Who doesn’t like space? I love learning about space!
Tip: Picture books are easier to comprehend compared to graduate courses – there’s only so much of Newton-Euler dynamics, inertia tensors, eccentricity vectors, etc. one can handle. Plus, there are no nasty mind-boggling equations in picture books. I mean, do you really want to calculate the maximum flight path angle and the true anomaly at which it occurs? Or solve Kepler’s equations for hyperbolic eccentric anomaly? No, right? Always stick to the picture book if you have a choice!
I mentioned some fun picture books (fiction and non-fiction)with amusing or complementing illustrations that helped me on my journey to understanding space. Enjoy!
In this brilliant book, the author draws parallels between the first day of kindergarten and a space mission – it turns out the two are not that different, after all. There are gravity issues in kindergarten as well, with kids trying hard to stay in their seats, and hands flying up. There’s the equivalent commander in the teacher, mission control in the principal, crewmates, experiments, and a flight plan! Peppered with space lingo, this charming book is double the reading pleasure, with its combined introduction to space and kindergarten. I am all set for kindergarten now. Can’t wait! Again, a great read for little humans.
Suit up for a daring adventure as our hero navigates the unknown reaches and alien inhabitants of a planet called . . . Kindergarten. This clever book will prepare bold young explorers for their next mission-whether it's a strange, new world . . . or somewhere much closer to home.
I have been an animal lover and caretaker all my life. I have memories of taking care of toucans, skunks, alligators, fish tanks, chameleons, various birds, and monkeys from the time I was a child! I received my licenses from the NYSDEC and US Fish and Wildlife Service and Ravensbeard Wildlife Center was founded in 2000. I hold permits to rehabilitate injured/orphaned wildlife and house unreleasable birds to educate communities in protecting wildlife. My entire life has been devoted to caring for animals and educating others about them, and I hope you can find joy in the books I recommended!
Another great story from Gideon Sterer! While this story is not directly related to wildlife, it is about a bond between grandfather and granddaughter supported by being outdoors.
This story takes place in a city, and although there are no “real” animals, it is a great story that children from more urban areas can relate to. It is great for connecting with children who may not have much outdoor experience, but can peak their interest into fishing for real fish.
When Grandpa a fishing connoisseur moves to the city to live with his family, it doesn't take him long to notice that there is nowhere to fish. Unfazed, his granddaughter proposes they pretend to fish out a window . . . until they actually catch something: a Flying Litterfish! Soon the two are catching all kinds of fish: Laundry Eels and Signfish, a Constructionfish and a Waste-muncher. It's all in good fun, until the skyfishing attracts the attention of the Troublefish (read: police car). This might be the end of their skyfishing, but it's just the beginning of their new…
My family was divided by religion, leaving me skeptical about belief systems. After a background in science, I studied philosophy and became intrigued by Heidegger's ‘pitiless atheism.’ The power of his thought but his personal failings have long been an issue for academics. I have since been fascinated partly by powerful personalities but more by the struggle of their followers as they suspend critical thinking and make huge sacrifices to offer their support. This struggle and difficulty of turning back, particularly as the systems begin to collapse, are a feature of many of the works of fiction that intrigue me most, particularly in the books I have chosen.
I am drawn to books that allow the reader to draw their own conclusions rather than a narrator steering the interpretation. In this novel, the narrative is presented through notebooks and a diary, and it reveals the case of a young woman and her sessions with a deeply suspect psychotherapist, set in the context of the R.D.Laing anti-psychiatry movement.
My belief in each narrator kept shifting, and by the end, I found myself questioning the whole dynamic between a therapist and patient and the dangers of this type of power relationship.
Shortlisted for the 2022 Gordon Burn Prize • Shortlisted for the 2022 Ned Kelly Awards • Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize • Longlisted for the 2022 HWA Gold Crown Award • Longlisted for the 2023 Dublin Literary Award
SELECTED BY NEW YORK TIMES AS ONE OF 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2022
The Booker-shortlisted author of His Bloody Project blurs the lines between patient and therapist, fiction and documentation, and reality and dark imagination.
London, 1965. 'I have decided to write down everything that happens, because I feel, I suppose, I may be putting myself in danger,' writes an anonymous…
I’m Sarah J. Sover, and I adore smashing genres together, especially when there’s magic involved. My first book, Double-Crossing the Bridge, is a comedic fantasy about drunk trolls pulling a suicidal heist, and my new release, Fairy Godmurder is like Jessica Jones with sparkle. The novels are wildly different from each other, but they both exist in the crime-fantasy sphere, where I can delve deep into character motivations, explore wrongs in the world through a fantastical lens, and play with well-loved tropes, inverting and subverting in unexpected ways. I love that this is a growing genre, and I hope I get an influx of suggestions added to my own TBR tower because of this list!
There is nothing else in the world like The Imaginary Corpse. Tippy is a stuffed triceratops detective trapped in the Stillreal after he is no longer needed. But there’s a serial killer targeting imaginary friends, and Tippy must work through his trauma to save the Stillreal. This book is somehow both dark and warm—like a needed hug after a traumatic experience. Anyone who suffers from PTSD should give it a shot. Or anyone who just likes a completely unique story.
Most ideas fade away when we're done with them. Some we love enough to become Real. But what about the ones we love, and walk away from?
Tippy the triceratops was once a little girl's imaginary friend, a dinosaur detective who could help her make sense of the world. But when her father died, Tippy fell into the Stillreal, the underbelly of the Imagination, where discarded ideas go when they're too Real to disappear.
Now, he passes time doing detective work for other unwanted ideas - until Tippy runs into The Man in the Coat, a nightmare monster who can…
I am passionate about looking for new ways to see our future. As a futurist and trend researcher for over 30 years, I am drawn to books, ideas, and people that lead us away from narrow black-and-white thinking. With the help of these mavericks, outliers, and new systemic thinking, we can shift from a naive, optimistic, or miserable pessimistic mindset to what I call a “possibilistic” outlook on society and business. We all need purpose, and mine is to show that more things are possible than we think; sometimes, we just need to look in unusual places and into unusual minds and books to find new solutions for a better future.
I loved this book because it takes us beyond the “me me me” way of thinking about society to a more “we and me” based approach.
Community and consideration are often underrated and misunderstood in our society. It takes us back to looking at systems of accounting that count what matters.
Big ideas that just might save the world. the Guardian
A serious book on an important subject. Without imagination, where are we? Sir Quentin Blake
What if we took play seriously? What if we considered imagination vital to our health? What if we followed nature's lead? What if school nurtured young imaginations?
What if things turned out okay?
Rob Hopkins asks the most important question that society has somehow forgotten - What If? Hopkins explores what we must do to revive and replenish our collective imagination. If we can rekindle that precious creative spark, whole societies and cultures can change…
I was a children's book illustrator for years before my agent prompted me to start writing. I didn’t know the first thing about writing for children, but I really wanted to try, and with help from the SCBWI and after a lot of failed attempts, I found that early reader graphic novels most fit in with my Mad Magazine and New Yorker style of gag humor. There are so many great early reader graphic novels out there these days, and I truly feel we are in a golden age for this genre. I hope you like my choices and find many more on your own!
This is the first book in the young readers' genre that made me think that I, too, could write for this age group.
This book is a wonderfully funny and imaginative tale about a girl, her family, and her imaginary friends. It is not really a graphic novel but more of an illustrated early reader story. The loose but expressive pencil illustrations really impressed me with how much personality you could get in such a simple drawing.
What sets this apart is the anything-goes/freewheeling stream-of-consciousness telling of her story, which takes you from one outlandish scene to another as Dory makes her way through her day. However, this book also has lots of heart and love in the family.
Move over, Junie B. Jones and Ivy & Bean! Here comes a lovably energetic little sister with a BIG personality-and an imagination to match!
As the youngest in her family, Dory really wants attention, and more than anything she wants her brother and sister to play with her. But she's too much of a baby for them, so she's left to her own devices-including her wild imagination and untiring energy. Her siblings may roll their eyes at her childish games, but Dory has lots of things to do: outsmarting the monsters all over the house, escaping from prison (aka time-out),…
Unburdened with prejudice or beliefs, children are open to the world. I find great joy in books that reflect the child’s fresh perception and playful spirit. Such books have no intention to teach a moral lesson. They rejoice in freedom. In the non-stereotypical, not yet molded to conform reality of the child. Books beyond good or bad may shine with the light of freshness, the unfiltered seeing. In times of great political divisions, non-didactic books can be a window to the glorious amoral way of perceiving.
Two siblings with very different personalities. The fun of following these two characters grows with every scene. A very skillful, beautiful depiction of the richness of life and creative collaboration. A funny and endearing book.
We have seen a few great odd couples in picture books already, but filled with possibility as the world is, there's always room for one more pair, especially if they are as charming and unforgettable as these pigs, born from the brushes and prolific imagination of Kerascoet. Kerascoet lives and works in Paris in the worlds of cartooning and illustration. Best known for illustrating the book Miss Don't Touch Me written by Hubert, as well as a couple of the Lewis Trondheim Dungeon books, their most recent book Beautiful Darkness broke out on the US scene in 2014, winning them…
I’m a writer and illustrator of picture books who is always seeking magic in the world around me. I love to daydream, wander, wonder, and get lost in nature as much as possible. I’m also an avid reader of books that celebrate the natural world, animals, and imagination. Happy reading!
Frederick is a classic that continues to speak to me. Frederick is a creative mouse who gathers beauty from the world—he’s a daydreamer and a poet. His talents aren’t appreciated by the other mice at first. By the end of the story, though, they realize that his talents are essential to their survival. I love how this book celebrates creativity and difference.
Leo Lionni’s Caldecott Honor–winning story about a little mouse who gathers something unusual for the long winter is turning fifty! Celebrate this beloved favorite, which now includes a special introduction from noted children’s book historian Leonard Marcus.
Winter is coming, and all the mice are gathering food . . . except for Frederick. But when the days grow short and the snow begins to fall, it’s Frederick’s stories that warm the hearts and spirits of his fellow field mice. Winner of a 1967 Caldecott Honor, Frederick has been cherished by generations of readers.
I moved to New York City for school when I was 18 years old and found myself surrounded by people from all over the world. Every fourth person in New York City is an expat. It was fascinating to me and since then I have lived in three countries and done months-long artist residences in Morocco and Ireland. I also read books and stories about cultures from around the world and am particularly enchanted by Africa. Currently, I live on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the city of Mazatlán and have written two children’s books about Mexico.
The illustrations are marvelous and the story is a peek into what it’s like for a child that is different in Russian culture. As a left-handed child she is forced to write and do nearly everything with her right hand except draw. This is the author’s personal story and you can see from the art that her drawing is amazing. I added this book to my list as Russia tops the headlines these days and remembering that children in Russia are just children with their own stories to tell feels important. Also, it’s an incredible book.
Left-handed Anya draws with great passion . . . but only when she's alone.
In Russia, right-handedness is demanded--it is the right way. This cultural expectation stifles young Anya's creativity and artistic spirit as she draws the world around her in secret.
Hiding away from family, teachers, and neighbors, Anya imagines a secret society of famous left-handed artists drawing alongside her. But once her family emigrates from Russia to America, her life becomes less clandestine, and she no longer feels she needs to conceal a piece of her identity.
It was an epic fantasy tale with interesting, well-rounded characters, an engaging lore, and packed full of imagination.
The presentation is top notch, featuring gorgeous artwork, maps of its fictional regions, and a helpful addendum that helps readers pronounce the name and learn more about the locations, Gods, and the lore of the world. The book is very easy to digest and the author does a wonderful job of fleshing out this fictional fantasy world in a concise and imaginative way.
There’s a definite sense that a larger conflict is looming, one which the three main characters will play a central role, and the book explores how the characters react to being swept up by their unavoidable fates. The author also packs the book with action, intrigue, and dramatic moments that made it a fun and constantly appealing read.
