Education | Page 18 of 39

Secret Coders: Paths & Portals, succeeds as a graphic novel and STEM tool

Secret Coders: P aths & Portals is the second book in the series by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes. It’s a fascinating graphic novel that wears its love for STEM on its sleeve. It also manages to do so in a way that draws in non-coders in a way that will make them want to explore the subject matter more.

That’s important to point out because this is a graphic novel, but it’s unlike any one that you’ve read before. Most graphic novels simply have the goal of being entertaining. Paths & Portals wants to be entertaining, as well as, show kids what coding can do, how it’s helpful and why it’s fun.

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Super Fly vs. Furious Flea small characters, big mutant pun….err fun

Hello young reluctant reader. Super Fly heard your requests for books that are great for grades 2-5 and as equally fun for girls or boys. The third book from Super Fly author Todd Doodler is Super Fly vs. Furious Flea. It takes the premise established in the first two books and further mixes it up to stoke the curious fires of young readers. Also the simplicity of the book is approachable for kids who haven’t read Super Fly’s other adventures.

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A conversation with Dr. Scott Viguie, AKA Doctor Geek at Dragon Con

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Education, especially STEM based education can be tricky thing for some students and educators. It’s frustrating for parents too because STEM based jobs will grow by 5.5 million jobs between now and 2022. Doctor Geek’s Laboratory hears you and is there to help you in many ways that you may not even know you need help.

As part of Dragon Con we interviewed Doctor Scott Viguie. He’s has two doctorate degrees, is an archeologist, attorney, actor and author. His life story is nothing short of impossible, inspiring and fascinating. Growing up with Cerebral Palsy, his thirst for knowledge, natural curiosity and determination offer lessons that anyone-regardless of their passion for science, technology, engineering, art or math can learn from. Yes, art. Dr. Scott Viguie, AKA, Doctor Geek incorporates ‘Art’ into his materials. His podcast, Doctor Geek’s Laboratory is more of a radio soap opera than podcast. It presents real science lessons that people can learn from. It’s science inspired by fiction that applies itself to home scholars, students who want to be entertained while they learn or just folks looking to hear a top notch podcast.

The Pursuit of the Pesky Pizza Pirate draws in young readers with doodles

The Pursuit of the Pesky Pizza Pirate is a book that if for the kids that like to doodle. The daydreaming kids that draw dancing robots, enjoy snow globes and yearn to be stuck on a pirate ship eating pizza. At some point in time that description applies to most 9 year old kids. If that’s you, or that sounds like your child then you’ll want to explore this book, but be warned, it’s best done with a pencil and a reader who’s quick at the draw.

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The Snurtch, a fun book for kids about their id, ego and behavior

What is a Snurtch? A Snurtch is that (id) inside all of us that does the opposite of what we should. My adult Snurtch makes snide or sarcastic comments when they’re not needed. Thankfully the adult version of my Snurtch is rarely seen. For children though their Snurtch is seen on a daily basis and that is the premise behind The Snurtch. The book follows Ruthie, a typical first grade student who likes school, but has a problem with her Snurtch when she’s there.

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The Late Jurassic, detailed, educational-all age, dinosaur book

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Both of our children loved dinosaurs. This is great for us because we like dinosaurs too. We’ve saved all of the dinosaur toys and models that they have (Dinovember!!!) and are still thankful that one of our kids is in this zone. The problem for parents and therefore young children has always been a lack of all age accessible dinosaur books. They’re too cartoonish or detailed for the short attention span that young children have. Early Earth Journal, The Late Jurassic by Juan Carlos Alonso and Gregory S. Paul fills this void of dinosaur books perfectly.

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How This Book Was Made, brilliant, unusual and really funny

How This Book Was Made is the latest book by Mac Barnett. The book’s illustrations are from Adam Rex and together they’ve made one of the most difficult to categorize, utterly strange and wildly enjoyable books we’ve read in a while. From the title you’ll think the book is an inside joke at how an author perceives a book’s creation process-and to an extent you’re correct.

But then you’ll dig into How This Book Was Made and see Barnett arm wrestling a tiger. We’ll meet his editor who eats fancy lunches in her skyscraper while wearing a tiara. Barnett’s multiple drafts will also be sent across the country, leaving dotted line like Billy from The Family Circus. The tiger returns with a fox, octopus, seagull, chef, panda and more to confront the author and look over the draft.

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Dog Man by Dav Pilkey takes the baton from Captain Underpants

If you have a young reader then you know Captain Underpants. He’s the erstwhile principal who fights evil while wearing his underwear and is often assisted by George Beard and Harold Hutchins, two fourth grade students. It’s also the publishing juggernaut that’s seen millions of books in dozens of languages, a feature film in the summer of 2017 and Dog Man is the character that started it all more than 40 years ago.

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