Book Description

Greg makes fascinating discoveries about things he finds at home when he looks at them through his new microscope. ‘An accurate and entertaining book for beginning independent readers.' 'BL.

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Reviews (2)

Greg's Microscope is for boys, not girls
This is a nice easy reader about a child with a home microscope. Observation of common objects is presented with a good discovery approach, but Greg's family is depicted in a (very 1960s) sexist manner that diminishes its usefulness.

Greg's Microscope
This is a wonderful book for any budding scientist. It is the story of friends using Greg's new microscope to look up close and personal at everyday objects found around the house. The book contains illustrations of items they observe under the microscope...like sugar. It would be a great book to go along with a new microscope. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great book, my son loved it!
My son, Christopher, is 7 years old, and is just facinated by space, and loves the movie "Apollo 13". I bought this book, and he just loved it. I couldn't be happier with it. He really enjoyed the pictures, and I could tell he was making sure that it was as accurate as the movie that he watches over and over. It's nice to see a book that excites a child like this one did.

A big hit!
We found this book at the library last night and it was such an instant hit I'm buying it today. The pictures and big and bold and whimsical and the rhyming is very nice. My 2-year-old daughter doesn't even know what a rocket is yet but she asked me to read this book first thing this morning.

a great book
toodlers will love hearing this story over and over agin. i work in a 18 month old classroom to 2 yrs of age, my co teachers and i read this book to the kids all the time.the children and adults love it

Our Toddler's (and Daddy's) favorite bedtime story!
Easy rhyming, rhythmic phrases, and cool space-related pictures in bright colors lend to repeats of this story almost every night! Our Son liked this book so much that he reached for it over and over for bedtime stories - even before he could talk. (One of his first words was ZOOM!) If you like space stuff, you and your kids will find Dan Yaccarino's "ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM..." a real pleaser!!

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! is the book to blast off with!
At least once a year I blast off to the moon and beyond, and explore the wonders of outer space. Since my launch pad is a library, and my crew a room full of exuberant pre-schoolers, I always begin the journey with a book. Finding just the right one to set the mood for this galactic trip is not an easy task. What luck to stumble across Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off to the Moon, while mindlessly scrolling down Amazon's list of possible children's books to review! Dan Yaccarino's simple prose lifts off with a rhythmic beat that soars along throughout the lunar odyssey , right down to the final page of re-entry. All this is accomplished with just the right amount of scientific accuracy - "First stage, engines fire. Second stage, flying higher. Third stage, engines tire." His bright, bold, up close and personal illustrations of a spunky young astronaught engaging in each stage of his voyage, reveal on every large page the wonders of "outer space all over the place." What excitement to be suiting up, counting down, lifting off, landing, and standing on the moon in the dark skies staring off at earthrise. I try to purchase for the library's children's collection a single copy of every very good picture book I discover...two copies for a particularly good one. I'm buying three of Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! This review may not be a winner, but this book is a winning choice for any member of the pre-school space-loving set. ... Read more

Book Description

Mind-Boggling ExperimentsYou Can Turn Into Science Fair Projects

The perfect science fair idea books . . .Spectacular Science Projects
Janice VanCleave's Solar System

• How is a comet like a dirty snowball?
• Does a planet’s distance from the Sun affect its temperature?
• How can the Moon block the Sun’s light?

Figure out the answers for yourself with out-of-this world activities and experiments that help you learn about the wonders of the solar system. Janice VanCleave’s Solar System: Mind-Boggling Experiments You Can Turn into Science Fair Projects guarantees hours and hours of fascinating, hands-on, safe, low-cost science fun.Try these awesome projects at home or in the classroom: trace theEarth’s path through the celestial sphere, create a comet in your own bedroom, and build a model of Saturn and its rings.Each experiment includes an illustration and simple, step-by-step instructions, as well as clear explanations of the astronomical concepts you’re seeing at work.

Children ages 8—12
Also available in the Spectacular Science Projects Series:

Janice VanCleave’s Animals
Janice VanCleave’s Earthquakes
Janice VanCleave’s Electricity
Janice VanCleave’s Gravity
Janice VanCleave’s Insects and Spiders
Janice VanCleave’s Machines
Janice VanCleave’s Magnets
Janice VanCleave’s Microscopesand Magnifying Lenses
Janice VanCleave’s Molecules
Janice VanCleave’s Plants
Janice VanCleave’s Rocks and Minerals
Janice VanCleave’s Volcanoes
Janice VanCleave’s Weather ... Read more

Book Description

Jimmy can't wait to show off the supersizing power of his latest invention. Everyone thinks the Supersizer 5000 is great...until Jimmy supersizes his dinosaur eraser and accidentally brings it to life. Can the boy genius find his way out of this supersize mess? Find out in another hilarious Jimmy Neutron adventure! ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

PIONEERING WORK
When first published thirty years ago this was one of the few if not only books devoted to profiling the lives and achievements of Black scientists. All of those fourteen profiled individuals were either unknown or had been put in the halls of obscurity. Louis Haber changed all of that by showing young people that Blacks have contributed much in the scientific field. The stories are remarkable as you see how these men overcame racial, educational and economic obstacles to produce discoveries which have impacted upon our lives.

The information about these pioneers are just as significant today as they were thirty years ago. Black Pioneers is a classic work in its field but needs revision even though the author has died. More information concerning the scientists is available that can be included in this work. Conspiculously absent is the contributions of Black women scientists. They too need to be included in the text as well as an updated bibliography. Other than those changes this book is an excellent introductory tome for young and old people who are curious about the contributions of Blacks in science.

Information that is not well known, but is important to ALL!
I was extremely pleased to find this book. Young African Americans need to know that they, too, have as rich a contribution in the development of the history of the United States as other Americans. This information is not found in history books. Without books like this, no one would know the extensive contributions that African Americans have made to the development of our nation. I had a conversation with one of my son's friend's mother, and she was completely unbelieving of the information I shared. Everyone SHOULD have access to books of this kind, because without them, how would we know? There is so much information that has been omitted from the history books on the United States, especially where African Americans are concerned. African Americans have had overwhelming involvement in the history of this country since its beginning, i.e., slavery. Who created the cotton gin? A slave tired of picking cotton. Who invented the first traffic light, the iron ! board, the signals in a car? Who recreated the blue prints for the development of what became Washington, DC? Who found over 250 uses from the peanut? Who was the first pioneer of blood plasma? Who performed the first success heart transplant? All these individuals were African Americans, and that is just naming a few. However, many Americans don't know these facts. I think this book should be in every public library, as well as all elementary and middle school libraries across the country. I am so very proud to be an African American, and when young African Americans read this, I know this book will give them the aspiration to know that they, too, can aspire to greatness! I LOVE THIS BOOK! I hope to find others like it. Thank you, Mr. Haber, for caring and making this information accessible to the general public. ... Read more

Book Description

Max goes to the Moon combines a lavishly illustrated picture book format with fundamental science concepts. In this adventure, Max the Dog and his young human friend Tori undertake a quest to make the first trip to the Moon since the Apollo era. Their trip inspires the nations of the world to join together to build a Moon colony. The engaging story encourages children to learn, dream, and explore, while offering the message that we live on a precious planet. Everything that happens in the story corresponds to scientific principles which are clearly explained in "Big Kid Boxes" that appear on each page. At the end of the book there is a simple science-based activity that children and parents can enjoy together. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

WoW simple, WOW!
The illustrations are beautiful. They are very colorful and crisp.
The inter-weaving of the story of Max and Tori along with the science behind it is well worth the read for ANY age.
Boys and girls alike loved the story.

I recieved the book as a gift for my classroom. It is a treasured addition.

real science and fun too!
This is a great book. My almost 5 year old son keeps asking for it over and over again. Unlike most "real science" books, it has both scientific explanations for things like gravity and the phases of the moon, but also tells a narrative fictional story. As a parent, it's very helpful to have all the answers right there on the same page when your child asks, what is gravity? We can't wait for the next Max book. ... Read more

Book Description

General science never stops! You have to learn earth science, space science, life science, chemistry, and physics - and that's way too much! But before you administer hot compresses to the head and herbal tea for settling the nerves, try Science, Fresh Squeezed! As American History, Fresh Squeezed!, the first in the BrainJuice series, did for our country's past, Science, Fresh Squeezed! offers everything you need to know and understand about the entire body of scientific knowledge. Extracted from unreadable tomes, reduced to its essence, served up in hilarious poetry by Carol Diggory Shields, and garnished with off-the-wall drawings by Richard Thompson, these 41 poems will make another science class completely unnecessary. No guarantees on grades, though! ... Read more

Book Description

When Madge Bettany decides to start a school in the Austrian Alps, little does she realize how such a small idea will so completely change her life. Now, in this classic series of books, first PUBLISHER in the 1920s, join the Chalet School's first pupil, Joey Bettany, as she forges strong bonds of friendship with girls from Europe and America. Independent, intelligent, resourceful, and bold--the girls of Chalet School make each new term and adventure. ... Read more

Book Description

Meet the robots. . . .

Blink's the one who cooks our meals.

Zinc can fix things made of steel.

Blip, he keeps our yard so green.

Zip, he simply loves to clean.

Blink, Zinc, Blip, and Zip are very busy robots. From the kitchen to the living room, from the garage to the garden, nothing can stop thisindustrious bunch. Except . . . rain! After they get caught in a suddendownpour, the robots' circuits are all crossed. Blink bakes a birdhouse. Zincrepairs a pot of stew. Blip rakes the windows. Zip dusts the lemon tree. Cananything be done to set these robots straight? Bob Staake's bold, graphic artstyle is perfectly suited to the futuristic subjects of his clever, humorousstory. ... Read more

Book Description

Sydney was an inventor.
She invented everything. From beautiful birdhouses to charming cheesecakes.
And this is the story of her flashing, floating, mechanical star that faltered, and fizzled, and floated away.

And led her to her dreams. ... Read more

Book Description

A book written for children living in our challenging times.Earl the Emu and his friends on the Berry Farm discover the wonder of God's promise in a rainbow.Jason the special little boy only wants to hit a homerun, but because he can't run and play as fast as the other children they won't let him play.Earl and Jason discover that God is with you through the tough times, as they are reminded that God always keeps His promises, and never ever leaves us alone. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Earl the EmuGod's Promises a Rainbow
This is a delightful children's book.The illustrations are beautiful, very colorful.

The message of the book is one that especially children who are "different" can relate to.This book tells us how God ALWAYS keeps his promises.Sometimes our prayers are answered in the most unusual way, but the point is they are answered.This is a book that should be in every child's library.

Jeanetta Bearden Pollard author of "Mrs. Claus Shares Stories From the Heart"founder of http://www.jeanettapollard.com

Great story, great lesson, highly recommended
Although this is the fifth in the Earl the Emu series it is the first one that I have read for review."Earl the Emu: God Promises a Rainbow" is a wonderful children's story with an important message for everyone - God delivers on His promises.It may not be the way that we expect but be assured that He does keep His word.Join Earl the Emu and his animal friends as they help Jason.Jason just wants to play baseball so he can hit a home run.But he is not a very fast runner and so the other boys won't even let him play baseball with them.How can he hit a home run if he is not even allowed to play?This is a real problem.Join Earl the Emu as he becomes aware of this situation and helps Jason to make it happen."Earl the Emu: God Promises a Rainbow" is a recommended children's book for ages of about three to eight. ... Read more

Amazon.com

For children who are passionate about machines, especially the reallybig ones, Road Builders, cheerfully illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Simms Taback, is a wonderful find. Youngsters are introduced to the vast assortment of fascinating machines involved in building a road, and tothe industrious crew of folks who operate these mammoth vehicles. Step by step, a road is born: dirt is scooped away by the power shovel, bulldozer, and backhoe, then the grader smoothes the ground as the other trucks arrive with cement and asphalt. Finally the power roller packs it all down, and the "striper" lays down the lines at the center of the road. But you'll have to read the book to figure out what the cherry picker does! Boldly illustrated with bright, saturated colors, Road Builders is a visually dynamic introduction to the people and machines that bring new roads to life. (Ages 2 to 6) --Marianne Painter ... Read more

Reviews (6)

My boy loves this book!
If your little one is interested in construction machines, this book is a must. It is great. My boy memorized the words to this book when he was three and it helped him learn to read. The pictures are wonderful-- colorful and cartoonish yet very detailed as well.

Great step by step description
This is an excellent book. Starts with an overview and pictures of all the trucks needed to build a road and then proceeds with step-by-step with a picture of each truck doing its work. My son (who is 2 and 1/2) and I really enjoy this book. Our other truck books tend to show the whole process of building a road on one page and that is too overwhelming. This book does it just right!

Familiar Surroundings
My little boy has always been interested in machines and equipment as his daddy runs a blacktop plant. Imagine our surprise as we read through this wonderful construction book and learned that Simms Taback is our neighbor! All of the places listed in the book on road signs, equipment, and on the map are from our area. We were so intrigued by all of the familiar sites that we pointed it out to our local librarian who informed us that although she was not aware of the sites in the book, YES, Simms Taback lives in our town. ....It makes us wonder about the loader operator named Joe, who has the same name as daddy, who runs the loader at our asphalt plant! GREAT BOOK!!!!!

A wonderful book and a joy to read (over and over and over)!
I have twin 2.5 year-old boys and they love this book. Because of this book, when we are out driving around, they will tell me when they see a backhoe, a paver, or any other machinery they recognize. We read this book 3-4 times a day and it is new and exciting each time!

The perfect "all-boy" book for boys of all ages!
This is "The Favorite" book in our house! We first started reading this to our son when he was 2. Now he is 5 and still loves it. Our second son is now 2 and it is his favorite! The illustrations are the best around and the story is easy for kids to understand. We have learned about the different kinds of construction vehicles and what they do. The boys are able to name the different kids of trucks when they see them on the road. I have bought this books for many of my friends who have recently had baby boys so they can enjoy it to! ... Read more

Book Description

Nineteen-year-old Max Mooth is a cyber sleuth, dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of computers the world over. Aiding him in this effort is his eight-year-old sleuthing partner, Jake Zellner, who goes by the professional name, Mr. Z. Max's nemesis, a millionaire named Xefland Aurcracker, has sworn revenge against Max for getting him expelled from college four years ago, and now the time has come to exact that revenge. Aurcracker does so by hiring minions to create the most evil computer virus ever, the Zombie Virus, and then having them launch it upon the world, framing Max in the process. Furthermore, Aurcracker schemes to steal away Max's love interest, Abby, in order to further defeat him. So having only sixty hours to save the world's computers and his good name, Max and Mr. Z finally devise a plan that might stop the Zombie Virus—a plan that brings the fate of Max, Abby and computers everywhere down to the bare wire. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Genuinely funny dialogue, and a cast of quirky characters
Max Mooth is a socially immature but intellectually precocious nineteen-year-old (he graduated from college at seventeen) with an inordinate fondness for computers--his favorite things in the world, with the possible exception of pudding. Indeed, Max is dedicated to tracking down cyber-criminals, the nefarious disseminators of computer viruses, which he does with the aid of an impressive array of high-tech gadgetry. The Robin to Max's Batman is Mr. Z, a similarly precocious eight-year-old who eschews age-appropriate play and views the world with the cynical eye of a noir detective. Like any hero worthy of the name, Max is saddled with a nemesis, in his case an enemy from his Berkeley days, the delightfully over-the-top Xefland Aurcracker. Aurcracker is the filthy-rich, computer-challenged CEO of a company that produces virus protection software. Aurcracker intends, with the assistance of a minion or two, to release a devastating computer virus, frame Max for the crime, and rake in piles of cash by selling the only software capable of defeating it. At the same time, Aurcracker means to break Max's heart by stealing away the girl he's just met and fallen for (principally because she is nearly as fond of her iBook as he is of his own numerous computers).

Max Mooth--Cyber Sleuth is not a perfect book. Max punctuates his speech with corny computerisms--"Feeling downloadable, punk?"--that grow tiresome. Occasional scenes don't work because they strain credibility: climbing a muddy hill, Max is beset by an unlikely number of worms; he extricates himself from difficult situations with the homemade screwdriver he carries around, which he fashioned, inexplicably, out of paper clips. Max lives in a retirement home, having been raised there by a now deceased grandmother. This is interesting in that it adds a further layer to Max's hesitant relationship with adulthood--the boy/man is more comfortable with children and the elderly than with his own age group. But the implausibility of the arrangement is distracting.

These shortcomings, however, are relatively minor, and they pale in comparison with what the book has to offer: a cast of delightfully quirky characters and some genuinely amusing dialogue and situations. For example, Aurcracker assembles a team of psychiatrists to ask them how best to steal Max's girlfriend from him. "I'm pursuing a woman," he says to them, "mainly to deny a nemesis from having her by completely lying, deceiving and pulling the wool over her eyes. Any ideas how I should proceed?"

Meanwhile, Max, having blocked the door to a certain Mr. Underwood's office with a chair, frantically searches the room and Underwood's computer while its owner is away:

"Just then, the door hit the chair, blocking it. Max jumped, and quickly turned off Underwood's computer. He dove over the desk, back in his chair, as Underwood pushed his way in. Max appeared bored, leafing through his briefcase.

"'What was a chair doing there?' Underwood asked suspiciously.

"'I don't know,' Max said. 'Must've fallen when you left. I'm not a physics expert, Mr. Underwood.'"

Stephen Kogon published Max Mooth himself via the online book publisher iUniverse. I'm hoping the book finds a traditional publisher, as it deserves a wider readership.

Debra Hamel -- book-blog.com
Author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

Max Mooth terrific story
"A well told and entertaining story that's so much more than it seems. There's a terrific sense of the visual which adds to the overall work. Also there are significant well layered themes that make this an important read. I'm looking forward to the next Max Mooth novel." ... Read more

Book Description

From David Kirk, the bestselling author and illustrator of the Miss Spider and Little Miss Spider books. Nova the Robot is a precocious eight-year-old robot with a lot of heart and a penchant for space exploration. Get to know Nova and the robotic pets he has built as they learn how to hard-wire lasting friendships.

Nova needs help repairing his broken spaceship, but he cannot do it alone. His robotic pets can help him become space-bound in no time! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This book is better than a one-star!
A very quick read, granted, but the illustrations are beautiful. This is the kind of book youngsters will want to look at again and again. I haven't compared it to Yolen's other books, so maybe I would give it less, but for now it deserves a 4.

"Welcome to the Ice House" by Jane Yolen
Owning wonderful "Alphabeastiary" and "Owl Moon" by Yolen mistakenly led us to this book. Text is barely verbal and vacant, certainly not any great addition to our science collection, as Booklist review tends to indicate. Splitting a sentence between four pages is not our idea of reading. Any parents who are reading for literary enhancement should find something else. The star we give is for illustrations, nothing more. The illustrator should have put as much effort into the interior as she did the cover. Too bad, overall disappointment. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good biography but technical
I use this biography in my fourth grade classroom. It does a good job of characterizing Orville and Wilbur Wright -- you get a true sense of their determination and perfectionism. However, some of the information is very technical which tends to confuse my children. In the end, my students have mixed feelings about the book - some enjoy it immensely while others complain that it is hard to read.

It's A High-Flying Book!
Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk is a great book for kids ages 9-12. It is fun to read, exciting, and factual all in one. I would recommend this book for a great gift to a 4th grader. ... Read more

Book Description

For fourteen-year-old Riley McDaniels and his brother Coy, it looksas though it's going to be a long, hot summer. There's not much to do on theranch but tend to the cattle, and with no one else around for miles, thebrothers have only each other for company. But a surprise visit from theirfriend Aaron Kaplan changes all of that. Not only does Aaron arrive in anairplane, but he brings an expert on archeology with him. As it turns out, theMcDaniels' ranch just might be home to some important archaeological sites!Before long, Riley and his family find themselves caught up in the excitement ofsearching for evidence of ancient people, and learning--sometimes the hard way-- just how difficult it can be to protect history ... Read more