science – Page 2 – One Chapter

Where to Hide a Star by Oliver Jeffers

4.5 stars Children’s Picture Book

With unique ideas and fun illustrations, Oliver Jeffers is one of my favorites. This is a cute story about a boy who plays hide-and-seek with his friends, Star and Penguin. Just like every other day, the boy does the counting while Star and Penguin hide. It was their routine: day after day, the same plan, and the same hiding spots. Penguin decides one day to hide extra well, and the game has changed.

Tending to Penguin, the boy forgot about Star until he is missing. Penguin and the boy set off to find him. Searching everywhere, they cannot find him, so the boy asks the Martian for help.

The boy knows that The Martian knows more about Stars than he does. Meanwhile, we see where Star is, and I wonder how they will ever find him.

Jeffers does it again with a fun entertaining story. Looking outside at night, I wonder……. 4.5 star

You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Poop! by Alex Woolf

5 stars Children’s Nonfiction

Poop! Yes, poop. A book centered around poop. It is more important than you think and now, we can read about its importance, the history of poop, and why you can’t live without it. A nonfiction children’s book, I guarantee that you will learn something about poop before you get done reading it.

There are a dozen chapters in this book, an introduction, a glossary, and an index so this book can be used as a reference tool also. The last few pages of the book are full of fun interesting facts which along with the rest of the book make for some interesting reading. Let me entice you with some interesting facts: elephant poop is often used to fill up holes in the game reserve in South Africa, there is a dog park in Massachusetts that fuels their park’s street lamps with dog’s poop so don’t carry your dog’s poo out, dump into the convertor so you can see on your way home. Guess how many rabbit pellets a rabbit can poop in just 1 day? 500!

Now that I got you intrigued, this is just a bit of the fun and interesting information that is inside this book. You’ll learn what human and animal poop is, the hazards of poop, how the world uses it, and what we poop teaches us. Do you ever wonder, what happens to all the poo when individuals go to the bathroom? Does it go in space? Down inside the ocean or what? The answers are inside this book. The answers are not lengthy, and the author doesn’t use difficult terminology, yet this is not a book for preschool children. I think this is a good fit book for mature readers who have inquiring minds from the grade school level and up. The illustrations inside the book range from detailed drawings to cartoons explaining the text.

Grandma and Me A Kid’s Guide For Alzheimer’s & Dementia

4.5 stars Children’s

This is the first book that I have liked devoted to children dealing with Alzheimer’s/dementia. It has some great information without going over their head and they present it in a loving fashion. This is not a book for a very young child but a book for those who can understand the basics of the disease, I would think age 8 or so.

Matthew loved hanging out with his grandma, she was patient, loving, and she taught him many things. Grandma called Matthew, Johnny one day and that’s when he noticed Grandma changing. Grandma started not feeling good, their routine began to change, and grandma started to forget where she was. Something was wrong. It was time that Matthew’s parents explain to him, that Grandma had Alzheimer’s.

I liked the relationship between Matthew and Grandma and how the author provides this loving environment between them. As the parents explain Alzheimer’s to Matthew, they don’t provide too many details or get too technical, but they give him some information to help explain what’s been happening. Matthew’s relationship with his Grandma changes but that’s okay as Grandma is changing but so is Matthew. The illustrations were not my favorite, they were okay. 4.5 stars

Skulls! by Blair Thornburgh

4.5 stars Children’s Nonfiction

How much thought have you given to how important your skull is? Aimed for a young audience, this book gives children a general idea how important their skull is. It addresses how the skull protects your brain (like a car seat) and that there are many different sizes and shapes of skulls.

It talks about what a skull does, why a skull has holes, how a skull grows, and that skulls are not scary. This book is very general and doesn’t give a lot of detail, so it’s a good starting point and one that lower elementary children can understand.

I thought the pictures were good and helped explain the text. They’re cartoon based and they show lots of different skulls. This is a good feeling kind of book. 4.5 stars.

Eruption by Michael Crichton and James Patterson

4.5 stars Fiction

It’s the BIG one! Located in Hawaii, there are 2 volcanoes who have the scientists’ nervous. Mauna Loa is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world and Mauna Kea, a volcano which hasn’t erupted in over 4,000 years. The tremors have begun and now, they’re starting to intensify. Fear begins to take root, but horror takes ahold of those who really know the truth. The truth of what an eruption could mean to those in Hawaii and those around the world when the earth unleashes its blazing inferno.

I liked the little twists on this volcano disaster, and I liked how no one wanted to or took responsibility for how these problems came about. How did the canisters get placed at the base of Mauna Kea and how did so many of them got there, these are questions no one wants to answer, or so they claim. Add to this, the integrity of the containers and their content, I felt on edge reading this book. The containers themselves were a huge concern but when you add in a volcanic eruption on top of that literally on top of that, you have…… craziness!! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough and I swear I could have been watching a movie as the story fell out of the pages of the book.

Talk about intense, I couldn’t put this book down as I needed to know how they were going to stop a volcano and safely do something, anything with those containers at the base of Mauna Kea. They had to do something as they couldn’t kill millions of people, could they??

An action-packed book with loads of drama and tension. There were quite a few characters and there was quite a lot of dialogue between them. The book was predictable at times and that was okay with me. I thought the authors did a good job with researching the details in the book and making the book feel realistic. I feel this would make a fantastic movie. 4.5 stars as sometimes I felt the points repeated over and over again.

Global by Eoin Colfer

5 stars YA Graphic Novel

Two different stories told from opposite ends of the world grip the reader as they learn that the connecting factor linking them together is global warming. While some individuals claim that global change and global warming are just fictious, Yuki and Sami lives are living proof that it’s happening, and its effect is very real.

From “here” Sami is a fisherman, like his grandfather in the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean. The sea is once again pushing its way onto the banks of his village. The seawall is crumbling, and the houses will once again have to be moved more inland. Land is becoming scarce as the ocean claims everything around them. Fishing is their livelihood, their means of existence. The water that was once their friend has now become their enemy as a constant struggle occurs as they struggle to bring home enough fish to earn a paycheck and the ocean tries to claim their home. Just when Sami and his grandfather thought that they had caught the “big one” and their luck had changed, they realized that the water was not their only problem.

From “there” Yuki, his dog Lockjaw live with her parents inside the Arctic Circle in Northern Canada. With the warmer winters, the snow and sea ice are melting rapidly creating issues for the residents and the bears who rely on it. With less ice, the bears are moving into the residential areas to forge for their food. Yuki doesn’t like how the town addresses this issue, so she takes it upon herself to find a better solution. Bundled against the cold winter landscape, fourteen-year-old Yuki sets off with Lockjaw for the answer.

As Sami and Yuki shared their stories, their stories felt real. The details and the emotions that were expressed felt heartfelt and sincere. The illustrations in this graphic novel were terrific! You could feel the tension, frustration, and excitement within each text box. The colors used helped create this dramatic storyline and it was hard book to put down.

I enjoyed the extra text pages at the back of the book as they helped explain the idea behind the book and about global warming. I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Kids for an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion of this book.

I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005: The Graphic Novel

5 stars Graphic Novel

They were headed out, that was their intention but sometimes things don’t always go as planned. It was a mandatory evacuation, and they were going. If they could make it.

Barry had just finished creating a comic adventure with Jay. This piece was going to win them first prize in a contest, they were sure of that. They had plans to split the cash prize but now with the storm coming, Barry had Akivo, their winning piece, in his possession until he could drop it off in the mail. Most individuals were taking this storm seriously. Jay’s family was headed to Birmingham while Barry’s family would head towards Houston. Their neighbor Abe was told to head out with his grandma to a safe spot but lately, Abe did what he wanted. Since his dad left, Abe had changed. He claimed his new dog Cruz was a killer dog and by the time this storm was over, Barry would know firsthand if Abe was correct about his dog.

Barry’s family headed out along with hundreds and thousands of other individuals. Bumper to bumper traffic on the road and then, Barry’s sister Cleo gets sick and the family heads back home. They’ll ride the storm out at home, they decide. Overnight the storm pounds the house. By morning, the water rushes into their home, flooding everything. The family moves upstairs but so does the water. The family moves into the attic and soon, the water is lapping at their feet. The intensity and urgency can be felt as the family moves quickly and must think on their feet to keep themselves safe.

Holding onto their roof, the family feels somewhat relieved until Barry falls into the swirling water around them. He’s immediately swept away as his family calls for him. Panic and desperation mounds! Barry’s trying to grab onto anything that’s floating nearby but he’s coming up with nothing substantial. As he finds a tree and gets comfortable, he looks around and sees a large building headed towards him! Stay in the tree or jump back into the water? Both options can be deadly but what else can he do?

There are times when the story relaxes a bit, but the intensity of the situation was still there. I liked how the ending centered on the characters and when Barry reflected on himself. The ending answered many of the questions I had as I read this story. The graphics in this story followed the story and the illustrations provided enough detail without overdoing it. It was a great graphic novel. At the back of the book there was more information discussing Hurricane Katrina that should be looked at too. 5 stars

What’s Inside a Bird’s Nest by Rachel Ignotofsky

5 stars Children’s Nonfiction

Wowza! This is a fantastic resource. Packed with lots of interesting and educational information, this book is a true gem. If you’re looking for specific information or just want to read about birds, this book is one that you should definitely pick up. A reader-friendly treasure, this nonfiction book speaks to the reader, pumping out information about these feathered friends from many different topics including but not limited to: their relationships, habitats, their anatomy, and it even covers all the different names of the feathers on their bodies.

I liked how the book laid out the information on the pages and how they used different fonts within the pages. There is a large selection of realistic birds drawn on the pages (with the bird’s name written beside it) and the book has a great flow to it. What might you learn:

How important the chalaza is to an egg.

The difference between an altricial and a precocial.

How do birds stay safe and communicate.

What are contour and flight feathers and their purpose.

Migration patterns for 6 different birds – did you know that 40% of birds migrate?

That birds have a special sense within them that helps them navigate.

What you can do to help birds.

I really enjoyed this book and think this is a fantastic book. This is one book that will be read repeatedly as there’s lots of information inside it. 5 stars

One Little Leaf by Molly Littleboy

5 stars Children’s Board Book – Nonfiction

There’s lots to explore and learn in this book for children and adults. Each two-page spread carries a theme from leaves to senses, to seeds and lots more. The pages are packed with information relating to those individual themes but also on these pages are many tabs on cutout items, that are to be lifted which contain more information to read.

On the Magic of Leaves pages, there are 15 different leaves featured from cedar, yew, horse chestnut, redwood, elder, oak, aspen and many others. On the fir, sycamore, and linden leaves, there are cut-outs for fingers to hook the cut-outs of these leaves so that you can lift them open to read more about how special leaves are. I liked that most of the two-page spreads have 4 or more tabs to open.

Did you know:

“Just one tree trunk can make 10,000 sheets of paper. Tiny pieces of wood are mixed with water to create pulp, which is pressed through a paper machine. We also use these tiny pieces of wood to make toilet paper.”

“Leaves have skeletons, just like humans!”

“Sap is a sticky liquid that helps carry water and nutrients from the soil to every part of the tree- just like blood does in our bodies.”

Great illustrations make this a great resource. I liked the variety of text fonts used in the book and I enjoyed all the different varieties of species that they included and how they also identified them in the book. The use of color and the attention to detail in the illustrations was wonderful. This is a great book for young children interested in nature and for those who are just learning about it. 5 stars

Tell Me About Space by Lisa Varchol Perron

5 stars Children’s Nonfiction Picture Book

SO much information! This is definitely a book for school age children and not one for toddlers unless your toddler is well-advanced for their age. This book briefly explains gravity, earth’s rotation, the solar system, the moons, and the galaxies.

As a boy talks with his mother and asks her questions about space, the book expands on his questions and answers them in a direct manner. I like the one-one dialogue they have and how the book gives a brief, direct answer without giving a too complex and overwhelming answer. The text is easy to read, and I like the different fonts that were used in the book.

The illustrations are soft, and I liked the different color schemes that they used within the book.

It really is an educational book without being too wordy and overwhelming for a child. It’s a book that will answer their questions about space and could lead them to seek more information, if they so desire. It’s a book that could be read repeatedly and one with great illustrations and pictures that children can understand. 5 stars

“Tell me why I’m standing still if Earth is spinning around.”

“Everything is moving – you and me, the air, the ground!”

“Although we feel like we are staying in one place, we are always spinning along with Earth – about a thousand miles an hour! We don’t perceive the movement because it is constant.”