Ben’s Backyard Jungle Adventure

In this second book in the leveled Steam Street Kids series, a children’s springtime backyard adventure leads to intriguing discoveries about the usefulness of ramps.

Well-known nonfiction author Sally M. Walker and illustrator Julie Kwon introduce basic science concepts in a setting of imagination and play that makes them easy to understand, just as ramps make many things easier to do. It’s shaping up to be a great day! Grandma has come to whisk Cora and her little brother, Ben, off to the library to find books on their favorite things. As they climb the many steps to the library, they see their neighbor friend Marcos rolling his wheelchair up the entrance ramp to join them. Back home, the siblings take Gran on a jungle (gym) adventure, walking carefully to their hideout—stepping on stones to avoid hot lava!—and taking time to admire the jungle garden. There, they discover their slide provides just the help they need to get their snacks and stuffies to the top of the playset. Rounding out this follow-up to Cora’s Beach Adventure is end matter offering kid-friendly takes on the physics concept of work, fun facts on earthworms, and a simple inclined-plane activity.