Push-Pull Morning

Dog-Powered Poems About Matter and Energy

Illustrated by Serge Bloch
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Hardcover
$18.99 US
9"W x 11.25"H x 0.38"D  
On sale Feb 21, 2023 | 40 Pages | 9781635925272
Preschool - 3
Reading Level: Lexile AD620L

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Introduce children to physics through play, poetry, and a puppy in this joyous celebration of how physics matters in our everyday lives.

This remarkable picture book explores scientific concepts (gravity, magnetism, electricity, friction, etc.) through the story of the relationship between a child and a puppy. Acclaimed author Lisa Westberg Peters’s poems convey concepts in a way that children will remember—often with humor. Who could forget the various phases when they’re presented in the form of a dog—solid when eating dinner, liquid when pouring herself into her basket, and gas when leaping erratically after a fly? Serge Bloch’s whimsical illustrations extend the humor—and the love—in this tale of a child, a dog, and the energy that abounds in their world.

Extensive notes at the end of the book define and explain the physics subjects included in the poems.
© Lisa Westberg Peters
Lisa Westberg Peters is the author of 21 children’s books including Our Family Tree, winner of the Minnesota Book Award, Push-Pull Morning: Dog-Powered Poems about Matter and Energy, and Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up. She lives with her husband in St. Paul, Minnesota, and loves to spend time at their cabin in northwestern Wisconsin. View titles by Lisa Westberg Peters
Serge Bloch was born in Colmar, France. He has illustrated numerous books for children, including The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse; My Snake Blake, and I Scream Ice Cream, and has won several international prizes and Gold Medals for his work. He has also entered the fine art world with shows in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and Berlin, and more. View titles by Serge Bloch
"A dog and a child joyously demonstrate gravity, friction, inertia, and other physical phenomena...With an eye to her STEM-centric theme, Peters outfits her free-verse romps with titular references to physics and parenthetical identifications of relevant topics or principles...Playfulness and pedagogy intertwined." —Kirkus Reviews

"Picture book poetry, stated by a dog-loving young boy, introduces principles of physics in an inventive blend likely to intrigue... (with) deft blank verse and energetic, comic line drawings... the dual thrust should interest fans of Peters’s many other books and may invite or challenge pet lovers, as well as readers and teachers of poetry or science."—School Library Journal

"Peters’ energetic and educational book follows a child and their dog as together they explore unconditional love and the world of science. Each scientific topic, focused on matter and energy, is expressed through a delightful first-person free-verse poem and a lively, vivid illustration from Bloch that demonstrates movement and fluctuation of energy....Peters and Bloch take on important educational concepts and, in classic scientific fashion, transform them into something wholly original and interesting." —Booklist
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About

Introduce children to physics through play, poetry, and a puppy in this joyous celebration of how physics matters in our everyday lives.

This remarkable picture book explores scientific concepts (gravity, magnetism, electricity, friction, etc.) through the story of the relationship between a child and a puppy. Acclaimed author Lisa Westberg Peters’s poems convey concepts in a way that children will remember—often with humor. Who could forget the various phases when they’re presented in the form of a dog—solid when eating dinner, liquid when pouring herself into her basket, and gas when leaping erratically after a fly? Serge Bloch’s whimsical illustrations extend the humor—and the love—in this tale of a child, a dog, and the energy that abounds in their world.

Extensive notes at the end of the book define and explain the physics subjects included in the poems.

Author

© Lisa Westberg Peters
Lisa Westberg Peters is the author of 21 children’s books including Our Family Tree, winner of the Minnesota Book Award, Push-Pull Morning: Dog-Powered Poems about Matter and Energy, and Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up. She lives with her husband in St. Paul, Minnesota, and loves to spend time at their cabin in northwestern Wisconsin. View titles by Lisa Westberg Peters
Serge Bloch was born in Colmar, France. He has illustrated numerous books for children, including The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse; My Snake Blake, and I Scream Ice Cream, and has won several international prizes and Gold Medals for his work. He has also entered the fine art world with shows in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and Berlin, and more. View titles by Serge Bloch

Praise

"A dog and a child joyously demonstrate gravity, friction, inertia, and other physical phenomena...With an eye to her STEM-centric theme, Peters outfits her free-verse romps with titular references to physics and parenthetical identifications of relevant topics or principles...Playfulness and pedagogy intertwined." —Kirkus Reviews

"Picture book poetry, stated by a dog-loving young boy, introduces principles of physics in an inventive blend likely to intrigue... (with) deft blank verse and energetic, comic line drawings... the dual thrust should interest fans of Peters’s many other books and may invite or challenge pet lovers, as well as readers and teachers of poetry or science."—School Library Journal

"Peters’ energetic and educational book follows a child and their dog as together they explore unconditional love and the world of science. Each scientific topic, focused on matter and energy, is expressed through a delightful first-person free-verse poem and a lively, vivid illustration from Bloch that demonstrates movement and fluctuation of energy....Peters and Bloch take on important educational concepts and, in classic scientific fashion, transform them into something wholly original and interesting." —Booklist

Photos

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