Summer Reading 2026 Can a Rock Grow?: A STEM Coloring & Activity Book

 

This STEM guide has pages to accompany each spread of the book Can a Rock Grow? The original book, also written and illustrated by Audrey Sauble, is an introduction to geology and petrology for young readers. It covers the rock cycle, the various types of rocks (sedimentary, metamorphic, igneous), as well as fossils and other related topics. 

In the activity book there are coloring pages based on the original illustrations, as well as puzzles, writing prompts, and matching activities. Readers can answer fill-in-the-blank questions, match vocabulary words to definitions, play bingo, complete a word search or crossword puzzle, and much more. The writing activities range from journaling about a favorite rock to listing uses for rocks that the reader observes in everyday life.

There are also directions for hands-on exploration such as investigating the hardness of rock samples with a scratch test (see image), making rock candy, and using playdough to model folding and erosion. Other activities include growing a stalactite, using a sediment jar and observing the action, or making kindness rocks to leave around the neighborhood.

The best part about these activities is that they can be done by an individual child who is fascinated with rocks and nature, but they can also be incorporated into a science class or STEM club setting and used with a group. 

If you haven't yet encountered Can a Rock Grow? it has been out for several years and was recently updated. You can find it at https://www.aesauble.com/ or other online retailers like Amazon. It is part of the Early Science Questions series, which also inlcudes Can a Spider Be Fluffy? and A Bee or Not a Bee? 

Interior page samples:

Try out both books today and encourage any little rock hounds that you know!

Summer Reading 2026 We Are Legion (We Are Bob) Bobiverse Book 1

 

Just imagine that you hear "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette playing in the background as you read this. Okay? Now that we’ve set the mood… Bob Johansson is feeling great. He has sold his software company for a comfortable amount. He has used some of his newfound wealth to arrange for himself to be cryofrozen at death in hopes of being revived in the future. Then, he is hit by a car while crossing the street. What are the odds?

When Bob next awakens, he learns that he is now the property of a company that is attempting to make interstellar probes to find habitable planets for humanity to colonize. Aside from the fact that he is treated as a program that can be ordered around and deleted at any time, the actual mission sounds great to a science geek and sci-fi fan like Bob. Readers get to follow along as Bob ventures out looking for possible new worlds, while also dealing with lingering issues from the rivalries of factions back on Earth. 

One part of accomplishing his mission is to create copies of himself with their own ships so they can cover more territory in their search. Being a nerd who in some ways has never grown up, Bob’s iterations choose rather amusing names for themselves - Riker, Goku, Calvin, Garfield, Homer, Khan, etc. The sort of reader who will enjoy this book will doubtless recognize many of the references, if not all. There are also plenty of science and hard sci-fi notions to keep readers engaged. Colony ships, rail guns, saving human personalities as a form of AI, terraforming, 3-D printers, and von Neumann probes are just a few of the gadgets and processes the text explores. 

If you enjoy science fiction stories that include characters with relatable personalities, advanced technology that still leaves users wrestling with ethical decisions, and plots that show humans don’t change much even if they are on another planet, then you need to jump into the Bobiverse. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) was first released ten years ago. With a new book in the series just released this month [Book 6: The Infinite Extent], the other titles have been re-released and now is the perfect time to start at the beginning and enjoy all the adventure.

Summer Reading 2026 Fury in Death (In Death, 63)

 

Lt. Eve Dallas knows death. She has seen it in so many guises that it takes a lot to surprise her. But she is certain that if one case is straightforward and easy to solve, the next time she is called out will not be so simple. So when the first investigation of the night turns out to be a tragic accident, Dallas has the feeling that the second body she stands over is not just a home invasion or attempted burglary gone wrong. She and Peabody wind up tracing a carefully hidden trail of betrayal and revenge going back years - to a time when Dallas was just a rookie cop. This latest “In Death” title explores what happens when someone is pushed past the point of breaking. What would someone be capable of if the ones they loved most were taken and left their heart hollowed out to be filled with nothing but rage? And what would motivate those behind that loss? Greed? Fear? Entitlement? 

Every Eve Dallas story counts on the resilience, strength, and compassion that wraps around her core of justice. As usual, this one also includes her found family: Roarke, Mavis and Leonardo, Charles and Louise, Summerset, Peabody and McNabb and their families, Nadine and Jake, Feeney, and the rest of Eve’s homicide squad and Feeney’s e-geeks. The shared housewarming for Mavis, Leonardo, Peabody and McNabb is scheduled and guests are arriving from out of town. Can they get the case wrapped up before the shindig? And there is the added pressure of the upcoming arrival of Mavis and Leonardo’s second child, with Mavis insisting Eve and Roarke must be there for the delivery. (It is a wonder that Dallas doesn’t prolong the investigation just to have a reason to be absent from the birthing room.)

For longtime readers, there are the expected lulls as the team awaits lab results, background checks, or the processing of warrants, followed by the dramatic scenes in “the box” where Dallas and Peabody work their own special kind of magic to get a confession from the guilty party. Readers new to the series may not catch all the undercurrents of the existing relationships, but all the books in the series work fine as stand-alone titles. Just be warned, like a certain brand of potato chips, you won’t be able to stop with just one.

I read a review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.