Tag: STEM Books for Kids

Posted on

Show Me Space: My First Picture Encyclopedia

Show Me Space: My First Picture Encyclopedia (My First Picture Encyclopedias) by Steve Kortenkamp is a visually-stimulating way to learn about our sun, the planets, moons and even far away galaxies.  show-me-space

The first thing you should be aware of is that both Steve Kortenkamp and his wife are professional astronomers, so you know the facts are accurate and up-to-date. Kortenkamp is also committed to elementary and middle school science and has written over 20 children’s books, so he realizes how to make the facts interesting and accessible to children.

The best way to describe the organization is “photographic encyclopedia.” The book is illustrated with brightly-colored photographs and other images, with the key vocabulary word set off from a block of text that defines and describes it. This encyclopedia isn’t meant to be read cover-to-cover, although children certainly might want to do that. Instead, they can review a few of the over 100 concepts and vocabulary words found in the book, and come back as needed.

Pick up Show Me Space: My First Picture Encyclopedia and before you can say “transneptunian object,” your kids are going to be excited about astronomy.

Reading level:  1-2
Ages 4-8
Series: My First Picture Encyclopedias
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Capstone Press (February 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1620659220
ISBN-13: 978-1620659229

Disclosures: This book was 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.

 

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

Posted on

Graphs, Graphs, Graphs!

Children are being introduced to graphing at younger and younger ages, and may be ready to graphically record data as early as kindergarten. Graphs, Graphs, Graphs! (A+ Books: Displaying Information) by Kelly Boswell is a useful way to introduce young children to the beginning concepts in a very concrete and visually-stimulating way.

graphs

Starting with the question “What is a graph?”, Boswell then explains the differences between pictographs, bar graphs, line graphs and pie graphs, She also explains how they are used.

With a combination of bright, colorful photographs and interesting illustrations of different types of graphs, the book will be highly appealing to visual learners. The back matter includes three questions for critical thinking that use Common Core standards, which is helpful for educators.

Sometimes a fresh look is all that is needed to help a child figure out something new. Graphs, Graphs, Graphs! is just the tool educators should have on hand for those times.

You can see a Google Preview on the Capstone website.

Related Activity:

Young children might enjoy these on-line graphing games at Turtle Diary.

Reading Level: 1-2
Interest Level: PreK-2
Publisher:  Capstone Press (August 1, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1476533369
ISBN-13: 978-1476533360

Disclosures: This book was 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.

 

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

Posted on

National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America

Have you seen all the great books about birds that have come out for children recently?  Add the National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America: The Best Birding Book for Kids from National Geographic’s Bird Experts by Jonathan Alderfer to the list. It takes kid-friendly bird guides to a whole new level.Nat-geo-bird-guide

Of course, the first thing that strikes the reader is the National Geographic quality photographs and artwork. Plus, it wouldn’t be National Geographic with really nice maps of where many of the birds are found (sneak in a geography lesson here?) Now add a lot of good tips for identification and easily-digestible facts about the different birds. Stir in a few bird-related activities, and you have a fantastic bird guide for kids.

The organization is super. Realistically, children are going to want to discover what is in their back yards, and this guide makes that possible with chapters like “Eastern Back Yards” and  “City Streets and Parks.” When the child visits a new place, he or she can brush up on the birds beforehand. For those who become excited about birds, there are sections of “rock stars,” interesting birds that catch people’s attention and stretch the child’s knowledge further.

Truly, any child interested in nature and the outdoors will benefit from a copy of this book. It may seem like hype to call it the “best birding book for kids,” but this guide definitely is a “rock star.”

For a related activity, see Bird and Moon for a poster about learning bird songs.

If you are looking for more books about birds for children, check out our list at Science Books for Kids.

childrens-books-for-young-birdwatchers

National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America: The Best Birding Book for Kids from National Geographic’s Bird Experts

Age Range: 7 – 9 years
Paperback: 176 pages (also available with library binding)
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books (March 12, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426310943
ISBN-13: 978-1426310942

Book provided by my local public library.

 

children-science-books

 

 

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

Posted on

Two Seymour Simon Ocean Books

Can’t get to the beach this summer? Seymour Simon has two new science books, Seymour Simon’s Extreme Oceans and Coral Reefs, that will transport the reader to cool depths.

coral-reefs

Coral Reefs is a lovely picture book with bright color photographs of coral reefs. Starting with a full description of what coral is, it answers virtually every question a child might have, such as where coral reefs are found, what kinds there are, and what kind of animals live in coral reefs. Simon emphasizes how important coral reefs are and how they are under threat throughout the world.

Age Range: 6 – 10 years
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (April 23, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061914959
ISBN-13: 978-0061914959

extreme-ocean

Extreme Oceans is for middle grade readers. It has smaller illustrations and deeper text than Coral Reefs, covering topics ranging from extreme ocean animals to extreme ocean weather events. Simon even covers the weather events driven by ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean, called El Niño and La Niña. He also mentions coral reefs. Most amazing fact? I thought it was the pinky-nail-sized Australian jellyfish that can deliver a mammoth-sized amount of pain.

Age Range: 9 and up
Hardcover: 60 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 2, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1452108331
ISBN-13: 978-1452108339

Seymour Simon is an award-winning science author who has written more than 250 books for children. He has a strong, authoritative voice that doesn’t dumb-down the vocabulary for kids.

Be sure to take a dip in the ocean with these two books this summer.

Books provided by my local public library.

 

children-science-books

 

 

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