Behold the lowly tapir

Behold the lowly South American tapir. I only knew of it through my girls' (now in high school) alphabet card matching game of mothers and babies. A was for Anteater, B was for Bear...T was for Tapir, which I unknowingly pronounced as "tap--eer" all those years. It's actually "tape-ear." But then again, I say "draw" for drawer (it's a northern thing) and my Texan husband uses "pin" for both the sewing item and writing implement. He also uses "next week" for this week, but I digress. 

The tapir is the subject of an amazing scientist-in-action book called The tapir scientist: Saving South America's largest mammal by Sy Montgomery, with pictures by noted photographer Nic Bishop. Even the title of this book packs a punch:  you know the tapir is in danger, you know where it lives, you know something about its size, and you know what kind of animal it is. The title alone is a lesson in concise communication! As noted in the first chapter, fossils of the first tapirs are from about 12 million years ago during the Miocene era. Despite this long history, tapirs are little known. This animal needs a publicist, and Montgomery is the perfect person to raise awareness of this interesting mammal. 

This NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book published in 2013 chronicles the work of Pati Medici and her team of field scientists as they track, observe, and monitor these clandestine creatures. Medici's work is not for the faint of heart or those who prefer hotels to camping (like myself): mosquitoes and ticks abound, pumas surround, sleep is minimal. I can hardly shoo kids out the door without morning coffee, so mustering early morning energy to gather scat - and being excited about it - is something I can only admire from afar. Several vignettes are also included, such as profiles of other team members and information about how scientific research is conducted. For example, "Pati's Spreadsheets" provides an explanation of how data collected in the field is analyzed. Nic Bishop's photos add to the high interest level of this book; whether he's capturing tapirs at night with infrared cameras or shooting up-close photos of gloved hands picking ticks off the tapir's back, Bishop's images bring this story to life. 

To accompany the print portion of Medici's field work, there are videos available from the Scientists in the Field website.  These would be great resources to share with students in addition to reading aloud portions of the text - for example, you can listen to an interview with Montgomery about her research for this book. The tapir is hardly the rockstar of the animal world, but this book will engage you with its fascinating story. 

The Human (and Canine) Perspective of Space-based Engineering

"I wanted to share the human element of the Apollo 11 landing... but was there really any need for yet another moon book?"

And so began the conversation we had with author Catherine Thimmesh at the NSTA convention last week about her book TEAM MOON: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon.  This is not just another moon book! Clearly Houghton Mifflin saw the unique perspective Catherine wanted to share about this lunar landing mission, and in saying "YES!" to her initial musing, a unique gem was on its way to publication in 2006. With text geared at an upper elementary/middle school level, Catherine weaves the stories of some of the 400,000 "behind the scenes" people into an engaging narrative about this epic moment in human history.

If you are teaching research strategies using primary sources in science, social studies, or ELA, TEAM MOON can serve as an exemplary model. From Walter Cronkite's commentary about the grainy photos of televisions images to the quintessential photo of an astronaut footprint in lunar dust, the visual images and quotes that Catherine meticulously selected engage and inform the reader. The final 17 pages of the book include an Author's note about her research, two pages of sources, chapter notes, an index, and a glossary. Direct quotes from interviews, mission transcripts, and oral history resources are included in the chapter notes. Brief summaries of other Apollo missions are provided, along with websites for further information.  AAAS also has a set of activities based on this book.

If you are looking for another book about the earlier days in the "space race" for this age group, you might want to consider the graphic novel Laika by Nick Abadzis (2007). Although this is not a purely informational text (there are fictional elements in addition to the true story of the canine cosmonaut), it is similar in that the narrative presents the human (and canine) stories in the forefront of space missions. Warning: Keep the tissues handy for this one!

Amy and I are heading to to the IRA convention tomorrow, and we will be sharing these books along with many others in our "science books worth celebrating" session on Saturday!

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!