“When Beavers Move In,” by Alison Pearce Stevens Godwin Books, Henry Holt Co., 2026.
Beavers, as we are all taught, are industrious and clever engineers. (That’s why MIT has “Tim the Beaver” as a mascot.) But often history and popular culture have told us that beavers can be destructive by making dams, which causes waterways to back up and cause damage to homes and roads. Get the beavers to move on. But that’s only part of the story, at least here. We want the beavers to move in — to the right place.
In “When Beavers Move In,” we learn how beavers can “topple trees and build dams,” which can lead to flooding, but this non-fiction book looks beyond the obvious to the historic importance of having beaver habitats and wetlands created that can keep areas from getting burned out in forest fires. Alison Pearce Stevens’ book also tells us of the Tulalip Tribes of the Pacific Northwest and their beliefs that through the destruction caused by beavers, whole regions and forests can regrow from the work these energetic mammals do. Plus, the illustrations are beautifully drawn, with a rich palette evoke a world where the beavers and other animals can actually live with humans and make life better. — recommended by Carol
“Measuring Up, How Oliver Smoot Became a Standard Unit of Measurement,” by Jenny Lacika, illustrated by Anna Brown, Candlewick Press, 2025.
Anyone who has walked across the Mass. Avenue bridge will remember the first time they noticed the span was measured not by feet or inches, but by Smoots. This children’s nonfiction book tells the story of an MIT undergraduate and thirteen of his friends trying to figure out a way to measure the bridge without having a tape measure. At 5’7″ tall, Ollie Smoot was the shortest and served as the measuring stick for this task. So, in 1958, the team carried and measured Smoot, first with chalk and later with paint, to determine the distance from Boston to Cambridge, across the Charles River. The result? A very scientific “364.4 Smoots and 1 Ear” in total. What started as a bit of a lark, turned into history. In 2008, MIT and the city of Cambridge officially recognized the feat’s 50th anniversary and installed a plaque.
While written for young readers, “Measuring Up” is filled with just enough facts and figures and interesting details to keep the target audience engaged and to entertain the older readers around them. One thing that I learned is that “smoot” was officially added to the American Heritage Dictionary in 2011. As for Smoot, the man? You’ll want to read on to learn more about what happened to him after he received his degree in economics in 1962. There are also a lot of facts about math to keep a young scientist interested. — recommended by Carol
“The Number Devil, a Mathematical Adventure,” by Hans Magnus Enzensberger, illustrated by Rotraut Susanne Berner and translated by Michael Henry Heim, Holt Paperbacks, 2000.
A perennial request among those 10 to 13 years old since its publication in 2000, this fictional work is often mistaken for non-fiction and is known among librarians for being that book that is requested not by title but by the word game of “it has a red cover, ‘devil’ is in its title, and has math in it.” This story of Robert, a boy who hates math, is told through 12 dreams in which the boy must use math to solve his other problems. In each night’s dream, the number devil and readers join Robert in tackling mathematical concepts from fractions to complex equations, Fibonacci numbers, and geometry.
Even the most anti-math reader can find something to like in this chapter book, and, in a twist, those reluctant readers who find books overwhelming can find a safe space to indulge their love of problem solving and puzzles. This book makes a great gift for that young reader who doesn’t find joy in the latest releases. — recommended by Carol
“I Want My Hat Back,” by Jon Klassen, Candlewick Press, 2011.
A nameless bear searches the ambiguous emptiness of his world, searching for his lost hat. None of the animals he encounters seem to know where it is, but some animals are LIARS. Will the bear find his hat? Will justice be served? Jon Klassen is my favorite illustrator and picture book author in the entire world, and this is a must read for anyone, anywhere, ever. — recommended by Tabitha
A stronger
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