Book Description

Prickly Pete the packrat takes young readers into the desert to get some answers: Can desert tortoises climb out of their shells? Do Gila monsters bite and not let go? Are barrel cactuses filled with water you can drink? Are javelinas really wild desert pigs? And Pete's favorite: If you leave your watch outside at night, will a packrat take it and leave some cactus in its place?

Beautifully illustrated, this delightful full-color children's book shows that desert facts often are much more amazing than the myths (cactifracts) we've all heard! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Separates desert facts from "cactifracts"
Correctamundo!: Prickly Pete's Guide To Desert Facts & Catifracts separates desert facts from "cactifracts", that is, things lots of kids think are true about the desert but are not factual. Lively, fun, educational, and highly recommended for both school and community library collections, Correctamundo! will provide young readers ages 8 to 12 with a splendid and entertaining introduction to the flora and fauna of the desert.

Learn to tell a fact from a cactifract ...
Both of my children (ages 5 and 7) and I love this book. It is well written, amusing, creative and informative. The format is fun and inventive -- Prickly Pete (a packrat) makes a series of statments about desert creatures and then asks the readers guess whether each one is a fact or a "cactifract"(untrue), before turning the page to find the correct answer. My children love guessing and learning whether they were right. I recommend it for its entertainment value as well as for the information it contains about the natural hsitory of the desert. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

essential info for kids who wonder
I think this book would appeal to kids from 5 on up to 10. A biologist, I've read it to my son (who is now 7) now and again for the last 2 years. He keeps gaining new insight each time. Cells are very very small, their aspect varies from one tissue to the next, a baby starts from just two cells... The pictures are excellent; they illustrate just how incredibly different a nerve cell is from a muscle cell, from a sperm cell. And there is plenty of humor too. Kids not only need to know, but they'll love knowing this stuff. ... Read more

Book Description

The variety of bird nests is truly amazing. Some birds build nests above ground, but others build them on or below the ground. There are nests that float and some that swing from branches. Some are even made of saliva, and others can weigh more than 5,500 pounds! ... 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. 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. ... Read more

Book Description

This GEMS guide, for grades four to eight, features ten learning stations designed to enliven student curiosity in a wide diversity of scientific fields. Using hand lenses and microscopes, students observe, record, and investigate water drop magnifiers, fingerprint ridges, dollar bills, color printing, fabrics, salts, sand, kitchen powders, insects, spiders, brine shrimp, and pond life. The 3Discovery Quilt is one of several options for students to sum up their discoveries. Many of the learning station activities make excellent connections to other GEMS units. This guide represents an innovative partnership between GEMS and the Microscopy Society of America which sponsored its development. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great read!
An excellent step-by-step guide through the wonders of science. Any curious middle schooler will LOVE this book. My son did. ... Read more

Book Description

FROM TADPOLE TO FROG is a simple explanation of how a tadpole becomes an adult frog.Watch a tiny jelly egg become a tadpole with a tail. See the tadpole hatch and grow four legs.Watch the tadpole¹s tail shrink and finally, see a full-grown frog!Full-color photographs show every stage of development. ... Read more

Book Description

176 drawings6 x 9

"A wealth of information."-Booklist

"A nice range of accessible information and activities."-Orion Afield

Wetlands provide perfect arenas for nature study. Discover Nature in Water andWetlands explores the properties, processes, and phases of water and the plant and animallife associated with it, from trees, cattails, and ferns to dragonflies, salamanders, turtles,and beavers. With just a few essentials, such as a field notebook, hand lens, and bug box,readers will find both straightforward information and all kinds of activities to uncoverthe fascinating, diverse ecosystem that surrounds our ponds, swamps, and other wateryplaces.

Elizabeth Lawlor and Pat Archer have teamed up on Discover Nature at the Seashore,Discover Nature Close to Home, Discover Nature at Sundown, and Discover Nature inWinter. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Inside Out
The simple, yet accurate, graphics of this little book are a favorite in my Kindergarten classroom. The mysterious , invisible growth inside the egg is presented as a link in the life cycle of the chicken. Children delight in the transparent pages and return to look again and again. Non-readers can recall/retell the simple story with the help of the pictures. Older children quickly absorb the facts illustrated and want additional information. FROM EGG TO CHICKEN is a great book to share with a youngster. ... Read more

Book Description

From a small town in Pennsylvania came a little girl who saw the magic in spring fog and heard the ocean’s song in her heart. This was also the girl who one day would become the groundbreaking environmental author of Silent Spring. In Rachel Carson, young readers will experience all the enchantment of nature as seen through the eyes of the budding scientist. Thomas Locker’s lyrical paintings re-create important scenes in her development and are accompanied by memorable quotes from Carson, together with Joseph Bruchac’s poetically rendered biography. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great overview of chick development inside the egg.
As a fifth grade science teacher I have used this book in my class for 2 years. I hatch chicken eggs every year. The students are obiously excited about the big day. What is unknown, of course, to them is what is exactly happening inside the egg. Somehow, even to 11 year olds, the chick just comes out. I mostly use this book to share the pictures, however, I do share some of the text as well. My students really have a great understanding of how quickly the backbone develops and how the chick develops. This makes the experience much more educational and worthwhile. I am very excited to have the opportunity to own this book rather than hoping that the library has it available each year. For your information, if you are hatching chicks, Carolina Biological Supply has a great poster available that shows the egg day by day. All 21 days are chronicled. There is no explaination of the days, though, so the book is a great partner. ... Read more