Maker Space_Learning Place: What Mr. Erickson Is Currently Reading

It is important to me to make time in my day to read. Whether it's a book that will be our next read aloud, or some recommendation I couldn't help but pick up to add to my small (yet growing) library, I try to carve out some time every day to read. I ask it of my students, and it is something I have always asked of myself.

To make this commitment to solidarity more real (and maybe give a tiny hint as to our next read aloud), I am going to use this page to highlight the book (or books) I am currently reading. This page will constantly be changing, and titles will be demoted to a list at the bottom of the page of completed books, and a new piece of literature will take the spotlight.

Note: A new goal of mine was to start branching out and reading more non-fiction/science books, and so there will more often than not be an additional selection focusing on one scientific topic or another. It is always important to continue in the pursuit of knowledge.

Here Be Monsters! (Ratbridge Chronicles: Volume One)
Alan Snow (Author; Illustrator)

The first time I heard of this quite... nonsensical work (whose subtitle is: An Adventure involving magic, trolls and other creatures) was when I read how this was to be used as the source material for the next film made by Laika Studios, the wonderful minds behind two of most favorite movies in years: Coraline and ParaNorman. After reading more about it, I found myself thoroughly sold and ran out to buy a copy.

After delving into this book, I was transported back to the world of old, industrialized London, complete with fantastical creatures, adventures, and a spirited writing that harkens back to the works of Roald Dahl. Complete with around five-hundred pen and inked drawings, it is hard not to be caught up by the sense of adventure. I have been wracking my mind as how to use this as a read aloud while also being able to show the pictures, which are one every page, sometimes two.

The Where, the Why, and the How: 75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science

I bought this book over winter break, and return regularly to it for a kick start of wonder. The pages of this book are filled with short, content rich essays on a myriad of scienctific questions written by contemporary scientists. This book not only tackles the nuances of scientific life, but acts as an exploration of the relationship between art and science. The accompanying illustrations on the recto (right-hand page) complement the essays (either as foils, juxtapositions, literal interpretations, or metaphoric imagery, each piece of art embodies its corresponding question).

Amazon.com Description: A science book like no other, The Where, the Why, and the How turns loose 75 of today's hottest artists onto life's vast questions, from how we got here to where we are going. Inside these pages some of the biggest (and smallest) mysteries of the natural world are explained in essays by real working scientists, which are then illustrated by artists given free rein to be as literal or as imaginative as they like. The result is a celebration of the wonder that inspires every new discovery. Featuring work by such contemporary luminaries as Lisa Congdon, Jen Corace, Neil Farber, Susie Ghahremani, Jeremyville, and many more, this is a work of scientific and artistic exploration to pique the interest of both the intellectually and imaginatively curious.

Examples from the book: