Ask HN: Help me weave in STEM topics for a children book
Ask HN: Help me weave in STEM topics for a children book I have been working on a collection of short children' stories with my farm as the hub. The main characters are all critters and creatures and trees in the farm. The guardian is a crone witch that is the spirit of the Elderberry tree known as The ElderMother. It has a certain magical quality to it, but I really want it to be enjoyable reading for everyone. I would also like to use it as a platform to explain STEM concepts(I am from the bookshelf encyclopedia generation with giant illustrations). So far, I have little stories (less than 5000 words) that includes 'human concepts' like how to a stock taking of a pantry(sorry..I started out as an accountant. That's what grabbed me first as subject), an enchanted nestery run by a pigeon who puts magical spells on birds nests to illustrate different kinds of nests and eggs of various birds, a Beauty Salon for insects whose markings fade...again, to illustrate markings on ladybugs, butterflies and cleaning bee pollen baskets etc. It's turning out to be more of a picture book. I would like to introduce subjects that teach something of the natural world and the physics in it. My favourite has always been time and the uni directional arrow of time. I also want to write a story that explains why we are carbon based life forms. About the night skies. Also..photosynthesis, on soil biology, migration, hibernation etc are easy to include in a farm setting. How to weave in hardcore STEM topics into a plot? more