Take 5: Science and Lit resources for the Collaborative Summer Library Program

This year’s collaborative summer reading theme, Fizz Book Read or Spark A Reaction, has a science theme to it. Today, I’m sharing a couple of fun resources that you may want to use in your programming or share with your tweens and teens. Actually, in this case these resources are mostly Tween friendly except for the Basher Basics books which I think have universal appeal.

Code Busters Series Guide from EgmontUSA
The Code Busters Club is a tween mystery series from EgmontUSA. They have a website and a STEM discussion guide. It’s definitely for the younger tween crowd, but you can pair it with some CSI type activities and have a fun program or book club meeting.

Nick and Tesla
My Tween is actually reading this series as I write this. She has finished book one and is currently half way through book 2 and really likes it. The Nick and Tesla series has its own built in activities right inside the books. And at the website, there are YouTube videos of Science Bob demonstrating the projects found inside the books. I am a fan.

Science Comics for Summer Reading
Diamond Bookshelf has put together a guide to comics that introduce comic readers to various types of science. I am particularly looking forward to the Howtoons: Tools of Mass Construction coming in August.

Basher Basics
This series of books is a MUST HAVE for any collection. It focuses on Math and Science and provides basic, easy entry and discussion into a wide variety of topics. We have a large collection of these in my home thanks to the Scholastic Book Fair and I can not recommend them highly enough.

EdHeads
The Tween actually introduced me to this resource, which would be great to put on the desktops of your library computers for the summer reading challenge. Edheads describes itself as “an online educational resource that provides free science and math games and activities that promote critical thinking. Choose from Simple Machines, Virtual Knee Surgery or Stem Cell Heart Repair, among others. All activities meet state and national standards.” It comes with at least one tween endorsement.

Filed under: Collaborative Summer Reading Program, Collection Development, Science, Summer Reading