A Conversation About Fracking and the Environment for Younger Readers
591689
After penning Brindle 24, a highly accessible novel about the process of hydraulic fracturing known as fracking (the process to extract natural gas) and its devastating effects to a rural, upstate New York community, J.J. Brown introduces the topic to a younger audience with this story and coloring book with accompanying glossary. Brindle 24  is a day in the life of a town, and Stream and Shale recalls a day of a citizens' tour to Pennsylvania that sits on the Marcellus Shale, home to a large natural gas reserve. Brown refers to dormant apple trees in winter as "gray sentinels silently witnessing the changes around them," and Brown provides a voice to all those in nature effected by mankind's harm to the land. The changes include once pure well water that is no longer drinkable, noise and air pollution from the multiple truck trips to transport the gas from the once idyllic area, the spoiling of the food supply and the degrading of land values and the loss of a feeling of community. Brown quotes conservationists Rachel Carson and Sierra Club founder John Muir and Stream and Shale is in their spirit of protection of our resources against those who seek to harm them in the name of monetary gain. This book is for young and old to use as a dialogue as the fate of fracking is still being written.
4759725
This is the first book I have read in this series. I bought it for my 13 year old son because he'd like to visit the Great Smoky Mountains this summer. I felt that the age range suggested might be a little young as it says for readers 9-13. Most of the characters are older than that, they youngest is 12. The reading level is mid fifth grade, but the subject matter seemed a little above a 13 year old. Bears are attacking people, a boy's mother had a car accident and the boy feels pressure to earn money to help her, there are discussions of possible illegal drug use (mushrooms), and that  seems a bit advanced for younger readers. My point of view may be skewed here, as my son has autism and some anxieties that other children in this age range might not have. Reading it as a parent and a teacher of 8-9 year olds,  I didn't feel that I would use it, even though I always look for realistic stories that reinforce learning in the sciences and social studies. Part of the plot had a 12 year old girl going off alone with a 16 year old boy that she had just met, which as a parent scares me.  The facts seem to be well researched and believable and I wanted to like the story more than I did.
Not a bad book, just not what I was looking for.
1623667
I find that this book entitled "Five Human Senses, What and Why 3rd Grade Science book Series" is a good way to introduce children to the five senses. By third grade, students should now know what their 5 senses are, however this can also be incorporated into writing skills. When writing narratives, students are encouraged to show not tell. Discussing the five senses and what they may see, hear, touch, taste and smell can add details to enrich their writing, whether it's essays, short stories or even comics. I think that this book is a good supplement to my online library.

Not only can this spark conversations, it is a way for students to relate science to the real world. Lately, I have ordered a significant amount of Baby Professor Books in exchange for providing honest reviews of their products. I am an elementary teacher and also an aunt. I am constantly looking for books that will grasp the attention of my students and beloved relatives.

I like to use in my kindle in whole group and small group discussions. Occasionally, I let my students work together and read their books electronically. I like them to learn at their own pace and gravitate towards books that grasp their attention as learners.

I think the Baby Professor books are encouraging students to explore their interests throughout their learning journey. I have reviewed baby professor books of different subjects such as history and science and math. What each book does is provide information, allowing students and teachers to create environments of learning. It also provides colored photos . We discuss the topics and then write down questions that we have which we would still like to explore.

Baby Professor Science books leave students with information and photos which can spark their interests. I look forward to reading more of their books in my class and am glad I was able to add these to my classroom library.
2498869
Very enjoyable story about ranch life in rural Montana and the potential effects of exploration for natural gas on a traditional way of life. Today's fracking craze is the contemporary version, but it's effects are spread across most of the continent rather than just rural Montana. This story is being repeated daily across the nation.
2613831
You don't have to have a bias toward fracking nor do you have to pretend to really have in-depth understanding of the oil and gas business.

This nicely-written book discusses the last fifty years of the intriguing development of a process that will take the United States into new positioning with the foreign suppliers of oil and gas.

Even if you've never heard of George Mitchell, it is high-time you learned about this environmentally minded oilman! I would tell you all about George, the son of an illiterate Greek Goatherder names Savvas Paraskevopoulus, but you need to read this book!
It isn't a George Mitchel biography however, that's ust part of "the good stuff"!

I first read Russell Gold's WSJ pieces on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and was pleased to see his book released in April.

If you want to spout-off about fracking, or Matt Damon's theories about it, you might want to read THE BOOM.  Boredom NOT, I promise!
1712306
This is a wonderful read along for younger readers.  There is some higher vocabulary in the book and the author has included brief definitions on the page with the word.  The book is written in a fun rhyming format. It is nice to see a girl exploring the outdoors and the world of insects.  There are fun facts about the different insects at the end of the book.  This book can be used as a beginning point to explore the outdoors with children.
1892436
A mixture of attention-grabbing narratives and journalist-like headlines. Pro-environment slant. Arctic Thaw reads like a book-length National Geographic article (a very short book). Good graphics such as maps of the arctic region. A good introduction to environmental issues in the arctic and climate change, but lacks depth and relies on news articles and web sites for its sources.
1787202
This is a very interesting book about the history, the current advantages, and the complications of different types of energy.  The mix of the science and engineering of energy with the political climate is enlightening.  The technology is difficult, most markets for energy are challenging to enter and the variable up and down political support for alternative energy is making it difficult to have viable alternatives.  In particular the extremely negative response of the Reagan regime to alternatives has caused the US to fall behind in use of alternatives.

On the bright side the use of fracking technology to recover more oil and gas economically seems to be responsible for actually decreasing US emissions, about an 8% reduction, which is better than the Kyoto treaty would have required. This is because relatively clean burning natural gas has replaced some coal that is the dirtiest fuel.

The anecdotes that are included makes it read like a novel.  It is a complex tale with the need to connect the need for energy and the desire to have sources that are sustainable minimize polluting and changing the climate.

Personally I could have done with less about oil development in many different countries, each is a diverse story.  Overall the sum of all the stories is important in understanding where we are in energy availability and use.
This is an excellent source to help understand our options for the future.  There are enough variables that most alternatives look promising but not sure things.
4265566
My 'tween' enjoyed reading the book, and told me about some of the tips. It is a really good conversation starter.
1698371
As a literacy volunteer I saw how hard it is to entice young boys for whom reading is still a challenge to pick up a book. Motocross Mike's adventures on the track should do the trick.

Retired elementary school principal, Charles Loomis knows his sport and knows his kids. Motocross Mike deals with the stuff that keeps young readers revved and ready to read -- trouble with Mom, trouble with a bully, a little danger and great friends playing hard together. An excellent choice for the middle school reader.
381275
Start the New Year with a recently released chapter book for children (8-12 y), THE KEY.  It is written by Jackie Mae and her granddaughter, Alison Taylor.  The authors do a fine job of quickly capturing and then holding the readers attention!
  Gently woven into an intriguing story are interesting historical facts, as well as a particularly pertinent lesson for our timerespect for the environment.  Importantly, it does so without preaching; perhaps hitting the right tone because a child is the co-author.  The book provides a good sense of place and would be of special interest to those who live in the Delaware-Maryland-DC-Virginia area.  A few minor concerns:  there were some formatting problems with the Kindle version and a few blips related to style, i.e., the identity of the narrator was not always clear.  Overall, however, these issues did not distract from a fun and educational story that would make for an independent read or a good bedtime story that might involve some interesting discussions with your child.
  The story involves a brother and sister, Alan and Taylor, who previously had found themselves involved in an adventure in the Land of Spark (Twilight of Doom: the first in this series).  The Key opens with the family going to the mall to shop and attend a movie.  After loading up with popcorn and drinks, they walk into the wrong theatre and into another adventure.  The children set out to help defeat the evil wizard, Jalabar, who seeks to gain power and do harm to the Land of Baltimore.  In addition to Jalabar, children will enjoy coming to know Bella, Swing, Mrs. Taylor, Wee Willie, Sarah, Daisy, and Billy.  There are many important lessons; albeit subtle.  One of the most striking in the importance of compassion for others and for the environment (the children belong to a recycling club at school).  At the end of the book is a vocabulary section and a brief explanation of historical references.
  Zanzar is a code word for what?  What is the Chest of Treasures?  You will have to read THE KEY to discover the answers to those questions and others!  What role do the catacombs play in the story?  What are skinks?  This is definitely a fun read!  A hint is dropped by a Unicorn who appears at the end of the story as Alan and Taylor return to their family:  In your future travels, beware of Tarina.  It sounds like there is soon to be a third book in the series!  Do not delay in reading of the adventures of Alan and Taylor in The Key and the first in the series, Twilight of Doom.
1663644
The book is well written, easy to read and its arguments are well explained with supporting facts and examples.  Its basic premise is implied in the title, the use of fossil fuels is essential to supporting human life. The book defines the standard, human life, as the reference as it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using fossil fuels.
The book provides a critically required view in ongoing environmental discussions. It should be read by fossil fuel proponents and opponents and its positions embraced, modified or logically refuted.  The book should not be consigned to the dust bin of history to avoid refuting its arguments.
2031203
I used this book as a read aloud for older elementary school students to discuss settings in stories. They responded well to the story and it encouraged some interesting conversations in class.
3239779
I stumbled upon this book and as fracking is all over the news right now I decided to give the book a shot to educate myself instead of taking a stand for either side without knowing what I'm talking about.
I was pleasantly surprised that this book is far from just a quickly copied together and published pdf and instead a well researched and well written book that goes into great detail on what to do in order to safely make money off your land while keeping an eye on the environment. I can suggest this read to anyone who wants to look underneath the surface of what one can draw from watching the news, for homeowners who are looking at a possible income stream and generally for anyone interested in what's about to become an accepted part of resource harvesting in the near future.
364895
Renewable Energy: Discover the Fuel of the Future is a book that discusses the different types of renewable energy and how each one can affect the environment differently. It provides readings and sources to help readers and students identify which energy source they would like to use. It describes historical and present day uses of renewable energy and how it can be used. It also offers descriptions and examples of other types of energy resources to compare and contrast the benefits and hindrances of each energy resource. For classroom use, the book could fit in with science units on Natural resources. It could also act as a guide to conduct several potential projects and experiments. I really enjoyed the variety of activities that were provided for experiential learning. I also appreciated the detailed pictures of how different energy resources work. I believe this book could benefit students in the sense of reading excerpts from the book. I wouldnt want to use it as a full text for a unit. I think this book mostly benefits teachers as a guide through presenting this topic and preparing activities and experiments. I found the electric motor, the geothermal steam plant, and the potato power STEM activities to be excellent potential activities! However, the solar activities including the power of sunlight and the solar thermal energy projects to be best suited for my class. I modified them by taking the similar concepts and had my class create solar ovens. I changed the entire activity, but like it says on page 26, We know that sunlight can help power our activities, from outer space to inside our homes. This concept rings true for all the solar activities, the solar oven included.  There are a number of options of different resources to utilize for different purposes in the book as well. The U.S. Department of Energys source for Energy 101 videos was an excellent resource! It was helpful to be used for content delivery. This was the main resource I used.  The book has great information that is laid out well and easy to read and understand, including the activities provide step-by-step instruction. It could be beneficial to expand the book as a teachers guide and add on a student edition. I would not use this book as a class workbook.  I would implement it with my other curriculum. It is great for reading excerpts or even learning scientific vocabulary. Besides those implementations, I think it is most beneficial as a teachers guide for organizing and preparing diversified content including the plethora of hands-on activities. This text could be greatly used and expanded as a teachers edition. An expanded student edition would be a great idea to specialize it more fully for classroom learning. I think with a teacher and student edition, this would make it more accessible to use for cross-curricular purposes.
1237955
A welcome addition to the literature about climate change, Tales from an Uncertain World is a gentle, thoughtful book about upheaval in the environment, whether it arrives slowly or quickly. Veteran science educator L.S. Gardiner focuses each chapter on a specific problem or dilemma related to the changing world around us, whether it's beach erosion on Cape Cod, invasive lionfish in the Caribbean, or flooding in Boulder, Colorado. Gardiner's  reflections build from one chapter to the next, carrying each incisive lesson forward, and hovering over them all is climate change itself and the future that humanity faces if humans don't heed the clarion call from scientists about rising temperatures.  Her writing is spare and elegant, and full of wry asides and gentle warnings. It also full of delightful whimsy, such as in the chapter in which Gardiner compares the hazy advice from a Magic 8 Ball to scientific predictions: "We humans want to know what's going to happen, yet scientists keep giving us the same 8 Ball answer of "Reply hazy. Try again." With memorable humor that punctuates the whole book, she recounts trying to use the Magic 8 Ball to choose a drink at Starbucks. "The 8 Ball hemmed and hawed, holding up the line of under-caffeinated patrons," she writes. It's a quiet book that nonetheless delivers a firm and clear message: action is required, from all of us.
3368842
How can you write about the dangers of deep disposal wells and only mention that cases have occurred in "Texas" without discussing the dangers of fracking? How can you discuss global warming without emphasizing the extent of high temperatures in earlier periods than the Middle Ages? Apparently this book can. Otherwise, it's fair and balanced.