Kitchen Science ~ Spin Art!

 Our library's Summer Reading theme was "color your world" and one of the activities that kids could do was create spin art. It's fun and all you need are a few things: some cardstock, washable tempera paint, and a salad spinner (NOT the one you use to spin your lettuce!)

 

 Put your cardstock in the basket inside the spinner and squirt some tempera paint on it. You might have to experiment to get it thin enough to move when the spinner spins. 

 

 

Then start the spinner. I discovered that I had to keep pumping the thing to get the paint to push out to the sides (the effect of centrifugal force)

 

You may want to add more drips and drabs of paint to fill in a few blank spaces...

 

 

 

... and then finish off with a white or silver gel pen! Have fun! Oh, and if your salad spinner has holes on the bottom of the outer plastic bowl, make sure to cover your table with a piece of plastic so you don't get paint all over it. Or just do it outside on an old stump.

 

Up into Space!

Who doesn’t love adventure! And where can you go for the most wild, far-out adventure these days? Up, up, up into the sky … maybe even into space. These three books explore themes of space, exploration, and biography.

Up, Up High: The Secret Poetry of Earth’s Atmosphere

by Lydia Lukidis; illus. by Katie Rewse 

40 pages; ages 8-11

Capstone Editions, 2025

Where does the sky end and space begin? This is one of the questions author Lydia Lukidis sets out to explore in her newest book about the atmosphere. 

Written in poetry, she looks at what is beyond the tallest trees and biggest buildings. 

To find out,

squeeze into a space suit.

Strap yourself

into a spacecraft.

Hang on tight.

Five, four, three, two, one …

      blast off!

What I like about this book: It’s a journey. As we rise into the sky we wave at a climber atop a mountain, pass through tumultuous clouds, and watch as meteoroids streak by.  Higher than the space station! Higher than a satellite! And then it’s time to turn around and head back to earth. Text boxes on each spread explain some of the phenomena we see on our journey, and back matter presents the layers of our atmosphere in an easy-to-understand graphic.

Up, Up High is the companion book to Deep, Deep Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench which I reviewed a couple years ago. Check out Christy Mihaly’s interview with Lydia earlier this month at the GROG blog. Lydia is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website, www.lydialukidis.com

Reaching for the Stars: A Mission to Space 

by Roxanne Troup; illus. by Amanda Lenz 

40 pages; ages 4-8

Schiffer Kids, 2024   (August 28)

For years, NASA planned and exciting new mission. Just a few more minutes until ignition. 

Suit up for a lyrical space adventure that heads beyond the moon to where stars are born, comets zip, and galaxies come in all shapes. This book celebrates the return to space exploration beginning with the Artemis mission to the moon.

What I like about this book: It's a fun way to encourage kids to imagine themselves going to space. Actual NASA photos are incorporated into the illustrations, making it even more realistic. At the back is a glossary of words that are "out of this world" as well as notes from the author and illustrator. 

She Went to Space: Maine Astronaut Jessica Meir

Fran Hodgkins  

32 pages, ages 5-8 

‎Down East Books, 2025 (earlier this month!)

The sky was black. It wasn’t the sky, really. It was space. And Jessica Meir was stepping out into it.

Jessica Meir hails from Caribou, Maine, the second-largest city in Aroostoock County and just 12 miles from the Canadian border. The county itself is huge, about the size of Rhode Island plus Connecticut, and well-known for potatoes, timber, tourism and – now – birthplace of an astronaut. Not just any astronaut, either. In 2019, Jessica and her partner-in-space Christina Koch made history completing the first spacewalk made solely by women. They spent more than seven hours outside the International Space Station replacing a broken power unit.

What I like about this book: The biography is compelling, but Fran adds more. There’s a checklist of requirements to be an astronaut - do you qualify? And there’s a side-by-side comparison of ocean and space… to help explain why Jessica studied the ocean in order to eventually (she hoped) reach her dream of becoming an astronaut. 

Back in October I interviewed author, Fran Hodgkins about why she wanted to write Jessica’s biography. You can read that interview here.

Beyond the Books:

Where does the sky end and space begin? How far do you think you'd have to go up, up, up to get out of our atmosphere? And does space start before that point or after? Here's how a NASA scientist explains it.

You can find some fun activities in Lydia's educator's guide. One of them is to compare how a rocket (or any object) falls - with and without a safety parachute. Check it out at her website here.

Was an astronaut born in your state? Find out here at this NASA link. Then find out more about them… and write your own Local Astronaut story!

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 copies provided by the publishers.

Clouds in Space, and two more books for Space Explorers

 

Butterfly nebula/ NASA, ESA Hubble 

Have you ever heard a weather report from space that mentioned it would be cloudy with a chance of stardust? If not, that's okay because today we're diving right into some cosmic cloudiness.

theme: space, stardust, astronomy

Clouds in Space: Nebulae, Stardust, and Us 

by Teresa Robeson; illus. by Diana Renzina 

48 pages; ages 7-9

‎MIT Kids Press, 2024   

Want to know a secret? When you look up after sunset – to count the stars, glimpse a glancing meteor, or marvel at the moon …..

There are things you can’t see clearly. Things that look fuzzy or blurry because they are clouds. Which, if you’ve ever stood inside a cloud (like on a foggy day) you know just how fuzzy things can look. This is how Teresa invites readers in to learning about nebulae –  by comparing space clouds to the clouds we see on Earth, told from the Nebula’s point of view. 

What I like about this book: I love how Teresa brings the vastness of a nebula down to Earth by comparing it to a cloud in our sky. For example, clouds can look like different things; just yesterday I saw a cloud that looked like a dog with long ears blowing in the wind. Nebulae can look like different things, too. Take the butterfly nebula – it looks like a tiny bug with two gigantic wings. There is also back matter, where readers can learn more about the discovery of nebulae and the different types of nebulae. And there’s a gallery of nebulae portraits.

I wanted to know more about how this book came to be, so I asked Teresa and she graciously responded.

Teresa: What inspired me to write this book was a combination of a love of astronomy (I've been an amateur astronomer since 1979) and a background in climatology (I took meteorology classes at university for a climatology major). Those provided the foundations (like kindling). The spark came one day around 2012. I was looking at the clouds with the kids and thinking "we see shapes in clouds on earth, but astronomers also see shapes in the clouds in space...heeeeeey!" And off I went with the first draft of this book.

MIT Kids Press has another space book that was released back in March

I’m a Black Hole (Meet the Universe) 

by Eve M. Vavagiakis; illus. by Jessica Lanan  

40 pages; ages 7-9

MIT Kids Press, 2024

This book is told from the black hole’s perspective. Hidden in space and hard to find, a black hole is created when a star collapses. The collapsing star pulls in anything nearby, from stars and moons to entire planets. Reader who want more details will find them in the back matter, where the author explains black holes in more depth.

And here's one more...

Always Beginning: The Big Bang, the Universe, and You 

by Candace Savage; illus. by Rachel Wada 

44 pages; ages 4-8

Greystone Kids, 2024    

This story of the beginnings of the universe is told in lyrical language, filled with alliteration ad wonderful imagery. For example, that moment the universe burst forth, “sizzling stars spiraled into galaxies.” The illustrations and poetic language transport you to a time far, far away. The timeline at the back helps ground readers in the process from Big Bang to formation of stars and planets, to the beginnings of life. Back matter explains things in more depth.

Beyond the Books

Go cloud-watching with a friend. What shapes do you see in the clouds? Does your friend see the same thing you do? Give your clouds “nebula names.”

Go night sky watching – and take some binoculars, or a telescope if you have one (or can borrow one from a library). Look for cloudy patches in Scorpio’s tail, or in the left arm of the W that forms Cassiopeia.

Make some nebulous art. Let images from the Hubble space telescope inspire a poem or painting … or perhaps one of those nebulae have a story of their own to tell.

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 copies provided by the publishers.

Space Medicine and Exploration

 

 I have a couple books today for kids who love space and might want to be an astronaut or astronomer. The first is all about keeping healthy in space.

 

Spacecare: A Kid's Guide to Surviving Space
by Jennifer Swanson
80 pages; ages 8-12
‎Mayo Clinic Press Kids, 2023

Living in space is not like living on Earth, writes Jennifer Swanson. It’s dark and cold. Or sunny and hot. And then there’s the whole lack of gravity thing, which can affect our earth-adapted body in so many ways. Even if you’re safely aboard the International Space Station, which has atmospheric pressure and temperature regulation, your body will feel the effects of microgravity, radiation, and all other sorts of space phenomena.

Space can affect our eyes, our heart, our brain, and our bones. It affects our muscles, our sense of balance, and our sleep cycle. In this book, Jen takes a close look at how living in space puts new stresses on our body, and how space doctors help astronauts adapt to their new environment. Their research doesn’t stop when astronauts return to earth – they follow the health of returned space voyagers to see what (if any) long term effects there are from space travel. 

Questions from kids are sprinkled throughout the book, and answered by astronaut Megan McArthur. They ask things like: do cuts take longer to heal in space? and what happens when you sneeze? There are plenty of “Mayo Medi-facts” boxes throughout the book that explain health issues, and a full spread showing what a well-stocked first aid kit should contain (for Earthlings on their home planet). And there are sidebars about space technology, from space suits to growing food in space. Plus space squid!

This book was a lot of fun, so I had to ask Jen Two Questions:

Me:  It feels like you’ve been writing about space and astronauts for a long time. What is it about space travel and exploration that captures your imagination so much?

Jen: This is only my second book about astronauts. But I've done other space books and I have a couple more in the works. What I love so much about exploration in general, whether it be in space or under the ocean, is the amazing ingenuity of the humans who make this possible. I mean, wow, building a place that keeps humans alive in an environment that is so hugely hostile to them take some really cool thinking and awesome engineering. Using that place to do science to investigate, explore, and solve questions about our place in the universe? Even better!

Me: If you had a chance to go to the International Space Station, would you? And what would you want to study?

Jen: Actually, I'm not sure. I'm not great in confined spaces... I'd much rather write about the cool science and engineering being done to get humans to space and also what they do up there. If I did go, I'd love to study more about the effects of radiation on humans. That fascinates me.

Jen Swanson is a member of #STEAMTeam2023. You can find out more about her at her website, www.JenniferSwansonBooks.com. She is also the creator and co-host of Solve It! for Kids podcast www.solveitforkids.com

Thank you, Jen. Now let’s check out another book for space-bound teens.

 

The Big Backyard: The Solar System beyond Pluto
by Ron Miller
104 pages; ages 13-up
Twenty-First Century Books , 2023

If you could travel to the farthest reaches of our solar system what would you find? It’s a cold, dark world out there, filled with comets, floating icebergs, strange dancing particles, and other stuff left over from the formation of our solar system. Author, Ron Miller starts with the birth of our solar system some 5 billion years ago, and the formation of planets.

Then we go on a planet hunt (with some historical sky-watchers), explore the Kuiper belt, and then head on beyond Pluto. Just how far does the sun’s light reach? And what’s between our solar system and those distant stars? “The nearest stars,” he says, “are so far away that their light takes more than four years to reach Earth.” Even from that distance they have an effect on our solar system, and he shows how modern researchers study the distant sky – our “big backyard” he calls it.

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 copies provided by the publishers.

Women scientists for space and sea

 March is Women’s History Month and today I’m reviewing books that highlight the contributions of women in rocket science and marine biology.

Theme: women’s history, space, ocean

Blast Off!: How Mary Sherman Morgan Fueled America into Space 

by Suzanne Slade; illus. by Sally W. Comport 

48 pages; ages 7-10

‎Calkins Creek, 2022   

Mary Sherman grew up on a farm in North Dakota with four older brothers and sisters. 

When she finally goes to school, she has a lot to learn. She didn’t even know the alphabet! But before long, Mary is reading stacks of books and exploring science. In high school, she fell in love with chemistry. She eventually worked in a lab studying rocket fuels, and figuring how much mixture would make a rocket fly.

But when it came time to send a satellite into space, would Mary’s fuel work? After trial and error and recalculations and retesting, it did! That’s what I like about this book: it shows the near successes, the misses, the dedicated scientists going back to the lab to work out more tests. I also like the back matter: some important dates, more about Mary, and about the rockets she sent up, up, up into the atmosphere.

The Lady and the Octopus: How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology 

by Danna Staaf

136 pages; ages 10-18

Carolrhoda Books, 2022

Jeanne Villepreux was born in a small village in France in 1794. While France was torn with uprisings and revolution, Jeanne grew up in relative peace in the French countryside. She learned to read as well as care for the sheep, cattle, and other farm livestock. At the age of seventeen, she set off to Paris to make her way in the world. On foot. Walking 280 miles – which took more than two weeks!

Once in Paris, she found work as an assistant to a milliner, who made hats for the Paris elite. She put her sewing skills to work and began stitching dresses and had a good business making fine dresses for the wealthy Parisians. When she married, she moved to a new land – Sicily – and remade her life again. Without children, she had time and freedom to study nature. Soon she had caterpillars, turtles, and more living in her home. She wondered: could she bring sea creatures into her house, too?

Jeanne invented aquariums for holding sea animals, and began to study some of the small octopuses called argonauts that lived in the local waters. Although the term “scientist” had not yet come into use, that’s what Jeanne was: a scientist. She observed, asked questions, kept notes, conducted experiments, and shared what she learned.

What I like about this book: This is a story about Jeanne, and also about the tiny octopuses she observed. It’s also about how science happens, and invention – for Jeanne was an inventor: she created observation tanks for doing her work. Back matter includes “how to be a naturalist” as well as timeline and source notes.

Beyond the Books:

Check out this book trailer for Blast Off here.   

The US wanted to get a satellite into space because of the "space race" - check out this video about the space race  

You have "rocket fuel" in your kitchen cupboard! Here's how to make a baking soda rocket

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 copies provided by the publishers.

These Books Put Stars in my Eyes!

One of the things I’ve noticed about winter is the stars. They seem to shine brighter, and look bigger than they do other times of the year. Why? I don’t know – but I do know that people have been asking questions about stars since forever. So today I’m sharing two books for the young stargazers in your life.

theme: stars, women in science, biography

The Fire of Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of 

by Kirsten W. Larson; illus. by Katherine Roy

48 pages; ages 5-8

‎Chronicle Books, 2023

I usually begin my picture book reviews with the first line or two of the story. But in this case, that’s a bit tricky. Because there are two stories happening at the same time in this book. One story is about the life of Cecilia Payne, the astrophysicist who discovered what stars are made of. The other story is about the life of a star. 

Just how does one tell two stories at once? Kirsten does it using a parallel structure, showing the lives of Cecilia and the star side-by-side. She compares the baby Cecilia to an unformed star, waiting for its future to begin. She shows Cecilia growing and discovering her world, as the star grows into its world. It’s easier to understand if you can see a picture of one of the pages (thanks to Chronicle for permission to share this). 

The star’s story: In a cloud of dust and dirt …

Cecelia’s story: Cecilia spends hours watching slimy slugs glide through the garden…

Definitely my favorite spread because: garden, slug, getting down in the dirt. As the star grows, things shift and separate. So, too, in Cecilia’s life. She is uprooted from her cozy home when her family moves to London. Cecilia wants to learn about science, in a world where men are scientists. She is the only woman in her physics class, she often doesn’t get recognition for her work. But she discovers something amazing: what stars are made of!

What I love about this book: I love the clever parallel story structure! I love the illustrations! The paintings of nebulae and galaxies look as though they could be photos from one of the space telescopes. They are sweeping, grand, colorful – out of this world! And I love the back matter. Kirsten provides more information about Cecilia Payne, a true “science superstar”, and gives a detailed look at how a celestial star is born.

I had heard that we are made of stardust, and I wondered just how true that was. Fortunately, there is a book coming out next month that can help answer that question – and a whole bunch more. 

Am I Made of Stardust?: Dr. Maggie Answers the Big Questions for Young Scientists

by Maggie Aderin-Pocock; illus. by Chelen Écija 

128 pages; ages 8 and up

Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 2023

This is a great book for curious future space explorers. There are activities to try, tons of “Astro facts,” and a robot named IQ (which stand for Interesting Question). There’s lots of information about stars and our solar system and humans in space. For example, the author talks about whether we can grow plants on other planets. 

But back to the question at hand: are we made of stardust? Yes! You, me, and nearly everything in the universe first came from a star. Stars are made of hydrogen and helium on the outside – that’s what Cecilia discovered. But at the center, new elements are formed, including iron, carbon, and silica. Those elements at the heart of a star are let loose when that star dies in a Big Bang called a supernova. The bits of stardust are flung through the universe and … who knows? Maybe some tiny bits are falling through our atmosphere as we read about them.

Beyond the Books:

Learn more about Cecilia Payne in this video from The Lawrence Hall of Science

Create some Star Art! Drop by illustrator Katherine Roy’s studio where you can watch a book trailer, and learn about how she uses a toothbrush to help create star art. Then grab some paints and paper (and maybe a toothbrush) to create your own star art! Need inspiration? Here’s some great photos of nebulae taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Stardust is falling all around us! Collecting dust from actual stars is hard – even for scientists with the right equipment. But you can collect dust from meteorites, sometimes called “falling stars.” Here’s how. 

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 copies provided by the publishers.

Armchair Space Camp

 Here are three books that will take you out of your daily orbit and send you on an adventure. And over at Sally's Bookshelf, I'm sharing a fun picture book about one of the rovers: Good Night, Oppy!

themes: nonfiction, space, Mars

Mars Is: Stark Slopes, Silvery Snow, and Startling Surprises 

by Suzanne Slade 

48 pages; ages 6-10 

‎Peachtree, 2021

People have wondered about the mysterious planet of Mars for centuries.

Scientists built a powerful camera and sent it on a journey to take photos of Mars. The photos it sent back to Earth showed us that Mars is buried bedrock, bubbling gas, and mighty mesas. But it is so much more. 

What I like about this book: Each page highlights a feature of the Martian landscape, with a stunning photo spread and details about the landscape feature. Readers are treated to diverse and astonishing landscapes, from sandy, windswept dunes to steep cliffs and canyons. But on Mars, the landscape isn’t static. It is shifting, rearranging, and constantly changing.

Back matter explains the HiRISE camera mission, a sophisticated bit of technology that is still orbiting Mars and sending back photos. This is a perfect book for young people who are following NASA’s Mars Exploration Program and awaiting further discoveries on the Red Planet.

Beyond: Discoveries from the Outer Reaches of Space 

by Miranda Paul; illus. by Sija Hong 

32 pages; ages 5-9

Millbrook Press, 2021

We know much about the mountains and oceans of Earth, spinning with us around the flaring Sun.

We know some things about the moon and asteroids, and we’ve swooped by Jupiter and Neptune. But we don’t know much about the outer reaches of space. In this book, Miranda Paul pulls us out of our comfy orbit, past the Kuiper belt, through the icy, comet-throwing Oort cloud and into “dark realms where gemstones fall from the sky.”

Along the way we pass dying nebulae, skirt the dangers of a black hole, and maybe, just maybe reach the edge of our known, observable universe

What I like about this book: The poetic language on each page just draws you into the sense of exploration. In the back matter, Miranda explains the science behind each poem. She also provides an extended return address for anyone who would mail a letter to another world (in this or any other universe), and tells how long it would take for that letter to be delivered at the speed of light. Though, she warns, Space Mail does not guarantee delivery.

Rocket Science: A Beginner’s Guide to the Fundamentals of Spaceflight 

by Andrew Rader; illus. by Galen Frazer 

64 pages; ages 10 - 14

‎Candlewick, 2020

Author Andrew Rader is an aerospace engineer, so he knows his rocket science. He opens the book with an explanation of gravity – which is good, because so many of us depend on gravity to keep our planet orbiting around the sun. After a quick introduction to the solar system, it dives into the meat of the material: how rocket engines work, orbits, guidance and navigation. We learn how to get to the moon – and to Mars – and then look at some of the space vehicles headed out beyond the asteroid belt. A fun map at the back shows where “selected spacecraft” are located in our Solar System. A great reference so we don’t crash into them as we blast towards the outer reaches of space… There’s also a glossary and some websites for further exploration.

Beyond the Books:

Write a poem about a planet or something else in space. Or write about living on an alien planet. If you need inspiration, here’s photos of places on Earth that look otherworldly.

Check out images from Mars  at the NASA website.

Try one of the activities posted at the NASA Space Place for kids

Head over to Sally's Bookshelf for a fun new book about the Mars rover, Opportunity ~ and lots more activities. 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.

There is Stuff Between the Stars!

Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered what's between those stars? You aren't the only one.

theme: space, women in science, STEM

The Stuff Between the Stars: How Vera Rubin Discovered Most of the Universe 
by Sandra Nickel, illus. by Aimée Sicuro 
48 pages; ages 6-9
Harry N. Abrams, 2021

Vera always liked looking at the night sky.

She loved watching how the stars move, and started studying maps of the night sky. She even built her own telescope, using a lens and a cardboard tube. When she went to college, she wanted to learn more about the universe – but young women weren’t welcomed into the world of astronomy. That didn’t stop her from learning about the stars, and it didn’t stop her from studying on her own.

What I like about this book: Vera is persistent. We see her ask questions: do galaxies rotate around the center of the universe like the constellations circle the North Star? How do stars at the edge of the galaxy move? And could she create a women’s bathroom at the observatory where she worked simply by taping a skirt to the figure on the door? Over time, the male astronomers begin to accept Vera’s idea that dark matter stretched between the stars.

Also – there is Back Matter! The author’s note contains more info about Vera Rubin and how galaxies move. There’s a timeline of Vera’s life and a selected bibliography for curious young astronomers who want to learn more.

Beyond the Book:

Observe the night sky. What do you notice? How does it change from one month to the next, from early night to late night? Do the constellations rotate around the North Star?

Learn more about Dark Matter over at NASA’s Space Place.

Sandra Nickel is a member of #STEAMTeam2021. You can find out more about her at her website.

  

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 Blue Slip Media.

What's Up? The Sky!

Today's themes are: space, stars, scientists

Always Looking Up: Nancy Grace Roman, Astronomer 
by Laura Gehl  ; illus by Louise Pigott and Alex Oxton
32 pages; ages  5-7
Albert Whitman & Company, 2019

Young Nancy Grace loved to look up at the endless night sky.

Her dad’s job kept the family moving from place to place, but Nancy knew it was the same night sky that extended across the country, no matter where they moved. Nancy loved the sky so much that, as a kid, she started an astronomy club. She and her friends mapped the stars. But Nancy wanted to learn more. She challenged the notion that science was a subject meant for men, and went on to college. As an astronomer she worked with radio telescopes, became NASAs chief of astronomy, and dreamed of building a telescope that could float above earth, capturing images of black holes and galaxies far, far away. Her work and vision – the Hubble telescope – is still orbiting above, sending gorgeous images from space to this day.

What I like about this book: I love the beautiful images of space that Hubble has been beaming to Earth over the past 29 years – nearly twice Hubble’s expected life-span. But I never thought about who had the vision for such a telescope. “Many people over many decades worked to make the Hubble Space Telescope a reality,” writes Laura Gehl. But Nancy Grace earned the nickname “Mother of Hubble”. And yes, there is indeed back matter: more about Nancy Grace in the author’s note and a timeline of her life.

One North Star: A Counting Book
by Phyllis Root; illus by Beckie Prange and Betsy Bowen
36 pages; ages 8-12
Univ Of Minnesota Press, 2016

Who lives here under one north star?

One by one, we meet the plants and animals that share the land beneath the star. Phyllis Root takes readers on a field trip through bog and marsh, along river and around lake, across prairie and into the woods, counting flora and fauna as we go. The woodcut and water illustrations by Beckie Prange and Betsy Bowen provide additional opportunities to explore diverse habitats and plants and animals living there.

What I like about this book: Each page introduces different species. For example, One moose… but on the next page it’s two bats and one hawk. By the end of the book we’ve met 55 different plants, birds, fish, insects, mammals, and herps. I also like that Root includes the reader in her book. “You live here, too,” she writes. “We all live together under one north star.” Nine pages of back matter provide further opportunity for curious young naturalists to explore each habitat and the wild things living there. And (very important) – how to locate the north star in the sky above you. I give this book a constellation’s worth of stars, and One Big North Star.

I confess that I, too, love watching stars. Those that remain in their proper constellations ... and those that fall from the sky (not really stars, but meteors). My mom would take us outside and tell us star stories, and I remain convinced there is a dragon in the sky – if only I can find it. So I truly enjoyed writing about things in space for the Super Science series (Rourke Educational Media). My book, Sky Spies, came out this fall.

Beyond the Books:

Look at the stars. All you need is a dark place and a thermos of hot cocoa – and a cloud-free sky. If you have binoculars, take ‘em along. A star chart helps – here’s one (you can change the location for where you’re watching – click on the wrench icon)

Who watches the stars with you? While you’re out gazing at the sky, keep your ears – and eyes (and possibly your nose) – open for clues about who else shares the stars with you.

Want your own telescope? Here’s directions on how to make one with a few items you might find around your home.

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

The Apollo Missions for Kids

The Apollo Missions for Kids: The People and Engineering Behind the Race to the Moon, with 21 Activities
By Jerome Pohlen
160 pages; ages 9 and up
Chicago Review Press, 2019

This was the summer of SPACE – celebrating the historic spaceflight that landed the first two people on the moon (July 20, 1969). Getting people to the moon took money and man-power. It took teamwork! More than 400,000 people worked on the Apollo project, in factories and offices spread over 46 states, writes Jerome Pohlen.

Mostly, it took vision – the vision of President John F. Kennedy who, in 1961 declared the goal of landing a man on the moon within the span of a decade. At the time, the US space program was in its infancy; just 20 days earlier the first astronaut had been launched – a 15-minute flight up and back without even time to orbit the earth. Landing a human on the moon would be a challenge.

This book takes us into Mission Control and into space with the Gemini and Apollo projects. We get a close-up view of astronaut training, engineering problems, and the test of human endurance that early missions demanded. There were tragedies – the Apollo One crew was killed in a fire on the Launchpad during a test – and triumphs as the scientists, engineers, and astronauts worked toward their goal of safely landing on the moon and returning to Earth.

What I like about this book: The writing is engaging, like reading a story well told, and supported by plenty of sidebars. The book opens with a timeline that begins with 1926 – when Robert Goddard launched his first liquid-fueled rocket – to 1979 when Skylab fell to Earth. Sidebars provide additional details about the Saturn V rocket, how capsules “surf” through the atmosphere, moonsuit details, as well as offer short bios of software engineer Margaret Hamilton and “computer” Katherine Johnson (who calculated flight trajectories).

Twenty-one activities range from designing your own mission patch to figuring out your moon-weight, orbital mechanics, making “space food”, and more.

Beyond the Book:

Check out NASA’s page on the Apollo missions here.

Watch the Apollo 11 moon landing here.

Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. And 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 for Space Cadets!

theme: space, astronauts, adventure

NGK Little Kid’s First Board Book: Space
by Ruth A. Musgrave
26 pages; ages pre-K
National Geographic Children’s Books, 2019  (releasing this month!)

We live on Earth. 
Earth is a planet in space.

It's never too early for nonfiction, as this photo-rich board book proves. Each spread introduces basic facts of space in simple, bold text. Additional facts are presented in round, planet-like text boxes. Things like: “Earth spins around and around as it circles the sun.” Every now and then a planet makes some side comments, captured in speech balloons.

What I like about this book: It’s fun! It’s bright and filled with colorful images. And the back spread is all about activities: trace the shape of the moon, and more. Wonderfully sharable with lap-readers.

Dogs in Space
by Vix Southgate; illus. by Iris Deppe
32 pages; ages 5-7
Kane Miller, 2019

It was a cold, gloomy night in the backstreets of Moscow.

The year is 1951. Belka and Strelka are among the strays living on the streets. They rummage through trash cans, scrounging for any food they can find. One night they smell fresh meat. While other strays cower in the shadows, Belka and Strelka approach the man, begging for more food.

That man was Oleg, a scientist, and he was searching for two dogs brave enough for an important space mission.

What I like about this book: We learn about the space race through the story of Oleg and these dogs. Even though their mission is simple – orbit the earth – these canine cosmonauts need special training. They need to be able to stay calm when loud noises happen around them. They need to be able to stand on a vibrating platform.

Belka and Strelka pass the tests and earn their very own space suits. In 1960 they launch into space, blazing a trail for human astronauts to follow.

Of course there’s back matter! One spread explains the space race, and another gives a timeline of space exploration from 1960 to 1998. What’s next? Possibly a trip to Mars.

Beyond the Books:

Make space slime, galaxy pinwheels, and more! Just head over to NASA's Space Place to explore space fun.

Dogs weren't the only non-humans to fly into space. Here are some other animals that have traveled to space. 

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

Path to the Stars

Path to the Stars, My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist
by Sylvia Acevedo
320 pages; ages 10 & up
Clarion Books, 2018

Rocket science is cool. It's not all about igniting rockets in your back yard - though that is what Sylvia Acevedo did. A lot of rocket science is math. OK, most of it's all about the math.

Her love of math is what led Sylvia to science. Her experiences as a Girl Scout provided the platform for her to build upon. Scouting taught her to create opportunities for herself. Scouting helped her plan for the future. It helped her develop entrepreneurial skills (so that's what cookie sales were for. I thought it was all about the Thin Mints!) and nurtured her self confidence.

What I like love about this book: I loved the scene where Sylvia wove fabric strips and newspapers into a sit-upon. I remember how, in Brownies, we made sit-upons to take to day camp. And net bags for dunking our dishes into steaming water. And how we carried something in our pocket...

Sylvia talks about working for badges, and wanting to do science. Back then, there weren't so many STEM badges, but she describes her experiments with plants and rockets to earn a science badge. Now girls can choose to explore plants, animals engineering, cyber-security, programming, robotics, and more. She tells a wonderful story about learning how to do regular car maintenance - things like changing oil, checking tire pressure, and replacing worn fan belts. Badges and scouting experiences taught her that she could take control of situations and be prepared for the unexpected.

The other thing she learned: aim high. Sylvia aimed toward space. She worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an engineer, testing equipment for a solar probe that launched this summer (it takes a long time to build a probe for such a mission!). She also worked on the Voyager 2 flyby of Jupiter.

In an epilogue, Sylvia writes about the heroes who inspired her: Clara Barton, Florence Nightingale, Helen Keller. Although Sylvia isn't working on space projects at this time, she's still aiming high. As  CEO for Girl Scouts of the USA, she is helping girls all across the country aim for the stars.

Sylvia was kind enough to answer Three Questions:
Archimedes:  First, a warm Girl Scout welcome to the blog. I took a peek at the STEM badges that Junior and Cadette scouts can earn. Have you been able to measure how STEM badges have expanded horizons for girls and young women?

Sylvia: I am excited to hear what the girls are doing in their projects. Girls are analyzing data and helping local agencies. They are learning how to make an impact in their community. For example, girls are asking how they can use technology to get their point of view across, and also taking a more critical look at such issues as cyber-bullying and how to protect themselves online.

We’ve seen a huge uptick in their interest, and projects, in robotics. One girl had done all the robotics badges. When I asked if she planned to go into that field, she replied no, that she was interested in fashion - perhaps using her knowledge to design wearable technology.

The important thing is that girls are using their STEM knowledge to help solve problems in their communities and larger world. For example, with all the technology in agriculture, what would happen to our food supply when internet-connected machinery doesn’t work?

Archimedes: I love the chapter where you describe doing projects for a science badge: planting tomato seeds, learning about levers, and doing a project with rockets. What made you decide to become a rocket scientist?

Sylvia: Scouting opened opportunities for me to take math and science. Back then, girls routinely didn’t take higher math electives. I liked math, so I took those classes. Math is structured and logical; it gives you the right answer. For me, math was a great way to calm down.

I used math to solve every day problems. Like the time I wanted a gym bag and, without money to buy one, decided to make it. So I drew the design and figured out how much material I would need. Math was so practical. And having a good sense for numbers and the math skills gave me a lot of confidence later on in the work environment.

Archimedes: When I was a scout, we mobilized for the first Earth Day. The critical environmental problems of our day were air and water pollution. What are girls doing to meet environmental challenges?

Sylvia: When girls have the technology and skills, they can take action to make the world a better place. STEM knowledge gives Girl Scouts a way to address issues without becoming overwhelmed.
For example, 16-year-old Shelby O'Neil noticed that plastic straws were endangering sea life. So she started a nonprofit, Jr Ocean Guardians, to help educate lower-grade level children about plastic and recycling, and has hosted beach cleanups with schoolchildren. Then she decided to take her campaign to the grown-ups. She identified several companies that use plastic straws, stirrers and cup lids, and wrote them letters.

Another scout, Caroline McGraw, has been working on a pollinator project in upstate New York. (She created pollinator meadows around solar arrays at the town hall and town highway department). We don’t tell them what challenges to tackle… but clearly they see the environment as a high priority.

You can find out more about Sylvia Acevedo at her website, and about Girl Scouting at their website. Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. Review copy provided by publisher.

Mission to Mars!

Mission to Mars
by Mary Kay Carson
32 pages; ages 6 & up
Sterling Children's Books, 2018

themes: space, technology, exploration

Mars. What image just popped into your head?

Science fiction movie? Roman god of war? Night sky-watching on a warm summer's night? How about space exploration? Because in your lifetime people could be headed to Mars.

In this book, author Mary Kay Carson begins by comparing Mars to Earth. Both planets are tilted, so Mars has seasons just like Earth does. And both have days that are similar in length - Mars days are 37 minutes longer than Earth days. But a Mars year lasts 687 days, and it's a lot colder. Think Antarctica. Now think even colder!

What I like about this book: Carson shares history of Mars exploration, from telescope to landers, orbiters, and the more recent rovers that roll across the desert-like landscape. The rovers send images back to earth, as well as data from their onboard labs that can detect bacteria and other signs of life. Carson goes into detail about what sort of evidence for life one might hope to find on the dry, cold planet.

Scientists continue discovering new information from the red planet. Just a couple years ago an orbiting satellite found evidence of water on Mars. And sometime in the next weeks, NASA plans to launch a new mission to Mars - perhaps as early as tomorrow (May 5) called InSight.  InSight will land on Mars and then drill into the crust to record geological data.

"NASA scientists want to know if Mars has a hot, liquid center like Earth, and how thick its outer crust layer is," writes Carson. As for future manned missions to Mars, humans will go there someday, she says. "We already have a lot of the technology and know-how." And should you think you might want to be one of the astronauts heading to Mars, there's a checklist at the end so you can determine if you're "mission ready".

Curiosity: the Story of a Mars Rover
by Markus Motum
56 pages; ages 8-12
Candlewick Press, 2018

Wherever you are in the world right now, I'm a very long way away. I'm not even on the same planet as you.

On August 6, 2012, the rover Curiosity touched down on the surface of Mars. This book is the story about her mission: to discover more about Mars and search for evidence of life.

What I like about this book: Curiosity tells her story in first person. How often do you get to read a story told by a Mars rover? First she tells why she was sent to Mars. It's a hostile environment for humans, so she and her rover sisters and orbiter buddies can send lots of good information back home to help humans get ready for a voyage. Curiosity takes us on a field trip to the lab where she was built and gives us the inside scoop on the tools she carries and her power source (plutonium).Then - her trip to Mars, and the tension-filled deployment from orbit to the surface. Of course she took a selfie!

The illustrations give this book a Martian ambiance. Motum uses the deep blues of space to highlight the warm, rusty hues of the Martian surface. Plus there's a timeline of Mars Missions at the back.

Beyond the Books:
Check out these Postcards from Mars - favorite images sent back by Curiosity.

People who go to Mars will need protective space suits that will also allow them to do work. Read about space suits here, and check out the latest in Martian fashion here. Then head over to NASA to design a spacesuit for Mars.

Watch InSight mission launch for Mars. You can watch it on the website here. 

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup - and we're also joining others over at 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 copies from publishers