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An amazing new picture book has just been released based on the true story of Chilean high school girls who convinced NASA to send ladybugs to space. It is co-written by Melissa Trempe, an educator with a passion for equality and a love of the outdoors, and Natalia Ojeda, a Chilean doctor whose experience in the ladybug project helped change the trajectory of her life. I fell in love with the story which follows the wishes of a sweet little ladybug who dreams of being an astronaut mirrored with the dreams of a young Chilean girl who adores science. It is a meaningful and relevant story that ALL students will enjoy, but especially our girls who yearn for their place in the future of STEM. The English and Spanish languages are expertly woven throughout the text, and the illustrations by Manuela Montoya are beautiful!  Featured Picture Book:
Ladybug LAUNCH - Inspired by a True Story of Chinitas in Space (2024) By Melissa Trempe and Natalia Ojeda Illustrated by Manuela Montoya Summary (via Amazon): Natalia is a chica, an ambitious girl with dreams of becoming a scientist. Luna is a chinita, an adventurous ladybug that dreams of visiting the stars. But neither dream is easy to reach. Ladybugs are meant to munch on garden pests. And no one from Natalia’s family has ever been to college. Still, both Natalia and Luna want más. Then Natalia’s all-girl class designs an experiment. If astronauts want to live in outer space, they’ll need to grow food. Could chinitas go along to keep the pests away? The girls are eager to find out, and Luna is hungry to help. If their theory is correct, it’s a project worthy of NASA itself—and the stuff all dreams are made of. This inspiring picture book is based on the real story of Chilean high school girls who convinced NASA to send ladybugs to space! Related Themes and Standards: Science:
1. Students can research other insects and their needs, then create a book using Book Creator, Canva, or Seesaw. 2. Have students work through the Engineering Design Process and develop a presentation supporting something they believe NASA should include on a future mission. 3. Create classroom terrariums like the ones in the story and make observations over a period of time. HERE is an easy plan to follow. 4. Research and create green screen videos sharing important information about other important female astronauts like Eileen Collins. 5. Choose 10 important events in the story and summarize them on cards. Tape them to each team’s Beebot (or other robot) mat and have them program the bot to follow the correct sequence of events from the story. Do you have other ideas for this story? Please share! #BetterTogether
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If you follow me on Twitter (X), you probably know that Melissa Stewart is one of my favorite picture book authors because her ability to convey non-fiction in simple, yet beautiful language is phenomenal! This post features her book THANK YOU, MOON: Celebrating Nature’s Nightlight which is illustrated by Jessica Lanan. As a beautiful “thank you note” is conveyed on the left-hand pages, the right side shares interesting, related facts about our moon written in kid-friendly language. The facts are fascinating because they all focus on creatures (land and sea) that depend on the moon for their survival.  Featured Picture Book:
Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Nightlight (2023) By Melissa Stewart Illustrated by Jessica Lanan Summary (via Amazon): With the soothing rhythm of a bedtime story and the scientific wonder of a nature doc, comes a celebration of the moon and all the creatures who rely on its light to find their way home. Under the glow of a shimmering moon, creatures great and small creep out of their dens, using its light to hunt, fend off predators, build their nests or build families. As the moon changes phases these animals adapt their behavior to match its waxing and waning—while human animals look on in wonder. As Earth's closest companion in space, the moon has fascinated humankind for generations, and this nonfiction picture book sheds light on the mysterious ways it affects life on Earth. With luminous illustrations by Jessica Lanan and a lyrical text that is part lullaby and part scientific resource, Thank You, Moon is a treasure for all ages to enjoy. Related Themes and Standards: Science:
SEL:
STEM Ideas: 1. Have students choose one of the creatures mentioned in the story (there are even more facts about each one in the book’s back matter) and create a virtual habitat or build one with recyclable materials. 2. Have students create a video featuring further research about one of the creatures mentioned in the story. 3. Have students write their own thank-you notes to the moon, then engineer a rover that could deliver it from its landing module. If you have access to drones, create a mission where the drones have to deliver the message to a particular place on a mock lunar surface. 4. Use Beebots or other robots to create a more engaging Moon Phases card sort activity. I used this free download and made two laminated sets for each “team”. They had to program their robot to move to the moon phase on the mat that matched the one they selected from their deck. So many grade levels study our beautiful moon! Feel free to add your favorite lunar activity in the comments! #BetterTogether For any of you whose curriculum includes teaching kids about the sun, moon, and/or what an eclipse is, make sure you add this gem by Kate Allen Fox and illustrated by Khoa Le to your STEM library! Really, everyone should add this beautiful picture book to their collection! A FEW BEAUTIFUL MINUTES Experiencing a Solar Eclipse combines sweet language and amazing illustrations to explain something that can be confusing for young children to understand—a solar eclipse.  Featured Picture Book:
A Few Beautiful Minutes (2023) By Kate Allen Fox Illustrated by Khoe Le Summary (via Amazon): A poetic and exquisitely illustrated tribute to the solar eclipse and the magic of togetherness, seen through the eyes of a child. What happens during a solar eclipse? The sun vanishes. Light becomes dark. Day animals sleep, and night animals wake. The moon takes over the sky. People stop what they’re doing and together, they look up. The whole world changes for a few beautiful minutes. Celebrating a favorite wonder of the universe, A Few Beautiful Minutes encourages young readers to (safely) discover each stage of a solar eclipse, and to experience how this incredible phenomenon can connect us to one another. Related Themes and Standards: Science:
Language Arts:
SEL:
STEM Ideas: 1. Have students build their own sun viewer using the author’s directions in the back matter. 2. Have students code a simulated eclipse using Scratch or Scratch Jr. 3. Have students recreate an eclipse as a stop-motion project. 4. Build a model of a solar eclipse using various-size styrofoam balls connected to an engineered orbit system with LEGO WeDo, Spike, or other programmable robotics kit. 5. Use green screen apps like DoInk, Flip, or Canva and have students act out what happens during an eclipse. 6. HERE is a really neat lesson on measuring solar energy during an eclipse by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory! I'd love to hear about your favorite sun/moon/eclipse STEM activities! Feel free to share in the comments! #BetterTogether
Over the past eight months, since my retirement from elementary education, I have really enjoyed REIMAGINING (my #OneWord for 2024) myself. Part of that has included jumping head first into improving my craft writing picture books.
Although the path to attaining an agent and learning all about the traditional publishing world has a rather steep learning curve, there have been gems along the way. One is the amount of support and opportunity from the #KidLit community including many fun and informative writing contests, the other is connecting with other children's writers, like my wonderful critique partners! After recently spending the afternoon with my granddaughter, watching her partake in a common time-honored childhood tradition, I decided to enter the #SpringFlingKidLit Contest hosted by Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez and Ciara O'Neal. This fun contest asks writers to craft a 150-word story based on a spring-related GIF. Hope you enjoy! (And can relate! Haha!)
Dandelions Are Sneaky!
I run to the window to see if they’re here! They always come out when springtime is near. Their sweet yellow heads now cover the lawn. They’re just waking up with a pollen-filled yawn. I’ll have to wait longer-- the process proceeds from cute yellow flower to fluffy white seeds! Hooray! Now it’s time! I pick one so gently, then stop to consider my wishes, intently. Selecting my favorite, I deeply inhale. But the bloom is too close-- an important detail! My wish is forgotten, I cough and I choke. Who is that laughing? Could this be a joke? I scan the whole yard. There is no one around. Just fuzzy white flowers all over the ground. I pick out another and give it a try. I remake my wish, blowing seeds to the sky! So always remember before you begin, Dandelions are sneaky-- breathe out and not in!
Thank you so much to all the judges donating their time and prizes to this contest! Make sure you check out and support their amazing work HERE!
Been there, done that? I'd love to hear about it. Feel free to leave a comment! |
Kim CollazoSTEM Advocate and Picture Book Author Archives
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