Congratulations, Jen Swanson, on Atlas Obscura!

Thank you so much for sharing the recent release of Atlas Obscura: The Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World with us! Young readers love STEAM books and I’m sure yours will find many happy readers. Can you share with us a bit about the inspiration for this book? What was your initial spark? A few years ago, I was in Chicago visiting my daughter. She was doing a summer internship at her college. We decided to visit The Field Museum, and that is where I first saw the exhibit about the Rapid Inventory Project. We sat down to watch the short video about the project and I was hooked. The vivid images, the amazing conservation efforts, and the team of awesome scientists made the Amazon come alive. As I walked through the rest of the very informative and descriptive exhibit I was enthralled to learn how these scientists would count every single animal they saw, collect samples, and literally take an inventory of the biological creatures of that area. But I think the coolest part was that the social scientists made great effort to include the local communities and Indigenous Peoples in their reports. The people who live in that area should have a lot of say in how it would be set up as protected lands. Why write this for kids? Because I think it’s a great way for them to see how people from different backgrounds and different countries can come together and collaborate to protect one of the world’s most amazing resources: the Amazon rainforest.

Writing STEAM books requires a substantial amount of research. Often it is the most fun part of our writing process. Did you meet any challenges in your research journey? While I started writing this book in 2018, it was sold at the end of 2019, I began writing it in early 2020. We all know what happened then. Because of the pandemic, I wasn’t able to go to the Field Museum to interview the scientists in person. Talking to them all at once or all in once place would have been better than scattering the zoom interviews over a longer period of time. That made things difficult and also slowed down the project.

Often one of the most difficult parts of crafting our books is not deciding what to include, but deciding what to leave out. What did you choose to leave out of this book and why? I had many more stories from the scientists that just couldn’t be included in the book. The book was only so many words long, and we wanted to leave room for many, many pictures. I don’t remember specific stories, but I do remember that we had even more amazing photos that we could have included. To see more, you can go here.

What tip can you share with teachers who want to use your book in the classroom? There are so many things you can do. You could have the students take an inventory of the classroom just like the biologists on the Rapid Inventory Team. You could have them interview people in their neighborhoods to find out anything they would like changed or improved, like the social scientists did. You could have them visit local environments in their area and journal about what they see: animals, plants, people, etc. The idea is to use this book to bring attention to the immediate world where you live. To see what you can do to improve your place on the planet.

Congratulations on this book release! What comes next for you? Can you give us a peek at what you are currently researching ? I am currently working on a book for Harper Collins called ‘How to Talk to an Alien (Should you ever meet one). It’s TONS of fun! This book is for curious middle graders who want to learn more about space, astrobiology and astrogeology, biosignatures, language, and of course, aliens! It’s also going to have activities so that you can create your own “alien language.

Learn more about Jen Swanson and her books: Science Rocks! And so do Jennifer Swanson’s books. She is the award winning author of over 50+ nonfiction books for children, mostly about science and technology. Jennifer’s passion for science and technology resonates in all her books but especially, BRAIN GAMES (NGKids) and Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner, Save the Crash-test Dummies (Peachtree Publishing) and her 2021 Kirkus Best Nature book, Outdoor School: Rocks, Fossils, and Shells (Odd Dot). Her books have received many accolades including the starred reviews, Booklist Best Tech books list, Green Earth Book Honor Award, four Florida Book Awards, and multiple California Reading Association awards, National Science Teaching BEST STEM awards. her BRAIN GAMES book was even #13 on The Planets.org 50 Best Science books Ever Written. An accomplished and exciting speaker, Jennifer has presented at National NSTA conferences, the Highlights Foundation, the Atlanta Science Festival, the World Science Festival in NYC, the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center, and the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival. Jennifer encourages kids (of all ages) to engage their curiosity and DISCOVER the Science all around them! Jennifer lives in Jacksonville, FL with her husband and their dog, Tibs.

Congratulations, Alison Pearce Stevens, on Detective Dogs!

Thank you, Alison, so much for sharing the release of DETECTIVE DOGS with us! Young readers love STEAM books, especially STEAM books about dogs, and I’m sure yours will find many happy readers. Can you share with us a bit about the inspiration for this book? What was your initial spark? This actually started with an article on conservation dogs for Science News Explores, and that came about after my husband suggested it. He studies dog behavior, I’m passionate about our natural spaces, and kids love dogs, so it seemed like a great fit. Dogs are incredible (as you know!), and their ability to sniff out plants and animals is unparalleled. There were already books out there on sniffer dogs, more generally, and conservation dogs as a narrower group, but there wasn’t anything that looked at how dogs can help us find and control invasive species before they cause too much damage to our ecosystems.

Yes, I certainly do know! *wink I loved researching and writing my 2014 book, SNIFFER DOGS. Did you meet any challenges in your book’s journey from inspiration to completion? The conservation dog community was not only accepting of me, inviting me out into the field with them at a number of locations, but also enthusiastically answering follow-up emails, sending photos and other materials, and generally making the process of writing this book really easy. There were some bumps along the road once it left my hands, but in the end it turned out beautifully. I’m really proud of it.

You are so right. The conservation dog community is wonderfully enthusiastic in sharing their stories. I know and have worked with some of the scientists, bounders, researchers in your book. But this book is not just about the stories of dogs. These dogs are so important to understanding our world. While STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, you’ve chosen to highlight science in this fun book. Why? Probably because I’m a scientist myself. I’m trained as a zoologist and ecologist, so this is a natural direction for me. In my books, I try to connect my readers with something about the natural world that they wouldn’t expect, and for me, that usually means highlighting something incredible or surprising, then examining it through the lens of scientific inquiry.

What tip can you share with teachers who want to use your book in the classroom?

Detective Dogs is a great way to talk about how we use our senses. People are generally very visual creatures and we tend to overlook how much we rely on our other senses. For example, I’ve found that I can’t cook with earbuds in, because then I can’t effectively monitor what’s on the stove. I can listen to music or an audiobook, as long as it’s over a speaker, so I can pick up other sounds while I’m cooking (such as an overflowing pasta pot!). This book could be used to spark a conversation about what kinds of information we get when we use different senses. We can smell things we can’t necessarily see. We can see, smell, and hear things we can’t necessarily touch, and so on. There are interesting dynamics at play. I’ll also mention that if teachers are interested in a school visit, I offer a highly interactive program on this exact topic! Congratulations on this book release! What comes next for you? Can you give us a peek at what you are currently working on? In March, I’ll be celebrating the release of my first picture book! When Beavers Move In (Godwin Books/Henry Holt) tells the tale of how “nuisance” beavers from the Seattle/Puget Sound area are transforming the Cascade Mountains after the Tulalip Tribes relocate them as part of their Beaver Project. It’s a lyrical story with stunning illustrations by Métis artist Natasha Donovan that showcases how rewilding efforts can have powerful, wide-ranging impacts.

Thanks for allowing me to share another wonderful book about conservation canines, Alison. Learn more about the author of Detective Dogs: Alison Pearce Stevens has been chased by a trumpeter swan, bitten by a bronze-winged duck, and served as a climbing wall for geckos and baby bats. She used to be a beekeeper and still thinks pollinators are some of the coolest things on the planet. Once upon a time, she was Dr. Stevens, science professor, until life took her overseas, at which point she started writing about science and nature for kids, because she had to find new ways to share cool things with the world’s most curious people. Alison writes lots of fun nonfiction: articles, picture books, and middle grade books. All of her work is inspired by a love of science and nature. She a regular contributor to Science News Explores, Highlights for Children, ASK, and other kids’ magazines, and has co-authored four books for National Geographic Kids. Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds, Animal Climate Heroes, and Detective Dogs were all Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections. Rhinos and Animal Climate Heroes won Nebraska Book Awards, and Animal Climate Heroes was listed as a Bank Street Best Children’s Book for ages 9 to 12. You can learn more about her at apstevens.com.

Congratulations, Carrie Pearson on WATCH THEM GROW!

Thank you so much for sharing the release of Watch Them Grow: The Fascinating Science of Animal Beginnings with us, Carrie! Middle grade readers love STEAM books and I’m sure yours will find many enthusiastic readers. Can you share with us a bit about the inspiration for this book? What was your initial spark? Thank you for the opportunity to share Watch Them Grow! Ironically, the inspiration for this STEAM book came from a musical (referencing the ‘M’ in STEAM). During the pandemic, I watched the musical Hamilton on a streaming service several times. Leslie Odom Jr. enthralled me with his rendition of the song The Room Where It Happens. During one iteration, I heard in my mind, “The Womb Where It Happens,” and thought of a book project about animal gestation. The concept started as a picture book, but when Carol Hinz, associate publisher at Lerner/Millbrook Press, asked if we’d consider it as a middle-grade photographic book, I quickly agreed. From my research, I knew a deeper dive would be warranted. The photographs I had already found were fascinating, and I believed they would captivate independent readers.

Writing STEAM books requires a substantial amount of research. Often it is the most fun part of our writing process. Did you meet any challenges in your research journey for Watch Them Grow ? This book required deep research skills. First, I needed to scour scientific research papers to find studies that covered the prenatal development of animal body parts, such as teeth, tails, and whiskers. Then, I narrowed those subjects based on the three themes we selected for the body parts—designed for movement, ingestion, or sensing. I found outliers that didn’t fit the body part themes but were too interesting to ignore in relation to the overall book topic, such as the big-belly seahorse, where the male gestates the eggs. Sometimes, the research papers were written in scientific language that, even with my science background, I found challenging to synthesize. In those cases, I asked my scientist husband to help interpret. My resourceful sister-in-law solved another research problem. We needed permission to use a photograph from a research paper showing fang development in the prenatal Japanese Mamushi snake. We couldn't connect with the researchers who lived in Japan. I discovered that one of the co-researchers was scheduled to speak at an upcoming conference in Portland, OR. My sister-in-law was visiting me and heard my sad story. Luckily, she lives near Portland and would be back home during his conference. She offered to try to get into the conference, find where he was presenting, and, immediately after his talk, give him a letter I had drafted requesting his permission. She found him! And he said, Yes! Here is the photograph:

Often one of the most difficult parts of crafting our books is not deciding what to include, but deciding what to leave out. What did you choose to leave out of this book and why? I initially thought the book would cover superlatives, such as animals with the longest and shortest gestation periods, the smallest and largest animals, those that live at the highest altitudes, and the deepest earth dwellers, among others. However, research on animals matching these themes wasn’t always available. I had to start from a different point — where good research existed — and develop the themes from there.

What tip can you share with teachers who want to use your book in the classroom? The book benefited from early feedback by science author and educator Jessica Fries-Gaither. She identified key concepts included in the text and recommended areas we could improve to align with the Next Generation Science Standards for middle-grade students. It’s a meaty book but presented in digestible bits. A no-fee Educator Guide is available for download from my website with activities, discussion topics, and vocabulary sets. The Guide is chock-full of actionable goodies!

Congratulations on this book release! It's an amazing book that pairs so well with your picture book biography, VIRGINIA WOULDN'T SLOW DOWN. What comes next for you? Can you give us a peek at what you are currently researching ? Thank you! I’m thrilled to have this baby out in the world. I am currently researching how technology can be deployed in the fight to save our world (not just our planet) from the trash humans create. It is a topic that is difficult and inspirational at the same time.

Find out more about the author of WATCH THEM GROW: Carrie A. Pearson is an award-winning author, presenter, and early childhood educator. She writes books that uncover hidden stories in our world, whether about towering trees, trailblazing women, or tiny animal embryos. Her authored books have received distinctions such as Junior Library Guild Gold, School Library Journal's Best Books of the Year, and a CCBC Choices listing, as well as numerous state honors and awards. Her greatest honor was receiving the Michigan Reading Association’s Gwen Frostic Award for her contributions to literacy development. Carrie lives near the sandy shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she writes, researches, and occasionally rescues stray ideas from the woods. Find free resources at carriepearsonbooks.com and connect on Pinterest: carrieapearson, Instagram: @carrieapearson.author, Bluesky: @cpearsonauthor.bsky.social, and on her Facebook author page: pearsoncarrieann