REVIEW In Kim A. Larson’s debut early reader picture book, Goat’s Boat Won’t Float, young readers discover a fascinating STEM fact. Some goats faint when startled by loud noises! Kim took this little-known fact and brilliantly created a funny scenario. The internal rhyme of goat/float/boat/oats/coat will have kids asking for it over and over again. They… Continue reading GOAT’S BOAT WON’T FLOAT: A Picture Book Young Readers Will Love and A Giveaway!
REVIEW The River That Wolves Moved written by Mary Kay Carson and illustrated by David Hohn, (Sleeping Bear Press) is a beautiful story that intertwines nature and adventure, bringing to life an incredible journey of wolves and the changing landscape they traverse. Carson's fun and educational storytelling, paired with Hohn's lovely illustrations, transports readers into a world where… Continue reading The River That Wolves Moved: An Outstanding STEM Picture Book Reviewed by Lori Keating. Plus a Giveaway!
Lori Keating reviews Laura K. ZImmermann's beautiful STEM book, Mushroom Rain.
I wouldn't have believed that a book about matter and energy would be read by the picture book crowd, except that my third-grade and kindergarten grandkids are studying physics at school right now. Go figure. At their age, I would have had no idea that a catapult uses a fulcrum---or even what a fulcrum was--let alone build… Continue reading PUSH-PULL MORNING: Dog Powered Poems About Matter and Energy
Some of you may remember me reviewing Rebecca Wheeler's first picture book When Daddy Shows Me the Sky. Fast forward two years and the companion book, When Mama Grows With Me, is about to be launched into the world. I'm also proud to announce that Rebecca is my new co-publisher of Talking Story! (Hint: If you… Continue reading When Mama Grows With Me: A Picturebook Review and Giveaway
This must be the season for new picture books because my email box is full of books waiting to be reviewed. I'm happy to share one by author and self-proclaimed backyard explorer, Sue Heavenrich. The Pie That Molly Grew (Sleeping Bear Press: 2023) combines the rhythm of the nursery rhyme, This is the House that Jack Built with the… Continue reading THE PIE THAT MOLLY GREW: A Picture Book Review and Mini-Author Interview
While traveling through time, teen scientist Charley Morton has met Leonardo da Vinci, explored the Renaissance, and even been tried for witchcraft. Now, on her most daring adventure yet, she sets her eyes on journeying back in time to 17thcentury to meet her “shero”, Émilie du Châtelet. After receiving a distress call from a fellow time… Continue reading FIND ME IN THE TIME BEFORE: Review by Guest Blogger, Elliott Kurta and a Giveaway
When I first started thinking about my WIP, Nightmare in Nuremberg, I envisioned it as historical fiction. After a recent trip to Europe, where centuries of hidden inside churches, city streets, bridges, and town walls, I started imagining something different. It began like this. I walked by a stone ramp in Belfast, Ireland (not far from where… Continue reading Three Mentor Middle-Grade Graphic Novels
Have you ever wondered who invented the dishwasher? Read my review and you'll find out!REVIEW of Josephine and Her Dishwashing MachineThis STEM picture book by Kate Hannigan starts with an introduction that gives the reader an idea about this spunky woman and the historical context of the story. And I love how illustrator, Sarah Green, shows… Continue reading JOSEPHINE AND HER DISHWASHING MACHINE: A STEM Picture Book Giveaway
As a freshman in high school, Elliott Kurta, one of my first student guest bloggers, is pretty busy with his academic workload and volunteer work at the library. But he returns to my blog today with a book he genuinely enjoyed, Down to Earth by Betty Culley. REVIEWIn Down to Earth, Henry Bower, an aspiring scientist, and water dowser,… Continue reading DOWN TO EARTH: A Middle Grade Book Review by Guest Blogger, Elliot Kurta and a Giveaway