A Scientific Approach
By Lisa Von Drasek

This month our attention turns to science books. How do we evaluate them for our students? Here are some questions to ask as you peruse books: Is the information accurate and up to date? Are the experiments age-appropriate? Are the directions easy to follow? Are the materials easy to get? Is the text well organized?
I also rely on reviews, teacher recommendations and titles selected by a panel appointed by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) in cooperation with the Children's Book Council. For the panel's selections, go to www.nsta.org/ostbs03

Simple hands-on activities for young children in Seymour Simon and Nicole Fauteux's Let's Try It Out with Towers and Bridges.
Illustration by Doug Cushman ©2003. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Nonfiction that pops
A delightful read-aloud for early childhood classrooms is POP! A Book About Bubbles by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, with exquisite photographs by Margaret Miller (HarperTrophy, 2001, ISBN: 0-064-45208-5) What are bubbles made of? Why are they round? Soap bubbles, milk bubbles and soda bubbles are explained. You and your students will enjoy making and investigating bubbles using the easy-to-follow recipe and experiments.

Hands-on experiments
Seymour Simon has written about an amazing assortment of subjects. His new series from Simon & Schuster, "Lets Try it Out...Hands-On Early-Learning Science Activities," written with Nicole Fauteux, encourages readers to perform experiments with everyday items. For example, in the book Let's Try It Out with Towers and Bridges (2003, ISBN: 0-689-82923-X), there's a discussion of how trees balance on a strong base of underground roots. The authors suggest trying to balance a straw or a cardboard tube. What happens when you blow on it? Then push the straw or tube into a lump of clay or dough, so the lightweight item has a sturdy base. What happens then if you try to blow this "tree" down? Other titles in the series are Let's Try It Out in the Air (2003, ISBN: 0-689-86011-0) and Let's Try It Out in the Water (2001, ISBN: 0-689-82919-1). For more information, go to www.seymoursimon.com

Vicki Cobb's "Science Play" series includes I See Myself.

Science play
I was introduced to Vicki Cobb through her "place" books such as This Place is Cold: Alaska (Walker and Co., 1991, ISBN: 0-802-77340-0) and This Place is Wild: East Africa (Walker and Co., 1998, ISBN: 0-802-78633-2). Vicki Cobb began her career as a laboratory researcher and science teacher before becoming a writer. Still in print is the fun Science Experiments You Can Eat (Harper Collins, 1994, ISBN: 0-060-23534-9).

Her "Science Play" books from HarperCollins include experiments for preK through first grade and explain the "whys" of the physical world. Titles include I Face The Wind (2003, ISBN: 0-688-17840-5) I Get Wet (2002, ISBN: 0-688-17838-3) and I See Myself (2002, ISBN: 0-688-17836-7).

Science fun with Janice
Janice VanCleave's name is synonymous with do-able science projects. The Discovery Channel website features science fun with Janice at http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/jvc. One of my favorites of her experiment books for elementary-aged students is Janice VanCleave's 202 Oozing, Bubbling, Dripping & Bouncing Experiments (John Wiley & Sons, 2002, ISBN: 0-471-26594-2). The book features simple problems, activities and projects that explain important science principles.

The world of nature
Sandra Markle is a former elementary science teacher, a nationally-known science education consultant and the author of award-winning books for children on a variety of science topics. Her excellent, informative titles include Outside and Inside Birds (Aladdin, 2002, ISBN: 0-689-85086-7), which is an American Library Association Notable Book.

In Super Cool Science: South Pole Stations, Past, Present, and Future (Walker and Co., 1998, ISBN: 0-802-78471-2), readers visit a science research station and learn about how the researchers work and live in that hostile environment. New in paperback is Creepy, Crawly Baby Bugs (Walker and Co., 2003, ISBN: 0-802-77659-0), with incredible photographs of insect development.

Science Centre series
Another engaging series is The Ontario Science Centre's "Starting with Science," published in cooperation with Kids Can Press. Simple Machines by Adrienne Mason and Deborah Hodge (2000, ISBN: 1-550-74399-6) contains experiments about the six simple machines – the lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge and screw. Other titles in this series include Solids, Liquids and Gases by Louise Osborne and Deborah Hodge (2000, ISBN: 1-550-74401-1) and Plants by Deborah Hodge (1998, ISBN: 1-550-74193-4).

Online exploration
A valuable online resource is the Internet Public Library Science Project at www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/projectguide This is a portal to science fair sites that contain information such as the guidelines associated with compiling a science experiment. I hope you and your students enjoy these scientific explorations.

Lisa Von Drasek is Children's Librarian at the School for Children, Bank Street College of Education, in New York, NY.

February, 2004, Vol.34, No.5