Book Description

A world of knowledge at your child's fingertips!

Absolutely bursting with thousands of fascinating facts, Backpack Books are small enough to carry with ease, but big enough to provide all the answers. Researched and written by experts, topics are covered in encyclopedic and easy-to-understand detail. Hundreds of colorful illustrations and photographs bring knowledge to life, and are arranged clearly and logically to make finding out quick and easy for readers of all ages. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

fun and informative
This book entrances us, and our 3-year old son (who will listen as long my voice holds out!) It is filled with photographs of fossils, excellent illustrations, and real information. It has none of the silliness and sloppy thinking that most children's books think is acceptable. Instead, it has fascinating, accurate information - organized by topics that are small enough to fit within a 3-year old's attention span, but interesting and educational for me, too. Todlers and adults will get as much information as they can grasp, and all enjoy and learn from the great photos and illustrations.

For young and old
From the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow, Neil Clark brings dinosaurs back to life for young and old readers alike. Neil has also written material on dinosaurs for the Encarta Encyclopedia and the Dorling Kindersley Millennium Encyclopedia, as well as two other books on the topic: "A look inside dinosaurs" with Readers Digest and "The Dorling Kindersley Pocket book of dinosaurs". They can be found in most countries in numerous languages. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In some parts of Indonesia, people bury their babies in living treetrunks. In the Amazon rain forest, the Yanomami dead are burned, crushed, andthen eaten. Today in Ghana, people bury their dead in coffins shaped like cars,fish, and other animals. People around the world view death in many differentways, and National Geographic editor Christopher Sloan's Bury theDead examines what ancient burial sites in Europe, Africa, Asia, and theAmericas reveal about varying cultural perspectives on death and life afterdeath. Sections such as Why People Bury Their Dead, The First Burials, EgyptPrepares for the Afterlife, Golden Tombs of the Amazons, and Ghost Soldiers ofthe Emperor discuss ancient burial secrets that cast new light on modern burialpractices. Packed with vivid color photographs, timelines, artful illustrations,helpful maps, a bibliography, and an index, this riveting, clearly presentedbook is sure to fascinate budding archaeologists, anthropologists, and culturalhistorians. (Ages 10 to 14) --Karin Snelson ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Bury the Dead!!
Kids will love this account on how people bury and mummify the dead, gore and strange details seem to intrigue them. Great photographs too. Turn your students into archeology nuts. ... Read more

Book Description

Journey into the world of life after death. Delve into the dark secrets of the mummies of ancient Egypt and the tombs of beautiful princesses and warrior kings. Some people went to extraordinary lengths to ensure a good life for themselves after death. Mummies and Tombs investigates their motives and their methods. Page by page you discover more ways to preserve a body, magic charms, mysterious gods and secret spells. Meet the Chinese emperors who were buried with vast armies of model soldiers, a jade princess and the little Sicilian girl painstakingly preserved by her father. Find out how scientists of today piece together the faces and everyday life of the past from the remains of the dead, and how some bodies were preserved quite by chance - by natural forces!More than 10 fun projects to make and do - including a hawk-like headmask and a Pharaoh's boat. Get ideas of what it was really like to prepare for a voyage to the other world. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Done better elsewhere
Mildly amusing and educational, but falls short of the much funnier (and much more informative) "Viking Invader" by Paul Dowswell, a book with the same newspaper concept.

Excellent for Children
Children in the fifth through eighth grades who are studying Vikings would find this book very entertaining.The readings are short, illustrations are plenty and colorful, and the "voice" is usually first person.

The author took great pains to present Viking history, social customs,and every day life in a manner with which children could readily identify. For instance, there are "newspaper ads" for common householdneeds that are written in "today's" format.News snippets arelinked together by general topics.

As a historian and former Norwegianachaeologist, I was delighted to see that historical accuracy was upheldwhen writing this book.

This book does not intended to make anyone ascholar, but for children first encountering the Vikings, the book cleverlyspoons much history into young brains.Furthermore, the newpaper formatmakes parental reading enjoyable.

This book belongs on any social studiesshelf.

Good, but short stories
The Viking News is a good book to give to people who don't know anything, or know very little about the vikings, since each story is short, and with out much detail and besides that, it is fun to read. ... Read more

Book Description

A fascinating look beneath the bandages for an exploration of Egyptian mummies—who they were, how they were embalmed, where they were buried, and how they were rediscovered. Full-page scenes take the reader back to the time of the pharaohs, while engaging text reveals the secrets of the long dead. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A well written overview of the Egyptian mummy process.
The book highlights the ancient rites and beliefs in the art of mummification.It covers the people, the science and the process involved.For a beginner to an intermediate reader, the knowledge about thisancient art becomes a great learning experience in "The Best Book ofMummies". This book is enjoyed and well read by the children whoreceived it. ... Read more

Book Description

It was eat or be eaten in the days of the dinosaurs. Step back in time and let them tell you themselves! This big book version of the DK Reader is ideal for shared reading during class. DK Big Readers provide excellent opportunities for students to understand what is involved in the reading process, such as cueing the text, location information, understanding print conventions, and -- most importantly -- learning to enjoy books! Normal-sized DK Readers can be used by individuals and pairs of students to rehearse and consolidate what they have learned in group sessions. Stunning DK photographs combine with lively illustrations and engaging g, age-appropriate stories in DK Readers, a multilevel reading program guaranteed to capture children's interest while developing their reading skills and general knowledge. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great for learning to I.D. a few basic Dinos!
My 2 year old LOVES this book!!!We "tone down" the fact that some Dinosaurs eat others, but she loves the realistic pictures, loves hearing the names, and learned to identify and pronounce all the Dinosaurs in this book the second day we had it... this book is fantastic!The ONLY drawback is that now our daughter wants more books just like this, and we've not been able to find anything else quite like it.

Great for kids
I was a big fan of the Eyewitness books when I was a kid, and so I decided to buy this for my Dino loving cousin. He loved it. Just like all the otherEyewitness books it was filled with big interesting pictures, and wasunderstandable for all ages and reading levels. I recomend this to anyonesearching for an informational dinosaur book to give to the little ones.Worth every cent. ... Read more

Book Description

This absorbing picture book gives beginning readers a fascinating look into the lives of our earliest human ancestors. Each page is die-cut in the shape of its illustration’s animal and terrain. Vivid color illustrations begin by showing a Neanderthal family, the cave where they live, and their stone tools and leather clothes. In succeeding pictures, boys and girls see Neanderthals hunting for their food, and gathering vegetables and fruits where they are able to find them growing wild. Children are then introduced to the first Homo Sapiens (modern humans) and are shown how they differed from Neanderthals. Concluding pictures show Homo Sapiens as they developed crafts and arts, constructed tents for shelter, tamed animals, and developed agriculture, villages, and distinct cultures. With easy to understand text and vivid illustrations on extra-heavy board pages, this sturdily constructed book introduces the fundamentals of archaeology toyounger boys and girls, describing how modern archaeologists discover clues to the origins of human history. ... Read more

Book Description

Meet the dinosaurs in all their glory in this exciting and generously sized, full-color reference. These terrifying, fascinating creatures appear almost as large as life on each giant spread. With its winning combination of informative and entertaining text and dramatic and detailed art, The Giant Dinosaur Book will keep dinosaur fans on the edge of their seats. The ultimate guide and perfect gift for the young dinosaur enthusiast. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A solid introduction to the largest types of dinosaurs
I remember when there was no such thing as an Apatosaurus, all because of a mistake made at the Peabody Museum at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. In addition to having the Age of Reptiles mural made famous by "Life" magazine, the Peabody had one of the best skeletons in the world of a Brontosaurus. The only problem was that the giant dinosaur skeleton had the wrong head on it (a Camarasaurus head in fact), which was square instead of oblong. Eventually the mistook was discovered and now the "right" head is on top of what is now called an Apatosaurus. If you go to the Peabody Museum compare the skeleton's head with the painting on the wall.

Anyhow, "Apatosaurus and Other Giant Long-Necked Plant-Eaters" introduces young readers to Diplodocus, Omeisaurus, Brachiosaurus and other dinosaurs that were Earth's real-life giants. Virginia Schomp explains when dinosaurs ruled the earth and goes into the daily routine of these gentle giants in a chapter entitled "Lifestyles of the Big and Hungry," which reflects the tone of the book. A final chapter looks at the end of the giants while the back of the book contains a Dinosaur Family Tree broken down from order to genus, Glossary, lists of other research sources, and Index. In between there are illustrations of over a dozen dinosaurs, as well as a photograph of an imposing Barosaurus skeleton. With each painting there is the pronunciation for the dinosaur's name, when and where it lived, as other details young readers will find interesting.

"Apatosaurus and Other Giant Long-Necked Plant-Eaters" provides a basic introduction to the largest of the dinosaurs. Other titles in this series look at "Ankylosaurus and Other Armored Plant-Eaters." "Triceratops and Other Horned Plant-Eaters," "Tyrannosaurus and Other Giant Meat-Eaters," and "Velociraptor and Other Small, Speedy Meat-Eaters." Together they provide a solid understanding of the five main branches in the family tree of the Dinosaurs. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Millions of years ago, life on Earth began in the oceans, then moved to the land, eventually producing all the animals and people we recognize today. This pop-up picture book tells younger children how life developed. It uses words kids can readily understand and dramatizes the concepts with delightful full-color illustrations that literally spring up off the page. Here's a fun introduction that will teach younger children about life forms. Each of the book's five pop-up illustrations opens from a two-page spread that has an added gatefold page attached. Each time young readers open the extra gatefold, they activate a clever pop-up creature. Illustrations include a sea monster that opens and closes its jaws, a prehistoric bug that flaps many wings, an ancient reptile that raises its neck and head, a tiny prehistoric mammal that scampers over a nest of dinosaur eggs, and a modern human baby who cheerfully pops up from a page of his own. (Ages: 2-5) ... Read more