*Highlighting up and coming illustrators and authors from independent publishing houses and self-publishers*

Please reach out to MaiStoryBook through Instagram, FB, or by commenting on my blog, and *share or tag* books, authors, or illustrators who would fit into this category of independent/self-publishing! You can see my Book Review Policy Here. I’m excited for the wonders we will find!

Now without further ado~

Featuring this week’s educational and entertaining reads:

How People Learn: Helping Children and Adults Understand the Brain by Olimpia Mesa

Illustrated by Irina Neacsu

Self-published by Olympia Mesa/ Instructional Design Ltd

As a teacher, any information about how the brain works and how people learn helps me to create lesson plans that will engage my littles, and to deliver the content in the most accessible way I can. If there’s anything I’ve learned for sure, it’s that students learn in a variety of ways ~ whether it be through visuals, through tangible,/hands-on activities, through listening, or through reading~ and while some may learn best through a particular modality, providing opportunities to learn in a variety of different ways benefits them all. Understanding how and why the brain changes, learning about all of the different functions it performs, how it changes, or how to best help it grow strong, gives me an insight into not only my own learning development, but also a glimpse into how my littles are learning in class. Imagine the impact this knowledge could have on children and their own views of their learning and cognitive processes.

The moment I opened this book, “How People Learn,” and scanned the mini science story and brain topics explored, I was hooked. The book is divided into 15 science stories, including topics such as: “Why Your Brain Does not Pay Attention to Boring Things,” “The Brain Has Many Parts That Do All Kinds of Jobs,” “Why Does Your Brain Like Exploring and Breaking Stuff?”, “How to Stop the Process of Forgetting,”, and so much more! What little wouldn’t be immediately curious to dive into this read? Plus, each exploration of the topic ends with an interactive component for adults and littles to engage with together. A “Try This” page at the end of each sections provides tips to experiment with in order to explore improving or changing cognitive habits, a space to “doodle” thoughts, ideas, and wonderings, or hands-on activities to create maps, pictures, or diagrams. This is a book that teaches, engages, and interacts with its audiences~ encouraging them to embark on a journey through their own brains that will constantly fascinate and intrigue.

I’ve already read a few of the science stories to *mai* third graders and they sit enraptured~ intrigued by this sneak peek into a topic that directly relates to them and can influence their own knowledge of their capabilities in school. Also, as a children’s illustrated book enthusiast, I just have to share a sneak peek of one of *mai* favorite Science Stories from the book: “Why Your Brain Likes Pictures”. This entry reaffirmed my belief in the power of picture books.

“Brain Scientists say that our brains are naturally drawn to color, contrast, and movement. Because of this, pictures attract our attention more quickly and easily than words. Our Bains learn and remember best through images, not through writing or speech. the reason pictures are so attractive may be very simple: our survival in the world depends very much now hat we see around us… Another surprising thing is that we treat text as an image. As you read this paragraph, your brain is interpreting each letter as an image. This makes reading incredibly inefficient when compared to how quickly and easily we can take in information from a picture.” (p.61-62)

If you’re intrigued, there’s much more to learn in the book! What author Olimpia Mesa has been able to do is share and write ideas from neurological and brain science studies in a way that is accessible to children. The book is based on academic research, yet is written in a way to interest littles. Targeted towards readers 6-12, this book helps both adults and children unravel how the human brain learns, and empowers them to understand and hone their own learning processes by providing them with the information and tools to nurture their own cognitive development and learning style.

A bit more about the Author: Olimpia Mesa

Olimpia Mesa is a leading expert and consultant on brain-based learning design. She created this book with the goal to help children understand how people learn. She is the president of Instructional Design Ltd., a company that supports hundreds of successful educational and corporate programs both in-person and online. These programs are delivered in a variety of different languages as well. In addition to consulting with Fortune 500 organizations on caring projects, Olimpia is the founder of Books to Courses Online School, whose main goal is to teach authors how to transform a nonfiction book into an online academic app. To learn more, check out her website, https://howpeoplelearnbook.com, like her Facebook page How People Learn Book, and follow her on Instagram: @olimpiamesa.

Check here to find this book for your own home library!

*****

Hazmat Popcorn Team: Mission 1- How Yelling at Friends Won’t Get the Job Done by Ryan Burke

Self-published by Ryan Burke

Fun fact~ *mai* favorite food is popcorn (followed close behind by roast chicken and sushi.) Nighttime isn’t complete without a bowl of popcorn as a nighttime snack – but only lightly sweetened kettle or butter/sea salt flavored ~ no caramel/cheddar/etc. for me. In fact, I may or may not be munching on some salty, fluffy kernels as I’m writing this… As it may be, it isn’t odd to every so often see a stray kernel or two near my bed stand. And take me to the movies, clutching my red and white bag brimming with warm, buttery, fresh popcorn~ in the dim theatre glow amidst all of the excitement, there may be more than a few kernels that tumble through *mai* fingers and scatter to the floor. If you too are a movie popcorn muncher~ *Have you ever wondered where it goes… the popcorn down around your toes?*

Enter: The HAZMAT POPCORN TEAM—the tiny crew, you never knew, whose mission is to pick up all the popcorn spilled by you. This children’s book introduces a delightfully innovative new character cast~ a team of four tiny friends hired by the movie theatre to get all of the popcorn off of the floor before the next showtime! Each character has their own unique popcorn-picking-up strategy~ from blasting popcorn kernels with a ray gun, to getting slightly distracted by making popcorn kernel sculptures~ and from scoring *goals* with a well aimed kick of the kernel into the bag, to leading the crew and seeing the mission through. While the team may have their own ways of getting the job done, they’ll learn that their own way is not better than another one. Join the Hazmat Popcorn Team as they learn that teamwork is the best way to get any job done.

Written in clever rhyme, this read aloud flows off the tongue with a steady pace and rhythm. The theme and moral of the story is weaved into the rhyme, achieving a light-hearted, entertaining tone rather than a didactic one. Through this movie-mission, littles learn the importance of communication skills and leadership skills, and they witness the power of apologizing, forgiving, and working together to achieve a goal. They will recognize that patience and words of encouragement are much more effective than yelling and anger. So if you and your kiddos are settling down for a movie night, or prepping for a trip to the movie theatre, precede your movie adventure with this reading adventure!

Plus, be on the lookout for Mission #2 coming soon!

A bit more about the Author: Ryan Burke

Ryan is a dog-dad, husband, son, grandson, brother, uncle, nephew, author/illustrator. He also works full-time in a hospital as a pharmacist. Ryan started working on the “Hazmat Popcorn Team” series when his nieces and nephews started showing their true selves–boogers. Cute boogers–but, still boogers. These books he’s been working on are for them, and for you and your own little *boogers.* To learn more, check out his website, https://hazmatpopcornteam.com , like his Facebook page Hazmat Popcorn Team, and follow him on Instagram: @hazmatpopcornteam.

Check here to find this book for your own home library!

*****

*~Support these independent/self-published authors and illustrators and check out what they’ve been writing and creating.  Please share any books, authors, or illustrators that fit into this category by tagging me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary,  posting on MaiStoryBook’s FaceBook page, or commenting on the blog below! Read more about my Book Review Policy here. I’m always looking for new treasures to read, support, and share with all of you!~*

*Plus, checkout the*coolest* new interactive  read aloud of one of the year  here. *

*~Until Next Time, Happy Reading~*