Book Lists

Books + Makerspace: Ideas for Integrating STEAM and Picture Books

These books were specifically mentioned in the presentation. Here's a LINK to the list for printing.

  • Lego Slide: Prairie Boy: Frank Lloyd Wright Turns the Heartland Into a Home by Barb Rosenstock, Dreaming Up: a Celebration of Building by Christy Hale, SkyBoys: How THey Built the Empire State Building by Deborah Hopkinson, The Science of Bridges & Tunnels by Ian Graham, Whose Boat? by Toni Buzzeo. Saved By the Boats by Julie Gassman. Seeing Symmetry by Loreen Leedy. If I Built a Car/House/School by Chris VanDusen.

  • Keva Slide: Pop’s Bridge by Eve Bunting, 21 Elephants by April Jones Prince, Perfect Square by Michael Hall, Circle, Square, Triangle by Mac Barnett, Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran. Dreaming Up by Christy Hale.

  • Play-doh Slide: Night the Lights Went Out on Christmas by Ellis Paul (based on song), Claymates by Dev Petty, Monster books by Amanda Noll, Exploring Fossils: Paleontologists at Work by Elsie Olson, Stone Girl, Bone Girl by Laurence Anholt, Dinosaur Lady by Linda Skeers, Animation Lab for Kids by Laura Bellmont, M&Ms math books by Barbara McGrath. I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin Jr.

  • Cardboard Slide: Just Like Rube Goldberg by Sarah Aronson, Rube Goldberg's Simple, Normal, Humdrum School Day by Jennifer George, Build Your Own Chain Reaction Machines by Paul Long, Shoes by Ryan Jacobson, Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Dean and Litwin, Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall, Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems, It’s All a Game: the History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Cataan by Tristan Donovan, Pass Go and Collect $200 by Tanya Stone, Who Was Milton Bradley by Kirsten Anderson, Not a Box by Antoinette Portis, Boxitects by Kim Smith by , What to Do with a Box by Jane Yolen, Golf-o-Rama by Bill Mayer

  • Dash & Dot, Sphero, & Ozobot Slides: Grace Hopper Queen of Computer Code by Laurie Wallmark, Ada Byron Lovelace & the Thinking Machine also by Laurie Wallmark; How to Code a Sandcastle/Rollercoaster by Josh Funk, coding books by Elizabeth Noll (series), Any Who Was/Who Is book or other biography, fairy tales, any book with a clear beginning, middle, end. I'm An Immigrant, Too! by Mem Fox (or any book that details an immigrant journey that could be mapped out.) Joke books, poetry books.

  • Makey-Makey slide: When Charlie McButton Lost Power by Suzanne Collins, Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World by Elizabeth Rusch, Doll-E 1.0 by Shanda McCloskey, Ada’s Violin by Susan Hood, ANY book about music, ANY book you want students to make an interactive poster of, particulary biographies. (see Inventors...below)

  • Cubelets slide: Robot Rumpus by Sean Taylor, Robots, Robots, Everywhere by Sue Fliess, Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman, Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, How to Code a Sandcaste/Rollercoaster by Josh Funk, Clink by Kelli DiPuccio, ANY books about robots. Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall.

  • 3D Printer slide: Beauty and the Beak by Deborah Lee Rose, Winter’s Tail by Craig Hatkoff, Unstoppable: True Stories of Amazing Bionic Animals by Nancy Furstinger, Pop: The Invention of Bubble Gum, Six Dots: the story of Young Louis Braille by Jennifer Bryant; Shell, Beak, Tusk: Shared Traits and the Wonders of Adaptation by Bridget Heos, Ancient Egypt by George Hart; ANY book -- create an item that symbolizes the character, setting, something significant.

  • Robot Mouse, Bee-Bot, and Botley slides: Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman, Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, How to Code a Sandcaste/Rollercoaster by Josh Funk, Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens, The Willow Pattern Story by Allan Drummond, ANY book where you want students to re-tell the story (sequencing/order of events).

  • Video slide: Video Ideas by Tim Grabham, How to Make a Movie in 10 Easy Lessons by Robert Blofield, Harry Potter: Imagining Hogwarts: A Beginner's Guide to Moviemaking by Bryan Michael Stoller, The Green Screen Makerspace Project Book by Todd Burleson. The Great Dewey Hunt by Toni Buzzeo, Library Gingerbread Man by Dotti Enderle

Books About Makerspaces

Perfect to get students in the Maker Mindset:

  • The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

  • Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

  • Made by Maxine by Ruth Spiro

  • What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada

Information & Ideas For Librarians and Teachers:

  • Library Makerspaces: The Complete Guide by Theresa Willingham

  • The Kickstart Guide to Making GREAT Makerspaces by Laura Fleming

  • Makerspaces in Schools by Lacy Brejcha

  • Building a K-12 STEM Lab by Deborah Nagler

  • Picture-Perfect STEM Lessons: Using Children's Books to Inspire STEM Learning by Emily Morgan (3 volumes)

  • Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction and Non-Fiction Picture Books to Teach Science by Melissa Stewart (2 volumes)

  • Distance Learning for Elementary STEM by Amanda Thomas

  • Getting Started with Lego Robotics by Mark Gura

  • Make, Learn, Succeed by Mark Gura

  • Big Book of Makerspace Projects by Colleen Graves

  • Challenge-Based Learning in the Library Makerspace by Colleen Graves

  • The Green Screen Makerspace Project Book by Todd Burleson

  • The Big Book of MakerCamp Projects by Sandy Roberts

  • The Makerspace Librarian's Sourcebook by Ellyssa Kroski

  • Maker Lab series by Dorling Kindersley & Smithsonian


Picture Books About Inventors

  • Have You Thanked an Inventor Today?

  • The Story of Inventions

  • So You Want to Be An Inventor

  • bubble gum -- Pop: the invention of Bubble Gum

  • ear muffs -- Earmuffs for Everyone

  • day-glo paint -- The Day-Glo Brothers

  • TV -- The Boy Who Invented TV: Philo Farnsworth

  • swim fins -- Ben Franklin’s Big Splash

  • electricity -- Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World

  • women's swimsuit -- Annette Feels Free

  • printing press -- You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Books!

  • Plow -- John Deere, That’s Who

  • Cars -- The Inventor's Secret

  • subway trains -- The Secret Subway

  • super soaker water guns -- Whoosh!

  • denim jeans -- Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea

  • board games -- Pass Go and Collect $200

  • Crayons -- The Crayon Man

  • Radar -- Hedy Lamarr's Double Life

  • Band-aids -- The Boo-Boo That Changed the World

  • Slinky -- The Marvelous Thing that Came from a Spring

  • Lego -- Lego Manufacturers: the Kristiansen family

  • Doughnuts -- The Whole Story of the Doughnut

  • computers & computer code - Grace Hopper Queen of Computer Code, Steve Jobs bio

  • Minecraft -- Minecraft Creator Markus Persson

  • ferris wheel -- Mr. Ferris and His Wheel

  • bridge -- Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge

  • paper bags -- Marvelous Mattie

  • Rube Goldberg machines -- Just Like Rube Goldberg and also Rube Goldberg's Simple, Normal, Humdrum School Day

  • Popsicles -- The Boy Who Invented the Popsicle

  • Macy's Parade Balloons -- Balloons Over Broadway

  • ALSO -- the book "Girls Think of Everything" for 2-3 page synopsis of women's inventions. And 25 Women Who Thought of It First.

  • The Woman Who Invented Windshield Wipers

  • ramen noodles --Magic Ramen

  • cotton candy -- Fairy Floss

  • guitars -- Guitar Genius: How Les Paul Engineered the Solid-Body Electric Guitar and Rocked the World

  • submarine -- Papa's Mechanical Fish