A dog named Newton helps explain physics!

Finding high-quality trade books about animals, plants, space and weather can take time, but the task of locating a physical science trade book appropriate for primary grades is definitely daunting. One book we've found is Newton and Me by Lynne Mayer. Published by Sylvan Dell and recognized as an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book, this book shows applications of Isaac Newton's first and second laws of motion in contexts familiar to kids - pushing a ball and pulling a wagon, for example. The story of a boy and his dog, Newton, is told in prose with limited text on each page. Cartoonish drawings support the text and sometimes contain embedded content -  the name of the street where the boy lives (Lincolnshire) is Newton's birthplace in England. Like all Sylvan Dell books (see our previous blog about this publisher), there is a "For Creative Minds" section at the end. This section includes questions/answers about the content, a brief biography of Newton, and a matching game.

If you want a little background information in physics, or have a highly  inquisitive upper intermediate student, one suggestion is to keep Physics: Why Matter Matters! on hand. Written by Dan Green and illustrated by Simon Basher, this 2008 book is one of many in the Basher science series published by Kingfisher. The format of each page is the same: one page of text written in first person, and a full-page cartoon drawing of the concept personified. For example, "Acceleration" is depicted as a little face in a rocket, accompanied by the following text: "Forget the need for speed - I've got what it takes to get you going. I'm what makes things pull away from one another, like cars at a traffic light... To fire me up, forces have to be unbalanced, and I always zip off in the direction of the bigger force..." Fun facts are included in smaller font at the bottom of the page; in this case, we learn the acceleration of a cheetah (144 m/s2) and person associated with its discovery  (Benedetti in 1553). Topics include motion, light, sound, waves, electricity, and nuclear energy. Students - or teachers! -  with those beyond-the-elementary-textbook questions (What is a vacuum in space? How do magnets work?) would benefit from this book's easy-to-read format.

Keep an eye out for Sylvan Dell

We had the opportunity today to sit and chat with with Darcy Pattison and Terry Jennings, two  award winning authors who write for Sylvan Dell publishers. Their enthusiasm and excitement about their books, Desert Baths (Darcy) and Gopher to the Rescue! A Volcano Recovery Story (Terry) reminded us of why we keep coming back to see Lee & Donna German, who started the publishing company, every chance we get.

We first met the folks from Sylvan Dell at the 2008 NSTA Convention in Boston, when their books The Rainforest Grew All Around, ABC Safari (both of which are perfect for the tough K-1 crowd), and Ocean Seasons (for the older 3rd -5th crowd) caught our eye. Over the past five years, we've seen their collection of offerings grow to over 80 books focusing mostly on science (and math & and geography) concepts for elementary age learners. Many of their books have won awards...including some International Reading Association/Children's Book Council's Teachers Choice Awards & some NSTA Outstanding Trade Book Awards--two of our favorite "lists" for good books! They also quite impressively rely on a cadre of scientists in the field who vet each book, ensuring accuracy. These are books teachers can use knowing the information is correct.


However, Sylvan Dell offers unique opportunities to push the reading experience beyond the pages of the book with some of the more unique aspects of their publications.Teachers will likely be impressed with the "For Creative Minds" sections included at the back of each book. (Follow this link to see the Creative Minds pages for Ocean Seasons!) These pages include a variety of ways to extend the concepts explored in the book in cross-curricular ways, often including more detailed information, related maps and charts, fun little quizzes, and even experiments. But...

...one of the most exciting parts of the Sylvan Dell way of doing things has to be their online supplemental resources. Each book has its own homepage with an array of "extras" that include .pdf previews of each book, teaching guides, quizzes, related websites, and even interviews with the author. They also have a searchable standards database that links books with individual state standards or vice versa. And, just in case that wasn't appealing enough, Sylvan Dell offers eBook options in both English or Spanish (text AND audio!). They even offer some free trials and actually have pretty good deals for school site licenses.

If you ever get to NSTA or IRA or any of trade shows Sylvan Dell attends, keep an eye out for them and be sure to stop by the booth and introduce yourself to Lee and Donna (or any of their friendly employees!). But even if you don't get out much, you can spend a few hours exploring their books and resources on the website. Enjoy!