Are you ready for Snow School?

 

  It's STEM Friday!

My new book Snow School was inspired by my love of cats, especially wild cats. There are none more fascinating than snow leopards. These wild cats are so rare there are believed to be as few as 3,500 left in the entire world.

As always, when I want to learn more about a wild animal I go exploring. That’s how I came to spend a winter in Antarctica, the experience that inspired me to write A Mother’s Journey, a story about what female emperor penguins do while the males hatch out the eggs. 

Sometimes, though, I just can’t get to the places I need to go to explore firsthand. Then I track down experts who have been able to go to those places and studied the wild animals I want to write about. That was the case with Snow School. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Tom McCarthy who has spent many years climbing the high, rugged mountains of Pakistan in order to learn about the life and behavior of snow leopards.

To see where snow leopards live and where the story of Snow School takes place, go online to find out about Pakistan (in red on the globe to the left). Also search for information about the Hindu Kush Mountains, the setting for the story. This habitat is one of the harshest on earth and requires the cats to be able to chase fast prey downhill over very rocky terrain.

From Snow School

Even during his many years studying snow leopards Dr. McCarthy shared that he only had a chance to watch a few downhill chases as snow leopards caught prey. He said, “Once, I was lucky enough to see a mother have two cubs with her while she hunted.”

Dr. McCarthy guessed these cubs were in training. Snow leopard cubs spend two years with their mothers learning to survive on their own. That inspired me to wonder what lessons snow leopard cubs need to learn in order to be successful in the extreme conditions of their home habitat.

Dr. Tom McCarthy with a snow leopard cub (photo courtesy of Panthera Snow Leopard Trust)

For one thing, as soon as they’re big enough, snow leopard cubs travel with their mother. That way they get a close look at the features of their environment. And they learn the shortest, safest routes to take.

Fr0m Snow School

To get a feel for what the snow leopard cubs are learning, go to your local park or playground with a parent or adult partner. Take along a pencil and a notepad. Draw a map of the area. Use symbols to mark any key landmarks, like fountains or statues, big trees, or benches. Next, study the map with your partner and plan the fastest, safest path to use to travel across the mapped area. Then use a watch to time how long it takes you to run across the area following your chosen path. Afterwards, revisit the map and decide if another way might be easier and safer. Time test your new route.

From Snow School

The snow leopard’s habitat is really a high desert with very steep terrain. When these cats hunt, they have to chase down prey animals, like ibex, capable of running down steep, rocky slopes without falling. And they have to pounce at just the right moment to stop their prey without going over a cliff.

Snow leopards do have some natural built-in advantages. One is a very long tail. Dr. McCarthy reports that a snow leopard’s tail is all muscle and that it’s heavy. He said, “It must even be heavy for the snow leopard.  In snow, I’d see a mark where a cat would start to drag its tail after every two or three steps. So holding up its long tail must be tiring.”

Having such a long tail is worth the effort, though, when the snow leopard starts to run. It swings its tail back and forth and that helps it stay balanced while twisting and turning. To get a feel for how its tail helps a snow leopard stay balanced, try this: stand on one foot with your hands at your sides. Then repeat standing on one foot, but this time stretch out your arms and move them forward and backward.

From Snow School

Snow leopards also have big feet that act like snowshoes, helping them walk on top of fluffy snow. In fact, Dr. McCarthy reported a snow leopard’s feet leave very round footprints because their feet are about as wide as they are long (about four to five inches in both directions.) Measure the length and width of one of your feet. How much longer is your foot that it is wide? And, just for fun, figure out how much longer your foot is than a snow leopard’s.

These cats also have a lot of fur around their toes and the pads of their feet to shield them from the ice and snow. Like housecats, snow leopards have retractable claws. They put these out to help them climb and to stop themselves from skidding. 

Dr. McCarthy reported that once a snow leopard catches prey it needs a safe place to eat—safer than on a steep mountainside. Dr. McCarthy said, “I’ve watched a snow leopard drag a big goat that weighs as much, if not slightly more, than the cat does. And it dragged its prey uphill.”

From Snow School

Imagine pulling something that weighs as much as you do. Now, imagine doing it the way a snow leopard does. This cat bites to grab its prey. Then it drags this weight between its legs. This is another behavior snow leopard cubs learn by being copycats, doing what their mother does. 

From an early age, the cubs learn the smell of what’s good to hunt because their mother brings home prey. See if you’ve learned to identify your food by its scent. Have an adult partner blindfold you. Then have your partner hold each of the following five food items, one at a time, under your nose for you to sniff.  Test your scent IQ on the following: peanut butter, orange juice, mustard, cheese, and ketchup.

You might be surprised to learn that snow leopards usually only get a chance to catch big prey about once a week. So when it is successful, the cat is likely to stay by its prey and eat as much as 25 pounds of meat a day for two to three days. How much is that? Weigh a plate.  Then put the food you’re going to eat for dinner on that plate and weigh it again. Subtract the weight of the plate to see how much your meal weighs. How many of those meals would you have to eat to equal what a snow leopard eats when food is available? 

Can you guess what snow leopards do after such big meals? You’re right! They sleep.  Like lions, tigers, and housecats, snow leopards sleep most of the day to save their energy for hunting.

From Snow School

I hope you enjoy reading Snow School. For more activities and to explore more of my books visit my blog Write On! Sandra Markle.



Posted by Sandra Markle, author of Snow School.
All illustrations copyright 2013 by Alan Marks from Snow School. 

Three Cool Activities for Too Hot? Too Cold? by Caroline Arnold

My new book, Too Hot? Too Cold? Keeping BodyTemperature Just Right (February 2013), grew out of many years researching animals and learning how each one has adapted in its own way to the weather and temperature of its habitat. Some animals migrate or hibernate; others grow thick coats of fur in winter and shed it in summer; some, such as those that live in the desert, restrict their activities to night, when the air is cooler. I began to realize that there were many parallels between animals and the way people adjust to variations in temperature in the places where they live. We may not grow thick fur to keep warm, but we do put on heavy coats and jackets when it is cold outside.  

Caroline Arnold, age 10, with her brothers

I grew up in Minnesota where winters are cold and summers are hot. When I was ten, my mother took a photo in front of our house of me and my brothers all bundled up in our snowsuits and mittens on a snowy February day. She wrote on the back of the photo that the temperature that day was minus fourteen degrees Fahrenheit! I have fond memories of sledding and ice skating on cold winter days in Minneapolis. In summer, when temperatures soared into the nineties, my brothers and I stayed cool by swimming in the lake not far from our house. 

I now live in Los Angeles, California, where the seasonal variations are not so extreme. Even so, there are clear differences between winter and summer. On warm summer days, I often see lizards sunning themselves in my driveway. On cool winter days, the lizards hide among the rocks. In spring and fall, I enjoy watching birds as they migrate through southern California on their way to and from their summer homes farther north.

As I worked on the book, I tried to think of activities that would help readers understand the concepts I was describing. It is one thing to read about an idea, and another to experience it. Here are three simple activities you can do that are related to information presented in Too Hot? Too Cold?

Getting Heat From the Sun 

Dark colors are good for absorbing the sun’s heat. That’s why vultures will hold out their dark wings on cold mornings to catch the sun’s rays. Light colors reflect the sun and help keep an animal cool. The addax, an antelope that lives on the Arabian Peninsula, has a light-colored summer coat to help protect it from the desert sun.

Activity: Hot Rocks

In this activity you can test how well dark and light colors absorb the sun’s heat.

You will need:  Two rocks (about the size of your fist), white paint, black paint, a paintbrush

Paint one rock white and the other rock black. Put both rocks in the sun and wait for one hour. Then feel the rocks. Which rock feels warmer?

The white rock reflects the sun’s rays and stays cool. The black rock soaks up the sun’s rays and becomes warm. To stay cool on a hot day, would you wear a dark shirt or a light one?

Migrating to Keep Warm or Cool

Some animals leave their homes, or migrate, when the weather gets too cold or too hot.  Many birds migrate. Some of them fly thousands of miles between their winter and summer homes. Strong wings make them good flyers.

 

Activity: Wingspan Measuring Tape

Have you ever wondered what kind of bird would you be, if you could fly? A bird flies with its arms, which are covered with feathers. Stretch out your arms as if you were flying. Here's how you can make a measuring tape to find out your wingspan...

 

You will need: heavy paper (such as cardstock), scissors, tape, a pencil, and a bird guidebook. 

Cut the paper in 1.5 inch strips. A paper cutter works well if you have one. Or, use your scissors. You will have eleven strips, each eleven inches long. 

Connect the ends of the strips with tape. (Strapping tape is best, but any tape will do.) You will have now a strip 121 inches long. Look in the bird guidebook to find the wingspans of various birds. Then, start at one end and use a yardstick or measuring tape to mark the tape with the width of each bird's wingspan. Here are some of wingspans on my tape: emperor penguin, 32 inches; peregrine falcon, 3.5 feet; red-tailed hawk, 4.5 feet; flamingo, 5 feet; turkey vulture, 6 feet; golden eagle, 7 feet; bald eagle, 8 feet; California condor, 9.5 feet. You can add the wingspans of any birds you like. 

Ask two people to hold the ends of your tape. Then you can measure your wingspan. When you are not using the tape, it folds up like an accordion.

Keeping Warm Through Thick and Thin

Large objects gain and lose heat more slowly than small objects. Animals with large bodies warm up and cool down more slowly than smaller animals. They have less surface area in relation to their size than smaller animals do. For example, a crocodile’s huge body helps it retain body heat longer than a smaller reptile could. This lets it remain active even after the sun has gone down.

Activity: Cooling Thermometers

This experiment is a simple demonstration comparing the length of time it takes for objects of two different sizes to cool down in your refrigerator.  

You will need:  2 household thermometers, 4 washcloths, rubber bands, paper and pencil, a clock.  

Look at the thermometers and write down the room temperature. Wrap one thermometer in one washcloth and fasten it with rubber bands. Wrap the other thermometer in three washcloths and fasten with rubber bands. Put both thermometers in a refrigerator for five minutes. Then take them out, unwrap them, and look at the temperature on each thermometer. Which one cooled off the most?

These activities can be done at home or at school. I enjoy doing the wingspan activity during my presentation when I do author visits at schools. Third graders are almost always red tailed hawks. Two students together, fingertip to fingertip, have the wingspan of one bald eagle!

For more projects and activities go to my website www.carolinearnold.com or my blog www.carolinearnoldart.blogspot.com.

Posted by Caroline Arnold, author of Too Hot? Too Cold?, due out February 2013. 

This is the story of THE HOUSE THAT GEORGE BUILT

During a recent school visit, a second-grader asked where I got the idea for my latest book The House That George Built. While answering her question I realized this story began in the same way as most of my picture books—when I accidentally stumbled upon a fascinating, little-known piece of history which literally gave me goosebumps. In the case of George, inspiration struck when a proud dad was telling me about the White House model his daughter made for a school project. He mentioned George Washington designed and built the President’s House, yet he was the only president who never lived there. Really?!  (Cue goosebumps.)

Immediately a title came to mind, The House That George Built. But before I could consider writing this story, I had to do research to determine if there was enough "good-stuff" to make a picture book (unofficial author term which means relatively unknown, yet captivating facts which lend themselves to a complete story arc with a satisfying ending). So I hurried down to my local library where I checked out The President's House, a two-volume set of colossal books filled with detailed White House history by noted historian and author, William Seale. One thousand, two hundred and twenty four pages later, I knew there was plenty of "good-stuff" for a story. Now I had to figure out the best way to tell it.

Considering the book title idea, my first thought was to share George’s story using an adaptation of "The House That Jack Built" nursery rhyme. From my research I knew George was intricately involved in the entire building process—from selecting the house design and plot of land where it would be built, to deciding the best roofing material—so I was concerned a revision of that tightly structured rhyming piece wouldn’t provide enough room for all the interesting facts I’d found. After some consideration, I decided the nursery rhyme adaption would be a fun, unique way to provide basic information about the main building elements of the house (brick, stone, wood), and by adding some lively prose paragraphs, I could share all the details of George’s huge building project.               

But the research and writing of this book was just the beginning of my adventures with George. The illustration process was incredibly exciting as I watched the talented, award-winning artist Rebecca Bond bring history to life with her detailed, historically accurate sketches, which later turned into breathtaking, watercolor masterpieces. 

Early sketch by Rebecca Bond from The House That George Built

A final spread by Rebecca Bond from The House That George Built

Then came something I’d been waiting my entire writing career to do—I’d always wanted to dedicate a book to my parents, but for one reason or another none of my previous books felt right. But George was perfect! First, my parents names are George and Martha (for real), and they’d created a wonderful home for our family. So after many years, I finally dedicated a book to my parents.

Suzanne Slade visits the White House

Later, I had the opportunity to visit to the White House. What a thrill to personally see the magnificent home I’d studied for years. I’d be lying if I didn’t say my heart skipped a beat the first time I spied that gorgeous white stone exterior, which I’d learned turned white when it was first painted with a stone sealer made of ground-up rice. As I admired the stately two-story design, I remembered the original plans called for three stories, but without enough stone to cover three floors George had modified the plans to two. I smiled when I looked up at the massive roof, recalling that the first roof of impressive heavy slate rock leaked every time it rained.

While working on The House That George Built, I was constantly amazed by the fascinating history I discovered about the President's House (which was renamed the White House by Theodore Roosevelt in 1901), and I hope readers enjoy learning about America's most famous home as much as I did!

Posted by Suzanne Slade, award-winning author of over 90 books for children. You can find out more about her and her books at www.suzanneslade.com.

The House That George Built is a 2012 Junior Library Guild selection and was chosen for the Children's Book-of-the-Month Club.