. It’s a counting unit used by scientists all around the world. Sort of like a dozen, but instead of 12, a mole is 602 billion trillion. That’s 602 followed by 21 zeroes! Scientists write it as 6.02 x 10 to the 23rd because seriously, writing 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 every time you need to use it takes up too much space!

What I like about this book: I think the authors do a good job introducing the concept of a mole. And having a group of kids explore what a mole of something is might encourage readers to wonder. There’s some discussion of elements, and an illustration that shows the periodical table along with molar mass (the number of grams in a mole of an element), plus a discussion about the kinds of scientists who use moles to measure things in their jobs. I do wish there had been a sidebar explaining more about who Avogadro was and how he (and others) developed this measurement.

 

I wanted to know more about how Cathy and John decided to write this book, so I asked Cathy One Question:

 

Me: What inspired you to write about such a big number?

Cathy: I've been fascinated by the mole since learning about it in my high school chemistry class. In addition, I love homonyms! This book was the perfect way to combine my love of language with my interest in science. For this book, we focused on breaking down scientific concepts, explaining the mole and the periodic table as best we could. We wanted children to have a solid understanding of the mole so that they would have a good foundation for units of measurement.

There isn’t any back matter beyond a glossary, but Science Naturally provides an activity-filled teacher’s guide at their website. I’ve added a few more activities below at…

… Beyond the Books:

How much would a mole of avocados weigh? Cathy admits she likes to play with language, so why not? Since 6.02 x 10²³  is Avogadro’s number, why not play around with avocados? You can even weigh one (or more) right there in the produce aisle.

Mole Day is next Monday. What kind of food will you make to celebrate? Here’s a couple of ideas to get you started: guaca-mole, pie a’la mole, ani-mole crackers.

Go play a game of whack-a-mole. If you can’t find one (because it IS an ancient and venerable arcade game) try making your own out of cardboard. Here’s how.

Make up your own Science Holiday. What science thing do you want to celebrate? 

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 authors.

Exploring the Elements

Dates are closer than they look on the calendar. For the past few months I’ve known that my debut picture book, 13 Ways to Eat a Fly (illustrated by David Clark) releases mid-February. Which sounds so far away. Except it’s only two and a half weeks from now… While it’s hard to think about flies in the dead of winter, longer days are coming and soon those busy buzzy (sometimes) bothersome flies will make their presence known.

Meanwhile, I want to share this fun book about elements. If I’d had a book like this in school, I think I would have a better handle on chemistry. 

Exploring the Elements: A Complete Guide to the Periodic Table 

by Isabel Thomas; illus. by Sara Gillingham 

224 pages; ages 8-12

Phaidon Press, 2020

I was drawn to this book by the cover: bright graphics that carry into the interior. You know what’s cool? The table of contents is set up like a periodic table.

“Elements are the building blocks of everything, from distant stars to the ground under your feet, from the pages of this book to the person reading it,” writes Isabel Thomas. Imagine that! Everything in the universe made up of 92 basic ingredients!

An introduction explains atoms, the categories of the periodic table, where various elements are found, and “how to use this book” – similar to how field guides are set up. Each chapter includes a collection of elements that have things in common. Sometimes those categories align with the groups of the periodic table. Other times, not so much. 

Each entry provides the atomic number of the element. (That’s the number of protons in the atoms of that element, for those of you that have forgotten.) It shows the element’s symbol, shows its position in the periodic table, and provides icons that let you know some key facts at a glance. Then it lists important properties, tells where the element is found in nature, and whether it’s found in the human body. 

Down in the right-hand corner there’s a drawing showing how electrons are arranged. An “about section tells all about the element, and the “secret” box tells about the secrets of chemistry and physics that cause the element to behave the way it does. In addition, each entry also includes a gallery of “forms and uses” – from paint to gems to medicine.

To help make it easy to find stuff, each chapter is color-coded. So Alkali Metals have green pages, Transition Metals are goldenrod, and Metalloids are purple. At the back there’s plenty of historical stuff and reference tables.

And if you take the book jacket off, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that the inside is a periodic table. So you can tape it to the wall above your desk for easy reference and make a new book jacket out of a brown paper bag (assuming you can get those anymore).

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.

Books Can Help Us Think Like a Scientist!

Today I’m sharing picture books that feature scientists – and want-to-be scientists.
Theme: biography, STEM, inspiration 

Dream Big, Little Scientists: A Bedtime Book
by Michelle Schaub; illus. by Alice Potter
32 pages; ages 3-7
Charlesbridge, 2020 (releases Feb. 18 

Dream BIG, little scientists, and close your sleepy eyes…
This is the perfect bedtime story to read your STEM-enthused youngster. Each spread illustrates a young scientist getting ready for sleep. Posters on their walls, quilts, and books on their shelves highlight their passion for a particular field, from astronomy to geology to chemistry.

What I like about this book: I love the calming rhymes that incorporate principles from the different disciplines. For example, one room has posters of Donna Strickland and Stephen Hawking, books about Newton and flight and gravity, and paper airplanes scattered on the floor. The text is perfect: As motion slows and quiet grows, objects come to rest.

I also love the ending – which I am not going to spoil for you – and the back matter that encourages kids to Think Like a Scientist! That’s where readers can learn more about the different fields introduced in the book. (review copy provided by Blue Slip Media)


Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet
by Elizabeth Rusch; illus. by Teresa Martinez
40 pages; ages 6-9
Charlesbridge, 2019

 Mario Molina was born in Mexico City on March 19, 1943. By the time he was six, the world was awash in amazing new products made from amazing new chemicals.

When he turned eight, his parents gave him a microscope. Mario put a drop of water – and then some dirty, smelly water – under his microscope lens. He looked at salt crystals, food, even toothpaste. When Mario wanted to turn a bathroom into a chemistry lab, his parents encouraged him – even buying chemicals he couldn’t find in children’s chemistry sets.

As Mario studied chemistry, he wondered about the safety of new chemicals. Soon, he was studying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), chemicals used as a propellant in spray cans and used in refrigerators. They stuck around in the atmosphere and broke up the ozone molecules. Mario had to warn people, and quickly, before the hole in the ozone got too large to fix.

What I like about this book: Scientist-becomes-hero! A great story – but wait! What happens when people don’t want to believe what you have discovered? That, too, is part of this story. What I really like: that leaders from around the world listened and took action. It gives you hope that maybe, just maybe, we can come together again to solve global environmental problems.

I like that back matter includes a comparison between the Ozone hole and global warming. There’s a list of books you can read. And there is a short list of things you can do right now to reduce your contributions to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. (review copy provided by publisher)


Buzzing with Questions: the inquisitive mind of Charles Henry Turner
by  Janice N. Harrington; illus by Theodore Taylor III
48 pages; ages 7-10
Calkins Creek, 2019

As a passionate insect-watcher, I am happy to see a picture book about Charles Turner. He loved to study plants and animals, and bugged his parents with unending questions. When a teacher urged him to go find out the answers, Charles did. At a time when most colleges didn’t accept black students, Charles Turner went to college.

Charles asked BIG questions about small creatures: how does an ant find its way home? Could a cockroach learn to solve a maze? Can bees use color cues to find sweet rewards? He never tired of asking questions and sharing what he learned with his students. Back matter includes a timeline and resources for curious readers. (review ARC provided by publisher)

Beyond the Books:

Check out the biographies of the scientists whose posters are tacked to the walls of the kids in Dream Big... here at Michelle Schaub's website.

Learn more about Charles Turner here

Learn more about chemist Mario Molina here.

Think Like a Scientist – tips from a fun video.


We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday in a couple weeks -  once the Valentine story contest ends. PPBF is a gathering of bloggers who share their reviews of picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Plant defense against invaders

Sweet potato. photo by Anja Meents, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

If a hungry predator threatens you, you can run away. You can also yell at your friends to warn them to run away too.

But what about plants? They can't run anywhere. But they have a lot of ways to defend themselves. Think: thorny roses, needle-sharp cactus spines, stinging nettle hairs. When I was writing Are Ants Like Plants, I learned how some plants can even warn their neighbors by sending a chemical message. Yesterday scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, and at the National Taiwan University released a study about how a sweet potato uses a single odor to warn its neighbors of insect attack.

First the researchers wanted to know what happened in a particular variety of sweet potato after it was attacked by leaf-munching bugs. That's because the variety was more resistant to insect attacks than other varieties. The resistant sweet potato plants produced a plant hormone in the damaged leaves - and emitted odors.

Cool thing #1: Leaves that weren't attacked by the insects also produced the same hormone - a protein that made the attacking insects lose their appetite (it affected the insects' digestive system).

Cool thing #2: Plants growing nearby that hadn't been attacked by the insects also produced the anti-herbivore protein.

Turns out, the neighboring plants could detect the odor emitted by the insect-nibbled plants, allowing them to prepare their defense against invading leaf-munchers. Pretty nifty trick for plants, right? Makes you wonder what else we can learn by studying plants.

You can learn more about this study here and about another study (at Cornell University) here. Check out this earlier article in the Scientist.

Wednesday Explorers Club - Making Oobleck

A couple weeks ago I posted a review of  Charlotte the Scientist is Squished,  - so I thought it would be fun to do some experiments using the scientific method. The "Scientific method" is an outline (or flowchart) that describes how scientists develop hypothesis, test their ideas, and come to conclusions.

Our experiment: making Oobleck. All you need is water and a box of cornstarch. Warning: do not dispose of cornstarch experiments down your sink; they could clog your drain. Wrap them up and throw them away.

Question: What happens if I mix cornstarch in water?
Hypothesis: If I make it thick enough, it will probably be gluey.
Experiment: Start with 1/2 cup water and 3/4 to 1 cup cornstarch. Pour the water into a bowl, and then add the cornstarch. Stir well.
Observe and record:

• What does it feel like? 
• Can it stretch? Bounce? 
• Can it pour? 
• Is it solid? 
• What happens if you pour it onto a cookie sheet and hit it with a hammer?
•  What happens if you put it into the refrigerator? 
• What happens if you add more cornstarch? More water? 
• What if you divide it in half and leave one part out in the air and another part inside a ziplock bag? 
• How long does it last? 
• Does it get moldy?

Analyze: This is where you draw some conclusions about this non-Newtonian  fluid that acts liquid when you gently put your hands into it, but acts solid when you squeeze or hit it.
Share Results: Scientists write articles. You could take a photo of your oobleck and write a brief note about it and give it to a friend.

You can find more things to do with oobleck here. Find out more about non-Newtonian fluids here.

Play with your food!

Edible Science: Experiments You Can Eat
by Jodi Wheeler-Toppen and Carol Tennant
80 pages; ages 8-12
National Geographic Children's Books, 2015

Our kitchen has been a science lab ever since I started cooking. Think about it: every time you mix something up, bake it, stir-fry or whatever... you're doing a science experiment. You're mixing up chemicals and creating reactions.

This book is chock-full of experiments to try, and "science scoop" text-boxes that explain why things happen or don't happen. Take the idea of chocolate-flavored gum. Ever tried eating a candy bar when you're chewing gum? Gum, it turns out, is made of molecules that don't mix well with water. That's why you can chew it all day and it won't dissolve. BUT, when you add chocolate, those chocolate molecules act as an emulsifier. They connect oil and water or, in this case, gum and water. When that happens, the gum starts breaking apart.

There are lots more things to try: making crystals, exploding seeds (popcorn), baking cookie pH indicators, making gels, and making slime. Cakes and cookies rise because of gas bubbles, so changing ingredients might make your cakes turn out flat. There's a recipe for making yogurt - that means keeping a bacteria culture alive - and one for making "bug" brownies with toasted meal worms. In all, there are about 40 hands-on science experiments - and to clean up, all you do is eat them.

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.

Science in the Fourth of July Sky

About a thousand years ago a Chinese monk stuffed gunpowder into a piece of bamboo and tossed it into the fire. He wanted to make a noise loud enough to scare away ghosts.

If you head out to a fireworks display tonight, you'll get more than a big bang. The designs and colors we see in the sky are a result of chemistry. Inside the fireworks are pellets of the sparkly stuff that burns in the sky. The pattern you see in the sky results from how those pellets are placed inside the firework. They may explode outward in shapes that look like fronds of a palm tree or a brittle star. Or they might snake across the sky. You can read more about patterns here.

The colors come from burning different metal salts: barium chloride for green, lithium carbonate for red, copper compounds for blue, and sodium - like the salt you shake onto your potatoes - for yellow. Here's a handy color chart.

Have fun on the fourth, and remember: it may look like a fireworks show but it's Science in the Sky!

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

Math, Science and "Magic"

This week is "National Magic Week" - a week of illusion, tricks and fun that goes from October 25 - 31. As any professional magician knows, magic is mostly a combination of science, math and illusion. So here's a few "magic" tricks you can work on to amaze your friends and family next week:

Turn water into wine (or monster blood)
Suck an egg into a bottle (without using a straw)
Make rainbows in your milk (no cereal needed)
Tie water in knots  and then bend it
and learn a cool card trick.

Check out more Friday Science stuff over at STEM Friday.