Girl Power and PHYSICS Forces!

 I have always enjoyed PHYSICS, and that was long before I took my first class to study it. Physics describes and explains and makes measurable the forces around us that keep us (and the universe) in motion and balance. I grew ups playing ping pong, pool, slinky, swimming, and all the other things that kids (who are lucky) can do. In each case FORCES were at work and I was figuring them out in the moment: gravity, buoyancy, spring, and more.

SOURCEBOOK EXPLORE, 2024

This new nonfiction picture book is an ideal resource for so many readers of many ages, from littles to adults. THE AMAZING POWER OF GIRLS: Meet the Universe's Most Powerful and Invisible Forces, with words by Maria Marianayagam and pictures by Skylar White. It's written in a quick-paced, clear-eyed way, framing the basic forces of physics (as above, and more) with examples and descriptions while offering parallel ways in which girls demonstrate and apply such force in their roles in the world. The overall premise suggests a lively science/STEM classroom of club space led by an engaging and inviting female teacher/leader and attended by a diverse, attentive, and clever batch of girls/young women. The application shifts take them from that dedicated space into the community and real ways that they have force and power without being forceful or threatening. That's unless you are threatened by empowered young women.

Some of the other forces explored include magnetism, nuclear power, tension, and friction. You can imagine the countless ways in which those forces, in terms of physics, can also reference women of any age in a world that sometimes tries to force them into or out of roles. The  overall text is lightly applied with elaboration in the illustrations, including simplified indicators of physics forces, including vectors, spirals, and more. Diversity displayed is extensive, suggesting identities, interests, adaptations, and potentials. The author note also indicates the importance of encouragement, with the author pointing out that her own engineer-father always provided opportunities for her to explore and engage with science and math throughout her life. 

STEM has taken center stage in many aspects of publishing and educational approaches, but this is a grand example that directing aspects of science principles and challenges at girls and young women is a natural and valuable approach with lighthearted sincerity and appeal.

Well worth reading and sharing!

POETRY and PHYSICS: A Powerful Pair In a Picture Book!

 Science provides surprisingly wonderful topics for poets, and that has been true for many decades and generations. Two of my favorite titles from the past (now out of print but searchable and obtainable, and worth the effort) are Myra Cohen Livingston's SKY SONGS and SEA SONGS. 

I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit that Livingtston's work and these two classics first crossed my path when I changed school districts many years ago. I found myself in a classroom with actual shelves full of books provided by the school(!) instead of relying only on my personal collection. I immediately asked students to spend a few minutes locating their favorite books and then sharing with me why they chose those books. These two poetry collections focus on scientific facts and emotional reactions to aspects of the Sea and the Stars. They were not only among those chosen, but were the favorites of MANY. The books were well-worn and some poems were recited by heart. What a perfect way to be introduced to poetry collections by one of the all time iconic poets for young readers.

WORDSONG, February, 2023
Astra Books for Young Readers

A recent addition to this niche genre of  solid science explored through a collection of poems is PUSH-PULL MORNING: Dog Powered Poems About Matter and Energy, written by Lisa Westberg Peters  and illustrated by Serge Block. Several of Peter's many publications are also powerful poetry collections on science topics. Another student favorite (and a favorite of mine in this vein) is EARTHSHAKE: Poems From the Ground Up (2004). 

Harking back to my classroom experiences, there are few topics that engage kids more eagerly than the elementary physics of force, energy, and simple machines. Few topics in basic science more directly affect daily life than these. Unfortunately, as essential as screws, planes, axles, magnets, and motion are in everything we do, the current pressure to account for each minute in a classroom has limited time for the hands-on explorations that make any science, but especially this topic)  come alive for learners. 

In this recent release, the author and illustrator have packaged basic concepts accurately and entertainingly within  every day interactions between a child and their dog.With comic style illustrations and lively personalities, they reveal Newtonian properties and processes like gravity, inertia, and motion, as well as sound, matter, electricity, reflection and more. The table of contents offers topic tags for each poem, while brief and kid-friendly back matter expands slightly on examples of each with modest doses of added science. These helpfulm additions make the book a handy "grab" to reference" in classrooms and studies, but the whole is never greater than the sum of the poems. This every day awareness of forces and energy at work in a child's life is ideally suited to spark curiosity, investigation, further reading, and conversations. 

More examples of poetry power in science are abundantly at work in Miranda Paul's BEYOND: Discoveries from the Outer Reaches of Space, and, by Joyce Sidman, UBIQUITOUS: Celebrating Nature's Survivors with Poetry, reviewed HERE. In fact, I urge you to click on Sidman's name to learn more about each and every book she has produced to bring science to awaken the poetic language and learning worlds of kids.

These titles and the topics they explore are rich ways to integrate poetry and fine literature into content area studies or personal interests, and also to integrate key concepts into literacy studies, including them as mentor text for young writers to incorporate investigations and topic studies into the flexible forms of poetry. Of all the topics, none can be more immediate and recognizable in daily life than everyday applications of energy, matter, and force. Picture books are guaranteed a warm reception when  they star such a lively and comic pair as this kid-plus-pup. Check it out!

A Brief History of Time- and Stephen Hawking

Anyone reading this must be aware that the incredible life-force named Stephen Hawking ended recently. My reason for calling him a "life force" could be undeniably based on nothing more than the fact that he survived to the age of seventy-six, living fifty-five years with a diagnosis of ALS (at age twenty-one) that predicted his death within two years. Beyond that physical survival, though, what astonishes me (and everyone) is the boundless capacity of his mind to transcend the limitations of his body. Check out the profile picture on his website, here, capturing him mid-flight in a grin-inducing gravity-free adventure. 
His scientific insights, theories, and writings have transformed the field of astrophysics and will continue to do so for generations to come. It's no exaggeration to say that Stephen Hawking deserves accolades for a level of genius comparable to that of Einstein. If reading his long-time best-selling A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME feels too daunting, try reading any of the GEORGE titles in the series co-written by Lucy and Stephen Hawking for younger readers. The titles feel, to me, like a literary equivalent of the "Big Bang" in the sense that they will be launching a universe of future physicists. Stephen and his daughter Lucy, a theoretical physicist and educator, have made enigmatic and mind-boggling theories not only fathomable but exciting and inspiring.

Charlesbridge, 2010

Which leads me to a picture book that manages to transform Hawking's BIG BANG truths into a delightful cumulative rhyming text. Well-written sidebars clarify and uncomplicate (but not simplify) the forces of the universe for the youngest readers. OLDER THAN THE STARS is written by Karen C. Fox and illustrated by Nancy Davis. Before using the familiar 
"This is the..." refrain, Fox begins with five simple but profound declarative sentences, building to the startling conclusion:
"You are as old as the universe itself."

How in the world (no, in the universe!) is that possible? At the risk of overusing the word, I'd call Fox's text genius. Using words that are the ultimate in kid-friendly, she takes readers through the birth of the universe from bangs to bits, to blocks, giant puffs and red-hot stuff. At that point readers are thoroughly hooked, so that the formation of atoms strong and tough, blasts intense enough, dust old and new lead quite naturally to the sun, our daily view! 
But we haven 't yet reached the ultimate YOU, made of the stuff of that original BANG! Before that happens we'll read about our planet green and blue, plants, and animals. NOW you can see what a simple step it is to "people just like you."

The lyrics and the logic of this remarkable book, including those accessible side bars, present Stephen Hawking's insights and sense of wonder about our (understatement alert...) remarkable universe in ways that feel self-evident and natural. The glossary and time line (not to scale) in the back matter are valuable additions.The charm and appeal of the rhymed, cumulative text will have the youngest begging for rereads. So much so that by the time readers are ready for the "fine print" in the side bars and back matter they will have a firmly rooted sense of the truth of the BIG BANG THEORY on which to hang these more refined scientific details. 

Add this one to your STEM title list, but don't assume it's a book exclusively for older readers. Get this colorful, comprehensive picture book into the hands and ears of kids everywhere.
Special thanks to friend, poet, and author JoAnn Early Macken for mentioning this title, which is nearly a decade old but is entirely new to me! I'm sharing the favor with readers here and hoping you'll find and enjoy it yourselves.