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STEM Friday #Kidlit One Iguana, Two Iguanas: A Story of Accident, Natural Selection, and Evolution

Prolific and award-winning children’s book author Sneed B. Collard III is not afraid to tackle tough STEM topics, such as fire ecology (Fire Birds) and climate change (Hopping Ahead of Climate Change). Now he’s taken on evolution with his new middle grade book One Iguana, Two Iguanas: A Story of Accident, Natural Selection, and Evolution, which is a Junior Library Guild selection and earned a starred Kirkus Review.


You may have heard about the Darwin’s finches that live on the Galápagos islands, but did you know that there are two related, but very different species of iguana found there? One of the species lives on land and eats the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. The other species is the only iguana in the world that can swim in the ocean. It is the marine iguana, shown in this video grazing on algae underwater.

 

Genetic testing have shown that the two species are related. Collard introduces the reader to a puzzle how the two such divergent lifestyles may have come about and how they ended up on an island chain 900 miles from their nearest relatives. He also discusses the geology and history of the islands, and how that impacts the iguanas and the other creatures that live there.

Although this is a middle grade book by text level and content, it is illustrated with many large color photographs. Many of the photographs were taken by the author, who is also a photographer. Others were taken by his friend Jack Grove.

As the author states in the back matter, “considering how important evolution is to the history of the earth, it’s surprising how few books for young people have been written about it.” One Iguana, Two Iguanas: A Story of Accident, Natural Selection, and Evolution steps in to fill the gap. This book is a must have for budding scientists and anyone interested in nature. Scoop up a copy today!

Related Activity Suggestions:

This book would be great to accompany lessons on lizards, as well as evolution. See our Growing with Science post with information and activities inspired by Sneed Collard III’s All About Lizards book.

National Geographic Kids has a Galápagos islands page.

Age Range: 8 – 12 years
Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers; 1 edition (December 4, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0884486494
ISBN-13: 978-0884486497

Photograph of marine iguanas from publicdomainpictures.net

 

 

Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher for review. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.Opens in a new window Note: this is a new link as of 1/2019.

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#Nonfiction Monday The Things That I LOVE about TREES

Let’s explore a few more of the fantastic nonfiction children’s books that have been nominated for 2018 Cybils awards.

The Things That I LOVE about TREES by Chris Butterworth and illustrated by Charlotte Voake is a wonderful picture book for winter and for all seasons.

 

Combining facts about how useful trees are with a narrative tour of how trees change from season to season, Chris Butterworth’s gentle prose is relaxing and enlightening.

Summer trees are shady
and so full of leaves that
when the wind blows.
they swish like the sea.

Voake has an obvious affinity for trees and her watercolor and ink illustrations are mesmerizing. With a few strokes she can create the feel of an ancient forest or a swaying sapling.

This is not a loud, shouting book with illustrations filled with bright primary colors. It is more of a “hear the quiet rustling of a pale gray squirrel in the tree above” kind of book. In fact, because the text and illustrations are so serene, it is easy to disregard it as lightweight. That would be, however, a mistake. Butterworth and Voake have packed in a great deal of information about trees, if you only take a minute to look for it.

The Things That I LOVE about TREES is a delightful book. It might not be for everyone, but for youngsters who love nature and want a comfortable, quiet book, this is a good choice. Curl up with a copy today.

Related activities

Check the many activity suggestions in the back matter.

This time of year it can be fun to do a bark rubbing.

Hold a piece of paper firmly against a tree trunk and rub back and forth. You can use crayon or charcoal.

Compare the patterns from different kinds of trees.

If you want to read more books about trees for children, check our growing list at Science Books for Kids.

Age Range: 5 – 8 years
Publisher: Candlewick (February 28, 2018)
ISBN-10: 9780763695699
ISBN-13: 978-0763695699
ASIN: 0763695696

 

 

Disclosure: The book was provided by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

nonfictionmonday

Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

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STEM Friday #Kidlit The Ultimate Book of Sharks

Let’s explore a few more of the fantastic STEM-related middle grade books nominated for 2018 Cybils awards with one of the finalists, The Ultimate Book of Sharks:  Your Guide to These Fierce and Fantastic Fish (National Geographic Kids) by Brian Skerry.

You really need to pick up a copy of The Ultimate Book of Sharks to feel the true impact of it.

Starting out with the cover of this large-sized book, you notice the huge shark at the top with gaping jaws that almost jumps out of the page. Whoa! Underneath, the words Ultimate and Sharks in the title are in silver reflective letters that grab your eye.

Inside, chapter one hooks your further with some cool information. Did you know some sharks have organs that glow in the dark? Freaky!

The rest of the chapters mix the amazing photographs we’ve come to expect from National Geographic with sidebars and other bite-sized chunks of stories with facts about sharks from around the world.

The Ultimate Book of Sharks will thrill both young readers and educators alike. It will entice the most reluctant of readers, but it also has the factual underpinnings to serve as a go-to reference book. Capture a copy today!

Age Range: 9 – 12 years
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books; edition edition (May 15, 2018)
ISBN-10: 9781426330711
ISBN-13: 978-1426330711
ASIN: 1426330715

Check out our recently-updated list of ocean science children’s books at Science Books for Kids.

 

 

 

Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher for a Cybils review. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.Opens in a new window Note: this is a new link as of 1/2019.

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Celebrating Big News With Two Picture Books From @LernerBooks

The New Year is starting with a bang with a big announcement and picture book giveaway at our sister blog, Growing with Science.

Want to hear more? The big news is that I’ve had a children’s picture book manuscript accepted by Millbrook Press, a division of Lerner™Publishing Group. If all goes well, the book should be ready sometime in late 2020.

To celebrate I’m holding a giveaway for two books from Millbrook Press in this post at Growing with Science. Let’s take a closer look at the two picture books here.

First up we have Love, Agnes: Postcards from an Octopus by Irene Latham and illustrated by Thea Baker.

This title is not traditional nonfiction. Instead, author Irene Latham combines solid information about the life cycle of an octopus with an imagined correspondence between a mother octopus and others living nearby, including a boy who lives on land.The combination unexpectedly gives both added emotion to a poignant story and also added layers of depth. (Be sure stop by Growing With Science where Irene reveals the story behind her story.)

The serious nonfiction comes to the fore in the back matter, which contains amazing facts about octopuses and lists of books and websites for further reading.

As you can see from the cover image, Thea Baker’s mixed media illustrations capture the life of Agnes the octopus in brilliant detail.

Love, Agnes will thrill young readers and educators alike. Pick up a copy and see if you don’t love it, too.

Suggested Activity:

This book begs to be accompanied with an activity of preparing and sending postcards to friends and family members. Finding some undersea stickers to decorate them would be an added plus.

(Public domain image from Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library.)

You can also sign up to receive a postcard from author Irene Latham here: http://goo.gl/forms/JmNeFvo7j4

Age Range: 5 – 8 years
Publisher: Millbrook Press (October 1, 2018)
ISBN-10: 1512439932
ISBN-13: 978-1512439939

The second book in the giveaway is an older title about plant dispersal, Plants Can’t Sit Still by Rebecca E. Hirsch and illustrated by Mia Posada.

“Plants don’t have feet or fins or wings,
yet they can move in many ways.
Look closely and you’ll discover that plants can’t sit still. “

So starts Rebecca Hirsch’s exploration of all the ways plants get from place to place. As she discusses in her “Author’s Note,” Hersch spent time watching plants, either in the wild around her neighborhood or through videos. Her attention to accuracy and detail really show.

As much as I enjoy the text, it is the bright, lush, and active cut paper collage and watercolor illustrations by Mia Posada that really sold me on this book. I just can’t get enough of the colors.

Plants Can’t Sit Still is a wonderful introduction to plant dispersal. Get on the move and check out a copy today.

Age Range: 5 – 10 years
Publisher: Millbrook Press (September 1, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1467780316
ISBN-13: 978-1467780315

And, don’t forget the Giveaway at Growing with Science.

Disclosure: I purchased these books for the giveaway. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

nonfictionmonday

Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.