STEM | Page 2 of 9 | Daddy Mojo

Arctic Adventure: A Tundra Tale, illustrated, poetic, STEM gold for 4-8

That’s a handful of alliterations in that short title, aren’t they? And while young readers might not appreciate its clever wordplay, they will immediately notice the glossy aspects to the book’s cover. The arctic fox is looking at its kit, while a mother and her daughter are in a boat in the horizon. In the background are whirling colors that older readers will associate with the aurora borealis. Younger readers might not know that fascinating light show, but will associate the pattern with something akin to Willy Wonka and be immediately curious about the show. That magic will continue as kids open Arctic Adventure. They’ll fall into wanderlust and become the armchair traveler that great illustrated books can help kids embark on.

Arctic Adventure: A Tundra Tale is an illustrated book that uses fabulous, dreamy art and succinct text to create a world that young readers will willingly get lost in.

An arctic Adventure that’s great any time of the year

Bud Finds Her Gift is a beautiful nature book without the guilt

The intersection of picture and illustration book is a tricky one that only publishing executives know how to successfully navigate 100% of the time. Bud Finds Her Gift is a lovely book that could be seen in either one of those categories by some people. Does the text do more of the heavy lifting or it that left up to the illustrations? The answer to that question determines if it would be classed as an illustrated book or a picture book. Granted, as the end of the day, other than the author, illustrator, and publisher, who really cares? It’s when you trip over a book like Bud Finds Her Gift that you want to describe it accurately.

Bud Finds Her Gift is an illustrated book that takes advantage of its luxurious, approachable art and succinct, but impactful text, to entertain kids in a soft message book.

Calculating Chimpanzees is smarter-than-average STEM book that rewards readers

The educator wonk in me loves books that aren’t scared to display their intelligence. The realist in me knows something that’s too smart will scare off some readers. The second book in the Extraordinary Animals series is Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees, and Other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities. That’s a mouthful of a title and it has the intellect to back up. Not that a reference, non-fiction book aimed at elementary school readers has a beef with anybody, other than ignorance.

Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees, and other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities is STEM for kids that’s accessible, with more of a scientific, narrative flow than some its over-the-top brethren.

This book (and the animals listed therein) are smarter than some of my students

Our Cosmos, an approachable big-picture space book for elementary ages

A reference book is too wonky. A book with illustrations can be too kid-ish. If it looks too much like a Nat Geo books those who are immune to its charms will run like a vampire nearing daylight. Is there a cartoon in it? The middle school kids who see anything remotely associated with elementary school will tune out. Our Cosmos: The Complete Guide to Space for Kids is built for some of those upper-elementary ages. Those who will get the most out of the book are middle school kids who are curious about space, but might just be a little reluctant in learning about it.

Our Cosmos: The Complete Guide for Space to Kids is big-picture thinking presented in nuggets of information for elementary ages.

Space, the cosmos by another name, can be fun to learn about

A Kid’s Guide to the Night Sky is (somewhat) easy astronomy

Even before this generation became addicted to Youtube Shorts they were becoming a less intelligent demographic than the one that preceded them. If our students or children were watching possibly anything other than the lowest common denominator nonsense I see them on I’d think otherwise. Don’t get me wrong my generation rotted their brains with I Love New York, Rock of Love and Cheaters, but at least that was long-form stupid entertainment. It’s possible that the de-evolution of mankind started when the average person could no longer navigate by the stars or point out the constellations. I never truly understood the constellations. I can see the great shapes that they purport to be (once they’re pointed out..), but they also look like a Rorschach Test of random dots. A Kid’s Guide to the Night Sky is by John A. Read, who lives in the smart side of YouTube. His channel, Learn to Stargaze, is smart, presented from a common sense perspective and gives off the vibe that anyone is able to stargaze regardless of their age or equipment level.

A Kid’s Guide to the Night Sky: Simple Ways to Explore the Universe makes the cosmos approachable for elementary school ages.

Don’t be intimidated, it’s just a bunch of space rocks

The Sun and the Planets: A 3-D Solar-System with Pop-Ups!

There are known unknowns. I love that quote from Donald Rumsfeld. It made perfect sense to me because I’m wholly aware that there are numerous fields I know nothing about. My inner-home repair guru might enable me to give it a shot, but most of the time, unless it’s a paint job, I’ll grudgingly call in someone to do the job. The Sun and the Planets: A 3-D Solar System with Pop-Ups!, from the title, would seem to be a very basic children’s book. It’s a pop-up book. What could be higher-level learning about a pop-up book?

Pop-up to lock down outter-space 411

STEMville: The Fast Lane, easy to look at, with a big kid brain

My son’s high school marching band chose F1 as the musical theme for next school year. There will be some Formula 1 props that move around, lots of trumpets, drummers doing their thing and kids with oodles of musical talent. The only thing I know about Formula 1 is that I regret not going to Monaco Gran Prix when I lived outside of Monte Carlo. Wait, I also know that F1 is coming to theaters in 2025 and that the cars are shaped very differently than stock cars. STEMville: The Fast Lane is the latest in the STEMville book series. It manages to entertain ages seven and (way) up, without making it too babyish for the younger readers, while not insulting the older readers who are learning something new.

STEMville: The Fast Lane, a timeless look at F1, Formula One racing in a busy, anthropomorphic town. It makes you curious about it via sharp illustrations and perfectly truncated text.

Resistance is futile

Dinosaurs Can Be Small: A Kid’s Illustrated Book

If you were paying attention, we learned (or were reminded) that birds are descendants of dinosaurs. Dinosaurs Can Be Small is an illustrated book that dinosaur kids need. Those hard dinosaur kids, like the younger brother in Mitchell Vs. The Machines, that kid. If your child or students salivate at the thought of reading or having read to them, descriptions of giant lizards who died out so that the smallest of their brethren could survive, this is for you. This illustrated book sets up the smaller, lesser-known versions by introducing their more well-known, larger versions first. The result is a very curious dinosaur book that will entice dino-kids who think they know it all because they saw Jurassic Park for the dinosaur facts, and not the fact that they run amuck.

You can’t escape the pull of bird’s relatives….can you?