Push-Pull Morning: Dog-Powered Poems About Matter and Energy (Hardcover)
Introduce children to physics through play, poetry, and a puppy in this joyous celebration of how physics matters in our everyday lives.
This remarkable picture book explores scientific concepts (gravity, magnetism, electricity, friction, etc.) through the story of the relationship between a child and a puppy. Acclaimed author Lisa Westberg Peters’s poems convey concepts in a way that children will remember—often with humor. Who could forget the various phases when they’re presented in the form of a dog—solid when eating dinner, liquid when pouring herself into her basket, and gas when leaping erratically after a fly? Serge Bloch’s whimsical illustrations extend the humor—and the love—in this tale of a child, a dog, and the energy that abounds in their world.
Extensive notes at the end of the book define and explain the physics subjects included in the poems.
This remarkable picture book explores scientific concepts (gravity, magnetism, electricity, friction, etc.) through the story of the relationship between a child and a puppy. Acclaimed author Lisa Westberg Peters’s poems convey concepts in a way that children will remember—often with humor. Who could forget the various phases when they’re presented in the form of a dog—solid when eating dinner, liquid when pouring herself into her basket, and gas when leaping erratically after a fly? Serge Bloch’s whimsical illustrations extend the humor—and the love—in this tale of a child, a dog, and the energy that abounds in their world.
Extensive notes at the end of the book define and explain the physics subjects included in the poems.
Lisa Westberg Peters is the author of nineteen children’s books including Our Family Tree, the winner of the Minnesota Book Award. Her first book, The Sun, the Wind and the Rain, was named a NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book, and many of her titles have received starred reviews.
Serge Bloch is the illustrator of A Bunch of Punctuation. He also works in the editorial world for newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and more. His books are internationally translated and published.
Serge Bloch is the illustrator of A Bunch of Punctuation. He also works in the editorial world for newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and more. His books are internationally translated and published.
"A dog and a child joyously demonstrate gravity, friction, inertia, and other physical phenomena...With an eye to her STEM-centric theme, Peters outfits her free-verse romps with titular references to physics and parenthetical identifications of relevant topics or principles...Playfulness and pedagogy intertwined." —Kirkus Reviews
"Picture book poetry, stated by a dog-loving young boy, introduces principles of physics in an inventive blend likely to intrigue... (with) deft blank verse and energetic, comic line drawings... the dual thrust should interest fans of Peters’s many other books and may invite or challenge pet lovers, as well as readers and teachers of poetry or science."—School Library Journal
"Peters’ energetic and educational book follows a child and their dog as together they explore unconditional love and the world of science. Each scientific topic, focused on matter and energy, is expressed through a delightful first-person free-verse poem and a lively, vivid illustration from Bloch that demonstrates movement and fluctuation of energy....Peters and Bloch take on important educational concepts and, in classic scientific fashion, transform them into something wholly original and interesting." —Booklist
"Picture book poetry, stated by a dog-loving young boy, introduces principles of physics in an inventive blend likely to intrigue... (with) deft blank verse and energetic, comic line drawings... the dual thrust should interest fans of Peters’s many other books and may invite or challenge pet lovers, as well as readers and teachers of poetry or science."—School Library Journal
"Peters’ energetic and educational book follows a child and their dog as together they explore unconditional love and the world of science. Each scientific topic, focused on matter and energy, is expressed through a delightful first-person free-verse poem and a lively, vivid illustration from Bloch that demonstrates movement and fluctuation of energy....Peters and Bloch take on important educational concepts and, in classic scientific fashion, transform them into something wholly original and interesting." —Booklist