Dear Parents and Teachers Future world-famous scientist Paisley Atoms and her best friend Ben Striker aren’t afraid to stir things up in their quests for discovery Using Paisley’s basement as a laboratory the two are constantly inventing exploring and well making messes Paisley has a few bruises to show for their work too She wears them like badges of honor These fast-paced adventures weave fascinating facts quotes from real scientists and explanations for various phenomena into witty dialogue stealthily boosting your reader’s understanding of multiple science topics From sound waves to dinosaurs from the sea floor to the moon Paisley Ben and the gang are perfect partner resources for a STEAM curriculum Each illustrated chapter book includes a science experiment or activity a biography of a woman in science jokes and websites to visit In addition each book also includes online teacher parent notes with ideas for incorporating the story into a lesson plan These notes include subject matter background information inspiration for maker space activities comprehension questions and additional online resources Notes are available at www RourkeEducationalMedia com We hope you enjoy Paisley and her pals as much as we do Happy reading Rourke Educational Media
Table of Contents The Best Field Trip Ever 6 Trouble In Paradise 16 It’s a Zoo Out There 25 Alien Encounters 35 Snakeology 101 43 5
CHAPTER ONE The Best Field Trip Ever Paisley Atoms fed her pet Indian gray mongoose his favorite food a pile of worms Newton gobbled them up She’d been awake since before sunrise Paisley was always excited to go to school at Roarington Elementary but today she was even more excited Today was Mrs Beaker’s annual science class field trip to the Naricorn Zoo It was the best day of fifth grade Paisley couldn’t wait She couldn’t wait so badly she’d been dancing around her bedroom all morning 6
like she had ants in her pants Of course if anyone had ants in their pants it would be her best friend neighbor and partner in science Ben Striker Ben loved ants so much he kept shelves full of ant colonies and worm farms in his closet instead of clothes She glanced at the clock Ben would be over to walk her to school in less than ten minutes She ran her fingers through her mass of wavy hair and yanked it up into her favorite messy bun She pulled on her comfy jeans rolled at the ankle Converse sneakers and a soft green T-shirt with I make Horrible Science Puns But Only Periodically typed on it beneath a drawing of the periodic table It cracked her up every time she wore it Paisley packed her knapsack with the needed supplies her favorite Endangered Species of the World book binoculars her lunchbox a pencil a clipboard duct tape you never know and of course a pile of fruit snacks pretzels and string cheese for Ben who was always hungry He usually had dinner twice once with Paisley and her Dad after they’d tinkered in Paisley’s basement laboratory all afternoon and second supper 7