BOOK TOUR: Hide and Go Beak (The Great Mathmechicken 1) by Nancy Krulik, illustrated by Charlie Adler

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the HIDE & GO BEAK by Nancy Krulik & Charlie Adler Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: HIDE & GO BEAK (The Great Mathemachicken 1)

Author: Nancy Krulik, Charlie Adler (Illustrator)

Pub. Date: January 18, 2022

Publisher: Pixel+Ink

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 96

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org, Book Depository

*Please note - this post contains affiliate links, from which we may earn a commission (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase

A new young chapter book series about a chicken who loves math, science, and learning new things--by New York Times bestselling author Nancy Krulik for fans of Unlimited Squirrel and Bumble and Bee.

Chirpy is a young chicken stuck in the family coop. But she's not like the other chickens who just sit around peck peck pecking all day. She's intrigued by the children who come home from a place called school. They always look so happy! (Well, most days.)

So Chirpy sneaks onto the bus one morning, hides in the classroom . . . and discovers a true love of math. When she shares what she's learned with the other chickens, they think she's one kernel short of a cob.

Even so, Chirpy is determined to find a formula for fowl success by pecking away. But when a hungry fox tries to attack the coop, can she find the equation for a simple solution?

With lively two-color art throughout and a fun hands-on simple machine activity, this eggs-ellent hilarious young chapter book series starter is a Grade-A pick for emerging readers to get them eggs-ited about science and math.

Reviews:

"This STEM series debut for newly independent readers provides a light but engaging look at simple machines."—School Library Journal

"A smart, sprightly chapter book series starter. . . . Short, dialogue-driven paragraphs by Krulik (the Princess Pulverizer series) are peppered with 'eggs-tra' humor and chicken wordplay . . . while Alder’s (Doggo and Pupper) cartoon spot illustrations, rendered in tones of yellow, gray, and black, provide plenty of visual characterization"—Publishers Weekly

 

REVIEW of Hide and Go Beak (The Great Mathmechicken 1) by Nancy Krulik and Charlie Adler
Rating: 5 Stars

Release Date: January 18, 2022

Format: eARC

Publisher: Pixel+Ink

Hide and Go Beak by Nancy Krulik and Charlie Adler is the book I wish I had when I was in elementary school. A word that I’ve recently learned is edutainment, which is where something entertaining has an educational aspect. This book embodies all that and more - I think more children will be reached as a result because it’s entertaining and doesn’t feel like a textbook. 

The creators did a great job blending science, math, and humor in this book. I’m well past the intended audience age in my twenties, but I was still very entertained and amused by the read. I think this would be a great book to read aloud or have young readers practice their reading with. 

Thank you to the author and illustrator, the publisher at Pixel+Ink, Edelweiss, and Jaime at Rockstar Book Tours for allowing me to read an early copy of the book as part of my participation in the tour. I appreciate the opportunity immensely. Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed Hide and Go Beak. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

About Nancy Krulik:

NANCY KRULIK is the international bestselling author of more than two hundred books for children. Her series, including Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo; George Brown, Class Clown; Magic Bone; Princess Pulverizer; and Ms. Frogbottom’s Field Trips, are beloved around the world. She lives in New York City.

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon |BookBub

 

About Charlie Adler:

CHARLIE ALDER has written and illustrated many books for children, including Daredevil Duck and Chicken Break! When not drawing chickens, Charlie can be found in her studio drinking coffee, arranging her crayons, and inventing more accidental animal heroes. She lives in Devon, England.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a Finished Copy of HIDE & GO BEAK, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/17/2022	Mythical Books	Excerpt/IG Post
1/17/2022	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt
1/18/2022	YA Books Central	Excerpt
1/18/2022	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt
1/19/2022	The Phantom Paragrapher	Excerpt
1/19/2022	Nonbinary Knight Reads	Review/IG Post
1/20/2022	Bookhounds YA	Review
1/20/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
1/21/2022	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
1/21/2022	Nerdophiles	Review

Week Two:

1/24/2022	The Momma Spot	Review
1/24/2022	Locks, Hooks and Books	Review
1/25/2022	Pick a good book	Review
1/25/2022	@curlygrannylovestoread	Review/IG Post
1/26/2022	For the Love of KidLit	Excerpt
1/26/2022	perusewithcoffee	Review
1/27/2022	Coffee and Wander Book Reviews	Review/IG Post
1/27/2022	Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog	Review/IG Post
1/28/2022	two Points of interest	Review
1/28/2022	@jypsylynn	Review/IG Post

ARC REVIEW: The Renegade Spy Project by Terri Selting David

Welcome to the book tour for The Renegade Spy Project by Terri Selting David, a book I know most parents and readers will wholeheartedly recommend! Read on for more info, my review, and a chance to win a digital copy of the entire trilogy!

The Renegade Spy Project (The Renegade Girls Tinkering Club #1)

Publication Date: August 10th, 2020

Genre: Middle Grade/ Chapter Books/ Children’s Inventor Books (Ages 8 – 12)

Publisher: Spiderdust Studios

Wren is impulsive, curious, and always in trouble. Can her flaws become her greatest asset?

Wren Sterling has a problem. She knows she’s super smart and a good friend, but no matter how hard she tries, she can’t shake her reputation as a troublemaker. It feels like the only people who believe in her are her three best friends in the Renegade Girls Tinkering Club. She’d hoped middle school would be different, but when her inability to control her temper causes an accident, even her beloved STEM Club is no longer a safe haven.

She has to find a way to fix it. When her idea to start a business inventing and selling spy gadgets succeeds, it looks like she’s finally done something right! But then the Club is accused of a crime. Can they use their own gadgets, and a little bit of trouble to solve the mystery? If they can find the real culprit, Wren may just discover she has a bright future after all. If they can’t, she could lose her best friends forever.

“It’s The Babysitter’s Club meets MacGyver!”

Build your own SPY GADGETS! Instructions included in this charming story about friendship, middle school, and the Engineering Design Process for kids ages 8-12.

Add to Goodreads

Excerpt

Technically it was Wren’s Greenhouse, hidden behind her family's small home in the middle of San Francisco, but all the Renegades felt at home there. In the Greenhouse, they didn't have to worry about other people's rules and opinions. Or try to be boring or be like everyone else. The Greenhouse was their safe space. They could just be themselves. Wren's parents let them use it as their workshop and clubhouse as long as her little sister, Trixie, could be part of the club.

When they'd formed the Renegade Girls Tinkering Club, the Greenhouse had been abandoned and filled with broken pots and spiderwebs. It was small and dirty, but had everything they needed. A door hidden like a secret behind an overgrown wisteria vine. A back wall with shelves from floor to ceiling, and excellent light from a front wall made entirely of glass. A small but sturdy potting table sat against the windows. It was pleasant and warm, with one electrical outlet and a small work sink. They loved it from the first time they saw it.

Amber, Kammie, Ivy, Wren, and even Trixie had worked tirelessly last summer, cleaning and gathering assorted leftovers, recyclables, and a mishmash of bins to put them in. They categorized and labelled, collected cardboard by cutting down shipping boxes, and saved empty toilet paper rolls from the trash. They snuck random scissors from kitchen drawers, ribbons, buttons, anything that looked useful or had an interesting shape. Amber had borrowed a folding card table from her garage, and Kammie brought in some stools her parents were getting rid of. Wren found an old glue gun, and they had even managed to find an unused sewing machine. The first purchase with their club dues had been copies of the side gate key, so everyone could head directly into the backyard when they came over.

Amber rocketed through that side gate, clutching a cardboard box protectively to her chest with her delicate arms. Beneath a spring green sundress her feet, in their pristine white flats, skipped quickly and skillfully over the ground. The September afternoon sun lit up her auburn hair like a fiery halo.

Available on Amazon

Get your copy of the book on Bookshop.org!

*Please note - this post contains affiliate links, from which we may earn a commission (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase

REVIEW of The Renegade Spy Project (The Renegade Girls Tinkering Club #1) by Terri Selting David
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Release Date: August 10, 2020
Format: eARC
Publisher: Spiderdust Studios

The Renegade Spy Project, first in the Renegade Girls Tinkering Club series by Terri Selting David is a solid choice for any young inventor in one's life. I would recommend it to readers at the middle-grade level who enjoy a bit of mystery and innovation in stories. 

Our main character, Wren Sterling is very intelligent but she's often overlooked by adults for being different. She and her group of friends, members of the Renegade Girls Tinkering Club must overcome multiple obstacles and secure their future in STEM before it's too late. 

I think this book will be very encouraging to young readers interested in STEM. The main characters aren’t some group of super-geniuses where everything they attempt goes right on the first attempt. They make mistakes, they learn from them, and they get to increase their knowledge in the process. As a chemistry major in college, I loved how the author included instructions for DIY science experiments within the book - readers will get to attempt the same experiments the characters are working on. The format makes them very accessible for anyone to try, as Ms. David breaks the process down into simple steps. When some authors attempt this, it feels more like it was “dumbed down” but I never got that sense while reading the book. I hope more people discover this book in the near future!   

Thank you to the author Terri Selting David and Shannon at Reads and Reels Book Tours (R&R Book Tours) for sharing a review copy of the book with me. I voluntarily read and reviewed The Renegade Spy Project. This did not affect my opinion of the book or the context of my review.

About the Author

In 1996, Terri left Colorado, where she grew up, and headed even more West until she couldn’t get any West-er. Landing in San Francisco, her career spanned more than a decade in 3D character animation for video games, films, television shows, and even a comic book (but mostly video games.) Her work encompassed character animation, art direction, and story development before she had children and, imagining a better world for them, co-founded the Renegade Girls Tinkering Club with her friend Vicky in 2015. Since then she’s created over a dozen curricula and assisted in creating half a dozen more, encompassing more than 230 individual projects.

She lives in San Francisco with 2 rowdy children and a fabulous, brilliant husband who brings her tea every night.

Spiderdust Studios – Girls Who Make Stuff

International Giveaway: The Renegade Girls Tinkering Club Trilogy (Digital)

Rafflecopter

Book Tour Organized By:

R&R Book Tours

ARC REVIEW: The Curie Society by Heather Einhorn, Adam Staffaroni and Janet Harvey

The Curie Society by Heather Einhorn, Adam Staffaroni, and Janet Harvey

Rating: 4 Stars

Release Date: April 27, 2021

Format: eARC

Publisher: MIT Press

Get your copy of the book on Bookshop.org

Get your copy of the book on Book Depository

*Please note - this post contains affiliate links, from which we may earn a commission (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase

The Curie Society is the read I wish I had when I was little. I’m a Chemistry major, so I got very excited when I saw a book celebrating Marie Curie and females in STEM. The story does cover some advanced concepts due to the setting of the story being college. However, the writers do a good job of making it accessible. I suspect the vocabulary will still be over some people’s heads, but they anticipated that and included a glossary. A large chunk of the story and the plot is dedicated to the works and accomplishments of Marie Curie, but it does give some subtle nods to other famous women in STEM like Ada Lovelace and Emmy Noether.

The premise of the story is that Marie Curie started a secret society of sorts to get more women into the STEM fields. They become spies of sorts and work to protect the progression of science. We follow three main characters, Taj, Maya, and Simone as they navigate the pitfalls and high points of college. I enjoyed the realistic nature of the scenes in the book. Maya’s experience with her first time washing clothes solo (and the horror when she messes it up) felt very relatable and humorous. In terms of audience, I recommend this to readers who are in middle school or older who have an interest in pursuing the STEM field in their future. It is equally well suited to both boys and girls (despite some of the obvious feminist leanings). The art in this book is fantastic. However, I do want to note that from the cover alone it isn’t obvious the story is set in college. They look very young on the cover, so it was a shock to learn their actual age at the beginning of the story.

 

Thank you to MIT Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this book.