Book Review: Stay Curious and Keep Exploring (x2)

I grew up with Mr. Wizard as my science icon on TV, and I still have a copy of his Supermarket Science book (my daughter was completely unimpressed).

Emily Calandrelli may be this generation’s Mr. Wizard. She an MIT engineer and host of Emily’s Wonder Lab and Xploration Outer Space, as well as the author of two books full of science experiments kids can do at home, mostly with items you might already have in the house.

Stay Curious and Keep Exploring (published 2022, 168 pages, hardcover, 50 experiments, suggested retail price $22.95) features 50 projects on various themes: our of this world science, spooky science, things that glow, egg science, birthday science creations, magic tricks, kitchen science, experiments with a high potential to get messy. physics projects and ice experiments.

A few examples: magnetic slime, melting foam with acetone, making glow in the dark paint, bouncing rainbow eggs, LED birthday cards, a self-filling balloon, a cookie baking experiment, horse toothpaste and broomstick balancing. These silly sounding projects are often tied to real-world lessons about how things work, such as why is it so hard to get ketchup out of a bottle, why do our fingers get wrinkly in the bath, and why does it take so long for water to boil.

Kids are encouraged to ask questions, make hypotheses and take notes in the book as they learn.

In addition to the experiments there are mini profiles of women is STEM through history, fun facts and ideas for changing up the experiments. There are also reference tables and a glossary in the back for any terms you don’t know.

The second book, Stay Curious and Keep Exploring Next Level (published 2024, 176 pages, hardcover, 50 experiments, suggested retail price $22.95) continues on the theme with bigger, bolder, messier projects in superhero science, scary science, bubbles, water, outdoor experiments, things that glow, science to do with friends, food science, science in color and projects related to the human body.

Here you’ll find fun projects like floating coins, zombie ping-pong balls, unpoppable bubbles, sticky water, egg geodes, exploding soda, secret notes, and how to extract strawberry DNA, among other things.

This book also includes profiles of people in STEM you’ll want to know and a glossary, but this one also has a shopping list to make stocking your science experiment pantry that much easier.

Either or both of these books would be great to gift to a curious kiddo or their parents (or grandparents!) who want to do some fun and messy learning with their kiddos.

Next Plan Idea:

Lunar New Year Books for Kids

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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