Tag: Science Books for Kids

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Fire Birds

Children’s book author Sneed Collard III has been making a name for himself in the field of nonfiction, winning the Washington Post– Children’s Book Guild Award in 2006. With his newest title, Fire Birds, he tackles the tough topic of forest fires and asks if it possible that some forest fires can actually have benefits.

Forest fires have been a “heated” topic in the West. Many acres have been burned in the last few years in Arizona alone and lives have been lost trying to battle the blazes. What to do to manage forests and forest fires has become highly controversial.

The book starts out with the work of biology professor Dick Hutto, who has been investigating what happens to bird species after a forest fire. He found that some species nest almost exclusively in burned forests, including the black-backed woodpecker. He has come up with a list of 15 species that are not destroyed by fires, but instead are closely associated with, and benefiting from, recently burned forests. These are the birds of the title, the “Fire Birds.”  Each fire bird is featured throughout the book with large color photographs and detail-filled sidebars.

Collard then goes on to discuss salvage logging after forest fires and points out the complexities of managing fires due to a mix of private and public concerns. Although fires are natural occurrences and forest communities may depend on fires to be healthy, fire suppression and changes in habitats and climate have given delicately-balanced ecosystems a wallop. The author suggests it might be time for a more nuanced and informed approach to forest fire management.

Fire Birds will be of interest to children who want to learn more about birds, ecology, and also those studying forest fires. It is full of questions that are sure to encourage children to delve deeper into the topic.

Ages:  8+
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Bucking Horse Books (December 10, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0984446079
ISBN-13: 978-0984446070
Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches

Sneed B. Collard III is also the author of an older fictional novel that covers similar topics:

Flash Point

Age Range: 11 and up
Grade Level: 6 and up
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers; Reprint edition (April 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1561455776
ISBN-13: 978-1561455775

Disclosure: Book provided by the publisher for review purposes. 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 not extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

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

 

 

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Hands-On Science Finalist: The Kid’s Guide to Exploring Nature

A few weeks ago the AAAS/SubaruSB&F announced their 2015 finalists for the Prize for Excellence in Science Books and it is a wonderful list. For example, in the Hands-on Science Book category, one of the finalists is The Kid’s Guide to Exploring Nature (BBG Guides for a Greener Planet) by no less than a team of educators from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and illustrated by László Veres.

What an exciting book for young nature lovers and scientists alike! It has fabulous photographs and illustrations to help identify common plants, animals, and fungi, as well as activities, descriptions of common careers held by naturalists, and explorations of different habitats.

The Kid’s Guide to Exploring Nature is organized by season, with activities, career summaries and habitat information for each (you can see a table of contents here.) This organization allows readers to skim and skip to sections that interest them most.

In addition, László Veres’ digital illustrations are just amazing. You could spend hours delving into them and still find more the next time you look. They would be perfect seek-and-find pages for younger children.

Is there any down side? I have to admit that growing up in western New York, I recognized many of the wildflowers, wildlife and weeds that were described, for example:

plaintain-plant-44broadleaf plantain…

pokeweed-fruit-11and pokeweed.

However, I do have to say many of the plants and animals featured are not found throughout North America. After having moved to Arizona, it has become evident that many nature books for kids are incredibly East Coast-centric. Because this book was written by the staff of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, that is understandable since they write about what they know. Fortunately most of the activities, such as keeping a nature journal or creating a boat from natural materials, can be done anywhere. If you live on the West Coast, just be prepared to substitute information about local species from local field guides in some sections.

The Kid’s Guide to Exploring Nature is a wonderful book that is likely to inspire budding naturalists and scientists to learn more about their world and to observe closely. It is also an incredible resource for nature educators.

Age Range: 8 – 12 years
Hardcover: 120 pages
Publisher: Brooklyn Botanic Garden (August 5, 2014)
ISBN-10: 1889538884
ISBN-13: 978-1889538884

Disclosure: Book provided by my local library. 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 not 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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Destined for Space

Did you see the annular eclipse of the sun last month? This morning I mentioned (on my science blog) the upcoming Venus Transit of the Sun. If your children have become interested in space because of these recent opportunities to observe some real life events, then they might like to take a look at Destined for Space: Our Story of Exploration (Smithsonian) by Don Nardo.

Don Nardo is foremost a historian and he brings a historical perspective to the human exploration of space. Starting with the observations of the earliest humans, he gives a fast-paced overview of what we have learned and accomplished in our quest to figure out, “What’s out there?”

I was particularly taken with the timeline in the backmatter. Beginning with a Syrian author who wrote about a trip to the moon all the way back in c. 160, through the New Horizons spacecraft that is supposed to visit Pluto in 2015, the timeline is illustrated with fascinating commemorative stamps from throughout the world. A fun hands-on activity might be to adapt the information and come up with a timeline of your own, using a strip of butcher or plain wrapping paper. Be sure to hang it on the wall and leave plenty of room for new discoveries. Or design a commemorative stamp of your own.

Destined for Space is sure to be a great jumping off point to bigger things.

Ages:  7-11
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: Capstone Press (January 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1429680245
ISBN-13: 978-1429680240

The book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Come visit the new  STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

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The Case of the Soda Explosion and Other True Science Mysteries for You to Solve

The Case of the Soda Explosion and Other True Science Mysteries for You to Solve by Darlene R. Stille is part of a fascinating new series that allows child detectives to read, think about, and solve real world mysteries.

For the first challenge, the author presents the details of an actual weather mystery using controlled vocabulary. Children are encouraged to spend some time evaluating what the storm might be, as well as investigating what might have caused it, before turning the page to find the answer.

Darlene Stille has done a great job of picking twelve mysteries that will definitely capture a child’s interest. A few are straightforward enough that a child will have a good chance of figuring out the answer without having to do a lot of extra research. Others require quite a bit of thinking, and the answers might even surprise a few adults. Mixing it up helps keep the child engaged.

Each mystery is illustrated in a novel way that highlights aspects of that particular mystery, and also helps define and separate each case from the others.

The mystery format is wonderful because children tend to retain information more fully when they have a question to be answered in mind.

The Case of the Soda Explosion is perfect for either the school or home library because it is entertaining and enlightening. Both fans of mysteries and budding scientists are sure to find it very appealing.

Ages:  8-10
Publisher: Capstone Press (January 1, 2012)
ISBN-10: 142967623X
ISBN-13: 978-1429676236

The book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Come visit the new  STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.