Wanted: Good Reads

[laconte]

Got a favorite book about Earth or space science for ages 8-13? Tell us about it! Give us a summary (in your own words, please!) of your recommended book. Please include the title, author, ISBN, date, and publisher. We’ll add your favorites to the resources sections of our website.

[laconte]

Hot off the press (as of July 1, 2009):

Faces of the Moon
Bob Crelin, Charlesbridge, 2009, ISBN 9781570917851
A great way to help children learn about the phases of the Moon! Cut-outs in the pages help illustrate that phases are merely the result of light and shadow.

[Sollers]

There's No Place Like Space! all about our Solar System
Rabe, Tish (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library)
An entertaining book to use with children (4-8) that introduces the basic concepts of space and the solar system. A librarian or teacher can easily stop reading at any point to explore a topic in more detai with the children. I found that children do not mind stopping on a planet in order to learn more with hands-on activities.
Note: The book was published in 1999 when Pluto was still considered a planet. However, the section on Pluto is a good opening topic for space exploration and how scientists learn more about the planets and our solar system each day.
Jackie

[laconte]

I love the idea of stopping at each planet to do an activity! (For the younger children, I'd recommend our Family Space Days activities -- listed along the left side of http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/space_days/ -- which were written specifically for 5-8-year-olds.)

I also love introducing the children to the idea that our scientific understanding is always changing with your discussion about Pluto!

[EveHalligan]

Greetings!

We recently asked workshop participants to list books that they (librarians) would suggest for Mars literacy connections. Attached, you will find a file containing their suggestions. The title, author, age recommendation, and description for each book is listed, organized alphabetically by title under each heading. We hope that you will find this helpful.

Thank you to all of the librarians who contributed to this list, and a special thank you to Brooke Carson for bringing it all together for all of us to enjoy!

Happy Reading!