Friday Focus: STEM Stories

Reading about STEM subjects -- science, technology, engineering, and math -- is almost as much fun as doing STEM projects yourself. Here are a few new children's storybooks and novels featuring characters exploring the world of STEM. They're all available for loan at Galesburg Public Library. Come check one out today!

The Dinosaur Expert
By Margaret McNamara; illustrated by G. Brian Karas
New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2018.
Future scientist Kimmy eagerly shares information about dinosaurs during a school field trip until classmate Jake tells her "girls aren't scientists." Let's just say a certain famous scientist comes along to set Jake straight.





Fairy Science
By Ashley Spires
New York: Crown Books for Young Readers, 2019.
All the fairies in Pixieville believe in magic--except Esther. She believes in science. When a forest tree stops growing, all the fairies are stumped--including Esther. But not for long! Esther knows that science can get to the root of the problem--and its solution.

Parker Bell and the Science of Friendship
by Cynthia Platt; illustrated by Rea Zhai
Boston & New York: Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.
Parker Bell wants nothing more than to win her school's Science Triathlon, teamed up with her best friend Cassie. But when Cassie invites her new friend Theo to join then, Parker is worried that Theo might not help them win... and might even hurt their friendship.





For more stories of scientific fun, check out our STEM Stories booklist.

Kid Review: Catwad: It’s Me by Jim Benton

Catwad: It's Me (book 1 in the series)

By Jim Benton

New York: Graphix (an imprint of Scholastic), 2019

From the Publisher:

From New York Times bestselling author Jim Benton, meet Catwad! He's blue, he's a bit of a grouch, and his best friend is a dim-witted cat named Blurmp who can see the bright side of anything. From pizza and computers, to love and happiness, this crabby tabby has a funny take on just about everything, and he's not afraid to share it. This collection of short comic stories will make even the grumpiest of grouches crack up and is not to be missed!



Reviewed by: Henry, Age 8

Catwad is way smarter than Blurmp. Blurmp is really really really dumb. He and the things he does are super super funny!

My favorite character is Blurmp because he is really funny!!

I would totally recommend this book to another kid because it's super funny and it will make other children laugh!