Hands-On Science: Motion [Hardcover]

Press Here meets Bill Nye the Science Guy in this interactive STEM picture book about forces and motion.

Welcome to the physics lab! In this picture book, young scientists use their imagination to bring experiements to life. They poke whipped cream in the illustrations, tilt the book to roll a ball down a ramp, and slide beanbags to test friction. After predicting what will happen next, eager readers turn the page to see the results.

Educator and author Lola M. Schaefer draws on her years in the classroom to make science fun and accessible. Back matter encourages kids to notice the pushes and pulls all around them and includes a simple physics experiment.A primer on pushes and pulls.
As they did in Matter (2023), Schaefer and Santiago continue to explore basic physics concepts. Their latest is an interactive introduction to force, “a push or pull that can change the motion or shape of an object.” The author explores gravity (simplistically defined as “a force that pulls objects toward Earth”), friction, inertia, and acceleration. But first, she invites readers into the physics lab, where sharp eyes will find the supplies they’ll use in their investigations: whipped cream, sandpaper, a track and marbles, beanbags, a jar of dirt, and even a notebook (a nice touch). As in previous series titles, readers are asked to physically engage with the book. Kids are told to blow on an image of sand, then to touch a button on a lab-vac to clean it up, which leads to an explanation of how a vacuum works. Outside the lab, on a playground, a diverse group of children and adults demonstrate forces at work. (In an online guide for the series, the publisher builds on this idea with a playground-based lesson.) A final, sure-to-please activity asks children to construct a teeter-totter out of a Popsicle stick and a drinking straw, whilã