Science

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The Greatest Stuff on Earth by Steve Tomacek and John Devolle

I was delighted to be asked to take part in this blog tour and the title of the book definitely attracted my attention.  The question is absolutely “what is STUFF”?  The word is a term that just about every person uses and it is not easily defined by the individual.  However, in this book, the author tries to give us a very broad definition of those areas that can be seen as stuff by many of us.

The author of this book is an American scientist and author, who has written 30+ books and works with those in education to help children understand science; he is therefore well qualified to speak about this subject.  The book is aimed at KS2 children and although it deals with some quite complex themes, it is clearly explained and the text is not overwhelming.

The book is divided into three parts; The basics, nature stuff and stuff humans make and use.  Section one looks at concepts such as Matter and Energy, then we move on to  section two and things such as geology, climate, biology and astronomy.  In section three, which is by far the longest, we find a huge range of stuff that mankind needs and has developed over the millennia.  It includes, food, shelter, clothing, power, paper, health and  communication.  This really is a wide-ranging look at how mankind has become the dominant species in the world, but also how we now need so much stuff we need to maintain our lifestyles and place at the top of the tree.

One of the things I really like about this book is the extras that you would expect from an information book and which really add to the experience for the young reader.  The contents pages are clear, well laid out and well signposted.  We also have an excellent glossary and subject index, as well as a list of photo credits.  The author also explains his research methodology and then provides more than two pages of links to online resources.  Whilst these are all well known and respected, it was a shame that less than 10 appeared to be for British Institutions; the main sources being American.  However this book still provides a huge amount of support information and acts as a great starting point for further investigations.  I am sure that it will encourage the young, and not so young, reader to look more closely at the range of stuff that surrounds us and enables us to survive as human beings.

 

Details

Title        The Greatest Stuff on Earth

Author      Steve Tomacek

Illustrator      John Devolle

Publisher     What on Earth Books

ISBN           9781804661413

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Terra Electrica: the Guardians of the North by Antonia Maxwell and Cecilia Bennett

The dystopian novel has been a major element in children’s publishing for many years, but having said that, it can be based on a wide range of circumstances which act as trigger points for the disasters.  Often, the action is linked to the concerns of the real world; so that over the years we have seen post nuclear worlds, pandemics and currently there is an ever growing understanding of the impact of climate change.

Mani has been growing up in a world that is gradually being destroyed by climate changes.  The land of her ancestors should be covered in snow and ice, so that the people can hunt for animals and fish, but over the years the snow has melted, leaving a soggy and very unhealthy environment.  However, the final straw has been the arrival of a dreadful disease that kills all of those who catch it.  The symptoms are  based on the eyes and makes the sufferer look as if they are giving off electric sparks.  The condition seems to feed of any source of electricity, so this has been turned off.  Mani and her father are the sole survivors of their community, but after her father leaves to find food, she eventually needs to try and find him, however she unexpectedly find another survivor; he is Leo, one of the scientists from the local research station, but he has the disease; then amazingly Mani reaches out to him and somehow cures him of the disease.  This sees them start on a journey to try and find Mani’s father and also to discover if others have survived.

Intertwined with this story we have the mythical world of animal spirits, which are linked to individuals.  Whenever Mani puts on a wooden mask that her mother left her, she finds herself in a spirit world, with a guardian polar bear called Ooshaka (who turns out to be the spirit version of herself) and a very sparky Crow who seems to be full of sarcasm, but with a very strong  positive attitude, which enables him to help Mani when necessary.  The author has balanced these two elements of the story by giving them separate chapters, but she has given each a very different feel, so that the reader does not get confused by the changes.

Antonia Maxwell has given us a book that really should make people think.  Every year we are seeing changes in the climate across the world and many cultures are already under threat.  It is interesting that the author has focused on electricity as being one of the danger factors, while many think that it is a solution; however, we have to remember that we need other sources of energy in order to produce the electricity itself.  This is a wonderful mix of adventure, nature and the importance of understanding the limits of science.  As the story develops, we see Leo begin to fully accept that whilst science is good and useful, it also has limits and the welfare of the natural world and people has to be the priority.  This is the first in a new series and I look forward to seeing more of Mani as she understands her place in this new world and whether anything can be done to mitigate the natural disasters..

 

 The Author

Antonia Maxwell is a writer and editor based in North Essex and Cambridge, UK. With a  degree in Modern Languages and a long-standing career as a book editor, she has a lifelong curiosity for language and words, and a growing fascination in the power of story – the way it shapes our lives and frames our experience.

Title: Terra Electrica: The Guardians of the North

Author: Antonia Maxwell

Genre: Dystopian, Science & Nature, Environment

Age Category: Middle Grade

Page Count: 272 Pages

Publication Date: July 4, 2024

Publisher: Neem Tree Press

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204929195-terra-electrica

Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/0dUDASJ3 (UK)

 

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Ember Shadows and the lost desert of time by Rebecca King and Raquel Ochoa

Most of us assume that we have a right to self-determination and the idea that we are restricted by a fate that is given to us at birth, is something that we might have real problems with.  This is the idea behind the adventures of the feisty Ember Shadows.  In the first book she is looking forward to receiving her fate card, which will decide if she can follow her dream of being an inventor; however, things do not happen as she hopes.  Firstly, there is no fate written on her card and then her younger sister receives her card, saying that she only has a short while to live.  This leads to a fantastic adventure as Ember tries to change the way that the fates work.

Thankfully the second book sees our heroine very much alive, as is her sister Juniper.  At the end of the first book Ember manages to solve the riddle of the fate cards and gives everyone back the freedom to choose; however, for many people, especially the adult this is proving to be a very difficult option.  There had been safety in the old system and they have problems coping with having choice. Someone is taking this fear to an extreme and they are gathering the strands of fate and cutting them, so that the owners are killed.  Ember and her brilliant sidekick Hans (yes, he is a hand from a clock, brought to life by magic) decide that they need to try and stop any further disasters taking place.  They meet a wide variety of characters on the way, from giant spiders to mon-keys (who manage the weather patterns), but there is always the lurking menace of the line cutter.  The author manages to throw a lot of red herrings in our path and especially in Ember’s way, so that she is often caught out in her thinking about the culprit.  The denouement sees an unexpected villain and an upsetting discovery about someone she had thought was a friend.

I absolutely love the main theme of this book , about letting people make their own decisions and allowing ourselves to make mistakes, learn from them and then try again.  These are very important life lessons and together with the thoughts around family (and what that really means) there is a lot to make us think and to act s a start from some very important discussions.  However, there is also a theme around Ember’s love of inventing and this is such an important message to be passing on to young girls especially today.  Science and Engineering are equally as important for girls and boys, yet we still have a conscious or unconscious bias against this choice.  This really is a superb series for the middle grade and I can’t wait for book three to appear next year.  A five star series.

About the author

Rebecca King was born in Wolverhampton and spent her childhood in a
village called Sound in Cheshire.
She studied Journalism at the University of Portsmouth and has worked
as a reporter and a primary school teacher, including three years
teaching in China. She was inspired to write Ember Shadows and the
Fates of Mount Never after visiting Mount Everest, in search of her
Tibetan heritage.
She now lives in Bratislava, Slovakia, with her partner and her Chinese
rescue dog, Mushu.

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The Three Impossibles by Susie Bower

Having worked for Bristol Libraries for nearly 20 years, I am always delighted when I read that an author lives and works in this vibrant city, although I have just heard that Susie has moved to Devon; yet another hub for fantastic authors and illustrators.  I first came across Susie Bower when her book “School for Nobodies” appeared in 2020 and was excited to hear about this new title.

Pushkin, 9781782692928

“The Three Impossibles” is the story of a young girl called Mim, who is actually Princess Jemima, but hates all of the trappings that go with being a ‘perfect princess’.  She lives in a castle, but is forbidden to leave its grounds and the whole town is said to suffer from a curse that occurred when her mother died, just as Mim was born.  The arrival of a new governess called Madame Marionette soon sets the cat among the pigeons.  There is something very sinister about this teacher, her servants and her so called ‘pet’ that she keeps hanging in a covered cage; she appears to have a secret agenda and Mim is worried by what that might mean to the inhabitants of the castle.  Mim is a very inquisitive person and loves escaping to the library and reading her way through the books, unfortunately she can only reach those at the start of the alphabet.  But then she comes across a book that is definitely out of place and there is something very unusual about it.  “The Three Impossibles” positively glows, as if it want to be found, but Mim finds it impossible to open the book, which just makes her more determined to investigate this puzzle.  the story develops at a tremendous pace as Mim uncovers the secrets surrounding her home and the inhabitant of the lighthouse that is just off the shore.  Will the book finally reveal its secret and can Mim actually break the curse that has ruined lives for so many years?  Well, you will have to read the adventure to find out, I am afraid.

This is a fabulous story about a young girl who just doesn’t fit in to the world that she lives in. She loves science and finding things out, hates dressing up and wants to have more freedom, but I think above all she wants to be loved by those around her, especially her father.  There is magic and mystery, curses and creatures of myth for Mim to contend with, but with the help of her friend Smith and Miranda (the cursed grand daughter of the court alchemist) she battles to  overcome evil.  There is a wonderful lesson for us all about striving to be the best we can be, whilst also being true to our inner selves.  So often, this world tries to mould us into something we aren’t, so Mim reminds us to recognize our true selves.

What made you want to write for young people? Or was it a happy accident?

Susie Bower

By the time she hit her teens, Susie Bower had lived in 8 houses and attended 7 schools. This theme continued in her working life: she’s been a teacher, a tour-guide, a typist, a workshop facilitator, a PA and a painter. She formerly wrote and directed TV programmes for children at the BBC and Channel 4, for which she won a BAFTA Award, and she currently writes audio scripts. School for Nobodies, her debut novel, is also available from Pushkin Children’s. Susie lives in Devon.

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The Ten Riddles of Eartha Quicksmith

I am so excited that this fabulous book is now out in the wild and that it can be read by everyone; something that I would definitely recommend.  So without any holdups here is the story.

Kip Bramley thinks that he is just an ordinary boy, with few friends and prone to being bullied at school; mainly because of his habit of doodling what his father calls ‘squirls’ because they are between squiggles and swirls.  He lives with his father as his mother is in a home, due to an accident where she was hit by lightning and his sister disappeared.  Then one day Kit is presented with an puzzling invitation, by a drone of all things and he finds himself at a school like no other.  Quicksmiths College of Strange Energy is like nothing that Kit has ever seen.  The teachers bear no resemblance to those in his previous school and are full of magic, quirkiness and an often odd sense of humour; the school itself is a mix of science and magic, which really appeals to our hero.  Kit quickly makes friends with his roommate Albert and their mentors Leela and Timmi.  Things start to get very interesting when the school is read a 400 year old letter from the founder of the school, Eartha Quicksmith.  She has left a challenge for the whole school to find and solve 10 riddles in 10 days; otherwise the world could face disaster.  Of course Kit and his friends are determined to win the challenge, in the hope that it will help him find a cure for his mother, but they find themselves facing an unknown enemy who is determined to beat everyone to the prize; Eartha Quicksmith’s  ‘Ark of Ideas’ and maybe even the legendary ‘Aeon Light’.

Flying Squirrel, by Creazilla

I particularly love some of the additional characters that we find acting as support in this story but the star has to be Pinky, Kit’s very laid back pet, who turns out to be a flying squirrel.  We also have the Mowl, a fascinating little creature, with a mix of feathers and fur which had been created in a freak electromagnetic accident by Leela.  These animal friends act as fantastic support for the adventures that the four children find themselves caught up in and bring an element of humour to the proceedings.

This story is an absolutely roller coaster of a ride, not least because of the skimmis, which appear to be like the hover-boards from ‘Back to the Future 2’ and also the existence of wormholes that act as short cuts enable movement between places, but almost instantly. The four friends are very different but they form a close team as they search through the clues and try and discover who  their unknown  competitor is.  The school setting has definite echoes of some of our favourite children’s adventures; from Hogwarts  to Deepdean  but it brings a twist that is all its own.  This is absolutely a story for those who love their science mixed with a healthy dose of magic.  I am really looking forward to the next adventure for this group of young heroes, it is bound to be amazing.  Over all this story is a total delight.

Loris Owen live in Kent but was born in Bolton and also spent time living in Zimbabwe.  She first started writing ideas for children’s stories in 2015 and this is the first of her stories to be published.  Firefly Press are a brilliant small press in South Wales and have developed a real reputation for producing some fabulous books by people such as Eloise Williams, Horatio Clare, Shoo Rayner and Catherine Fisher.  I have been a fan of theirs for several years and I am delighted to see them go from strength to strength.  Thank you so much for the review copy and giving me the chance to share my enthusiasm for this fantastic story.