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Summertime Sleepers
by Melissa Stewart and Sarah BrannenA 2022 Robert F. Sibert Honor BookEveryone knows about animals that hibernate in the winter. But it's time to discover animals that sleep all summer long!
All science classrooms discuss animals that hibernate during winter months, but few know about animals that estivate—a prolonged sleep during hot or dry periods. Dual layers of text awaken readers to the reasons estivating animals become dormant—whether it's because warm weather threatens food supply or to avoid increased body temperatures. From the ladybug to the salamander, from the lungfish to the desert hedgehog, twelve estivating animals and their habits—both when sleeping and awake—are explained through clear text and elegant watercolor illustrations that create a scrapbook feel.
Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.
A Bend in the Stars
by Rachel BarenbaumFor fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Women in the Castle comes a riveting literary novel that is at once an epic love story and a heart-pounding journey across WWI-era Russia, about an ambitious young doctor and her scientist brother in a race against Einstein to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the universe.In Russia, in the summer of 1914, as war with Germany looms and the Czar's army tightens its grip on the local Jewish community, Miri Abramov and her brilliant physicist brother, Vanya, are facing an impossible decision. Since their parents drowned fleeing to America, Miri and Vanya have been raised by their babushka, a famous matchmaker who has taught them to protect themselves at all costs: to fight, to kill if necessary, and always to have an escape plan. But now, with fierce, headstrong Miri on the verge of becoming one of Russia's only female surgeons, and Vanya hoping to solve the final puzzles of Einstein's elusive theory of relativity, can they bear to leave the homeland that has given them so much? Before they have time to make their choice, war is declared and Vanya goes missing, along with Miri's fiancé. Miri braves the firing squad to go looking for them both. As the eclipse that will change history darkens skies across Russia, not only the safety of Miri's own family but the future of science itself hangs in the balance. Grounded in real history -- and inspired by the solar eclipse of 1914 -- A Bend in the Stars offers a heartstopping account of modern science's greatest race amidst the chaos of World War I, and a love story as epic as the railways crossing Russia.
The Everything STEM Handbook
by Rihab SawahProjects and experiments to inspire and challenge your kids!The STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math) are top education priorities in the United States--and they are growing fields with a high demand for jobs. If you want to make sure your children are prepared for the future in these fields, here's how you can help: Make it fun! Expose them to hands-on, real-world, and fun activities so they'll become engaged, motivated, and successful students later on.Look inside for ideas and activities to stimulate your child's interest in these fascinating subjects, including:Racing juice cansSetting up a circuitObserving potato osmosisBuilding a mousetrap race carCreating a Cartesian treasure mapGoing on a geometry scavenger huntBuilding a bridgeExploring food chemistryWith easy-to-understand examples, problem-solving tips, and hands-on projects your family can create together, this guide gives you the tools you need to help your kids excel and foster a lifetime love of learning.
The Solar System
by Sophie AllanDiscover our expansive solar system in this breathtaking journey into space. This charming book is the perfect introduction for young readers who want to learn about our local star - the Sun - and the planets that orbit it. The Solar System covers space in thrilling detail and is the perfect book for space lovers everywhere. Packed with mind-blowing facts, this incredible book of the solar system is perfect for space lovers everywhere. This fascinating guide introduces 7-9 year-olds to the birth of the Sun and the solar system, then continues on a journey through space. They discover the smallest planet, rocky Mercury, which is closest to the Sun, and Venus, the hottest planet. There is also Mars, with its polar ice caps and volcanoes, and Jupiter, with its swirling storm clouds. Then readers venture further into space to explore the icy giants of outer space. This wonderful solar system book offers:- In-depth information, backed up by space photography, probe images, illustrations, and fun diagrams.- Striking illustrations, making this title a perfect gift, as well as a solid reference book. - Easy-to-digest sections, each filled with incredible facts and visuals.STEM learning, with key topics for 7-9 year-olds: labeled images of each of the planets, clear step-by-step visuals to show the birth of our solar system, accessible facts about space missions.Boasting beautiful illustrations by artist Dawn Cooper, combined with up-to-date images from space agencies such as NASA and ESA, info panels, timelines, and diagrams, that help demystify and explain the spectacles of space, this is the ideal book for budding astronauts.At DK, we believe in the power of discovery.So why stop there?If you like The Solar System, then why not complete the collection? Take a trip into space and discover the mysteries of Earth&’s closest neighbor with The Moon.
Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.
Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space
by Janna LevinThe authoritative story of the headline-making discovery of gravitational waves—by an eminent theoretical astrophysicist and award-winning writer.From the author of How the Universe Got Its Spots and A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, the epic story of the scientific campaign to record the soundtrack of our universe. Black holes are dark. That is their essence. When black holes collide, they will do so unilluminated. Yet the black hole collision is an event more powerful than any since the origin of the universe. The profusion of energy will emanate as waves in the shape of spacetime: gravitational waves. No telescope will ever record the event; instead, the only evidence would be the sound of spacetime ringing. In 1916, Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, his top priority after he proposed his theory of curved spacetime. One century later, we are recording the first sounds from space, the soundtrack to accompany astronomy’s silent movie. In Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, Janna Levin recounts the fascinating story of the obsessions, the aspirations, and the trials of the scientists who embarked on an arduous, fifty-year endeavor to capture these elusive waves. An experimental ambition that began as an amusing thought experiment, a mad idea, became the object of fixation for the original architects—Rai Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Ron Drever. Striving to make the ambition a reality, the original three gradually accumulated an international team of hundreds. As this book was written, two massive instruments of remarkably delicate sensitivity were brought to advanced capability. As the book draws to a close, five decades after the experimental ambition began, the team races to intercept a wisp of a sound with two colossal machines, hoping to succeed in time for the centenary of Einstein’s most radical idea. Janna Levin’s absorbing account of the surprises, disappointments, achievements, and risks in this unfolding story offers a portrait of modern science that is unlike anything we’ve seen before.From the Hardcover edition.
What Will Fit?
by Grace LinCaldecott Honor winner Grace Lin celebrates math for every kid, everywhere!Take a trip to the farmers' market in this playful story about spatial sense. Olivia is searching for something just the right size to fill her basket. The apple is so small that it rolls around. The zucchini is so long that it sticks out. What will fit just right? Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education nonprofit TERC, under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation.
Keep It Simple, Rapunzel!
by Thomas Kingsley TroupeEscaping from a tall tower using one's hair is SO fairy-tale old school. THIS STEM-smart Rapunzel uses the brain beneath her hair to educate her prince (and readers) on the ways the science of simple machines can save the day. A glossary and critical thinking questions reinforce the story's key physics concepts.
Science Comics
by Jon ChadStep out of your element with Science Comics: The Periodic Table of Elements, the latest volume of First Second's nonfiction graphic novel series!A book of fun chemistry experiments has fallen into the wrong hands. Only Mel can use her knowledge of the periodic table to put an end to a maniacal madman's evil schemes.
The periodic table helps us quickly understand the 118 elements, those tiny substances that make up everything in the world. By using the periodic table, we can recognize how these building blocks behave, find trends and patterns in the universe, and make predictions about elements that haven’t been discovered yet. Join us in learning about the periodic table, and maybe the next big discovery will be yours!
Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.
The Botany of Desire
by Michael PollanBy the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, this is Michael Pollan's ingenious companion book about the surprising and close relationship between people and plants.
In this entertaining young readers edition of the environmental studies classic, Michael Pollan demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a reciprocal relationship. He links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, energy, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, coffee, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also helped them to thrive.
The Botany of Desire is perfect for STEM-focused young readers who want to learn more about: human history, biology, and environmentalism; climate change and its impact on our relationship with plants; and gardening and the human-plant relationship.
Jo Bright and the Seven Bots
by Deborah Underwood and Meg HuntA bot-building princess engineers her own happy ending in this futuristic fairytale, a follow-up to the acclaimed Interstellar Cinderella. Once upon a planetoidsurrounded by her friends,a girl, Jo Bright, loved building botsfrom scraps and odds and ends! Snow White gets a stellar upgrade in this clever retelling with a truly inventive heroine. With wit, bravery, and some spare circuit boards, Jo will foil the queen, befriend a dragon, and build herself a celestially happy ending of her own. From the team that created the acclaimed Interstellar Cinderella and Reading Beauty comes another funny and empowering fairytale that's out of this world. A STELLAR ROLE MODEL FOR GIRLS: This uniquely feminist retelling of Snow White, in which the princess is an engineer and inventor, encourages girls to see themselves as the heroines of their own stories. STEM FOR THE WIN: It's more important than ever to support young girls who are interested in STEM activities. This picture book makes tinkering, inventing, and engineering accessible and inviting! SO MUCH FUN TO READ ALOUD: An enchanting rhyme and gorgeous color-drenched illustrations combine to make this engaging book a wonderful choice for story-times—one that little readers will want to pore over again and again. DON'T MISS THE OTHER BOOKS: This fractured fairytale is a smart and funny follow-up to the acclaimed Interstellar Cinderella and Reading Beauty. Perfect for:Parents and grandparentsGift-giversTeachers and librarians
Indigenous Ingenuity
by Deidre Havrelock and Edward KayCelebrate Indigenous thinkers and inventions with this beautifully designed, award-winning interactive nonfiction book—perfect for fans of Braiding Sweetgrass.
Corn. Chocolate. Fishing hooks. Boats that float. Insulated double-walled construction. Recorded history and folklore. Life-saving disinfectant. Forest fire management. Our lives would be unrecognizable without these, and countless other, scientific discoveries and technological inventions from Indigenous North Americans. Spanning topics from transportation to civil engineering, hunting technologies, astronomy, brain surgery, architecture, and agriculture, Indigenous Ingenuity is a wide-ranging STEM offering that answers the call for Indigenous nonfiction by reappropriating hidden history.
The book includes fun, simple activities and experiments that kids can do to better understand and enjoy the principles used by Indigenous inventors. Readers of all ages are invited to celebrate traditional North American Indigenous innovation, and to embrace the mindset of reciprocity, environmental responsibility, and the interconnectedness of all life.
Edwin Hubble
by G.E ChrisitansonEdwin Hubble: Mariner of the Nebulae is both the biography of an extraordinary human being and the story of the greatest quest in the history of astronomy since the Copernican revolution. The book is a revealing portrait of scientific genius, an incisive engaging history of ideas, and a shimmering evocation of what we see when gazing at the stars.Born in 1889 and reared in the village of Marshfield, Missouri, Edwin Powell Hubble-star athlete, Rhodes Scholar, military officer, and astronomer- became one of the towering figures in twentieth-century science. Hubble worked with the great 100-inch Hooker telescope at California's Mount Wilson Observatory and made a series of discoveries that revolutionized humanity's vision of the cosmos. In 1923 he was able to confirm the existence of other nebulae (now known to be galaxies) beyond our own Milky Way. By the end of the decade, Hubble had proven that the universe is expanding, thus laying the very cornerstone of the big bang theory of creation. It was Hubble who developed the elegant scheme by which the galaxies are classified as ellipticals and spirals, and it was Hubble who first provided reliable evidence that the universe is homogeneous, the same in all directions as far as the telescope can see.An incurable Anglophile with a penchant for tweed jackets and English briars, Hubble, together with his brilliant and witty wife, Grace Burke, became a fixture in Hollywood society in the 1930s and 40s. They counted among their friends Charlie Chaplin, the Marx brothers, Anita Loos, Aldous and Maria Huxley, Walt Disney, Helen Hayes, and William Randolph Hearst. Albert Einstein, a frequent visitor to Southern California, called Hubble's work "beautiful" and modified his equations on relativity to account for the discovery that the cosmos is expanding.