In this series, we’ll pick some of our favorite things about Minnesota and share some related book suggestions. (We’re open to your suggestions! Comment below or email us and tell us some of your favorite MN things!)
This week we will take a look at some Minnesota art museums! While these books might not be about the museum itself, they are connected in some way! Enjoy!
The Way of Cheng-Khee Chee: Paintings 1974 – 2014 This full-color, 72-page book and exhibition catalog features reproductions of 39 of the artist’s most important works, depicting 40 years of exceptional artistic reproduction. Also, there is a section that illustrates in detail the artist’s unique technical innovations. Contributors to the publication include essays by curator Peter Spooner and artist scholar Ann Klefstad who address the subject of Cheng-Khee Chee’s artistic development, as well as how Chinese and Western styles and spirituality have influenced the artist’s paintings. This book includes images of high quality of art reproduction. Each artwork has been digitally scanned, bypassing an intermediate photographic step. Thus the images are sharper and truer in color quality than any previous publication containing Cheng-Khee Chee artworks.
Old Turtle by Douglas Wood, Cheng-Khee Chee (Illustrator) “Old Turtle first burst upon the publishing scene in 1992, and it was instantly recognized as a classic fable about ecology, peace, and the interconnectedness of all beings. Simple yet profound, it has since brought hope and inspiration to children and adults around the world.”
Russian Fairy Tales: Palekh Painting by Alexei Orleansky “The best fairytales from the treasure chest of world literature, accompanied by illustrations by the master of Palekh painting. “
Mill City: A Visual History Of The Minneapolis Mill District by Kate Roberts, Shannon Pennefeather “In Mill City, explorers, excursionists, early settlers, entrepreneurs, and laborers tell the story of St. Anthony Falls in their own words. Their vivid accounts are paired with historic photographs and artworks that bring their experiences to life.”
Welcome back! We are so pleased you are joining us for our podcast book group: Reading with Libraries! This week we will be talking about books about advocacy and activism!
This week we are so pleased to promote a local author, Habso Mohamud! Habso has written an excellent children’s book It Only Takes One Yes and we have three copies to give away to the first three people that comment on this episode’s show notes page.
Our books today will include the experiences of activists as well as suggestions for how to be more effective in your own advocacy work! Side note: We really encourage you to advocate for libraries! If you don’t know why this is important or just need help getting started, send us an email: admin@cmle.org or visit cmle.org and we’d be happy to help you!
Each week we look at a collection of a few books on a topic. You can explore the books on your own, or use them as a foundation for building a display in your library!
The periodic table of elements turns 150 this year! It is pretty amazing to think about the huge scientific advances made in such a short amount of time. This would be a wonderful display to set up in your library. Add all kinds of cool STEM books to encourage patrons to check out some excellent titles that may be exciting and interesting to them!
(As always: if you click on a link below, you can check out all the info from Amazon.com. And if you happen to buy a book, or anything else, on that trip to the store – CMLE gets a small percentage of Amazon’s profits: yay! Thanks in advance!)
The Periodic Kingdom: A Journey Into The Land Of The Chemical Elements, by P. W. Atkins
Come on a journey into the heart of matter—and enjoy the process!—as a brilliant scientist and entertaining tour guide takes you on a fascinating voyage through the Periodic Kingdom, the world of the elements. The periodic table, your map for this trip, is the most important concept in chemistry. It hangs in classrooms and labs throughout the world, providing support for students, suggesting new avenues of research for professionals, succinctly organizing the whole of chemistry. The one hundred or so elements listed in the table make up everything in the universe, from microscopic organisms to distant planets. Just how does the periodic table help us make sense of the world around us? Using vivid imagery, ingenious analogies, and liberal doses of humor P. W. Atkins answers this question. He shows us that the Periodic Kingdom is a systematic place. Detailing the geography, history and governing institutions of this imaginary landscape, he demonstrates how physical similarities can point to deeper affinities, and how the location of an element can be used to predict its properties. Here’s an opportunity to discover a rich kingdom of the imagination kingdom of which our own world is a manifestation.
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, by Sam Kean
Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin
Marie Curie’s reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element
for laboratory pranksters?*
The Periodic Table is a crowning
scientific achievement, but it’s also a treasure trove of adventure,
betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on
the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the
lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. THE
DISAPPEARING SPOON masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of
invention, investigation, and discovery–from the Big Bang through the
end of time.
*Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a
moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A classic science
prank is to mold gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch guests
recoil as their utensils disappear.
Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc, by Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Like the alphabet, the calendar, or the zodiac, the periodic table of the chemical elements has a permanent place in our imagination. But aside from the handful of common ones (iron, carbon, copper, gold), the elements themselves remain wrapped in mystery. We do not know what most of them look like, how they exist in nature, how they got their names, or of what use they are to us. Unlocking their astonishing secrets and colorful pasts, Periodic Tales is a passionate journey through mines and artists’ studios, to factories and cathedrals, into the woods and to the sea to discover the true stories of these fascinating but mysterious building blocks of the universe.
The Periodic Table: A Visual Guide to the Elements, by Paul Parsons
As one of the most recognizable images in science, the periodic table is
ingrained in our culture. First drawn up in 1869 by Dmitri Mendeleev,
its 118 elements make up not only everything on our planet but also
everything in the entire universe.
The Periodic Table
looks at the fascinating story and surprising uses of each of those
elements, whether solid, liquid or gas. From the little-known uses of
gold in medicine to the development of the hydrogen bomb, each entry is
accompanied by technical data (category, atomic number, weight, boiling
point) presented in easy-to-read headers, and a colour coding system
that helps the reader to navigate through the different groups of
elements.
A remarkable display of thought-provoking science and beautiful photography, this guide will allow the reader to discover the world afresh.
The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction, by by Eric Scerri
In this authoritative Very Short Introduction to the periodic table, Eric Scerri presents a modern and fresh exploration of this fundamental topic in the physical sciences, considering the deeper implications of the arrangements of the table to atomic physics and quantum mechanics. Scerri looks at the trends in properties of elements that led to the construction of the periodic table, and how the deeper meaning of its structure gradually became apparent with the development of atomic theory and quantum mechanics, so that physics arguably came to colonize an entirely different science, chemistry.
The Elements Book: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Periodic Table, by DK
2019 is the 150th anniversary of
the periodic table, and this visual guide for children shows and
explains every chemical element in dazzling detail.
Kids can go
on a visual tour of the 118 chemical elements of the periodic table,
from argon to zinc, in this one awesome volume packed with incredible
images and fascinating facts.
Cataloged by type, each element’s
properties and atomic structure is explained. More than 1,000 full-color
photographs showcase the natural forms of each element, as well as a
wide range of unexpected everyday objects in which it is found, to make
them relevant to a child’s world. How does a motorcycle utilize
nitrogen? Which element can absorb harmful chemicals in water? Which
famous landmark is made of copper? From hydrogen to sodium to nickel,
kids will learn fun facts and be amazed.
Supporting STEM education initiatives and designed in DK’s signature visual style, The Elements Book brings the periodic table to life.
In this series, we’ll pick some of our favorite things about Minnesota and share some related book suggestions. (We’re open to your suggestions! Comment below or email us and tell us some of your favorite MN things!)
This week we take a look at some books by or about some of the very cool women that have called Minnesota home! Take a look:
Wanda Gág: A Life of Art and Stories by Karen Nelson Hoyle “At the young age of just 15, Wanda Gág received her dying father’s last wish that she take up his dream of becoming a successful artist: “What papa couldn’t do, Wanda would have to finish.” Wanda assumed the role of head of the household and became the sole means of support for her sick mother and six siblings. Although times were tough, Wanda persevered and eventually became a celebrated artist and author living in New York City.”
No Horizon Is So Far: Two Women And Their Extraordinary Journey Across Antarctica by Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen “Chronicles and celebrates the journey of two modern-day heroines who crossed Antarctic on foot. Though modern technology could not ensure rescue, website transmissions and satellite phone calls enabled more than 3 million school children from 65 countries to bear witness to Ann and Liv’s journey. In February 2001, former schoolteachers Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen became the first women to cross the Antarctic continent on foot.”
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed “Sugar—the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild—is the person thousands turn to for advice. Tiny Beautiful Things brings the best of Dear Sugar in one place and includes never-before-published columns and a new introduction by Steve Almond. Rich with humor, insight, compassion—and absolute honesty—this bookis a balm for everything life throws our way.”
Making sure your students have access to a wide variety of reading materials is an important part of library work. This list from Edutopia can help! Created with input from teachers, the list features diverse book titles for all grades and reading levels.
From the article: “We hope they reflect human diversity in the broadest sense, addressing race and ethnicity, religion, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, and other special circumstances.”
We’ll share a few titles here to give you an idea of the list:
Grades Pre-K – 2: We Are Family by Patricia Hegarty “Through illness and health, in celebration and disappointment, families stick together. Some families are made up of many people, and some are much smaller. Sometimes family members look like each other, and sometimes they don’t! But even though every family is different, the love is all the same.”
Grades 3 – 5: Drita, My Homegirl by Jenny Lombard “Fleeing war-torn Kosovo, ten-year-old Drita and her family move to America with the dream of living a typical American life. But with this hope comes the struggle to adapt and fit in. How can Drita find her place at school and in her new neighborhood when she doesn’t speak any English? Meanwhile, Maxie and her group of fourth-grade friends are popular in their class, and make an effort to ignore Drita. So when their teacher puts Maxie and Drita together for a class project, things get off to a rocky start. But sometimes, when you least expect it, friendship can bloom and overcome even a vast cultural divide. “
Grades 6 – 8: The Arrival by Shaun Tan “Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant’s experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can’t communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character’s isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy.”
Grades 9 – 12: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri The Namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through their fraught transformation into Americans. On the heels of their arranged wedding, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli settle together in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An engineer by training, Ashoke adapts far less warily than his wife, who resists all things American and pines for her family.
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