Recently I've been rereading some books from my childhood---I pretend that it is to find out which ones are good for Eleanor, but I really just enjoy them. Here are 4 series that I enjoyed then and now which involve experiments, the scientific method, and fun things you can do with engineering and technology. Although the descriptions here are dry (they reflect what I notice re-reading them as an adult) the books strengths are in fun, and in having smart, thoughtful protagonists (you could call them geeks...).
It strikes me as I write this that all of the main characters in these books were boys, with girl sidekicks who were more or less scientifically adept, depending. Sally in the Encyclopedia Brown books was the toughest and prettiest girl in the 5th grade, Midge in the Henry Reed books was definitely the lead actor, but not the scientific one. Irene in Danny Dunn was very smart, probably on par with Danny, but not as impulsive. I don't remember that bothering me at the time, I think I may have identified with the main characters despite gender. And stereotyping in older books can be the springboard for further conversation (and gentle debunking, especially when your mother is the one with the PhD in math).
The other thing that interests me about these books is the stuff that these kids get away with. Henry Reed builds a hot air balloon. The Mad Scientists club makes rockets, remote controls, radar, seismographs... Does anyone do that anymore? Did people ever really do that? I know my Dad did, as a kid. He continued the tradition: I helped my Dad build a radio kit, a synthesizer from scratch, an electronic dice kit... Although I'm not sure how much help I was, it was certainly fun. Do kids do that today, or do they just watch TV and play video games or computer games?
I also want to recommend two economic books: The Pushcart War and The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill. In the first, you can experience labor activism, and in the second, the start of a small business. Both are fun to read.
Anyone have any more scientific/economic kids books that they liked? I'll have separate posts for magic/fantasy and history kids books when I feel inspired (although feel free to email/comment recommendations for those lists).
Update: I remembered "The Trouble with Jenny's Ear" by Oliver Butterworth. Jenny's brothers set up all sorts of sound equipment and inadvertently make it so that Jenny can hear people's thoughts. Perhaps more science fiction, but the tone reminds me of Henry Reed. A friend has pointed out that some of the "Magic Treehouse" books have scientific themes (like when the kids visit Leonardo Da Vinci), and The Magic Schoolbus series is definitely scientific. Those are probably for littler kids, though.
- Mad Scientist's Club by Bertrand R. Brindley. A bunch of kids do experiments and get into trouble. Probably the most technical (I think you could actually learn things about designing rockets and such from the text).
- Danny Dunn by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. 3 kids use their friend Professor Bulfinch's experiments to get in trouble. Pretty fanciful, but loaded with ideas about testing hypotheses, thinking through to conclusions. We only have the homework machine book, but I remember the universal glue (warning about water pollution) and the automatic house books very clearly.
- Henry Reed books by Keith Robertson. I reread these every few years. Henry Reed wants to be a naturalist, but his adventures also involve traveling and babysitting.
- Encyclopedia Brown books by Donald J. Sobol. These puzzle stories can encourage critical thinking, although I admit that I read most of the answers without trying to figure them out.
It strikes me as I write this that all of the main characters in these books were boys, with girl sidekicks who were more or less scientifically adept, depending. Sally in the Encyclopedia Brown books was the toughest and prettiest girl in the 5th grade, Midge in the Henry Reed books was definitely the lead actor, but not the scientific one. Irene in Danny Dunn was very smart, probably on par with Danny, but not as impulsive. I don't remember that bothering me at the time, I think I may have identified with the main characters despite gender. And stereotyping in older books can be the springboard for further conversation (and gentle debunking, especially when your mother is the one with the PhD in math).
The other thing that interests me about these books is the stuff that these kids get away with. Henry Reed builds a hot air balloon. The Mad Scientists club makes rockets, remote controls, radar, seismographs... Does anyone do that anymore? Did people ever really do that? I know my Dad did, as a kid. He continued the tradition: I helped my Dad build a radio kit, a synthesizer from scratch, an electronic dice kit... Although I'm not sure how much help I was, it was certainly fun. Do kids do that today, or do they just watch TV and play video games or computer games?
I also want to recommend two economic books: The Pushcart War and The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill. In the first, you can experience labor activism, and in the second, the start of a small business. Both are fun to read.
Anyone have any more scientific/economic kids books that they liked? I'll have separate posts for magic/fantasy and history kids books when I feel inspired (although feel free to email/comment recommendations for those lists).
Update: I remembered "The Trouble with Jenny's Ear" by Oliver Butterworth. Jenny's brothers set up all sorts of sound equipment and inadvertently make it so that Jenny can hear people's thoughts. Perhaps more science fiction, but the tone reminds me of Henry Reed. A friend has pointed out that some of the "Magic Treehouse" books have scientific themes (like when the kids visit Leonardo Da Vinci), and The Magic Schoolbus series is definitely scientific. Those are probably for littler kids, though.
Comments
I think this is a generational thing. My dad also had his electronics lab where he tinkered and built stuff. I helped in a sense (watched sometimes), but engineering nerds of our age and younger were more likely to go straight to computers. It's a bit of a shame, really, since you can actually learn the basics of how radios, electric circuits, etc., work by putting together the hardware.
Of your list of books, the only ones I read were the Encyclopedia Brown series. I remember even as a kid it bothered me quite a lot that the protagonists were always male, and, sadly, I still don't have an example to recommend where it's a girl. As a kid I really liked Ellen Raskin's "The Westing Game" (not science, but a bit of an intellectual puzzle with a girl protagonist), but I was kind of disappointed with it when I re-read it recently.
Beyond that, I can tell you that my kids love "Dora the Explorer" and lately have been singing "Interplanet Janet, she's a galaxy girl!" Not sure if that helps. ;^)
The girl from wonder years (Danica McKellar) majored in math and wrote a book aimed at girls about how math is really cool. Of course, just the fact that a book is needed says something.
You might like to know that when Anders poses any tough math problem to Joe, he says that his aunt would know the answer (think - what's a billion-million plus a million-billion minus 27).
FNDP
"The Westing Game" is one of my favorite books of all time. I still remember how I felt when the mystery was solved---a bit like I felt when I did my first proof. I still like it, but I have read many books that do not improve on re-reading. It is disappointing.
I was talking with a friend, and she had heard about "Uncle Albert" books. They talk about time, black holes, and such things. While I was looking that up, I ran into a kids book by Stephen Hawking, and another called "Clan Apis" which is a graphic novel about bees. I thought of you when I read "Clan Apis", you should check it out if you haven't already.
Hi FNDP! I do remember the Gordon Korman books. My favorite was "The War with Mr. Wizzle," where a computer expert comes to the school to get things running better. I think the kids (Bruno and Boots) foil his plots by substituting toilet paper for computer paper (among other things). It's no longer in print, I suppose the powers that be thought it was a little out of date...