Rachel Carson and Ecology for Kids

Rachel Carson and Ecology for Kids: Her Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities and Experiments 
by Rowena Rae
144 pages; ages 9 - 12
Chicago Review Press, 2020

With Earth Day coming ‘round the bend, I couldn’t help but grab this new book about Rachel Carson out of my book basket. It’s part of the For Kids series, fun books that feature hands-on activities and experiments.

About 100 years ago, a 14-year-old girl grabbed her notebook, camera, and lunch and headed off to the woods with her dog. That girl was Rachel Carson, a curious kid who wanted to know the names of all the trees and discover which birds were nesting in them. Rachel wanted to pursue science, not an easy path for a woman in the 1920s. But she persisted, doing research at Woods Hole and eventually working with the Bureau of Fisheries – not as a biologist, but writing radio scripts for a series called “seven-minute fish tales.” She kept writing, and eventually got hired as an aquatic biologist, writing and editing reports and information sheets.

Carson loved the sea and was lucky enough to get a grant allowing her to do research and work on her book, The Sea Around Us. After the war, technology brought many new inventions to the market, from kitty litter to bug sprays. Rachel became worried about one widely used chemical, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). She was interested in how the pesticide affected wildlife, and learned that the poison accumulated in birds and other animals.

When Rachel began writing Silent Spring, she used metaphors and anecdotes to connect the important findings from chemistry, biology, and statistics to readers’ emotions. She wanted readers to understand that people depend on things that nature provides, such as pollinators, water filtration, and other “ecosystem services” and need to protect it. Her writing inspired a generation of women scientists and environmental writers; you can meet one, Rebecca E. Hirsch, over at the Grog Blog on Wednesday.

The hands-on activities range from writing nature-inspired haiku to examining food webs, making a worm farm to identifying the ecological services of a tree. Back matter includes a glossary, resources to explore – including places to visit – and chapter notes.

If you're looking for picture books about Rachel Carson, check out these posts here and here.

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.

Explore Outdoors ~ a rainy day nature walk

April is a rainy month - but you can still explore nature. Whether it's your backyard or front walk, or even plants growing on your balcony, you're sure to see some beauty in nature. Here's my backyard rainy day nature break...

You're Invited to a Moth Ball!

You're Invited to a Moth Ball: A Nighttime Insect Celebration 
by Loree Burns; illus by Ellen Harasimowicz
40 pages; ages 5 - 8
Charlesbridge, 2020

theme: insects, STEAM, summer

You don’t know what a moth ball is? Please come anyway! You can learn as we go.

A moth ball, it turns out, isn’t a dance with tuxedos and long gowns. It’s a night-time party that celebrates moths! And this newest book by Loree Burns shows how you can get involved. You don’t need much: a light source, some moth food, and about a ton of curiosity. Ellen Harasimowicz provides wonderful photos of kids searching for moths and a moth-collecting station.

What I like about this book: It’s about bugs! I love the title page, designed as an invitation with an RSVP at the bottom. I love the playful approach: we’re going to have a ball! And I like the back matter where you can find out more about moths, how to set up your very own moth ball, and a recipe for moth bait. Loree includes an author’s note about raising moth eggs, and Ellen shares some notes about photographing moths.

Loree graciously answered One Question by email earlier this week:

Archimedes: Of all the moths you've met during your evening "Moth Balls", do you have any favorites? And what is it about them that you find so fascinating?

Loree: It's truly hard to pick a favorite moth, partly because there are so many fascinating and unexpected species and partly because I've only seen a tiny subset of the ones I know are out there. I am sure I'll have a different answer to this question at the end of the summer moth-watching season.

rosy maple moth ~ cute, fuzzy guy!

That said, I have a special affection for the rosy maple moth. It's the moth that first surprised me, because I stumbled on one during the day (it was resting on a daisy stem, and I happened to be in the garden cutting daisies) and because it is gorgeous. I've heard people call them cotton candy moths, and I think it's an appropriate moniker for a creature so yellow and pink! The other appealing characteristic of the rosy maple moth is that they're super common. Now that I routinely have lights on in my yard at night, I see them all the time. So it's a moth beginners can expect to see, too.

Beyond the Books:

Check out the differences between moths and butterflies at this page hosted by the Australian Museum.

Young moth-watchers can collect important data to help scientists understand more about moths. Here’s one study done by Grant, and here’s how you can get involved as a citizen scientist during National Moth Week.

Go mothing! Here’s tips to get you started from Science Friday.

Loree is a member of #STEAMTeam2020. 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 the publisher.