Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Friday, May 3, 2019
You can be an Entomologist!
by Dino Martins, PhD
32 Pages; ages 4-8
National Geographic Children’s Books, 2019
theme: insects, ecology, nature
Hi! My name is Dino Martins, and I’m an entomologist.
Dino grew up loving insects, so he became a scientist who studies insects. All you need to be an insect water is curiosity and patience. Curiosity because once you start watching insects you’ll be asking tons of questions about what they’re doing, why they look the way they look, and how can they fly backwards? Patience because you have to watch quietly and wait for insects to arrive.
What I like about this book: Dino explains why scientists study insects and how the research he and other entomologists do helps farmers and other people. Some insects pollinate food crops; others eat leaves or fruits. In one chapter he describes how entomologists do their research. If you guessed that they use insect nets and record observations in notebooks, you are correct!
I especially like that Dino includes a section on how insects help people – and that he thinks there are plenty more insects waiting to be discovered. Full disclosure: I love bugs!
Beyond the Book:
Find out more about insects. Look through field guides, books, or check out this DK website.
Want to learn more about butterflies? Go to Butterfly School.
Become an entomologist! Join a citizen science project and help scientists learn more about the bugs around your neighborhood.
Learn how to walk an ant, and find more buggy things to do over at Sally's Bookshelf today!
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 copy provided by publisher.
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Dandelions
This is the month that dandelions begin to grow. At first you'll just find leaves - but give them a few sunny days and - boom! the world explodes in yellow blossoms!
Dandelions are the first flowers that feed the bees. Bumble bees and other bees are looking for pollen, and dandelions have it, in abundance. Bees aren't the only animals to eat dandelions - people do too! From salad greens to pizza to cookies, dandelions provide tasty treats. I like to toss dandelion greens into quiche and sprinkle the yellow flowers into pancake batter.
You can find more dandelion activities here, and my recipes - and more wild and weedy recipes in Christy Mihaly's and my book, Diet for a Changing Climate.
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