Kid Konnection: Make This!

Every weekend, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekly feature about anything related to children's books. This week I'm going to share with you another great book from National Geographic Kids.

Summary: Create your maker space with this fun and instructive book, chock-full of hands-on activities and cool experiments to get kids thinking and tinkering.

This book is designed to inspire the next generation of engineers and supports all kinds of kid creators: those who prefer guided instruction, those who prefer to dream up and design objects on their own, and everyone in between. With thoughtful text and bright illustrations, kids get the tools and the know-how to tackle all kinds of exciting projects: building a kaleidoscope, designing a fidget spinner, planting a rain forest, creating a musical instrument, and more. Unconventional scenarios inspired by real National Geographic explorers give kids a chance to think outside the box and apply their maker skills to real life. Chapters are divided up by scientific principle, such as simple machines, energy, and forces. In each chapter, kids can start by following step-by-step activities, or get creative by tackling an open-ended challenge. Helpful sidebars explain the science behind what's happening every step of the way.

Make This! is perfect for curious and STEM-loving kids, families looking for a fun way to play together, and anyone else who's ready to get creative and start tinkering! -- National Geographic Kids

I bet you didn't know that tomorrow is the beginning of National Engineers Week, did you? Eweek was created in 1951 and "is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers." So it's perfect timing (if I do say so myself) to share with you the National Geographic Kids book, MAKE THIS!: BUILDING, THINKING, AND TINKERING PROJECTS FOR THE AMAZING MAKER IN YOU by Ella Schwartz with photographs by Matthew Rakola.

MAKE THIS! is a wonderful book for budding engineers ages 8 - 12. With almost 160 pages, this book has instructions for lots of interesting projects that encourage creativity. For example, there are step-by-step instructions for making a skee-ball challenge using an inclined plane as well as a rain forest in a bottle. Other projects that caught my eye include a Sound Wave Stethoscope, a Color Kaleidoscope, a Water Balloon Helmet, and a Fidget Spinner. I was truly impressed with all of the fun projects and just how educational they are. In addition to the easy-to-follow instructions, there are ratings for difficulty levels, items you'll need to complete the project, and how many people it will take.

I sound like a broken record telling you every few weeks just how great National Geographic Kids books are, and MAKE THIS! is no exception. This book truly gives new meaning to the words "fun and educational." As a mom, I loved the project ideas and instructions, but there are also text boxes with explanations (What's Going On?) and questions for that require some additional thought (Think About It). These elements really bring this book to the next level by relating these various projects to real-world applications.

I even liked how this book was designed. The chapters are broken into different scientific principles like Simple Machines, Materials, Systems, Optics, Energy, Acoustics, Forces, and Motion. Each chapter has between six and nine projects so kids will have plenty of projects to try. And of course, this book has amazing photographs and illustrations which really makes it even more enticing for middle grade readers.

All in all, MAKE THIS! is an excellent book for students interested in STEM. I highly recommend it for both home and school libraries.

Thanks to Media Masters for providing a review copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!