Best of
Science-Nature

1

100 Plants to Feed the Birds: Turn Your Home Garden into a Healthy Bird Habitat


Laura Erickson
    Readers will learn about plants they can add to their gardens and cultivate, such as early-season pussy willow and late-season asters, as well as wild plants to refrain from weeding out, like jewelweed and goldenrod. Others, including 29 tree species, may already be present in the landscape and readers will learn how these plants support the birds who feed and nest in them. Introductory text explains how to create a healthy year-round landscape for birds. Plant photographs and range maps provide needed visual guidance to selecting the right plants for any location in North America.

The Astronomer Who Questioned Everything: The Story of Maria Mitchell


Laura Alary
    But she wasn't sure how. Her father taught her to look to the stars for guidance. If you knew how to read them, he said, the stars could tell you where you were, and where you needed to go. They spent hours scanning the night sky together through a telescope on the roof. Maria learned how to use astronomers' tools to measure and track time by the stars. But what could she do with her skills? Then, one day, she heard that a prize was being offered to the first person to find a new comet. Could this be the opportunity she was waiting for?This absorbing picture book biography by Laura Alary tells the fascinating, though not well-known, story of a remarkable nineteenth-century woman scientist and women's rights advocate. After winning that prize for discovering a comet, Maria Mitchell would go on to become the first professional female astronomer in the United States, first female member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and one of the first female college professors. Beautifully illustrated with lovely textured artwork by Ellen Rooney, this is a well-told story with a teachable STEM component, supporting both science and social studies curriculums, that supports a growth mindset. It's also a wonderful guide sure to inspire readers to find their own way in the world. It includes backmatter that further describes Maria's impressive life and achievements.

Tumbling Over The Edge: A Rant For Children's Play


Bev Bos
    This is a book about the play environment for young children in their homes, schools, childcare facilities and gathering places.

Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage


Rachel E. Gross
    The fallopian tubes are named for a man. Named, claimed, and shamed: Welcome to the story of the female body, as penned by men.Today, a new generation of (mostly) women scientists is finally redrawing the map. With modern tools and fresh perspectives, they’re looking at the organs traditionally bound up in reproduction—the uterus, ovaries, vagina—and seeing within them a new biology of change and resilience. Through their eyes, journalist Rachel E. Gross takes readers on an anatomical odyssey to the center of this new world—a world where the uterus regrows itself, ovaries pump out fresh eggs, and the clitoris pulses beneath the surface like a shimmering pyramid of nerves. Full of wit and wonder, Vagina Obscura is a celebratory testament to how the landscape of knowledge can be rewritten to better serve everyone.

Swifts In A Tower


David Lambert Lack
    

Wild Days: Creating Discovery Journals


Karen Skidmore Rackliffe
    Inspired by the nineteenth-century British educator Charlotte Mason, this approach to self-education combines careful observation of nature with the introspection of journal writing and the relaxing pleasure of watercolor. When used with children it can become a science or art curriculum. Anyone who is interested in journal writing will love it. Discovery journals are fun for all ages and are particularly rewarding for families and educators. It is a great hobby for parents and children to share together. The whole family is able to participate and learn together.

American Practical Navigator: Epitome of Navigation, Volume 1


Nathaniel Bowditch
    Contents include : Part 1: Navigation Fundamentals; Part 2: Piloting and Dead Reckoning; Part 3: Celestial Navigation; Part 4: The Practice of Navigation; Part 5: Navigation Safety; Part 6: Oceanography; Part 7: Weather; Part 8: Electronics and Navigation