STEAM-related books bring the spirit of inquiry, discovery, and creative problem-solving to your learners while engaging them in rich literacy experiences.
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Follow #STEAMTeamBooks to catch all the info on the new STEAM/STEM children's books heading your way.
January Releases
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Linda Zajac is an award-winning science writer and a former computer programmer, systems analyst, and consultant. She writes about cutting-edge science, technology, and biotechnology and how they're used to save wildlife, advance medicine, and protect the environment. Linda is a Tassy Walden winner and a recipient of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Children's Book Discovery Award.
Explore the exciting possibilities of crafting in Minecraft. Readers will learn how to use recipes to create the many blocks, tools, and items they need to succeed in their Minecraft world. ISBN-10: 1728476720 ISBN-13: 978-1728476728 The game of Minecraft is full of strange and familiar creatures. Readers will learn how to farm with friendly animals, trade with villagers, and avoid dangerous mobs at night. ISBN-10: 1728476747 ISBN-13: 978-1728476742 |
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Lydia Lukidis is the author of 50+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023), THE BROKEN BEES’ NEST (Kane Press, 2019) which was nominated for a Cybils Award, and NO BEARS ALLOWED (Clear Fork Media, 2019). A science enthusiast from a young age, she now incorporates her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Lydia is represented by literary agent Miranda Paul from the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. For more information, please visit www.lydialukidis.com.
Deep, deep down, at the very bottom of the ocean, lies a secret world. Through lyrical narration, this spare-text STEM picture book takes readers on a journey to a place very few humans have ever been--the Mariana Trench. The imagined voyage debunks scary myths about this mysterious place with surprising and beautiful truths about life at Earth's deepest point. DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench shows a vibrant world far below, and teaches readers how interconnected our lives are to every place on the planet. ISBN-10 : 1684466156, ISBN-13 : 978-1684466153 PURCHASE |
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Nadia Ali is an author who writes books that encourage kids to wonder. Her titles include the Animal Societies series (Pebble Books 2023), Read All About Horses (Pebble Books 2023), Humphrey the Egg-splorer (Yeehoo Press 2023). She seeks to inspire change, engage audiences, and educate people of all ages.
A baby kangaroo lives in its mother's pouch. A zebra group is called a dazzle. A mother octopus has 50,000 babies! Find out how animal families care for their young, keep one another safe, and share duties. Accessible and fun K-3 level information reveals the animal world to young readers and researchers in this Pebble Explore title from the Animal Societies series. PURCHASE A bear sleeps in a den. A snake might coil around a branch to rest. A crab carries its home on its back! Find out where all kinds of animals live—in the water, up in the trees, or burrowed underground. Accessible and fun K–3 level information reveals the animal world to young readers and researchers in this Pebble Explore title from the Animal Societies series. ISBN: 9780756571870 PURCHASE Whales whistle, fire-flies glow, and skunks spray--that's how they communicate! Find out how mammals, reptiles, birds, and other animals send messages and signals to stay safe, make friends, and care for their young. Accessible and fun K-3 level information reveals the animal world to young readers and researchers in this Pebble Explore title from the Animal Societies series. ISBN: 978-0756571719 PURCHASE Animals are busy! Sea dragon fathers care for babies. Eagle parents build giant nests. Sea lions stand guard for one another. In every animal community, animals have jobs to do, just like people! Accessible and fun K-3 level information reveals the animal world to young readers and researchers in this Pebble Explore title from the Animal Societies series. ISBN 978-0756571955 PURCHASE |
March Releases
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Karen Jameson is a children’s author and poet based in sunny Southern California. Her lyrical picture books include Moon Babies, illustrated by Amy Hevron; Woodland Dreams, illustrated by Marc Boutavant; Farm Lullaby, illustrated by Wednesday Kirwan & Where the Wee Ones Go, illustrated by Zosienka. Time to Shine: A Celebrating the World’s Iridescent Animals, illustrated by Dave Murray, is her latest STEAM title. A former classroom teacher, Karen enjoys exploring the wonder of nature and animals through her writing.
Combining scientific facts with the art of poetry, this is a humorous and educational picture book about animals that look alike. How do you tell a llama from an alpaca, an alligator from a crocodile, or a dolphin from a porpoise? The animal kingdom is full of creatures that look so similar to others that they are often confused for each other. A Llama Is Not an Alpaca pairs rhyming animal riddles with factual responses to both teach and engage young readers as they compare and contrast features of commonly misidentified animals. How many will you get right?! Hardcover 9780762478781 PURCHASE |
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Heather Lang is the author of many award-winning nonfiction books for children, including The Leaf Detective, illustrated by Jana Christy; Swimming with Sharks, illustrated by Jordi Solano; and Fearless Flyer, illustrated by Raúl Colón. To research her books, she has explored the skies, the treetops of the Amazon, and the depths of the ocean. Heather is the mom of triplets plus one, who have all flown the nest. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two super pups.
In comic-style panels full of facts and humor, this lively picture book investigates the amazing lengths animal mothers go to in caring for their young. This first book in a young series on animal science includes in its back matter a look at the "super" qualities of the animals and offers a collection of resources for budding naturalists. Hardcover 9781536217971 PURCHASE |
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Darcy Pattison writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction books for children. Five books have received starred PW, Kirkus, or BCCB reviews. Awards include the Irma Black Honor award, five NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books, two Eureka! Nonfiction Honor book, two Junior Library Guild selections, two NCTE Notable Children’s Book in Language Arts, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book, an Arkansiana Award, and the Susannah DeBlack Arkansas Children’s History Book award. She’s the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award for Individual Artist for her work in children’s literature. Her books have been translated into ten languages. ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR - Jordan Kim is a mixed media collage artist who specialized in creating beautiful, unconventional collages using paper. An ecologist, she uses her art to explain the world and help conservation efforts. This is her debut picture book.
Award-winning science writer Darcy Pattison presents a superbloom from the desert’s point-of-view. When a sudden downpour, a monsoon, falls in the desert, plants and animals explode with growth. Plants sprout, bloom, produce seeds and die within a couple days. Likewise, in a week, animals hatch, grow, mate, lay eggs, and return to hibernation or estivation. Strong lyrical text takes on the persona of the desert as it watches seeds it has cradled become flowering plants. “…I’m flooded with redbluegreenyelloworangepurple and buzzing with life-- gorgeous, outrageous, frail LIFE!” As the heat builds, the desert grieves that the color and life is so brief. “One day they bloomed, a single day, a rare day—already yesterday.” The natural life cycles of the desert depend on rain. Explore this fascinating environment during one of its most spectacular displays of life. Hardcover 9781629441771 |
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Donna B. McKinney has authored 17 nonfiction books on topics ranging from science and technology to history to sports. Before she wrote for children, she wrote about topics like oceanography, chemistry, space science, and robotics at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
Near the ocean surface, sea creatures live in a sunlit world. But what lurks far below the waves, where the water world dims? Meet the weird and wonderful glow-in-the-dark sea creatures that live in the deep ocean. Young readers will encounter the viperfish, that hunts with a blinking beacon to lead unsuspecting prey into its mouth; learn about the glowing fireworm, rising from the depths in a glowing cluster to search for a mate; discover how the bioluminescent vampire squid evades predators with its twinkling lights. Hardcover 9781953458476 PURCHASE |
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Author of over a dozen books for kids, Roxanne Troup grew up along the waterways of Missouri, where everyone had a pecan tree but few grew pecans commercially. Today, she lives in the mountains of Colorado (where no one grows pecans) and writes picture books that celebrate wonder and family. With a background in education, Roxanne often visits schools to water seeds of literacy and teach about writing. And sometimes remembers to water the plants in her own garden.
Pecans are North America's only indigenous tree nut, and one of the United States’ oldest export commodities. But how are these crops grown and harvested? In lyrical language, MY GRANDPA, MY TREE, AND ME follows a young child’s relationship with his grandfather through the seasons of caring for and harvesting pecans both in a commercial pecan orchard and their own backyard. PURCHASE |
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Melissa Stewart has written more than 200 science-themed nonfiction books for children, including the Sibert Medal Honoree Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen. She co-wrote 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books, edited the anthology Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-winning Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing, and maintains the award-winning blog Celebrate Nonfiction. Melissa’s highly-regarded website features a rich array of nonfiction writing resources.
Gorgeous painterly art and gentle, lyrical prose combine to bring a little-known, deep-sea ecosystem to life for young readers. Meet the fascinating community of creatures, from amphipods and zombie worms to squat lobsters and sea pigs, that depends on a decaying whale for shelter and sustenance for up to 50 years. PURCHASE |
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Susan Johnston Taylor is a Writing Barn fellow and author of Animals in Surprising Shades: Poems about Earth’s Colorful Creatures (Gnome Road Publishing, 2023). Her poetry also appears in 10.10 Poetry Anthology: Celebrating 10 in 10 different ways. As a freelance writer for over a decade, she’s written over a dozen titles for the educational market and published nonfiction articles in children’s magazines including FACES, Highlights for Children and Scout Life. Her writing for grownups has appeared in The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, Entrepreneur and Fast Company. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and their two rescue dogs.
For young poets who love science and young scientists who love poetry, this thoughtful collection of poems about fascinating and colorful creatures found throughout the world invites readers to linger and wonder on every page. Learn why the Blue-footed Booby puts on a special dance or how the Picasso Bug uses its masterful chemical defense against predators. Explore simple and fun poetic forms like the tanka, haiku, and quatrain. Just be sure to take good notes! An interactive component rewards practicing poets seeking to challenge themselves further. With gorgeous illustrations and a rainbow of colors to complement the lyrical and engaging text, this book will fit nicely on the shelves of any classroom or library where kids are interested in science, writing or the arts. ISBN: 9781957655048 PURCHASE |
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Leslie Bulion creates award-winning science poetry steeped in hands-on learning experiences, nature observation, research, humor and imagery in a variety of poetic forms. Her illustrated collections invite readers on multi-layered science adventures exploring spiders, birds, sea creatures, insects, amphibians, and more. Leslie's graduate science background and years as a school social worker inform both her poetry and her science-infused novels for young readers. She offers lively and engaging author visits worldwide. Her two newest science poetry books, SERENGETI: PLAINS OF GRASS and GALAPAGOS: ISLANDS OF CHANGE take readers on poetic tours of two of Earth’s remarkable ecosystems (Peachtree 2022, 2023).
Millions of years ago, an undersea volcano erupted in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Lava flowed, then cooled, building a volcanic cone above the waves. Over time, new volcanoes erupted, forming the Galápagos Islands. Traveling on wind and ocean currents, animals and plants gradually arrived at these isolated islands, and many of them eventually evolved into unique forms of life found nowhere else on Earth. Marvel at this complex story of a young volcanic ecosystem where food energy moves through integrated land and sea communities, each in its own season of growth and renewal. Distinctive species featured include Galápagos penguins, marine iguanas, Galápagos giant tortoises, giant daisy trees, and many more. Brief informational comments enrich each spread. At the end of the book, a glossary, poetry notes, an overview of human impact over time, and a map bring one of Earth’s most remarkable ecosystems into sharper focus. PURCHASE |
April Releases
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Nancy Castaldo has been writing books about the planet for the last twenty years and has received many accolades and awards, including the Green Earth Book Award, Eureka Silver Honor, Outstanding Trade Science Book, and Junior Library Guild Gold Selection honors. She strives to inform, inspire, and empower her readers with each title.
In this follow-up to THE FARM THAT FEEDS US, Nancy Castaldo and Ginnie Hsu introduce the farmers around the world striving to keep our world and food healthy. THE WORLD THAT FEEDS US includes everything from farmbots to the steps in making chocolate bars. Hardcover 9780711277717 PURCHASE |
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Nora Nickum is the Senior Ocean Policy Manager at the Seattle Aquarium, where she leads orca recovery and other ocean conservation policy efforts. Nora writes nonfiction and fiction books for children, many of which celebrate biodiversity and STEM topics and explore today’s wildlife conservation challenges and innovative solutions. She lives in Washington.
Meet the playful and beloved Southern Resident orcas and the people working to save them from extinction using tactics that vary from medicine and laws to drones and dogs. The endangered Southern Resident orcas whistle and click their way around the waters of the Pacific Northwest in three small family groups while facing boat noise, pollution, and scarce food. Superpod introduces young readers to the experts who are training scat-sniffing dogs, inventing ways to treat sick orcas, quieting the waters, studying whales from the air, and speaking out. Author Nora Nickum also discusses her own work on laws to protect the orcas; tackles the dark history of orca capture for marine parks; and shares moments of wonder. Readers can dive in to help save these majestic orcas with diverse action ideas and find inspiration for a wide range of future careers. ISBN-10 : 1641607939 ISBN-13 : 978-1641607933 PURCHASE |
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Laurie Ann Thompson grew up in the fields and forests of northern Wisconsin and now lives between the mountains and the sea in Washington State. A master naturalist and former software engineer, she writes to help her readers—and herself—better understand the world we all share. Laurie is the author of several award-winning nonfiction books, including Emmanuel’s Dream, winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award.
The first in an adorable, STEM nonfiction picture book series that encourages very young readers to learn—through gentle interactivity and play—about the animals who share their world. Swish, swoosh, fly! You might have heard the words “busy as a bee,” but what do bees actually do each day? Did you know bees clean their rooms, help feed baby bees, and build the hive they live in? From birth to first flight and beyond, discover all that goes into being a bee in this charming picture book, the first in the Meet Your World series. This playful and informative series invites you to take a closer look at the amazing animals that live right alongside you in rural, suburban, and urban landscapes across North America. In each book, words and art inspire you to act out animal actions that are not so different from your own habits. And robust backmatter offers even more facts and fun. From the animals’ families and foods to their environments and behaviors, let’s meet your world! 9780593529690 PURCHASE The second in an adorable, STEM nonfiction picture book series that encourages very young readers to learn—through gentle interactivity and play—about the animals who share their world. Crawl, cling climb! You may have seen a raccoon scurry up a tree or across the road just before dark. Did you know that raccoons stay up at night playing, hunting, and eating when you go to sleep? From birth to first stripes and beyond, discover all that goes into being a raccoon in this charming picture book, the second in the Meet Your World series. This playful and informative series invites you to take a closer look at the amazing animals that live right alongside you in rural, suburban, and urban landscapes across North America. In each book, words and art inspire you to act out animal actions that are not so different from your own habits. And robust backmatter offers even more facts and fun. From the animals’ families and foods to their environments and behaviors, let’s meet your world! 9780593529720 PURCHASE |
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Abi Cushman is the author-illustrator of SOAKED!, a Kids’ Indie Next Top Ten Selection, and ANIMALS GO VROOM!. She has also worked as a web designer for over 15 years. Her websites include MyHouseRabbit.com and AnimalFactGuide.com, which was named a “Great Website for Kids” by the American Library Association. Abi lives in a small Connecticut beach town with her family. In her spare time, she enjoys running, playing tennis, and eating nachos. (Yes, at the same time.) Visit her at www.abicushman.com.
Wombats are elusive, burrowing marsupials. Their teeth never stop growing, they have backward-facing pouches, and they’re the only animal to have cube-shaped poop. And if you ask their snake friend, those aren’t the only things that are weird about wombats! Abi Cushman’s WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD contains informative, expressive, and funny illustrations, and offers an entertaining blend of narration, sidebars, speech balloons, and dialogue between Snake and the wombats he meets in the wild. A refreshing departure from traditional informational books, WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD is a child-friendly guide to understanding the weird and wonderful world of wombats. ISBN: 978-0063234437 PURCHASE |
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Carrie A. Pearson is an author and speaker who lives on the sandy shore of Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan. She is a former early ed teacher and writes books about real things. She volunteers for SCBWI (co-Regional Advisor, Steering Committee member, Impact and Legacy Fund) to help other people create good books for all children. Carrie raised three daughters on stories of strong women and knows that narratives about princesses who need saving are most likely fairy tales.
Real Princesses Change the World is an inspirational and diverse picture book profiling 11 contemporary real-life princesses and 4 heirs apparent from all around the world highlighting who they truly are: diplomats, engineers, activists, athletes, and so much more. From Nigeria to Japan, Saudi Arabia to Sweden, and Thailand to Tonga, this picture book takes readers on a trip that spans the globe. With stunning portraits done by bestselling illustrator Dung Ho (Eyes that Kiss in the Corners), Carrie A. Pearson's Real Princesses Change the World showcases princesses in an empowering, feminist light that is both accessible and engaging for young readers. PURCHASE |
May Releases
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Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark writes picture book biographies of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) as well as fiction. Her books have earned five starred trade reviews, been chosen as Junior Library Guild Selections, and received awards such as Outstanding Science Trade Book, Best STEM Book, Cook Prize Honor Book, CrystalKite Award, Mathical Honor Book, and Parents’ Choice Gold Medal. Her titles include ADA BYRON LOVELACE AND THE THINKING MACHINE, GRACE HOPPER: QUEEN OF COMPUTER, and CODE BREAKER, SPY HUNTER. Laurie has an MFA in Writing from VCFA and is a former software engineer and computer science professor. You can find Laurie on the Web at www.lauriewallmark.com and @lauriewallmark.
A Passion for Science: Maria Mitchell, Astronomer tells the story of the first professional female astronomer in America and the first American to discover a comet. |
June Releases
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Jessica Stremer is a mom, military spouse, and author of two forthcoming nonfiction picture books - GREAT CARRIER REEF (Holiday House, 2023) and LIGHTS OUT (Paula Wiseman Books, 2024) - as well as a third soon to be announced title. Jessica obtained a B.S. in Biology, with an emphasis in Ecology, from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. She enjoys combining her love of science and writing to create books that inspire kids to explore the world around them and beyond. Jessica received honorable mention for the SCBWI 2021 Ann Whitford Paul award, and took first place for her nonfiction entry in the 2021 Rate Your Story writing competition. When not writing, Jessica loves spending time with her family traveling, hiking, and camping. Jessica currently resides in Okinawa, Japan.
What happens when something designed to be unsinkable gets bombed to the bottom of the ocean floor? With careful preparation, new life can take root! This incredible story brings young readers along on the journey of the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany—the Mighty O—as it transitions to its new role as the world's largest artificial reef. Extensive back matter reveals more about the Mighty O’s history, the diseases eating away at the world’s natural coral reef systems, and the role artificial reefs play under the sea, and budding marine biologists will love poring over the exquisite illustrations. |
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Leslie Barnard Booth grew up in the Pacific Northwest, among giant trees and rugged mountains. She attended Pomona College and later earned an MFA in creative writing and an MS in education from the University of Oregon. She lives in Portland, Oregon, and loves exploring the natural world with her family. A Stone Is a Story is her first picture book. Visit her at lesliebarnardbooth.com.
Where do rocks come from? The answer may be more incredible than you think. After all, a stone is not just a stone: a stone is a story. Embark on a journey across time to see how one stone can change and transform, from magma under Earth's crust, to the sand swept up in a rushing river, to the very heart of the tallest mountain. Watch what happens when rain, ice, and wind mold this rock into something new, something you might even hold in your hand--something full of endless possibility. |
July Releases
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Jilanne Hoffmann is a children’s book author with a BS in Engineering and an MFA in Creative Writing. She has traveled to the Amazon rainforest highlands in Peru, collected the dust of six continents in her shoes, and plans to see the dust swirl in Africa’s Sahel and Sahara Desert before she turns to dust. Jilanne lives with her family in San Francisco, where dust from China’s Gobi Desert flies on the wind, on its way to feed the trees of the High Sierra.
A RIVER OF DUST: THE LIFE-GIVING LINK BETWEEN NORTH AFRICA AND THE AMAZON, a lyrical ode to global interconnectedness, takes readers on a journey across thousands of miles of vibrant landscapes, celebrating the power and wonder of Earth’s ecosystems, and showing how dust's tiny particles are, in fact, key to the health of our planet. PURCHASE |
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After years of freelance writing, Kim Zachman finally realized her dream to be a children's author with her first book There's No Ham in Hamburgers released in April 2021. It was selected by the Junior Library Guild as a Gold Standard selection for 2021. The Georgia Center of the Book chose it as a 2022 "Book All Young Georgians Should Read". Her second book There's No Cream in Cream Soda will release in July 2023.
The scientific discoveries, inventions, and innovations that have influenced American beverages. ISBN: 978-0-7624-8132-3 |
August Releases
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Katie Furze is an author of children’s stories and books who holds a master’s degree in creative writing. Her debut non-fiction picture book, Tuatara, a Living Treasure is on its way from Scholastic NZ in 2023. Katie’s work is regularly published in The School Magazine in Australia and The New Zealand School Journal. She’s also written early readers and children’s plays for the educational market, and published stories in anthologies. Read more about Katie at: http://www.katiefurze.com/
A sprinkling of tiny islands off the coast of Aotearoa New Zealand are home to the unique reptile known as the tuatara. Tuatara: A Living Treasure follows the life of a female tuatara, showing her ongoing struggle to survive and explains why tuatara can be considered a living treasure. STEAM links are further developed in secondary text and back matter. |
September Releases
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Katie Mazeika is an Ohio girl, born and raised! She grew up in Cincinnati, graduated from The Columbus College of Art and Design, and now lives in the Cleveland area with her husband, two kids, and two dogs. Katie can’t imagine a better job than making books. She specializes in telling stories based on real people and events and likes to highlight disabled voices and create characters that make an impression. When she’s not drawing Katie likes to spend her time gardening or reading other people’s books.
A picture book biography of Beulah Henry aka Lady Edison. She held over 50 patents in her name and another 50+ through companies she worked for. But her education never went beyond finishing school. |
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An autistic mom of three autistic kids, Jen Malia is the author of the children's chapter book series THE INFINITY RAINBOW CLUB (Beaming Books, 2023 and 2024) and the picture book TOO STICKY! Sensory Issues with Autism (Albert Whitman, 2020). She is Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Coordinator at Norfolk State University. As a freelance journalist, she has written about autism and neurodiversity for the New York Times, the Washington Post, New York Magazine, Glamour, Woman's Day, Self, and others. She has also appeared on NPR's With Good Reason and was featured in Parents' Parenting Against All Odds video series. She has a Ph.D. In English and a M.S. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Southern California. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. A native of Pittsburgh, she lives in Virginia Beach with her husband and three kids.
10-year-old Nick is an autistic boy who wants to brick build by himself using his own set routines to create his designs. When the Infinity Rainbow Club participates in the Brick Builders Challenge, he's stuck paired up with Ruby, a new girl with dyslexia, who he doesn't think could possibly have the same brick building skills that he does. But Ruby comes up with a design idea for an amusement park that Nick really likes. She shows him that with her creativity and his attention to detail, they could design even better brick builder projects. Will Nick learn to be more flexible and work as a team with Ruby so they can win the competition? |