Author: loreeburns

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The Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club

If you’ve been here before, you know how inspired I was by last April’s March for Science. One of the commitments I made at the march was to do what I could to further science literacy in my community. Since I make my living writing about science for audiences of all ages, a book club featuring all things science was a no-brainer way for me to do this. I recently hosted a book talk at my hometown library, which I blogged about here, and with the help of the book lovers who showed up that day, have fashioned a new-fangled all-ages book group. And I’d like you to join it.

Unlike more traditional book clubs, ours will not focus on a single book, but rather on a single topic. Attendees can choose fiction or nonfiction, a children’s book or a young adult book or an adult book, a picture book or chapter book or graphic novel. Pretty much anything goes. The only requirements are that your book selection tie into our monthly theme, and that you’re willing to share a little bit about it with the rest of us.

Those of us who live in central Massachusetts can meet in person at the Beaman Memorial Library at 4 Newton Street in West Boyslton, Massachusetts on Tuesday, October 24 at 6:30pm. But if you don’t live in the area and would like to join in the fun, please do! I’ll be featuring themed book suggestions here on my blog each week, and anyone can participate here; my dream is that this book club thrive in the virtual world as well as the real one.

Since I’m organizing this Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club (FITBBC) shin-dig, I get to choose the first topic. And as y’all know, I’m a bit of a bug geek. So for this first meeting, we will fill in the blank with …

drum roll, please …

INSECTS!

I’ll be sharing some of my favorite insect-themed books on this blog in the coming weeks. At the same time, my friends at Beaman Memorial Public Library will be sharing their favorite insect books, too. (You can find them on Facebook and Instagram.) Please follow along as you’re able, and feel free to add your own book suggestions. You know what I always say: The more insect books, the merrier life is!

One last thing: this is an all ages book party, open to tweens, teens, and adults. I truly, really, surely, honestly hope you join the fun, and that you’ll think about inviting a kid or adult or neighbor or complete stranger to join in, too. Let’s share some time–and some books–with one another.

Happy Reading!

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Nerdy Author Night!

Free and open to the public, a massive gathering of New England children’s book authors. Bring your own books, or buy some on site. Nerdy Night is always an incredibly happy celebration of reading and writing and nerdy book love. If you live anywhere near Freeport, Maine, join us!

 

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Saving the Bee’s Knees

I’m passionate about a lot of things. Near the top of the list are young people who are also passionate about a lot of things … and who embrace the opportunity to share their passions with the world. So when the teenagers behind the organization Saving the Bees Knees asked me to host a book sale and signing at their upcoming Farmer’s Market, I couldn’t possibly say no.

The mission of Save the Bee’s Knees is to fundraise and educate the public on the issues facing honey bees. Tomorrow night’s Farmer’s Market will feature local farmers and businesses who will be sharing their locally-grown vegetables and locally-produced goods. I’ll be there with all my books, selling and signing. Profits from the event will be used to further initiatives that protect honey bees and spread the buzz about their lives and their import to agriculture and human health.

So, if you live in central Massachusetts and you’re into veggies and bees and books and people who are passionate about all three, please consider joining us. And if you don’t live in our neck of the woods, maybe you could help us spread the buzz?

Save the Bee’s Knees Farmer’s Market
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
4-7pm
Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School (Monty Tech)
1050 Westminster Street
Fitchburg, MA

You can read a little more about Saving the Bees knees on their Facebook page or on their Twitter feed. Or you can simply show up tomorrow night and see them in action for yourselves.

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Media Mentions & Surtsey

Last week, The Nature Generation, an organization dedicated to inspiring stewardship and the force behind the Green Earth Book Awards, invited me to be a guest on their blog. I wrote about the year my kids and I discovered our place in this world, and I hope you’ll hop on over to give my piece, The Art of Looking, a read. Please feel free to share it with anyone you think might enjoy it.

As if that weren’t exciting enough, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) featured me on its Member Central blog. (!!) Click on over to read Laura Petersen’s profile of me and my work.

One last thing … the team of researchers I traveled to Surtsey with in the summer of 2015 was back on the island last week and two of them, Erling and Matthias, sent me the selfie above. These men truly have one of the coolest jobs on the planet. I can’t wait for you to read more about their work when LIFE ON SURTSEY is released in the fall. Stay tuned!

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Books & Science


Last April, I packed my car with coolers, posters, my three kids, one of my oldest friends, and set out for Washington, DC. We’d decided to spend Earth Day there, standing up for something that was important to us: science. Marching with 1.3 million people in 600 locations around the world was, for me, less a protest than a celebration. A celebration of human ingenuity and our  method of doing science, a celebration of what we humans have learned of how the world works, of curing disease, and of staving off disaster. It was also an invitation for anyone, anywhere to join in supporting a vigorous and publicly-funded national science program.

The March for Science was a complete success. It poured all day long and still tens of thousands of science enthusiasts showed up, raincoats on and handmade signs covered in plastic wrap, ready to move. With the Washington Monument as backdrop, we listened to stories, to short speeches, to artists and poets and musicians and scientists speaking their truths. And then we marched from Constitution Street, past the White House, to the Capitol building, cheering and chanting every drenched step of the way.

In the months since April 22, 2017, March for Science organizers have done a great job of helping allies and supporters of science to continue to work for science in our communities. One of their many suggestions was to promote science outreach and science literacy. Which is why I’ll be speaking at the Beaman Memorial Library in West Boylston, MA tomorrow night, July 26, 2017, sharing my passion for the literature of science. Part pep talk, part book talk, the presentation will be an experiment. Is there an interest in a local book club that explores science stories across genres?  I hope so. But we’ll see. All I know for sure is that I’d love to see you there.

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Teachers Write!

© Ellen Harasimowicz

I’m thrilled to be today’s guest author at the Teachers Write summer writing camp. (What? You don’t know what that is? Well, click here to learn more.) My subject is experiential research, one of my favorite parts of writing nonfiction. Come on over and say hi!

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Coming Soon: Life on Surtsey

I’m thrilled to announce that my newest Scientists in the Field book will be released on November 14, 2017. Here’s a summary from the book’s flap copy:

On November 14, 1963, something exceptional happened in Iceland–and that’s saying a lot. In a country where the average summer temperatures is 50ºF and the sun only appears for a few hours a day during the winter, an event has to be pretty unusual to stand out. The explosive birth of the island of Surtsey, the newest earth on Earth, was just that.

In her newest Scientists in the Field book, Loree Griffin Burns joins entomologist Erling Ólafsson on one of his yearly expeditions to Surtsey, where since 1970 he has studied the arrival and survival of insects. Along with a small group of colleagues, Erling observes the island’s flora and fauna, records changes, and collects samples to bring back to the mainland for further study. Visit by visit, record by record, Surtsey’s scientists are uncovering the process of change that can transform a lump of lava into a thriving island ecosystem. Join the expedition to see just how demanding conditions on Surtsey can be, what it’s like to live and work while making the smallest impact possible, and the passion that sustains scientists working in one of the strangest—and youngest—places on the planet.

In the coming months, I’ll be adding reviews and additional resources related to Life on Surtsey to my website. I’m excited to share this book–and its backstory–with you. Stay tuned!

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Ladybugging

© Loree Griffin Burns

On Friday I led a group of citizen scientists out into a gorgeous milkweed meadow, where we hunted for ladybugs. In a short walk that involved no sweep nets (we didn’t want to whack all the beautiful, about-to-pop blooms off the milkweed), we recorded four species of ladybugs: ursine anthill ladybug (Brachiacantha ursine), polished ladybug (Cycloneda mundi), seven-spotted ladybug (Cocinella septempunctata), and multi-colored Asian ladybug (Harmonia axyridris).

Because we didn’t collect specimens but, rather, recorded them photographically as we hiked, our numbers of individuals within a species are not precise. There was a single mating pair of ursines (see photo), one individual polished, and one individual seven-spotted. My best guess is that we spotted at least five Asian ladybugs, but I can’t be sure we didn’t recount the same individual.

Anyway, it was a great afternoon in the sunshine, celebrating insects that live in our neck of the woods. For more information on ladybug citizen science, or to view ladybugs we and others have found over the years, click on over to the Lost Ladybug Project website.

 

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In the Dill

It’s finally gardening season here in the northeastern US, and one of my favorite spring rituals has begun: watching for interesting plants that sprout up unannounced in my garden beds. Gardeners call these plants volunteers. Every year, volunteers show up in places I didn’t put them and don’t expect them to be. Sometimes they’re weeds whose seeds blew in from somewhere else in the neighborhood. Sometimes they’re plants I grew last season that managed to spread their seeds willy-nilly around the garden before I noticed. No matter how they arrived, they never disappoint.

This year, I’m particularly blessed with volunteer dill. Lots and lots and lots of it. I’m talking about a forest of dill. Which is cool, because I like dill. I’ll be chopping it and sprinkling it on salads and soups all summer long.  And I’ll dry some to sprinkle all winter, too. But the real reason the forest of dill thrills me? Some of my favorite butterflies adore it.

Late yesterday afternoon, my daughter and I spotted our first-of-the-year Eastern black swallowtail in the garden. It was female, and she was flying low over a patch of dill seedlings. We saw her alight here and there, a few milliseconds at a time. We tried to get a picture, but she didn’t stay still long enough for that. We had a good idea why she might be touching down so regularly, though. We watched and waited. Once she’d flown out of the garden for good, we got down on our hands and knees in the dill. And sure enough …

 

© Loree Griffin Burns

Do you see it? The yellow orb in the middle of the photo? That gift, for me, is the real joy of this year’s volunteer dill plants: I’ve got myself a nursery of Eastern black swallowtail butterfly eggs, right in the back yard! Let’s spend the next few months watching them, shall we? 

 

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MSLA17

Here are some details on my schedule at this weekend’s Massachusetts School Library Association conference at the Resort & Conference Center in Hyannis, MA:

Sunday, May 7, 2017

1:30-2:25pm
Four Authors on Researching & Writing Nonfiction
This panel discussion will include myself, Sarah Albee, Susan Hood, Melissa Stewart, and moderator Susannah Richards. Join us for a sneak peek at our processes and to gather some tips and tools that your students can use in their own work.

4:30-6pm
Author Signings/Meet & Greet
A gaggle of local authors and illustrators will be meeting and greeting conference attendees, and signing their books. Join us!

6:00-8:00pm
Dinner & Awards Banquet

I’d love to connect in person, so if you’re at this event, be sure to say hello!