GEEK POWER

These fascinating, true stories about men and women with passions for science and math are guaranteed to turn any kid onto STEM.  Belonging to that rare class of picture book that can capture the imagination of readers of all ages, these stories make great family affairs.

On A Beam of Light:  A Story of Albert Einstein
by Jennifer Berne
illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky

Perfectly described by Maria Popova of Brainpickings as “the charming visual tale of an introverted little boy who grew up to become the quintessential modern genius.”

Snowflake Bentley
by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
illustrated by Mary Azarian

This Caldecott winner tells the story of Wilson Bentley, who dedicated his life to figuring out how to photograph snowflakes so the world could appreciate their amazing forms.

Me… Jane
by Patrick McDonnell

Me... Jane chronicles the early childhood experiences and inspirations of the innovative primatologist and conservationist, Jane Goodall, with whimsical illustrations and anecdotes that make it accessible to even the youngest readers.  

The Boy Who Loved Math:  
The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos
by Deborah Heiligman
illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Paul Erdos “couldn’t tie his own shoes or butter his own toast--sometimes the world just didn’t seem like it was made for a boy who only thought about math all day long.”  This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Hungarian mathematician, Paul Erdos, who was as unusual and odd as he was brilliant and generous.

Ada Byron Lovelace and The Thinking Machine
by Laurie Wallmark
illustrated by April Chu

What could be more inspiring and fascinating than the life story of the woman credited with writing the first algorithm intended to be carried out by a machine?  That’s right, folks, the first computer programmer was a woman born in 1815!

LET THEM LISTEN!

Geekiest of geek mom secrets: top favorite family activity?

Listening to audiobooks in the car.
(Don’t judge.)

What’s not to love?  I choose the book.  They’re trapped.

Truthfully, sometimes, it’s a total fail.  None of us are hooked on the story, or the voice of the person reading it is unbearably, inexplicably irritating.

But then, there are the other times:
The story is magic.  The reader does hysterically funny voices (Jim Dale!).  I can hear the kids chuckling behind me as I drive.  And we find ourselves still sitting in the car long after we get wherever we’re going.

I’m always on the hunt for sources recommending audiobooks for kids.  Sadly, I’ve found few, and the ones I have found rarely go beyond The New York Times’ bestsellers. So, in an effort to rectify this, Bibliotheca recommends books for the ears as well as the eyes.  Here’s a few to get you started:

All-of-a-Kind Family
by Sydney Taylor
read by Suzanne Toren

Perfect for even the youngest listeners, this classic chronicles the adventures of five young sisters living on New York’s Lower East Side in the early 1900s.  My experience is that it appeals to boys and girls alike despite the abundance of female characters.

The Apothecary
by Maile Meloy
read by Cristin Milioti

Fast-paced, historical middle grade fiction, set in the 1950s, in which a boy and girl embark on a dangerous adventure to stop the effects of a Russian nuclear bomb test with the help of an apothecary’s magic book.  Despite the subject matter, the story is neither gloomy nor scary.  It's actually very funny at points, and the text’s humor is certainly aided by Milioti’s fantastic voices and entertaining accents. (First in a three-book series.  Followed by The Apprentices and The After-Room. All recorded by Milioti.)

The Golden Compass:  His Dark Materials, Book 1
by Philip Pullman
read by Philip Pullman and full cast

This epic, inventive fantasy in the tradition of C.S. Lewis’s Chonicles of Narnia makes the perfect listen for a long road trip.  The author reads the narration while a full cast of gifted actors read the dialogue. (First in a three-book series. Followed by The Amber Spyglass and The Subtle Knife.  All recorded with Pullman and a full cast.)

 

READ ME A STORY?

Why the answer should (almost) always be YES!

Excerpted from Tell Me a Mitzi by Lore Segal, illustrated by Harriet Pincus

Excerpted from Tell Me a Mitzi by Lore Segal, illustrated by Harriet Pincus

It’s bedtime.  Thank god!  You’re exhausted.  There is food on your shirt, in your hair, maybe even on the walls.  Everyone is bathed, except you, of course.  You smell.  You’re fantasizing about just one glass of red wine, or a spoon and the pint of vanilla swiss almond hidden behind the frozen breast milk, or just getting into bed and passing out even though you didn’t get around to changing the sheets like you’d planned.  You’ve tucked everyone in.  You’ve kissed everyone.  You’re about to turn out the light when the little voice from the little person in the little bed says those six little words, so sweet, yet so crushing at the same time:  
Will you read me a story?
Or maybe it’s not bedtime, maybe it’s after breakfast and you’re rushing out the door to work. The babysitter has just arrived, and you can’t remember if you told her everything.  What was that other thing you were supposed to tell her that you thought of right before you drifted off last night, and should have written down, but didn’t? Was that dentist appointment today or next Tuesday?  “What?” you say as you wrack your brain.
Will you read me a story?  
Or maybe you’re in the middle of making dinner.  It’s fish.  You always overcook fish, and people are coming, people you don’t even like, and you’re already multi-tasking, making a salad and cleaning up (a.k.a. pitching toys into the back of the closet). Maybe that’s when it happens.
The thing is, all that annoying stuff we’re in the middle of when the little person with the little voice says those six little words will still be there when we’re done with the story.  In fact, the crappy truth is, there will probably be more of it. So what?  That stuff is always there.  If we waited to get through all that stuff to read the stories, the stories would never get read, and the stories are the good part, right?  The snuggles and the giggles and the questions that come from reading the stories.
Dirty little secret:  when I’m not reading children’s books, I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy or some other TV show Shonda Rhimes has created.  Whatever your feelings about network television, there is no denying that Shonda Rhimes is a master storyteller and responsible for some of the only relatable, female characters on the little screen.  If you’re into storytelling, you kind of have to be into Shonda. Okay, so I’m a little obsessed—did you know she’s a single mom with three adopted kids and three shows on primetime?  So, yes, I read her book, Year of Yes. 
Why should you care?  What does Shonda have to do with reading to your kids?  I’m getting there.  In her book, Shonda says she’s decided to always say, yes, when her kids ask her to play with them.  The arguments for doing so seem obvious, right?
  1. Your kids aren’t going to ask you to play with them forever.
  2. Face it:  you’re not really that entertaining so after fifteen minutes, they’re likely to be on to the next thing.
  3. There’s nothing you could be doing in that fifteen minutes that is as important as playing with your kids.  Be honest.  If Shonda has the time, surely the rest of us do.
So here’s my question:  is there anything we could be doing for five/ten/ fifteen minutes that is more important than reading to our kids?

RECOMMENDED PICTURE BOOK
Where on Earth Is My Bagel?
by Frances Park and Ginger Park
illustrated by Grace Lin
A funny, beautifully illustrated story about a Korean boy’s quest for a New York bagel.

BIG SISTER/LITTLE BROTHER

 
“Stella,” called Sam.  “Stella!  Where are you?”
“Here,” whispered Stella.
“Where?” said Sam.  “I can’t see you.”
“That’s because I’m practicing to be invisible,” said Stella.

From Stella, Fairy of the Forest by Mary-Louise Gay

As the proud, big sister of my not-so-little brother, I can admit the big sister breed can be a little (read: OUTRAGEOUSLY) bossy.  But it’s hard not to be when we know best, which, of course, we always do.

But big sisters aren’t all bad.  We take our little brothers to the forest to look for fairies.  We invite them to run away with us to live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  And when they’re held captive by the evil It on the planet Camazotz, we rescue them.

This list is dedicated to all the amazing big sisters, their equally amazing little brothers and all their amazing adventures together.

PICTURE BOOKS:

Tell Me A Mitzi
by Lore Segal
illustrated by Harriet Pincus

Three interwoven stories, part reality and part fantasy, all entertaining and relatable, about a plucky girl named Mitzi and her younger brother Jacob.

The Maggi B.
by Irene Haas

A gorgeously illustrated fantasy about a girl’s dream of living on a boat taking care of her baby brother.

Stella, Fairy of the Forest
by Marie-Louise Gay

A funny romp through the forest looking for fairies with Stella and her little brother Sam.  If you like this one, check out other books in the series.

MIDDLE GRADE:

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg

Newbery Medal winner about the adventures of Claudia Kincaid and her brother Jamie who run away from home to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and solve the mystery surrounding a new statue on exhibit there.

A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle

The now classic, science fantasy Newbery Medal winner that tells the story of Meg Murray and her brother Charles Wallace's journey through time and space to rescue their father, a government scientist who has disappeared.  (Book 1 of the Time Quintet series.)

YOUNG ADULT:

Anybody know a great big sister/little brother YA?
Till I find one, here’s an amazing, twin brother/sister YA to tide you over:

I’ll Give You The Sun
by Jandy Nelson

This mind-blowingly, beautiful book tells the story of teen twin brother and sister, Noah and Jude, in the wake of their mother’s death.  It is one of those rare, perfect novels that is about everything: family, love, growing up, death, art, forgiveness. Despite tackling such huge, potentially depressing subjects, the story is uplifting and, at times, incredibly funny.