Author #173: Coppens cake and geology

Geology Is A Piece Of Cake by Katie Coppens.  Cleverly tying together geology with cake, Ms.Coppens, a middle-school English and science teacher, takes the reader on a journey linking science with science from geologic structures and processes to how they relate to different aspects of cake such as how eating a piece of cake is related to how animals cause weathering.  She uses cake to help explain Mohs scale of hardness.  The book is primarily about geology with some cake references included.  She's got a good balance-just enough cake references to whet the appetite and keep you going through the book without feeling like you're overwhelmed in sweetness.  Her approach also makes geology easier to understand and encourages the reader to learn more about science in general.

Author #169: Hughes helps the world in her book What Matters

What Matters is written by Alison Hughes and illustrated by Holly Hatam.  A young boy picks up an abandoned soda pop can and puts it in the recycling bin.  It's a small thing but "what matters" is the impact his action has on the surroundings.  He influences many things from an ant to two baby birds to some flowers to the ocean with many creatures and things in between.  This is one of the best books I've ever read about the impact of cleaning up our garbage on the environment.  I still can hardly believe we only have one copy of this book in our local library system.  I loved Holly Hatam's delicate illustrations.  See more of her work at her website: http://www.hollyhatam.com/