The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer. 20 p. words & pictures/ The Quarto Group, March, 2017. 9781682971369. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher.)
When I did my Montessori training some twenty-five years ago, there was something called an "impressionistic lesson." It was a story that was usually told to begin a unit that was intended to pique the students' curiosity. It also helped if there were props. That's what I thought of when I read this. Its accordion-folded presentation makes quite the impression. Make room on your floor for this and you will find kids sprawled out to pore over the journey from one side of the world to the other. Attractively packaged with an embossed cover, inside there's a ton of Earth science facts and intricately drawn illustrations. My only quibble is that there's no backmatter. My students won't care a whit about that. They are going to love it.
How Could We Harness a Hurricane? by Vicki Cobb. 48 p. Seagrass Press, August 1, 2017. 9781633222465. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)
I'm always on the lookout for books about extreme weather partly because one of my science teachers has a big unit on it but also because it's fascinating. This book will fascinate, but it will also stimulate young scientists to question and, perhaps, generate possible solutions. In order to solve a problem one must understand it. Cobb unpacks the science behind hurricanes deftly explaining concepts of air and pressure and its interaction with water in a Q&A format. There are tons of great photos and diagrams to illustrate. Then she reviews the various ways scientists have sought to "harness a hurricane." As I was reading this section, I was reminded of a commercial from the early seventies for margarine. I can't remember which brand but the upshot was, "You can't fool Mother Nature!" She was fooled by the margarine, but she got her revenge. And then, I turn the page and find that the concluding chapter is entitled, "Should we mess with Mother Nature?" Cobb speaks to the difficulty meteorologists continue to have in forecasting a hurricane's path and intensity. When do we deploy expensive resources? And, as much damage as hurricanes cause, there are positive effects. Also, we must seriously consider the unintended consequences of our meddling.
The glossary spans nearly three pages. The selected bibliography contains older titles written by respected informational authors. There's also a list of links to websites and videos made by the author.
Under Earth, Under Water by Aleksandra Mizielinkska and Daniel Mizielinski. 112 p. Candlewick Press, October, 2016. 9780763689223. (Review from copy borrowed from library.)
Unlike in an earlier review where I had forgotten how I found out about a book, I do remember where I learned of this gem - it was chosen as an NSTA outstanding book. Yeah. I totally missed the starred review in SLJ. Sigh. Yeah, I must up my game. I used to be so good at this!
Okay, so this oversized volume will be very difficult to shelve. The good news is that you might not have to, much. It is sure to be a favorite. Just leave it out for students to discover and pore over.
When I shared this with my students in "Period Kahn," I made a big show of asking them where the front of the book was and how I should open it. They were intrigued and talked about how most books stand vertically but this one's words were horizontal but on both sides. Hm. I have one student (bound to be a librarian) who is obsessed with copyright dates. He spied the ISBN code on the Under Water side and decided we should start on the Under Earth side. And that makes sense.
The authors take the reader on a layer-by-layer tour of the depths of the earth and water and it is fascinating! This is not a read aloud. This is not a book you will get through in one sitting. It is a book you will pore over and return to again and again. It is a book I thought about as I took this rather long escalator, nearly vertical, ride up from the MARTA stop in Atlanta on Friday. There is an impressive spread of subway depths around the world.
Impressive is the operating word here. Text boxes are arrayed across the horizontal double-page spreads and they all stun. Prepare to spend some time on each spread. Indeed, earth science teachers could use them to introduce units. There is a ton of information both textually and visually on each.
The out-side-the-box Table of Contents will even shake things up. I'm not sure of its use for extensive research, say for a report about a particular area of earth science, but this book is sure to get kids excited about earth science and perhaps spark an idea for that research project.
Click on this link to a trailer for a nice overview of the layout and you'll see that you need to buy this for your kids.
