Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Kids Will Love the New Chapter Book STEM Series, "Acadia Files" -- These Books Explore Science Through Adventure! (Review)

Disclosure:  I was sent review copies from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.



"The Acadia Files: Book One, Summer Science presents five summer stories, each one followed by Acadia’s science notebook pages with her simple explanations and lively, whimsical drawings of natural phenomena. The Acadia Files is a fun introduction to the wonders of science, using real-world scenarios to make scientific inquiry relatable and understandable. Parents and educators can use The Acadia Files to let kids discover for themselves what it’s like to be curious about the world and to satisfy that curiosity with scientific thinking.  
The Acadia Files: Book One, Summer Science offers an engaging new way to apply the scientific method to real-world scenarios.
Topics included:
  • The Missing Blueberries -- introduces the scientific method
  • It's all About the Genes
  • Where Sand Comes From
  • Why the Sun Rises Early in Summer
  • Tides and Gravity

Great for teaching STEAM
Acadia Greene wants answers. Who keeps stealing her blueberries just as they ripen on the bushes? Why is her hair curly? Why does the sun wake her up so early in the summer? Why does the tide submerge her sandcastles? How do rocks become sand? Acadia doesn’t set out to do science, but she has these important questions and her scientist parents refuse to simply feed her the answers. “Conduct an experiment,” they tell her. “Use the scientific method.” So Acadia gathers evidence, makes hypotheses, designs experiments, uses the results to test her hypotheses, and draws conclusions. Acadia does science.
Acadia Files for autumn, winter, and spring will follow on future lists."

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(Also available in Kindle Format)
"The Acadia Files: Book Two, Autumn Science presents five stories of fall, each one followed by Acadia’s science notebook pages with her simple explanations and lively, whimsical drawings of natural phenomena.
Topics Included:
  • The Frog Pond
  • Why Leaves Changes Color
  • Drinking Dinosaur Pee
  • What Time is It?
  • The Germ War

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My Thoughts:

My girls recently finished reading Book One and Book Two in the Acadia Files series, which is a STEM-Inspired chapter book series from Katie Coppens. These books read like a chapter book and lab notebook, which makes it not only fun for kids to read, but also educational.  I first learned about these books from fellow homeschool friends who stumbled upon them when shopping Amazon.  They loved how the author was a teacher, and how she shared science topics in an easy to understand and follow along format. And, at the end of each chapter, there are a few pages filled with illustrations and notes, that will read like a lab notebook.  This is the part that I really liked.  
In addition to each chapter (about a different science topic) and the laboratory pages that follow. there is a also a glossary page featuring new scientific terms shared in the text for review.  There are also questions posed at the end of each chapter that Acadia wonders about.  I really like these questions as it had my girls thinking about the questions and coming up with a hypothesis for each, and ways to test their hypothesis in order to help Acadia answer these questions posed.
Like I said, my girls recently finished reading the first two books in the Acadia Files series, and they loved both of them.  Even though my girls love science and STEM learning, I know many kids who struggle to get about science.  After reading these books with my girls, I could see why homeschooling friends loved and  recommended these new chapter books.  They said their children found themselves getting excited about science and things like water cycle, time zones, immune system, genetics and tides and gravity -- all of which are covered in the first two books in The Acadia Files series.  
With summer fast approaching, now would be a great time to pick up The Acadia Files to share with your kids as part of their summer reading.  I can't wait to  check out the different links shared at the end of each book in the "Further Exploration" section. This includes links about useful websites for readers to remain active in learning about science topics in the book.  They are also great for educators and homeschool parents to review and share with students for those looking to dive deeper into each science topic covered.
I could go on and on about how great The Acadia Files Book One and Book Two are, but instead, why not pick up these books and share them with your kids, and see for yourself why we love them, and so many other families are fans of Katie Coppens new science-based chapter series for kids.  And, be on the lookout for Book Three and Book Four, both of which will are available now for pre-order.  

Book 3 and 4 are already in the pipeline and will be releasing in November for Book 3, and Feb. 2020 for Book 4. You can pre-order these books now through Amazon, as well as through other book sellers like Barnes and Noble.

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About the Author: 

Katie Coppens is a middle school English and science teacher. She lives in Maine with her husband and two children. Go to www.katiecoppens.com to learn more about her publications.
The author, Katie Coppens writes a recurring column for NSTA's middle school magazine Science Scope on science and literacy called "The Integrated Classroom."
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Disclosure:  I was sent review copies from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.

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