If I Built a House & Whoosh! (STEM books 9 & 10)
If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen, takes Fixer Upper to a whole new level. It's a creative book that dives into the world of limitless architecture. Told in rhyme, a boy's vision runs wild with only a piece of paper and pencil. The boxy, boring, and basically bland house is transformed with a flying room, racetrack room, and plexiglas playroom. The illustrations remind me of the 1950's era or George Jetson cartoonish style. The kids oohed and awed with each page of this book and I wish you could've heard the crazy ideas they came up with for their own house designs. This book is a sequel to If I Built a Car which came out in 2007. I think the dads would appreciate that one.
I love the biography, Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions because it proves that a test doesn't define a person. Lonnie Johnson took an exam that said he wouldn't make a good engineer. However, he went on to win first place in a science fair, graduated with an engineering degree from Tuskegee Institute, worked for NASA, and invented the Super-Soaking water gun. He has enough money to never work again but instead, he continues to solve engineering puzzles like how to efficiently harness heat energy from the sun and other sources to generate electricity without polluting the planet. Whoosh! is an inspiring life-story that encourages kids to keep working through roadblocks.
This completes my Top 10 STEM books this year. I hope I've helped you in your STEM books search. These stories will entertain, inspire, and teach perseverance--it's okay to fail! One of these books just might ignite a passion for one or more areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. If your child decides to take a STEM career path, the sky's the limit. The possibilities are overflowing right now and will continue to grow for many years to come. If you missed previous STEM book posts, you can find them below.
Book 1, Book 2, Books 3&4, Books 5,6,7 & 8, Women in STEM
In addition, I'd like to share the post 14 Great Gift Books for Kindergarten Graduates on BRIGHTLY. Every book on this list I adore so if you're looking for a Kindergarten gift, this post will definitely help you!
If you read my last post, Let's Go Bucs!, you know that I ventured to the Waterfront, Barnes & Noble Saturday to get Dugout Devotions signed by the author, Del Duduit, and Pirates Manager, Clint Hurdle. Not only did I get the book signed but Clint signed a few baseballs, too. It was pretty awesome to hang out and chat with both Clint and Del.
Thanks for reading my blog and Happy Summer!
Blessings,
Shelley