In your Novel Effect app, you’ll find a collection titled STEAM. In this collection, you’ll find books that inspire problem-solving, collaboration, and creative thinking. You can use our educator-created resources after reading any of the books in this collection. They were designed to further engage students in the books’ themes.
Ada Twist’s head is full of questions. Like her classmates Iggy and Rosie, Ada has always been endlessly curious. Even when her fact-finding missions and elaborate scientific experiments don’t go as planned, Ada learns the value of thinking her way through problems and continuing to stay curious.
After reading, ask your child what emotion the soundscape creates or how it makes them feel. After reading, invite them to think about what they would have added to the soundscape to elicit a particular emotion. For an extra challenge, they can try to create it! Use the voice recorder app on your phone to capture that creativity. 
With great ideas but little confidence, Rosie keeps her inventions to herself. Luckily, her great-great-aunt Rose recognizes her strength and restores Rosie’s spirit with an important lesson. With interactive character voices throughout, enjoy this story’s lesson that the only real failure is not trying.
Kathi Kersznowski, Technology Integration Specialist and Novel Effect Community Cheerleader, shared a STEM activity she planned with a colleague. Using only paper, students made 3D sculptures. This activity is perfect to use with Rosie Revere Engineer! 
An inventive girl and her dog have an idea to make the most magnificent thing, and the story follows the ups and downs of her creative process. Full of cheery music and playful interjections from the girl, the soundscape will inspire any child to tackle their own STEM ideas.
While reading, stop when the character faces a challenge. Then, ask your child what they would do to solve it. They can sketch out an idea, and even grab some materials around the house to test their hypothesis. Then, jump back into the story with the soundscape; the app remembers where you left off! 
A young engineer is determined to help an injured crow. Invention, after invention, Izzy attempts to help the crow fly. Nothing seems to work, though. With the encouragement of her grandfather, Izzy learns the importance of perseverance in the face of failure.
While reading, ask children to hypothesize why Izzy’s inventions may not work. Inquire what they may do differently to make it work. Encourage them to sketch out their ideas to test out later. Then they can compare their invention to Izzy’s. 
With picture books, STEM activities can be enhanced. Picture books are a great way to introduce STEM concepts to young kids. Often, these books use colorful illustrations, simple language, and relatable characters to make complex ideas easy to understand. Children can get into STEM by reading picture books that make the subjects feel approachable and fun. Additionally, they can inspire children to engage in STEM activities, such as hands-on experiments, coding projects, and engineering challenges. Children can build a lifelong love of STEM by combining picture books with hands-on STEM activities. Download the Novel Effect app to bring stories to life with music and sound that respond to your voice.
