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Here are the award winning books!

Not this one. This time, kids read and kids choose. That makes this a special award.

It means that the lists don’t always mirror those of other awards, because these choices are filtered through kids instead of adults. A really cool award!

Read the lists here:

• K-2

• 3-5

• 6-8

• 9-12

My favorite book on the list (from my adult POV) is Don’t Trust Fish! A hilarious book. I was glad to see that this topped the K-2 list! I agree with the kids.

Featured Lists

Darcy Pattison Books

STEAM Team Books

Recommended Award-Winning Children’s Books

2026 Blueberry Award for Climate Stewardship

2026 Green Earth Book Awards - Long List

2026 Notable Social Studies Books

2026 Mathical Book Awards

2026 The Ezra Jack Keats Awards

The Ezra Jack Keats Award recognizes outstanding new writers and illustrators of picture books whose work reflects the universal qualities of childhood and the strength of multicultural families and communities.

I’m thrilled that my book, NOT EXTINCT: Return of the Przewalski’s Horse from Extinct in the Wild is on the list!

Here are the lists!

Picture Books - up to age 8

Picture Books - ages 8-12

Fiction - ages 8-12

Nonfiction - ages 8-12

Young Adult Fiction - ages 13-21

Young Adult Nonfiction - ages 13-21

I’m thrilled that my title, CLIMATE, is both a Notable Social Studies book and a Best STEM Book. This book isn’t about climate change; kids need to know the basics of what is a climate before they can understand the advanced concept of climate change. Studying climate is a part of the science curriculum and impacts social studies curriculums, too.

2026 NSSTA Notable Social Studies Books

As you look at the list of award-winning books, notice that the NSSTA is recognizing that some books cross multiple grade levels. They have a K-2 list, as well as a K-5 list. Or, a grades 3-5 list and a grades 3-8. There are fewer books for the older grades, and multiple titles for the lower grades.

I’m thrilled that CLIMATE is on the K-5 group, suitable for all of elementary school students.

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See all the Notable Social Studies grade levels lists:

• K-2

• K-5

• 3-5

• 3-8

• 6-8

• 6-12

• 9-12

  

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Mathical Books takes a unique idea of adding in classic books each year, so while most of these are recent publications, look for the gems that have stood the test of time.

2026 Mathical Award Books

• Preschool math books

• K-2 math books

• Grades 3-5 math books

• Grades 6-8 math books

• Grades 9-12 math books

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Mathical Books Award Winners

Here are the award winning books by age category. Click on the covers for more information.

PreK - Seven Little Ducklings

by Annette LeBlanc Cate (Candlewick Press)

K-2 - How Did You Count?

By Christopher Danielson, Illustrated by Asha Belk (Stenhouse Publishers)

Grades 3-5: The Five Sides of Marjorie Rice: How to Discover a Shape

By Amy Alznauer, Illustrated by Anna Bron (Candlewick Press)

Grades 6-8: Imposter

By Cait Levin (Charlesbridge Press)

Grades 9-12: Reasons We Break

By Jesmeen Kaur Deo (Disney Books)

This time, I’m working on Book Lists, with the idea that you will Read This, Teach That.

Keeping up with children’s literature is fun—but hard. So many great books are coming out. How do you know which books to read to see if they will strike a chord with your classes? My goal is to narrow your choices and to focus them on the best!

STEAM Team Books

A group of nonfiction authors have banded together to create STEAM Team, a loose group that focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math books for kids. We do group blogs, support each other’s launches, and talk about STEM and STEAM children’s books in various places.

To be a member, you must have a forthcoming STEAM book.

I’ve collected books authored by those in the group into a list on Bookshop.org, the STEAM Team Book List.

Why Bookshop.org?

1. Bookshop.org is an online bookstore that supports independent bookstores. Profit-sharing from each book sale goes into a fund that is distributed to indie bookstores. In Arkansas, 28 bookstores, from small to large, are registered. Wow! 28! You can also search other areas of the country here.

   For most indie bookstores, Bookshop.org powers their online presence where they sell books. Purchasing here supports local and independent bookstores.

2. You can CHOOSE the bookstore you want to support! However, if you don’t want to choose, the percentage profit goes into a general fund which is divided among the indie bookstores each month.

3. Bookshop.org allows purchase orders over $250, making it simple for schools and libraries to use their services. Simply email info@bookshop.org

4. Bookshop spreads the love around! When I create a booklist, I also receive a small commission—at no extra cost to you—when you buy from a list that I create. It makes the effort of building a list profitable. It’s a win-win.

5. Bookshop.org offers paperbacks, hardcovers, and ebooks. And they are building strategic partnerships to make books available in all formats for a wider audience. If you listen an audiobook on Spotify, you should shortly be able to purchase the print book on Bookshop.org. Partnerships have made Bookshop.org profitable.

STEAM Team Book List

What can you do?

1. Visit the Bookshop.org and look around. Choose your favorite local bookstore to support. Download the ebook reader.

2. Look at the STEAM Team Book list for new and forthcoming STEAM related books.

3. My July book, NIGHT: How Copernicus Made the Sun Stand Still and the Earth Move is on the list and I’m SO excited about this one.

   

   As I said: I’m trying various things on this blog to find ways to provide information of value to educators. I’d love any feedback.

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   Coming Next Week - Notable Social Studies book list!

   Next week, the Children’s Book Council and the National Social Studies Teachers Association will announce the 2026 Notable Social Studies Books! Look for a list of these books then. (I wonder - why do I know that the list will publish next week?)

So, I did what every author does. I put it in a drawer and forgot about it for seven years.

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One day, I read The Gardener, by Sarah Stewart. It was a 1998 Caldecott Honor Book, a New York Times Notable Children's Book, and an ABBY Award Honor Book, among other awards. It’s a story of hard times when a girl must go to town and live with her uncle, who gardens on his rooftop. The story is told in letters that the main character writes back to her mom.

And I thought: you can write a story in letters? I didn’t know that!

I pulled out that old story about the wooden man and a huge map of the U.S. In an afternoon, I wrote the story of Oliver K. Woodman, a wooden man who travels across the U.S. to unite a family. The story is told in letters written by someone who gives Oliver a ride. The story, illustrated by Joe Cepeda, was a Irma Black Honor book, starred Kirkus and BCCB, among other awards.

The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman and Searching for Oliver K. Woodman just celebrated their 20th anniversary. And they went out of print.

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American Geography and Friendly Letter Writing for Kids, ages 6-10

And now—The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman is available again through Mims House Books! It’s a large picture book, 56 pages, including the maps on the end papers.

The book was included in the Harcourt Journeys reading textbook, so there are lots of activities for it on TPT. We are emphasizing that you can teach friendly letter writing and U.S. Geography with this story. Read it because it’s fun! But then integrate it into your classroom activities.

Here’s one of my favorite pictures from OLIVER. They are traveling down I-40, going across Arkansas. (See Oliver in the back of the old station wagon? When I visit schools in Arkansas, I point to the hill behind the car and ask, “Do you know what is right behind that hill?

Kids make guesses.

Then, I answer, “Your school.” Of course, I name their school! And kids love it

Order OLIVER K WOODMAN today!

Building a List of English Language Arts Titles

One reason I’m excited about this: we are growing our list of English Language Arts titles. The 4-book Read and Write series emphasizes writing essays. The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman brings in friendly letter writing. Coming later this summer is Book 1 of the Silly Grammar Stories series: FROWNS: Nouns, a Few Adjectives, which is told entirely with nouns. Following that will be Book 2, VOTE: Verbing Wildly, which is told entirely in verbs and adverbs. They will be perfect for K-2 classrooms which are learning to read and learning basic grammar such as nouns and verbs.

Mims House is known for our extensive STEM offerings. We’re glad to add to the ELA offerings this year!

Sign up to be receive up-to-date information on the forthcoming books!

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A friend went to her daughter’s house for the holidays. One night, she curled up with her granddaughter to read bedtime books. The granddaughter, Sally, chose my book, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE. The book has been read so many times, my friend said, that it was Velveteen-Rabitted. Many of the pop-up mechanism no longer worked. But Sally turned the pages and sang the song.

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Wow! It makes my heart happy to know a kid has rubbed the velvet off this book.

Dayspring Books, out of Siloam Springs, has sold its book operation to Harpercollins with official announcements today. You can still get this book, and the companion JESUS LOVES ME popup from your preferred retailer. There may be some slight disruption in the delivery, but Harpercollins is confident it will be smoothed out within a month. See also, HE’S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS.

The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman - Available Again

In other exciting news, Harcourt/Harpercollins has put THE JOURNEY OF OLIVER K. WOODMAN out of print after 23 years, which means I will be republishing it via Mims House Books. As a reminder, it was in the Houghton Mifflin Journeys reading textbook, so there are tons of lesson plans on TPT. We’ll be emphasizing its usefulness in teaching U.S. geography and Friendly Letter Writing!

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As a reminder, this book received two starred reviews from Kirkus and BCCB.

• BCCB Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards

• Starred BCCB review

• Starred Kirkus Review

• Autumn 2003 Children’s Booksense 76.

• Child and Nick Jr. Family Magazine Best Books of the Year 2003.

• Irma S. and James H. Black Picture Book Award Honor Book.

• Nutmeg Media Children’s Picture Books on Video, June 2005.

• 2006 ALA Notable Video.

• 2008 Houghton Mifflin Journeys reading series.

Language Arts Books

One reason I’m SO excited about this is that we are expanding our language arts books in other new ways. We are best known for our STEM/Science titles, but our Read and Write series which teaches kids how to write essays, continues to be popular. We’re going to build on that—and the addition of THE JOURNEY OF OLIVER K. WOODMAN—to round out our English language arts titles.

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This is a sneak peek at the first two books in the new Silly Grammar Stories Series, which are currently being illustrated.

Here’s the thing: FROWNS: Nouns, a Few Adjectives is told only using nouns (and a few adjectives. Wow, this is a hard thing to attempt. But we think it works, giving a humorous, fun way to learn about nouns and adjectives. And if you set up a pattern, you have to follow it. VOTE: Verbing Wildly is told only in verbs and adverbs.

We’re still working on the timing—waiting on those illustrations!—but FROWNS should be out in July or August. It should be available for the 2026-2027 school year. VOTE may be a 2027 book—stay tuned for more developments.

These will round out our language arts books—see our current ELA books here.

I love John Joven’s art for this series. He also did the art for A Little Bit of Dinosaur series, and I’m happy to be working with him again.

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The Oldest Known Wild Bird in the World

Forbes magazine just featured a story on Wisdom, the Midway Albatross, the oldest known wild bird in the world. Every year in December, I watch and wait for word that Wisdom has returned to Midway. At over 75 years old, you wonder when the wild will take her home?

Last year, Wisdom’s mate didn’t return, so she went through a courtship ritual and “married” again. The last I heard, Wisdom was sighted, but not her new mate (If you hear he’s back, let me know!)

AND, there’s a new 24-hour live webcam that shows the albatrosses on Midway! When I just looked, it was raining on the atoll.

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More Przewalski’s Horses Released in Kazakhstan

And National Geographic has a new article and photographs of the Przewalski’s horses released into the wild in Kazakhstan.

When I wrote my book, the first seven horses had been released. It was interesting that they planned to take eight that year. But the horses must stand up the entire two days of travel, or they risk loosing blood circulation and a higher percentage will die. So, they are put into tight travel boxes that should prevent them from laying down. But as they journeyed to the airport, one of the horses laid down. It had to be sent back to Prague Zoo.

This year, they planned to take eight horses again. But on the road to the airport…

Yes, it happened again.

…but this time, a horse kicked its way out of the travel box. It wound up running down a major highway, blocking traffic until it was recaptured. But, it also couldn’t travel to Kazakhstan.

There are now 14 horses released and the first horses born in Kazakhstan are running free.

Saving a species that was once extinct in the wild if a fragile and wonderful thing.

These are important stories for kids to read in order to understand the animal kingdom. Click on the book covers for more information or to order!

This is the time of year for awards—and we’ve got news! Four awards for three titles. Yes, that means one book won TWO awards!

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First, though, we’ve created a special catalog for our STEAM/Science books and highlight the curriculum links to the NEXTGen Science Standards and the SEL (Casel Framwork) tie-ins. Download it here!

Honored by California Reading Association

Not Extinct: The Przewalski’s Horse Returns from Extinct in the Wild was named a Eureka! Nonfiction Honor book by the California Reading Association. I wrote this book after visiting Prague Zoo, where I saw the herd there, and talked to zoo officials about their project to return horses to the wild. Here’s a Conversation with Darcy Pattison for more information.

BEST STEM BOOKS from NSTA and Children’s Book Council

This December brought news that two or my books would be recognized as Best STEM Books by the National Teaching Association and the Children’s Book Council. This award is given to books that show the process of science, which is especially exciting.

Climate: How Wladimir Koppen Studied Weather and Drew the First Weather Maps shows how the Russian/German scientist Koppen spent a lifetime studying weather, which led him to conclusions about climate across the globe. He was the first meteorologist to understand the importance of studying weather in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, and he created the first weather kites to study that weather.

Jeremy, the English Garden Snail: Heredity, Citizen Science, and #snaillove was also named a Best STEM Book, and is a fun one. #snaillove was a social media campaign run the Dr. Angus Davison to find a mate for Jeremy. Why did they need a campaign? Because Jeremy is a left-coiled snail in a world of right-coiled snails. Which meant his anatomy wouldn’t allow him to mate unless they found him another left-coiled snail.

Everything about this book was fun. For example, Dr. Davison works at the University of Nottingham in England. I did ask: should this be an English, British, or United Kingdom garden snail? Dr. Davison laughed and said he’d call it an English one. So, I did, too!

NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book

Which meant I was thrilled the Jeremy also was named an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book, a double whammy! So cool! Yes, indeed #snaillove and #lovesnails. I love those two seals on the cover!

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Writing STEAM Titles for Over Twelve Years

This is the sixth time I’ve receive the NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book, the third time for the Best STEM Book, and the sixth time for the Eureka! Nonfiction Honor Book awards. For a small indie press, we think this is an amazing achievement!

I am thrilled that my books can help kids understand the world around us.

Be sure to download the curriculum tie-ins catalog. Please share with your librarians and teacher friends!

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A Friendship Inspires a Book

When the University of Arkansas Press approached me about writing a book about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, I was thrilled.

They wanted a book called “Friday Comes on Tuesday.” Um. That is odd and specific.

Alice Walton, founder of the Crystal Bridges Museum, had a dog named Friday. He appeared on her Texas ranch on a spring morning, the Friday of Easter Week. She named the orphaned puppy Friday Walton, and he became her best friend for years and years.

When Alice started Crystal Bridges, she often went to the offices on Tuesday, when it was closed to the general public. The staff started laughing and joking: Ha! Ha! Friday comes on Tuesday.

Alice’s friendship with an orphaned puppy was the beginning of this book.

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An Arkansas Book: Author, Illustrator, Museum

When I was asked to write the story, I was given amazing access to the museum collection and freedom to choose any piece of art to include that fit the story. We chose Rich Davis, illustrator from Siloam Springs, to create the art.

First, the museum curators gave us a tour of the museum, pointing out artworks they thought might or might not work for the story. They loved some artworks for the inspirational, political, or timely message. But a children’s book would reproduce those images in miniature, which meant the art chosen needed to be simple and bold.

In the end, we balanced the choices with different time periods (17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21th centuries) and ethnic groups (African-American, Asian-American, European-American, Native-American, and South American-Americans). We tried to balance male and female artists, with it tipping slightly in favor or males. Overall, it was as balanced as possible. Quite a feat for choose such a limited number of art objects. We also tried to include paintings and sculptures. It was impossible to know the disability of the artists, since that information wasn’t available.

I wrote a draft of the story. It was rejected. Shrug. It happens.

I wrote a new draft of the story. It was accepted. Celebrations!

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Artwork for Friday Comes on Tuesday

Then, Rich went to work on the illustrations. Crystal Bridges handled all the permissions, talking to the artists or their estates about including their art in the book.

Rich Davis is the ONLY illustrator EVER given permission to do derivative work from iconic pieces of American Art. As you read through the book, think about this. Normal Rockwell’s estate gave Rich permission to adapt the famous painting for the purposes of this book! Wow! What a privilege. Every artist included gave Rich permission to do a derivative work from their iconic works. Wow!

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Friday Comes on Tuesday - Visit the Museum FREE

Crystal Bridges welcome and encourages school visits through its Walker School Tour Program. They offer reimbursement for transportation and substitute teachers. If you’re an Arkansas school, it’s a great day for kids.

A Friendship - A Book

This story began with a friendship between a woman and a dog. Friday has passed away, but his spirit lives on through the woman he loved.

Read the story of Friday Comes on Tuesday

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Secret! Let the Kids Find This

P.S. Twice in the book, you can see Friday reading this book. It’s a metafiction reference that adds to the intrigue of the story. Here’s one time. Can you find the other time?

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Our illustrator Peter Willis was featured a couple times for Children’s Book Week. He was asked to provide drawing activities for kids. These are based on our books CLANG! and THE NANTUCKET SEA MONSTER.

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Clang! is the story of German scientist Ernst Chladni (CLOD-Knee), who was the “Bill Nye, the Science Guy” type entertainer of his time. He entertained nobility with his science experiments, especially experiments about sound. When he went to the French court and entertained Napoleon, he received funding for his landmark book about acoustics.

The Nantucket Sea Monster is a true fake-news story. Tony Sarg, who invented the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, created a sea monster balloon and floated it off the shore of Nantucket island. The news went out across the U.S. that a sea monster had been sighted. Some call it “just” a publicity stunt. But the trust is that the newspaper men KNEW it wasn’t true, yet they published it anyway. Need a non-political way to talk about fake news? This is it!

Download Peter Willis’s Activities

Peter Willis, Illustrator

Learn more about illustrator Peter Willis in this series of blog posts. Use the red arrows at the bottom to advance to the next article about him.

I went to England in August and was thrilled to meet Peter! We have worked together on 11 books now, and this is the first time we met in person.

Learn more about the Moments in Science series, illustrated by Peter Willis!

And here’s a sneak peek at a cover-in-progress.

Last year, I went to Czech Republic (which resulted in NOT EXTINCT: The Przewalski’s Horse Returns from Extinct in the Wild), and also Poland, where we went to every site about Copernicus: his birthplace, his college in Krakow, and the cathedral where he worked for forty years, Frombork Castle. Coming out next year will be NIGHT, the story of Copernicus’s work.

I love Peter Willis’s art! Don’t you?

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“Who is it?” I asked.

“Melissa Sweet,” the research librarian said.

The result was the Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade, written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet.

It won many awards:

• 2012 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Winner

• 2012 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award

• 2012 Cook Prize honoring the best science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) picture book

• 2012 The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award

• 2012 Jefferson Cup Award :: Virginia Library Association

• 2012 ALA Notable Book

• New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading & Sharing

• 2012 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration

And of course, it meant that I couldn’t write a book about Sarg, because Sweet, who at the time had already won a Caldecott Honor for illustrations, would win all the attention, while any book I wrote would probably not sell. I decided to wait.

Waiting to Tell a Story

Here’s the thing. I would never have written the wonderful biography that Sweet did. I was never interested in that part of Sarg’s story. Instead, I was fascinated by an event in 1937 where Sarg’s career with balloons played the major role. I spent time trying to piece together the specific details of that event.

On August 7, 1937, The Mirror and Inquirer newspaper published a story that sent shock waves across the nation: Sea Monster Sighted Off Nantucket.

Sweet mentions this event, which turned out to be a publicity stunt to publicize the Macy’s Parade and Sarg’s sea monster balloon, a new creation for the 1937 parade. But for me, it was the main interest. Why would a businessman pull such a huge publicity stunt? How long did it take to plan such an event? I wanted details.

However, Sweet’s book came out to great fanfare and awards. It wasn’t the time to publish a competing book.

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Fake News - A Timely Topic

Fast forward to the 2016 Presidential election. The term, “fake news,” swirled through the political debates. Teachers started asking for a non-political book about fake news.

That’s the long and short of The Nantucket Sea Monster: A Fake News story. It will be published early this fall, in time for teachers to discuss the pros and cons of the First Amendment’s protection of free press.

• Junior Library Guild selection

• Notable Children’s Book in Children’s Literature

Gallery of Fake News Photos

Don’t worry: I’ll still provide the Scientist of the Month series on the 15th of each month. But I’ll also share lots more! (Still, if you’re not interested, this is the time to unsubscribe—see the link at the bottom.)

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Eureka! Nonfiction Honor Book - Six Times

In exciting news this month, my book, NOT EXTINCT: The Przewalski’s Horse Returns from Extinct in the Wild has just been named a 2025 Eureka! Nonfiction Honor book by the California Reading Association.

This is the sixth time my books have received this honor!

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Conversation with Darcy Pattison about NOT EXTINCT

Q: What inspired this book?

During the 2024-2025 school year, we hosted a high-school exchange student from Czechia. In September, 2025, we visited Tomas in Prague to reconnect and meet his family. Before we went, I learned about the Przewalski’s (p-zhe-VAL-ski) Horses (also known as the P-horse), and the Prague Zoo’s project to return them to the “golden steppes” of Kazakhstan.

I made an appointment to talk with Prague Zoo and visit the horses. On a cold, rainy day, we met the four P-horses at the zoo and talked with the zoo officials. For many years, the species has been a passion for Miroslav Bobek, the Director of Prague Zoo. When they offered to provide contemporary and historical photos for the project, I knew it would work.

I also had the opportunity to email questions to Barbora Dobiášová, the scientist in charge of the European stud book for the P-horse, the expert on the species.

When I returned home, I had a speaking engagement near Denver, so I also made an appointment at the Denver Zoo to speak with Amanda Faliano, the U.S. scientist in charge of the U.S. studbook, and Renee Pfalzer, Asst. Curator of Hoofstock, who cares for the Denver Zoo herd daily.

Renee was kind enough to take us behind the scenes to meet the horses at the Denver Zoo. She answered questions and provided a valuable resource for the book.

The scientists provided much needed context for the conservation efforts for the species. After being declared Extinct in the Wild, only zoo populations survived. After 50+ years of hard work, there are now over 3000 horses across the world.

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Q: Onsite research is amazing! What other research did you do?

Fortunately, there’s a huge database of research studies about this endangered species. Searching scientific journals, I found a rich set of reports to comb through for timelines, interesting events, and other facts that would appeal to kids.

Q: What do you want kids to take away from this story?

I write stories of hope. Yes, we have many environmental problems, but we also have scientists dedicating their lives to solving specific problems. Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague Zoo, has made a difference as he concentrated efforts to save the P-horses.

Likewise, kids can make a difference. It’s not easy. It might take a lifetime to save a species, as it has with the P-horses. But it can be done. Science as a career and passion can make real-life changes on Earth.

That’s all from me today! I’d love to know if this type of blog post is what you’d like to see. Or would you rather a different type of information? What would YOU like to read here?

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Thanks,

Darcy

This series of monthly science writing with kids resources is brought to you by MimsHouseBooks.com. Our featured book of the month is GOT ME A CAT, a Halloween friendship story that includes sign language.

November Scientists of the Month - William and Lucile Mann

As a child, William Mann loved animals. Once, he tried to run away and join a circus. At 17 years old, he worked briefly at the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. He cleaned animal cages. Many years later, in 1925, he became the Superintendent of the National Zoological Park. He led many expeditions to collect live animals for the zoo.

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During World War I, Lucile Quarry worked in military intelligence in Washington, D.C. By 1922, she was an editor for The Woman’s Home Companion magazine. Lucile and William married in 1926. Lucile often traveled with William on expeditions to collect live animals. Once, she had to hide a bag of live snakes under her skirts while on a train trip. She was a member of the Society of Woman Geographers. One big trip to collect animals was the 1937 National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to visit what are now India, Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Thailand.

Narrative Writing - STEAM Writing about Real Events

Lucile Mann kept a diary of their trip to the Dutch East Indies, an excellent and exciting example of narrative writing about a STEM adventure

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Download the full packet of resources now!

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Botanist Jacob Nelson Rose wrote several books about cactuses. Botanists must describe plants in specific ways so that others can correctly identify plants. This month, we celebrate the art of descriptive writing, especially as scientists use it to record observations about their world. Download the resource packet to get started.

I’d love to hear how you use these Scientists of the Month in your classrooms. Some ideas:

• a monthly bulletin board

• a science station with information and resources for students to explore

• Monthly storytelling emphasis. For example, this month, you could use How to Hug a Cactus by Emily S. Smith.

  

• integrate with Language Arts lesson on descriptive writing

• share with a science club

How will you share the Scientist of the Month with your students?

Included in this month’s packet: Biography of Jacob Nelson Rose, Cactus Jack O’Lantern coloring page, STEAM questions, Descriptive Writing Prompts.

Download the full packet of resources now!

Subscribe so you don’t miss a month!

Please SHARE with your teacher friends and colleagues!

The information provided here is compliments of MimsHouseBooks.com. The book FIELD NOTEBOOKS is the basis for the Scientist of the Month information. Click the cover below for more information.

1886 - 1978 ornithologist or bird scientist

Birthplace: North Freedom, Wisconsin

Education: B.S. 1912 University of Kansas, M.S. 1916, and Ph.D 1920 George Washington University

Alexander Wetmore started writing in his journals at 8-years-old. His family went to Florida for vacation. He saw a pelican and wrote about it. By age 14, he was writing monthly lists of birds that he saw.

His first job was for the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey. He studied birds in Latin America and Puerto Rico (1911). For two years, he traveled in South America. He studied bird migration from North America to South America. Later he studied the food habits of North American birds.

Wetmore worked for the Smithsonian Museum from 1925-52. He served as the sixth Secretary from 1945-52. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, he struggled to keep as many people working as possible. World War II from 1939-1945 made it hard to travel to study birds. Instead, he studied birds of the Shenandoah National Park in nearby Virginia.

After the war ended, Wetmore could travel more to study birds. From 1946-1966, Wetmore made yearly trips to Panama. He wanted to study all the birds of Panama. He later published a book, The Birds of the Republic of Panama (1984). Wetmore wrote about 189 species and sub-species of birds that were new to science.

During his travels, Wetmore brought back 26,058 bird and mammal skins. He also collected 4,363 skeletal and anatomical specimens. Also, he brought back 201 clutches of birds eggs.

Many birds, animals and plants were named in his honor. There were 56 new genera, species, and subspecies of birds (both recent and fossil). Other animals named for him included mammals, amphibians, insects, and mollusks. Also, some plants were named for him. Wetmore jokingly called these his “private zoo.”

All his life, Wetmore wrote in his notebooks. He wrote lists of the birds and other animals he saw in his travels. He wrote many letters. He also used photography and left several photo albums of his work.

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WRITING IN ALEXANDER WETMORE’S JOURNALS

The simplest type of science writing, suitable for even Kindergarten, is to write a list. At age 8, Alexander wrote a list of birds he saw on a beach vacation. He never stopped writing lists of birds he saw, usually keeping a monthly journal.

Kids can write lists of many things: classroom furniture, food on their lunch tray, or things they saw (heard, touched, felt) on the playground. See the packet for more writing prompts.

Each month will also feature STEAM discussion questions. Field journals from scientists include many fascinating things about science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

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Share Science Writing with Kids

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Teachers, homeschoolers, and parents - this blog will be a monthly resource that will help you write with kids about science.

Based on my book, Field Notebooks: How Scientists Record and Write About Observations, we’ll do a monthly dive into how American scientists working for the Smithsonian Institution kept notebooks to record their observations.

The scientist’s notebooks are available through the Field Book Project, but I’ve saved you hours of combing through their notebooks. Instead, I’ve selected scientists who wrote about science in interesting ways that kids can learn from and imitate.

Each month will include:

• A featured scientist

• Tips on writing with kids about science in a developmentally appropriate way

• Handouts to help kids learn about science writing