Book Description

Young readers get down in the dirt with a friendly star-nosed mole as he shows off the different parts of his garden and some amazing creatures who live in the dirt. During this exciting tour, children discover what soil is, how it is formed, and why this substance is vital to plants, animals, and humans. Colorful art and simple text show how the soil that plants grow in differs from the soil that building foundations sit in, and help youngsters understand hwy this precious resource must be conserved.

Reviews (2)

Great nonfiction
This is a great piece of nonfiction for children. It is well illustrated and the text is easily understood. Children will have a great understanding of soil and its importance. I read this to my class and we are doing one of the experiments presented in the back of the book. I love books that provide extension activities for children. Highly recommended. Young children need more exposure to good nonfiction and this book fits the bill.

get to the nitty gritty.....
I bought this book Dirt and also Sand by the same publisher. I now wish I would have gotten both copies in hardback. I nearly never feel that way because of the price difference. We buy alot of books! This is one I can use now with my middle schoolers, use later and use with Grandchildren some day. The pictures are vibranant and well laid out. The information is pertenient, and well placed and it is FUN to read! Pre-school through early High School could appreciate this book, understand it, and find it useful. Anyone who needs to understand our soil would do well with both these books. They cover different material so neither would be a repeat. National Geographic, as always did a great job.

Excited Teacher in Nevada! ... Read more

Book Description

Biology: The Dynamics of Life is a comprehensive high school biology program designed to capture the interest of all students. The text uses analogies, models, and hundreds of illustrations to help students more easily comprehend major biological concepts. The engaging narrative and special feature essays continually reveal to students the connection between biology and everyday life, technology, societal issues, and other areas of the curriculum. Each chapter offers numerous opportuities for hands-on experiences that engage students in using scientific methods and in developing critical thinking skills. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Biology
This book has really helped me learn about science. It is simple and really explains complexted matters in a way anyone can understand. I recomend this book to anyone who feels that they want to understand sicence. Happy reading. ... Read more

Book Description

BIOLOGY: LIVING SYSTEMS is a systems approach to the major concepts of biology.The ©2003 edition is classroom compatible with the ©1998 &1995 editions. The text narrative presents relationships among major concepts that establish a thematic approach that links together ideas from one chapter to the next.Connections and applications emphasize the relationships between biology and other disciplines.Opportunities for learning by doing provide for increased student comprehension and development of critical thinking skills.This program can be used as a first or second year course in biology.(This is not an advanced placement course.) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good for Basic High School Biology
This was the biology textbook used in my high school Bio course. The bottom line on this textbook is that it does a good job of explaining the basics, and nothing more. At the end of each chapter is a whole list of questions that help the reader get used to thinking about the concepts, as biology is more of a literal-problem based course (e.g. the animal's heart is not beating, and we observed this... How did this observation lead to the heart attack?) as opposed to physics, for example (math-based).

I survived HS biology partly because of the amount of information that is contained within the bindings of this book. If you missed a few classes, reading up on this textbook brought you back to speed pretty quickly. Being a textbook geared towards high school students, the language is not difficult to comprehend. While some concepts may be more difficult to understand, there are lots of diagrams around (though not as good in quality as Campbell and Reece's textbook) to help elucidate the more confusing aspects of the subject.

Overall, pretty solid textbook for a high school biology course. If you're looking for a supplement with deeper material, check out the premier juggernaut of the biology textbook industry - Campbell and Reece's "Biology". ... Read more

Book Description

"Once upon a time" meets science in a children's picture book that tells the thrilling story of how life began on Earth. The second in a trilogy of Universe stories - the first being the award-winning Born with a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story -- this book picks up the story with the first appearance of life on Earth. It's a thrilling story about how Earth triumphs over crisis to become bacteria, jellyfish, flowers . . . even dinosaurs! The author, Jennifer Morgan, studied evolutionary science and saw its storytelling possibilities when she explained it to her elementary-age son. Coupled with brilliant artwork by Dana Anderson, who also studied Cosmology, these books will intrigue children and adults alike with their storytelling style and colorful pages. The third book in the trilogy will be available in Spring 2005. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Where did I come from?
Told as if the Universe has patted her lap & invited to you up for grand story, she takes you back into a time before time, when the Earth was formed, long, long before you or I were motes in the storm. Long before dinosaurs were born & flowers grew.

Told in a confidential, amusing & lyrical turn of phrase, FROM LAVA TO LIFE spills the beans on how life began here from microscopic cells in a churning brew of chemicals as our raw orb rolled around the heavens.

Fascinating images! Dana Lynn Andersen captures our imagination with her broad strokes of things bigger & smaller than one pair of eyes can see. Jennifer Morgan's sense of humor is both reverential & irreverent, charming & instructive.

If you are stumped when your kids ask the oldest of questions: "Where did I come from?" Then FROM LAVA TO LIFE & its prequel BORN WITH A BANG are for you!

Vividly illustrated in striking color
From Lava To Life: The Universe Tells Our Earth Story by storyteller, educator, and environmental advocate Jennifer Morgan is the second volume in an amazing summary series for readers ages 8 through 12 of what science can tell us about how the Earth came to be, and how life arose upon and in it. Vividly illustrated in striking color by Dana Lynne Andersen, From Lava To Life is a most fascinating introduction to science for young readers, beginning with the formation of the earth and concluding with the age of the dinosaur. From Lava To Life is also available in hardcover. Also very highly recommended for young readers is the first volume covering the birth the universe and the development of the solar system, Born With A Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story: Book 1. ... Read more

Book Description

Some say it's the little things that matter most. But as you'll discover in Youch! little things can be the most dangerous! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This book certainly does not bite, it's sensational!
This book is written in a style that appeals to readers of all ages. It has large colour pictures to satisfy those who cannot read at all, simple text for young children who can read it like a picture book without lifting the flaps and detailed small print for adults and older readers. This book has a flap on all of the right hand pages which on the front pose a question with a detailed answer hidden underneath. The contents of this riveting read explain about deadly creatures and those which are mistaken to be deadly killers just because they're scary looking. Sensational book, I highly recommend it.

Youch! It's cool AND scary!
Most kids are, of course, totally fascinated by things that are slimy, squishy, walk on many hairy legs or potentially dangerous. Most kids will sit and play with caterpillars, pillbugs, frogs, toads and the like. Given the chance, most kids will even be interested in examining dead animals, like road kill, to see what's inside and what made 'em tick. It's no surprise, then, that a good many kids would be TOTALLY fascinated with "Youch! It Bites!" and it's collection of strange-looking and potentially dangerous animals, plants and insects.

Taking a tour of some of the more well-known (and usually deadly) insects, plants and animals, the authors provide the reader with close-up pictures of things like black widow spiders, jellyfish, poison ivy, mosquitoes and the like. Each page has a large illustration and a lift-the-flap section that gives more detail (more GORY detail, perhaps) about the thing being discussed. Comparisons and contrasts are discussed, for example the fact that a giant, hairy tarantula isn't dangerous to humans but a teeny-tiny black widow is. Little known details and electron microscope scans are on practically every page for that extreme-close-up view of things you normally miss-- like the sharp end of a mosquito's needle-like (and hairy!) proboscis and the stinging fang of a spider.

Potential readers-- ESPECIALLY young readers-- should be aware that this book is not for the squeamish or the easily frightened! For example, both a snake and a TOAD are seen eating mice that they have killed. While this is perfectly normal for the animal and what it does to survive, the large picture of a toad with a mouse in it's mouth is somehow horrifying-- you don't think of toads going after something that big. A close-up of a row of piranha teeth, pointy and needle-sharp, might make an impressionable or sensitive child think twice about going in the water, even though these fish aren't found in North America.

In short, as a parent and teacher, there are kids who will really get into this book, and kids who will get nightmares from this book. Young children, who can't understand that they won't get stung by jellyfish or eaten by piranha in the local poor or lake, shouldn't read this book. Also, care should be taken when reading this book to young children, as it's text is rather sensational and full of references to fangs "dripping with venom" and spiders that "can kill a person." When *I* was a kid, something like this would have had me cringing in bed all day long!

The book is very good and the illustrations are excellent, no doubt about that. I'm not sure that the tabloid-headline style of the text is a good choice-- implying that kids can die horrible deaths by being bitten by a teeny spider or eaten alive by sharp-toothed fish is a bit over the top for my taste, but then again, I was always sensitive as a child.

Think carefully of who you're buying this book for, and enjoy the wild and dangerous world of poisonous animals, plants and insects!

Kids love scary stuff, and this book delivers!
Hypermagnified, strikingly posed or peacefully in wait, the creatures of "Youch!" are brought to life in words and pics that tell the story just as they are. Scary creatures! I read this with my 5 year old son last night and he was fascinated and not the least uncomfortable. Kids love to be shocked; witness the faces of children at a wild animal show or even the circus.

Love the format, love the photos.

Visually striking, but hurt by an exploitative tone
I have mixed feelings about "Youch! It Bites: Real-Life Monsters, Up Close," the book written by Trevor Day in collaboration with Mike Jolley and Dugald Steer. Directed towards young readers, this educational book is an introduction to a wide assortment of potentially dangerous plants and animals. Species described include the rattlesnake, poison ivy, the piranha, the blue-ringed octopus, and many, many more. Day's text is accompanied on every page by detailed full-color photographs.

There is much to like about "Youch! It Bites." The physical format of the book is interesting. Every two-page spread contains a fold-out page with a surprise underneath the fold. From an educational standpoint, the book is full of fascinating facts and images. The mating dance of scorpions, the bright colors of tropical frogs, and other discoveries add to the book's appeal.

The main problem lies in the book's sensationalistic, exploitative tone. I don't like the "Jerry Springer" approach to educational children's books, and "Youch" revels in this mentality. It starts with the book's subtitle. The species in this book are not, in my opinion, "monsters," but rather animals simply trying to survive. The author constantly dwells on potential death and injury. I fear this book will, rather than get kids interested in nature, instead give them unhealthy phobias.

And some of the photos may simply be too graphic and frightening for more sensitive children. Particularly questionable is a huge close-up of a snake beginning to swallow a dead mouse. This is certainly a potentially nightmare-inducing image!

The collaborators on this book are to be commended for trying to make science fun. But the result is a very problematic book. I recommend that parents preview this text before sharing it with their children. But for bolder and more adventurous youngsters, this book may be a real treat. ... Read more

Book Description

Biological Science: a Molecular Approach (BSCS Blue Version), prepares honors or gifted students for the biology of the future by challenging them to think scientifically, to integrate concepts, to analyze data and to explore complex issues. Inquiry-based learning, a molecular perspective on the major concepts in biology and a focus on the nature and methods of science have been mainstays of the Blue Version since the first edition was released in 1963. The eighth edition incorporates new perspectives and understandings across major subdisciplines of biology such as genetics, cell biology, development, systematics, behavior, immunology and evolution–the central organizing theme of biology.As with BSCS's other biology programs, Blue Version provides an alternative to the presentation of vocabulary and isolated facts by using inquiry to present biology as an experimental science. Blue Version also recognizes the role that biology will play in the lives of students, who need an understanding of the possibilities and limitations of biological technology as they make decisions about everything from food products to medical care. By presenting science as a way of exploring the drama and beauty of the living world, students come to use scientific inquiry as a means to investigate the biological bases of problems in medicine, agriculture and conservation, which will provide a context in which students can appreciate the relationship of biology to personal and societal issues.Blue Version begins with a focus on the content of biology at the level of organization of molecules. The threads of molecular biology and the theory of evolution by natural selection tie together the chapters as the emphasis changes gradually from molecules to cells, individuals, populations, and finally to the biosphere. Seven unifying principles serve as a framework for conceptual biology ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Agreed- confusing
I agree that the book was confusing. I would not recommend it. Even with help from teachers, I did not fully grasp the information taught to me.

Poorly Written and Overall Poor Quality
As a honors biology student I am very good in science and genraly like all of the books that I have used. I would say, with out a doubt, this is perhaps the worst textbook ever written. The concepts are explaind so poorly and unclearly all they can do is confuse a student. The language is written as a college level textbook. I would encouarge anyone consdiering this textbook to look for a new one. You could not do any worse. Even teachers can not understand this book.

Too confusing
I used this text for Honors Biology as a high school sophomore and the material was presented in a complicated fashion that makes it hard for a typical reader to understand. While I am generally a good student and can grasp new ideas quickly this text was complicated and in my opinion needs a lot of teacher aid in explaining, especially for first year biology.

Excellent AP prep text!
I used this book in my Biology PreAP class, PreAP meaning prerequisite to AP Biology, and managed to always get the highest test scores in class(although I do get the highest scores in all my classes)! Its topics cover the cellular processeses almost as in depth as AP Biology and will no doubt build a strong foundation when entering AP Biology. And although it maybe very in-depth for a typical high school freshman--its actual targeted audience are gifted students at the sophomore level--especially when it comes to its most complicated subject of Biochemistry, it should come as simple and quite obviously logical if read carefully. Its biggest strengths are in the evaluation questions, which help you to build an effective writing strategy and study guide when it comes to writing those lengthy scientific essays in AP Biology exam. Of course, this book alone won't guarantee you a 5.0 in the AP Biology exam(as you do have to get a new book for AP Biology), but it is the book that will guide you to that goal! ... Read more

Book Description

Enjoy Your Cells is a new series of children's books from the acclaimed creative partnership of scientist/author Fran Balkwill and illustrator Mic Rolph. The titles in the series include:

Enjoy Your Cells Germ Zappers Have a Nice DNA! Gene Machines

Once again, they use their unique brand of simple but scientifically accurate commentary and exuberantly colorful graphics to take young readers on an entertaining exploration of the amazing, hidden world of cells, proteins, and DNA.

It's over ten years since Fran and Mic invented a new way of getting science across to children. Think what extraordinary advances have been made in biology in that time - and how often those discoveries made headlines. Stem cells, cloning, embryo transfer, emerging infections, vaccine development...here in these books are the basic facts behind the public debates. With these books, children will learn to enjoy their cells and current affairs at the same time. And they're getting information that has been written and reviewed by working scientists, so it's completely correct and up-to-date. Readers aged 7 and up will appreciate the stories' lively language and with help, even younger children will enjoy and learn from the jokes and illustrations - no expert required!

This series is a must for all elementary school students and those who care about educating them to be well-informed in a world of increasingly complex health-related and environmental issues.

Fran Balkwill is Professor of Cancer Biology at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and the London Queen Mary School of Medicine. Mic Rolph is a graphic designer with much television and publishing experience. Together, they have created many books for children, and have won several awards, including the prestigious COPUS Junior Science Book Prize. ... Read more

Book Description

You've seen your own blood, when you have a cut or a scrape. You can see the veins in your wrist, and you've seen the scab that forms as a cut heals. But do you know what blood does for you? Without blood, you couldn't play, or grow, or learn. That's because just about every part of your body needs blood, from your muscles to your bones to your brain. How does your body use blood? Read and find out! ... Read more

Book Description

Deep in the forest . . .

A bear sharpens her claws on a tree trunk. The scratched bark chips; a tiny hole forms. Timber beetles tunnel inside. The hole grows bigger and bigger.

In lyrical prose, Barbara Brenner reveals the fascinating happenings in one small place. She explains how, over many years, the rough hole transforms into a cozy hollow -- home to salamanders, tree frogs, a family of white-footed mice. Tom Leonard’s absorbing illustrations take you beneath the bark to a hidden world. His warm, lifelike depictions of squirrels and bluebirds, snakes and spiders show the splendor that dwells in the most unexpected places.

So stop. Observe. Explore your natural world. If you look closely enough, you will surely find . . . one small place that is home for something.

Reviews (1)

Center stage for the tiny mealworm
"A Mealworm's Life" is written and illustrated by John Himmelman. The book combines a simple text with beautiful images. Also included is a short glossary of terms. Set on a farm, the book tells the story of a mealworm's life from her being laid as an egg to the hatching of her own offspring. The text covers its main character's metamorphoses, encounters with other creatures, etc.

This superb book brings a sense of both dignity and magic to the life of this tiny creature. The illustrations are truly beautiful and are rich in subtle details--the scales on a chicken's foot, the patterns on a moth's wings, etc. The rich shades of brown, green, and gold bring a luminous warmth to the book. Himmelman includes some clever visual touches that bring an almost cinematic sense of drama to this miniature epic of one little life. Among the many nature and science picture books for children that I've read, I would certainly rate this as among the best. ... Read more

Book Description

In this accessible and informative picture book, take a journey throughout the animal kingdom and explore the many ways animal babies are created. From sea sponges, to frogs, to tigers and dolphins, look at the ways animals find and attract mates and how the reproductive process works. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The wonder of nature
This book should appeal to many age levels. My 18 month old begs for it over and over again. The illustrations are beautiful- soft and detailed with the animals filling up the whole page. The text is one or two sentences per page and he knows the names of the animals. For the older child the facts about each animal provide an introduction to the fascinating diversity of the natural world and a reference point leading to a discussion of his or her own birth.

Lovely book!
I read this beautifully illustrated book to my four-year-old son many times throughout my pregancy. The fact that he was born himself, just like the animals, pleased him immensely. I enjoyed reading it over and over because of the simple, charming words the author uses to describe birth. The whale mother nudges the baby whale up for its "first sip of air." The baby elephant wears "a halo of long, brown hair." And the human baby "rode curled beneath (its) mother's heart." What a wonderful, sweet way to explain the miracle of life to young children. It is also a great way to explain the different ways some animals are born. Daddy Seahorses give birth? Frogs have babies that don't look like them? It could lead to yet another trip to the library!

My son's baby sister is more than six months old, yet he still counts this book as one of his favorites. I highly recommend it!

the author has an almost magical way of describing birth.
With brief, but magical descriptions of the moments of birth for several animals, the author carries you into the special realization of the unique and magical love in human birth. The artist's fantastic pictures bring you into the world of each animal. A beautiful, and gentle introduction into the world of reproduction, without fear or discomfort. Complete innocence left unmarked, but with inspired appreciation for a true miracle. ... Read more