Observations on reading and writing children’s books
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For a change of pace, I have my STEM Friday review at Growing With Science today. I’m reviewing Desert Tortoises by Elizabeth Thomas.
This week’s round up is at Simply Science. Be sure to go see what our participants have to offer.
If you would like to participate in STEM Friday in the future, go to Booktalking blog and click on STEM Friday for more information.
Tags: Science Books for Children, Science Books for Kids, STEM Books for Kids, STEM Friday
Are you looking for Science, Technology, Engineering or Math children’s books? Then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve gathered some of our recent favorites to share.
For my contribution, I am featuring a book that would be an excellent tool for a discussion on the pros and cons of advancements in technology. Becoming Invisible: From Camouflage to Cloaks by Carla Mooney is a detailed look at what is happening in the high tech world of cloaking. 
Camouflage and invisibility are fascinating topics. Everyone who has read the Harry Potter books probably wished they could have an invisibility cloak, too. Can you imagine how much fun it would be to be able to hide in plain sight?
Mooney explains the differences between camouflage and invisibility. With camouflage, the colors and patterns help the wearer blend in with the environment, but you can still see them if you know where to look. The idea of camouflage was proposed by an artist who studied the markings of animals in the late 1800′s. During World War I, the armies and navies of many countries tested camouflage patterns to hide both equipment and people, leading to the camouflage uniforms used by military personnel today.
“Optical camouflage” is another form of camouflage which uses projectors to display scenes of the moving background onto special reflective cloaks. From the right angle, it is impossible to tell where the cloaked person (or object) is standing because he or she seems to be part of the background images. If the viewer isn’t in line with the projectors, however, the illusion doesn’t work.
On the other hand, when something is truly invisible, our eyes can not see it. To attempt to produce true invisibility, scientists have trying to bend light to go around objects. Researchers have been able to bend types electromagnetic waves that are near relatives of visible light with special man-made materials called metamaterials. Using metamaterials made of metal and fiberglass, scientists have been able to develop “cloaks” that bend either microwaves or infrared light around an object, hiding it from detection. Both microwaves and infrared radiation have longer wavelengths than visible light, so the metamaterials will have to get smaller to be able to bend visible light. The possibility, however, seems more likely than ever before.
In Chapter 4, Mooney gives some ideas how invisibility cloaks could change the world if engineers and scientists succeed. She suggests several positive uses for the technology, but points out that it could be dangerous, as well. Can you imagine if criminals could become invisible? What about if enemy armies could cloak themselves and then suddenly appear well inside our borders? Other worry that invisible agents could spy on our every move without our knowledge or consent.
Becoming Invisible: From Camouflage to Cloaks gives the reader a lot to think about. I definitely recommend it to students who are considering physics or engineering as careers.
Be sure to check out the Camouflage and invisibility activities at Growing With Science that were inspired by the book.
(Links take you to the review of each title.)
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Jeff at NC Teacher Stuff has Open Wide! by Catherine Ham |
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Shirley at Simply Science has the lovely A Leaf Can Be… by Laura Purdie Salas |
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Precious at Rourke Publishing Blog highlights Fossils, Uncovering the Past by Tom Greve |
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Anastasia has Freaky-Strange Buildings by Michael Sandler at Booktalking. |
If you would like to participate in STEM Friday in the future, go to Booktalking blog and click on STEM Friday for more information.
Tags: Science Books for Children, Science Books for Kids, STEM Books for Kids, STEM Friday
Animal Planet’s Weird and Wonderful: Show-offs by Margaret McPhee is about intriguing animals that are sure to surprise and delight young readers. It has been recommended by the National Science Teacher’s Association.
The eye-catching color photographs and illustrations will be what attracts the reader’s attention first, which is appropriate. After all, the book is about animals that use bright colors and flashy behaviors to attract attention of mates, warn off predators and, believe it or not, blend in with their surroundings. However, the book is also full of interesting facts and amazing stories about animals that are both familiar and exotic.
Sometimes with “showy” books like this the concepts get lost between the pretty pictures, but that isn’t the case with Show-offs. Each new section builds on the previous ones, providing a sound conceptional framework for those that take the time to read the captions. The photographs and illustrations are sure to draw in the reluctant reader, making them want to know more. They will be enticed to read the text and to turn the next page.
In addition to a useful book for the science classroom, Show-offs would be a very nice gift book for youngsters interested in animals.
For more information and related activities:
Reading level: Ages 6 and up
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Kingfisher (September 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0753467224
ISBN-13: 978-0753467220
This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.
Rovingfiddlehead Kidlit is hosting the Stem Friday meme this week. Be sure to visit for links to more excellent STEM books.
If you would like to participate in STEM Friday in the future, go to Booktalking blog for more information.
Tags: Animal Planet's Weird and Wonderful: Show-Offs, STEM Friday
Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication by Ann Downer is a comprehensive look at elephant social behavior, including a detailed overview of exciting recent findings about how elephants communicate. This book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category. 
In the first chapter Downer explores many aspects of elephant biology, laying a firm foundation for the chapters on elephant communication that follow. She discusses the three species of elephant found in the world today, the African, Asian and forest elephants, as well as their distribution.
Once the groundwork is laid, she reveals many amazing new scientific findings. Did you know that elephants regularly make sounds that humans can’t hear? Did you know that elephants can “talk” to one another via their feet? How about that some “chirp” and other “shake hands”? It turns out that elephants are incredibly intelligent social creatures.
In one example not found in the book, a scientist tested elephants tendency to cooperate by creating a rigging that gives a reward of a banana snack only if two elephants work together to pull on ropes. An article in Wired Science discusses how one elephant not only learned to cooperate to get a snack, but it also learned a shortcut by standing on the rope instead of tugging it. Wow!
In the final chapter of her book, Downer examines some of the complex relationships between humans and elephants throughout the world. Although some of the facts are grim, there are reasons for hope that elephants will be able to survive to be a source of wonder for future generations.
Simply Science has another great review and several related links and activities.
This has been a good year for elephant books. We also reviewed The Elephant Scientist by Caitlin O’Connell and Donna M. Jackson, and Beco’s Big Year: A Baby Elephant Turns One by Linda Stanek with related activities at Growing With Science.
Reading level: Ages 8 and up
Library Binding: 112 pages
Publisher: Twenty First Century Books (January 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0761357661
ISBN-13: 978-0761357667
Stem Friday is at Booktalking. Click through for links to more excellent STEM books.
If you would like to participate in STEM Friday in the future, go to Booktalking blog for more information.
Tags: Cybils 2011 Nonfiction, Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication, STEM Friday
The Manatee Scientists: Saving Vulnerable Species by Peter Lourie, part of the respected Scientists in the Field series, follows scientists from around the world trying to learn more about manatees in a race protect them from extinction. 
Manatees are fascinating. Distantly related to elephants, these large, lumbering herbivores live exclusively in warm waters. They are found in Florida, the Caribbean, the Amazon, and West Africa.
As the title suggests, the book follows leading manatee scientists in their studies. Peter Lourie documents the techniques the scientists use and the problems they encounter. In the Amazon River basin, the author accompanies Fernando Rosas on a boat trip to follow radio-tagged manatees that have been released from captivity. He flies with John Reynolds, who does an aerial count of manatees in warm Florida waters, and shows researcher Lucy Keith rescuing West African manatees trapped behind a dam in Senegal. Sadly, one of the problems the scientists encounter in trying to preserve the wild populations is that the people who live along the rivers in both South America and Africa rely on manatees for food.
Peter Lourie is a photographer as well as author, and took many of the numerous color photographs. His narration adds a real sense of adventure to what the scientists are doing.
Cybils notes: It would have been nice to see a bit more about what the scientists were finding out. By that I mean I wondered what their results were, not just their methods. For example, it would be nice to learn if manatees really are useful to keep down vegetation in lakes that serve hydroelectric plants. Also, it would probably have been appropriate to mention the Steller’s sea cow, a relative of the manatees that really did go extinct.
The Manatee Scientists: Saving Vulnerable Species has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category. It will be a big hit with nature lovers and budding scientists. For informal science, use the book to accompany a trip to an aquarium that houses manatees, or even better, a trip to Florida to see manatees in the wild.
Video of Florida manatees in action:
Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Hardcover: 80 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (April 11, 2011)
ISBN-10: 054715254X
ISBN-13: 978-0547152547
Stem Friday is at Celebrate Science today. Click through for links to more excellent STEM books.
If you would like to participate in STEM Friday in the future, go to Booktalking blog for more information.
Tags: Cybils 2011 Nonfiction, STEM Friday, The Manatee Scientists: Saving Vulnerable Species
