"Cool for You" is a children's picture book that explains the basic science of climate change and actions we can take to help
- For ages 3-7 (or any age!)
- Rhyming couplets
- Available in e-book, softcover, and hardcover options
- Partnering with Science Club for Girls to donate books to K-1 budding scientists!
Inspired by such books as "Quantum Physics for Babies" and "My First Science Textbook", Dr. Marianna Linz, a climate scientist with a PhD from MIT, wrote rhyming couplets to explain the greenhouse effect, climate change, and a few things we can do about it. After many iterations, reading it to children and parents, she arrived on the finished text. The longest word is three syllables ("atmosphere"), and the cadence is lively.
She partnered with illustrator Caitlin B. Alexander, bringing this introduction to environmental science and conservation to life. Caitlin's illustrations have transformed the scientific text into a charming story of sharing knowledge and collective action to inspire us all to help the world stay cool for the next generation.
We are working with the Boston-based organization Science Club for Girls to bring books to kindergarten and first-grade girls in public schools.
So that this story of hope can get into your (and your children's) hands as fast as possible, Caitlin and Marianna have chosen to use Kickstarter. There are three options: an e-book, a softcover, and a hardcover, so that the book can be purchased at a variety of price points.
We have ordered the proofs, and here is the finished preview on the publisher's site! Note that the colors are more vibrant and images are sharper than they appear in this video.
Marianna was motivated to write this book after her wonderful experience working with Science Club for Girls, teaching kindergarten and first-grade girls about "Our Earth". The curriculum covered lots of topics, but not climate. Marianna set out to write something that could explain the science of climate change in the simplest way. She did not only want to teach the science, however. Climate change is an urgent problem. Super storms, floods, droughts, fires--we are just getting a taste of what the new normal might be without global collective action to stop greenhouse gas emissions. So "Cool for You" features a story of coming together to learn about the Earth and to work to stop climate change.
We are delighted to be partnering with SCFG to bring copies of this book to girls in their programs in Boston and Cambridge public schools. Please indicate in your backer survey how many books are for you and how many are for donations.
Dr. Marianna Linz is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Physical Oceanography in 2017. Her research is on how the atmosphere and ocean transport heat and pollutants. In July of 2019, she will be at Harvard University as an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering and Earth and Planetary Sciences. Marianna is committed to science education and promoting diversity in STEM. When she was in Boston, she volunteered with Science Club for Girls, teaching kindergarteners and first graders about physics and the Earth. In Los Angeles, she is working with the UCLA Center for Diverse Leadership in Science to teach middle and high school students about the oceans.
Caitlin B. Alexander is an illustrator based in Austin, Texas with a particular love for dry-brush gouache painting. Both her life and work are heavily influenced by the aesthetics of the 1940's, '50s and '60s, as she focuses on a representation of repeat patterns and texture in our natural world, along with messages of strength and acceptance, via hand-lettered typography. This love of smaller details— a cluttered kitchen, a cat’s fur texture, harmonious color in a sign, variations in a garden— is what the artist brings to her audience: an appreciation for the lovely little things in life. Caitlin's clients include National Geographic Learning via Cengage Learning, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the Austin Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She fancies herself a collector of memories as much as a collector of things, and enjoys bringing this sense of nostalgia to her audience.
Science Club for Girls is an organization founded in 1994 by Beth O’Sullivan and Mary McGowan, both mothers in Cambridge, MA. They were concerned about the lack of gender equity in STEM fields and introduced after school clubs for girls run by women mentor scientists. This award winning organization provides 60 kindergarten and first grade girls with scientist mentors and role models every semester, and we would like to give each of those girls a copy of "Cool for You"! Learn more about their fantastic efforts here.
The text is written and Caitlin is wrapping up the final artwork (if you support this project, you will get an exclusive video of her digital painting process!). We plan to go to print as soon as this has been funded, and our estimate for getting the books is two-three weeks after that. So we should easily get the books to you by December. Prints will be completed by the end of November. If you get a signed book or a higher tier level, you are first on the priority list and we will get you your book and prints ASAP!
Hardcover books and softcover books are both in a landscape-oriented 8"x10" format. A video of Marianna flipping through the hardcover book proof is below.
A choice of 6 8" x 10" prints and 2 11" x 17" prints are available.
Author visits are subject to Marianna's schedule, but will be arranged to be in person if at all possible. Locations for in person readings are the Los Angeles area and limited availability in Cincinnati, Boston and New York City. Otherwise, Marianna will be delighted to join you digitally for a reading and conversation. Please get in touch if you would like extra books at the $800 reward level. If Marianna is going to do a reading, we’d love for everyone there to get a copy, so each hardcover book for the $800 reward can be swapped for two softcover books, and we can probably add more books or swap books for prints as well. We are happy to work with you to make your event an awesome one!
For earth science folks: Marianna will be at the AGU fall meeting and can hand deliver books there. This offer is primarily for any international backers who will be there or will have colleagues there. Let’s save the cost and the carbon—one extra suitcase is better than sending out a host of packages. If you can arrange for either yourself or someone else to get your order from Marianna during AGU, please choose the pledge level with “US shipping” and then send a message with the details of who will be picking up the order. Marianna will be available at two different times—one at the beginning and one at the end of the week.
Our prices for books are designed to cover the costs, barely. Other reward tiers are more generous with their buffer. Some of the funds from the prints will go to the artist. Otherwise, whatever we don't spend getting the books published, sent to you, and carbon-offset, will be used to purchase extra carbon offsets (our goal is at least double, so this project will be net carbon negative!) and used to order additional books for donations.
That means that any extra contribution is going to save the planet or to spark children's interest in STEM, which are our main two goals in this project!
Risks and challenges
We're both new to Kickstarter, so there might be some hiccups we don't anticipate. That's one of the reasons we're working with a very experienced, United States based self-publishing outfit that has worked with Kickstarter campaigns frequently in the past. Although the price might be a little higher, this will help ensure that we get high-quality books to you on time. Since all of the creative work will be done by the end of the Kickstarter campaign, all that's left is the printing and shipping (and some signing! that will be fun!). Unforeseen circumstances could always arise (like wildfires in LA? Unforeseen circumstances are becoming more likely with climate change...), and we appreciate your understanding in such an unlikely event.Learn about accountability on Kickstarter
- (29 days)