SCBWI (the children's writers organization) is having a booth at the Decatur Book Festival! If you are looking for some kid-centered activities, check out our offerings at booth #405. I will be unveiling Cat Science Unleashed: fun activities to do with your feline friend (releasing August 27!), so come by Saturday at 3:20 for some … Continue reading Decatur Book Festival
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators offered an opportunity for writers to make short videos of our books to be shown at ALA. Therefore, I tried to make my first book trailer (a little late, I know, since the book came out in August!). No one would mistake it for professional work, but … Continue reading Dog Science Book Trailer
Many thanks to Jed Doherty for having me on his podcast “Reading with Your Kids.” We talked about my latest book Dog Science Unleashed and some of the fun activities you can do with your dog, all in the name of science! Catch the podcast at http://traffic.libsyn.com/readingwithyourkids/Jodi_Wheeler_Toppen.mp3
I am sometimes asked how I come up with the activities for my books. Here's a story to illustrate the process. In general, an activity begins with an interesting tidbit of information, and a thought of something it might cause in the real world. Then come rounds of tests to try to find … Continue reading A Research Story
Today is the official publication date for Dog Science Unleashed: fun activities to do with your canine companion. Let me take this opportunity to invite any and all to my book launch party on September 8 at CityDog Market (Brookhaven). I have all kinds of cool experiments and activities planned. Hope to see you there!
With all the time I've spent lapping up dog research in the last couple of years, I've dug up several fun science books. I'm pawsitive one of these will make your young dog-lover howl with delight.* *Four dog puns in two sentences. I should win a prize--or perhaps get beaned in the head with a … Continue reading Great Books for Young Scientists and Their Dogs
One of the best parts of working on Dog Science Unleashed was getting to work with the extremely talented Matthew Rakola at our photo shoot. Not only is he an excellent photographer in general, but he specializes in photos of kids doing science--and he digs into the science until he understands what the concepts are, … Continue reading Matthew Rakola, Photographer Extraordinaire
Who knows more about your dog than anybody? You do! And scientists want to know what you know! As I researched Dog Science Unleashed (available for pre-order! buy it now!), I kept coming across cool citizen science projects you can do with your dog. I wrote up a whole group of them for The Bark … Continue reading Your Dog Wants to Do Science
Once Upon a Science Book 