Tag: Lerner Books

Posted in Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction

STEM Bios – Aprille Ericsson, Aerospace Engineer

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

aprille_ericssonSTEM Trailblazer Bio: Aprille Ericsson, Aerospace Engineer, by Laura Hamilton Waxman (2015, Lerner Publishing Group) $26.60, ISBN: 9781467757935

Recommended for ages 8-12

Where are my science fans at? My future astrophysicists, mathematicians, and engineers? Maybe you’re still in middle school, watching episodes of Cosmos on YouTube. Are you at the museum or planetarium, or staring up at the night sky? Wherever you are, this book is for you. Get to your library and ask for it.

Aerospace engineer Aprille Ericsson started out as the kid in school who loved math and science. After taking second place at a middle school science fair, she knew she wanted to make science her life. We follow her education path, her work with NASA, and learn what she’s working on these days. There are great pictures and callout quotes from Ms. Ericsson, a timeline of her life thus far, source notes, and a glossary. For anyone interested in learning more, there are recommended books and websites.

I adore Lerner’s STEM Trailblazer biography series. They’re great books for young to intermediate readers who need biographies on people that are making discoveries and progress today. These books – these people – are introducing kids to names like Aprille Ericsson, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, who founded YouTube, theoretical physicist Brian Greene, computer engineer Ruchi Sanghvi, and more. Please get these books on your shelves, teachers and librarians; parents, get to your libraries and get these books for your kids. Let the other kids be Cleopatra and Albert Einstein on Biography Day – let your kid be Aprille Ericsson!

Posted in Non-Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Place Hacking: A Don’t Try This At Home guide to urban exploration

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

place hackingPlace Hacking: Venturing Off Limits, by Michael J. Rosen (Feb. 2015, Twenty-First Century Books), $33.32 ISBN: 9781467725156

Recommended for ages 12-16

Activities like urban exploration and BASE jumping have become hugely popular over the last decade. Is it because we live in such a disposable society, that people have a need to preserve a moment in time? Is it the chance to find something new in a world that has been exhaustively explored and catalogued? There are many reasons and theories behind “place hacking”, as these kinds of activities have come to be known, and Michael J. Rosen explores the reasons, as well as the different types, of hacks. From urban explorers, seeking out abandoned and underground structures, to BASE jumpers, who look for the next (literal) high, to urban infiltrators – folks who get a kick out of showing up and gaining access to places they shouldn’t be, this is a great guide for anyone fascinated by the phenomenon.

Rosen does make sure to tell his audience that this is NOT a place hacking handbook, and emphasizes the dangers and hazards these explorers take on themselves, not the least of which is the risk of arrest and incarceration. Armchair urban explorer like myself will love this vicarious trip, and history fans can pair this with a favorite episode of the old History Channel show, Cities of the Underworld, and enjoy. Classrooms and libraries can use this in a history feature or an urban adventure feature (but PLEASE warn your audience not to try this at home!).

You can find Mr. Rosen’s author page here; he features information about his other works, links to social media, and information about school visits.