Looking for Kid's Books? These Are The Ones you NEED!

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received these books free of charge, via the Amazon Vine Program and from Sky Pony Press, for blog review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about them.

If you're like me, you might be looking for some great books for the Halloween Fairy to bring before Halloween, or you might be thinking ahead to school vacation and the dreaded "i'm Boreds!'. Because you know once Halloween is gone those holidays just scream on in!

So today I've got not k, but 2 sets of books that are perfect for surprise gifts or for keeping the "I'm Boreds at bay!

This new chapter book series from IRA Children’s Book Award-winner, Michelle Houts, draws on STEM themes and is aligned with curriculum guidelines to bring a love of science to young readers, inspiring them to start their own labs and explore their world.

 Nuts About Science  Lucy's Lab #1

On Lucy’s first day of second grade, she’s excited to meet her new teacher, Miss Flippo, and find out everything’s she’s going to learn about this year in school. And when Miss Flippo tells the class that they’re going to have their very own science lab, complete with lab coats and goggles, Lucy can’t wait to start exploring.

But one thing is troubling her. The tree that sat outside her first grade classroom all year is gone. Where are the squirrels going to live?  Inspired by her classroom lab, Lucy starts her own research mission to find out what happened to the tree, and then to lobby for the school to plant a new one. With the help of her cousin, Cora, and their new classmates, Lucy discovers that science is everywhere you look, and a lab can be anywhere you look.

Solids, Liquids, Guess Who's Got Gas?   Lucy's Lab #2

Autumn has arrived, and at Granite City Elementary School everyone is gearing up for the biggest and best event of the year, the Harvest Festival. The whole school is excited about the games, the contests, the food, and, most of all, the costumes! Everyone except Lucy. She doesn’t like dressing up, and has no desire to be a fairy princess or rock star, even for one day.

But Lucy is excited about the new science unit Miss Flippo has started: the states of matter. Lucy and her friends understand solids and liquids. They’re easy. But gasses are more difficult to grasp.

When the class goes on a field trip to an orchard and Stewart Swinefest eats too many apples, and gets a serious stomachache, Lucy suddenly understands that even if you can’t see gasses they can fill space and expand, and even make you move. And with Stewart feeling better, she has a really great idea for her Harvest Festival costume, too.

Review:

Both of these books are on the smaller chapter book size, and while aimed at kids ages 7-9, Miss Grace loved them and quickly devoured them, with lots of stops for "Hey Mom, we did that experiment last year/last month!" comments and aside conversations. When books make your kids stop and THINK, you know you have winners! I love that the books encourage kids to think outside of the textbook- to see how they can discover science ALL around them, in small and big ways. they have the imagination of a Judy Blume novel and the science fun of activity books. Which means kids will WANT to read them. Add some nature/science journals, pens, experiment and and field guides, and you've got a great weeks worth of fun for most kids in grades 2-5! The books would be great read alouds too, if you are homeschooling multiple ages, and the activities would work for multiple ages as well. We love them and you will too!

About the Author:

Michelle Houts is the award-winning author of several middle-grade novels, picture books, and biographies for young readers including "Winterfrost," which was a 2014 Bank Street Best Book and Junior Library Guild selection, and "The Beef Princess of Practical County," which was awarded the 2010 IRA Children s Book Award. She lives, works, and plays on a farm in western Ohio where she is restoring a one-room schoolhouse. While in second grade, she begged her parents for a chemistry kit, but wasn't quite sure what to do when she actually got it. Lucy s Lab allows her to be the scientist she always wanted to be.

And going up a couple of grade levels...

Dive into the history of video games and comic books. Learn why Mozart was an 18th century superstar. Read all about the high-adrenaline activities that people consider 'fun.' These high-interest nonfiction readers will engage students with fascinating social studies content. Developed by one of the leading experts in reading research-Timothy Rasinski-this 9-book set of readers features purposefully leveled texts that will increase students' reading comprehension and engage different types of learners. Middle school students will find the texts highly intriguing as they learn about a wide range of social studies subjects including sociology and history. 

Aligned with Common Core State Standards, these informational texts connect with McREL and Wida/Tesol standards. The complex and rigorous content will prepare middle-school students for college and career readiness. Nonfiction reader titles included in this set: History of Video Games. History of Comic Books. History of Monster Movies. 16th Century Superstar: Da Vinci. 18th Century Superstar: Mozart. Surprising Things We Do for Beauty.Surprising Things We Eat. Surprising Things We Do for Fun. and

20th Century Superstar: Curie.

Review:

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from these books, but I figured if they had been designed by TEACHERS they probably would not only hold a kids interest, but be well laid out. And I wasn't wrong! Miss Grace was GLUED to the first book the Fairy brought her, appropriately enough the Surprising Things We Do for Beauty, which goes through history and talks about make up, tattoos, and other body decoration. It also then covers modern makeup and styles, and ends with the page to 'Be your OWN Kind of Beautiful'. That was very unexpected but perfect for tweens to hear! As she's doing Ancient Civ right now, the book was right on target for her interest! Likewise the History of Monster Movies has delighted her, in trying to figure out which movies she has seen, and which to see and which to avoid.

I love how the pages are BRIGHT and grab kids attention, and they use subtle humor to keep them reading. These are small books, and I would say they are more 5th-7th grade, making them solid middle school books. I would consider them more of extra reading, versus sole resource. However, they could be a firm basis for making up unit studies, based on their topics, if you are a homeschooler and looking for new units. I'll be adding the books into Miss Grace's curriculum as the subjects come up, so they are of greater interest to her.

If you are looking for this type of material for younger kids, Teacher Created Materials does have sets for younger kids as well. We love these and your kids will too! They'd also be great for car trips, and sure to illicit lots of 'Hey, did you know..." from the backseat! So be sure to check them out!