March Meeting: Candy Chemistry

Last month's activity was inspired by adroit chemist and amateur detective Flavia de Luce, the 11-year-old protagonist of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.  We had a smaller turnout because of that morning's snow, but a spirited discussion and activity.  Perhaps because we were fueled by the leftover candy...

Using different coated candies, we learned about chromatography, the separation of a mixture into its components.  In this case, we were seeing how the dyes in the candy coatings separated out into different colors.  Would the same colors on different brands of candy (M&Ms, Skittles, and Wonka Fruits) react the same way?  Which colors would be more complex?

First we had to get some dye.  We put drops of water onto a plastic tray and placed the candies on top.

Then we brushed the dyes into coffee filters, labeling each different candy.

Finally, we placed these filters in cups with water, making sure to keep the dye dots above the water line.  The water seeped up the filter, reached the dye, and continued to travel upwards, separating the dyes on its path.

We realized as we were doing this that it was important to leave enough space above the dye dots to really see the separation of the dye mixture.  If we had more time, it would have been great to do this again, but you can try it at home!  Paper towels also work instead of coffee filters, and you can try experimenting with the inks in different colored waterbased markers as well as candy.

Next month we'll be discussing a favorite of mine, Nation by Terry Pratchett.

February Meeting: Curiouser and Curiouser

For February we read Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe.  Using 1,000 most commonly-used words in the English language, Munroe explained the workings of complicated things -- from human internal organs to a nuclear power plant.

The jokes were the favorite bits for many in the group.  Each explanatory page has a lot of text for using just 1,000 words (maybe because Munroe was restricted to 1,000 words) which could be a bit overwhelming.  Still, like his What If? it is a terrific book for browsing at random.  I'm still not sure whether my new understanding of nuclear power plants makes me feel safer or not.

You can thing-explain for yourself using Munroe's word checker.

Because we were thinking about how things worked, it was an excellent time to come up with questions for the 2019 Cambridge Science Festival's Curiosity Challenge.  The criteria are as simple as that: what are you curious about?  Participants are invited to submit a drawing, an essay, a poem, or a photograph. 

Learn more about the Cambridge Science Festival, which runs from April 12-21, 2019, here.

Here is what sparked curiosity in our group!

In March we will be meeting to talk about The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.  Chemistry and poisons!  (The pizza is safe, I promise.)

January Meeting: Fantasy Islands!

Our January read was Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya.  
Some Bookshoppers felt that the ending was too sad.  Others thought the story
was too similar to other books they had already read, with a troubled teen and
an absent parent.

We talked about what it was like to visit family members we had never
met before, especially in a place where we did not speak the language.  
We also discussed bullying and how Marcus was seen as more threatening
because of his size, while everyone agreed that Stephan’s bullying with words
was worse.

Our activity was making our own fantasy islands and topographical maps.  
Working in three groups of three, we used salt dough (non-toxic but still not
delicious, y’all) to sculpt islands inside plastic containers.  Then we marked
the outsides of the containers in centimeters added colored water in increments
to see what features remained above water. We outlined these features onto clear
plastic to mark the islands’ topography.  Finally we traced the outlines onto paper
and added place names and other details.

I got this idea from The Oakland Toy Lab via Instructables.  There are more activities
you can try with this project if you follow the link!  I also got a terrific recommendation
from a coworker for a program called Inkarnate if you would like to continue to explore
fantasy mapmaking.

I am sorry I wasn’t able to catch everyone in focus!  My cell phone photography skills
need some work :) Just think of it as a dramatic “action” effect.

Next month we’ll be shifting to nonfiction with Randall Munroe’s Thing Explainer.  
I hear What If was a huge hit last year, so I am really excited to hear Bookshoppers’
opinions on this unusual book. See you on February 4!

December Meeting: Legos and Comic Strip App

We had a smaller than normal group for our December meeting due to some conflicting commitments, but the Bookshoppers in attendance made some awesome creations inspired by our book, Illegal, a graphic novel by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin.

Our book discussion over pizza was somber. This was not an uplifting book, and several people noted the super sad ending and expressed a preference for books with happier endings. It is a fictionalized account of a refugee boy's long and dangerous journey from Ghana to Europe in search of his older brother and sister. We talked a little bit about why it's important to read books like this and how some Bookshoppers felt like they always seemed to be talking about refugees in school and out of school. We also talked about the title and if it's okay to call someone illegal.

After that serious but productive discussion, we split into two groups to recreate scenes from the book using Legos. Interestingly enough, both groups chose to portray the same scene independently. Granted, it's a highly emotional scene toward the end of the book involving an overturned boat, a tragic loss, and a helicopter rescue. Once the scene had been set, each group had an iPad with the free Comic Strip app loaded on in order to take pictures and create a short comic of the scene. There were some frustrating bugs, all the more frustrating because our meeting was almost over by the time each group was happy with the way their scene had come out and ready to start taking pictures. But the app is pretty easy to navigate and allows you to add fun captions and sound effects and filters. Below are some pictures documenting the creative process as well as the final comics.

Mickey's Helicopter

Avery, Amy, and Arsalan's Lego Scene

Avery, Amy, and Arsalan's Lego Scene

Avery, Amy, and Arsalan's Lego Scene

Naseem's Boat Scene

Naseem's Boat Scene

Naseem's Boat Scene

Mickey working on a comic strip

Avery and Amy working on a comic strip

Avery and Amy's Comic Strip

Avery's Comic Strip

Mickey's Comic Strip

Naseem's Comic Strip

Our next meeting will be on Monday, January 7th, and we will be reading Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish, by Pablo Cartaya. Maya will be running the remainder of the meetings for this school year while I am off on maternity leave, but I'll keep checking the blog to see all the amazing things Bookshop is working on!

November Meeting: Zines and Punk Rock

Happy November! We had a lively meeting full of pizza, introductions and re-introductions, chatting, punk rock, and crafting. Maya Escobar, one of the other youth services librarians here at the Main Library, attended the meeting since she will be taking over Bookshop while I am off on maternity leave from January-June. I know the Bookshop crew will be in great hands with her at the helm!

After brief introductions for Maya and one new Bookshopper, we chatted a bit about the book, The First Rule of Punk, commiserating with Malú about being moved across the country at the beginning of 7th grade and about having VERY different hobbies and interests from her mom. Most of us could relate to that...

Then we turned on a punk rock playlist created by the book's author, Celia C. Pérez, to set the mood and dove into creating our own mini zines. For those who haven't read the book and aren't familiar with zines, according to Merriam-Webster, a zine is "a noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter." Although we didn't have as much time or as many materials as Malú had in creating her awesome zines sprinkled throughout the book, the Bookshoppers were able to get a good start on some fabulous zines. Sneak peeks of the process and zines below!

Michelle: My Life 

Isaac: Shoes

Sean: Dungeons & Dragons

Gabriel: Shrunken Heads

Mickey: Heads

Naseem: Cambridge/Boston Sports Teams

Avery: Music

Arsalan: Space, Constellations, and Stars

Amy: Friends

Maya: Bugs

Emily: Maine

Our next meeting will be on Monday, December 3rd. We are reading Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, a graphic novelization of the journey of a young refugee fleeing Ghana in search of his brother and sister. See you then!