Oliver is a curious child with lots of questions and a penchant for exploration. During quiet time at home, Oliver builds a contraption to find out if there’s a monster in the tub drain. His imaginative jaunt is presented with droll, naïve drawings, filled with Oliver’s child-like ideas.
Oliver
An observant girl shares her observations and appreciation of ducks as she and her mother walk and watch. Information appears on open pages that sport informal illustrations and lively language for a memorable look at these feathered delights.
Just Ducks!
Lydia tires of her electronic devices while her parents and brother are enmeshed in theirs. A small leaf beckons the girl outdoors, propelling her into an imaginative outdoor adventure. Sure to start conversations among plugged-in family members, this genial fantasy is playful and light.
Hello! Hello!
Follow a boy and his parents to the airport, on the plane, and through a bit of aviation history for an informative look at flying. Cartoon illustrations and information in bubbles and sidebars in an oversized format make this book just right for multiple examinations.
Everything Goes in the Air
Stunning full-color photographs and crisp text introduce plants that gain nutrients by capturing unsuspecting insects and small animals. Locations where they grow are placed on maps, brief experiments, and additional resources conclude this engaging look at hungry plants.
Meat-Eating Plants: Toothless Wonders
The benefits of human actions to help bat survival are introduced in this readable, realistically illustrated and well-sourced introduction. A variety of bats are included with their range identified on clear maps.
A Place for Bats
Tony Sarge grew from a boy who liked to figure out how to make things move to the man who invented marionettes controlled from below. It was Sarge who invented huge “articulating” balloons that have been the focus of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1928. Mixed media art combines with lively text to present Tony Sarge, his creativity, and contributions.
Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade
How 33 Chilean miners were rescued from a copper mine dominated the media in 2010. It is recounted here using primary sources, scientific explanations, and a riveting narrative.
Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert
In 2008, Lee Berger and his 9-year old son discovered two well preserved fossils, ancestors of modern man. The process as much as the ripples the discovery created remind readers that information is dynamic.
The Skull in the Rock: How a Scientist, a Boy, and Google Earth Opened a New Window on Human Origins
No matter how much is known, there’s always more to learn. In a fascinating re-examination of Stonehenge and recent discoveries, readers are introduced to new interpretations and thinking.
If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge
Sophisticated readers curious about weather science will be riveted by this highly illustrated, well documented, and clearly written look at tornadoes and their power. Photographs from satellites and the ground, newspaper headlines and more are presented album-like to dramatically present the storms power.
Tornado! The Story Behind these Twisting, Turning, Spinning and Spiraling Storms
Poems combine with information and evocative illustrations to create a sense of wonder about space and space-related topics. Beginning with a countdown (“T-minus:/10/9/8…./Spaceship soaring!”) and concluding with a child wondering about “My Place” in the universe, this intriguing collection is sure to delight readers.
Out of this World: Poems and Facts about Space
Many different types of frogs, frog lifecycles, etc. are presented through brief but illuminating information and highly realistic watercolors. A concluding note about the impact of humans on frogs, insight into the author’s interest and additional resources conclude this handsome and engrossing look at this animal.
Frogs! Strange and Wonderful
Brief explanations of both the inside and outside of the human body are presented in direct text and full-color photographs with overlaid drawings. Also included are: a table of contents, index, glossary, and code to a download an interactive web-based book from the publisher.
My Body
The sky is as changeable as the weather — from blue sky to rain sky to dark sky and ultimately to sleep sky. A poetic depiction of the sky introduces weather and a child’s day in simple, repeating language and richly colored illustrations that may inspire writing “list poems.”
Blue Sky
Rich, rhythmic language combines with lush illustration to poetically describe the water cycle and more. This memorable volume will be read aloud — and perhaps discussed as: “Thirsty air/licks it [water] from lakes/sips it from ponds/guzzles it from oceans…”
All the Water in the World
Rachel Carson was a shy child, always drawn to nature. She grew up to become a professional biologist and enter a field with few women and write a book that changed the way people looked at the environment. Soft, cartoon-like illustrations and straightforward narrative present an overview of Carson’s life; sources are included at the end.
Rachel Carson and Her Book that Changed the World
Why is the time different in New York and in Tokyo at the same moment? How time zones were developed and standardized are clearly presented in this lighthearted but informative look at the science and history of time and travel.
Time Zones
The Great Depression changed everything for 11-year-old Oscar and his widowed dad. Oscar’s prized model trains are sold, his dad leaves Illinois to find work in California, and Oscar begins an adventure through time and places after he jumps onto a model train.
On the Blue Comet
In just a second, a bat can make 200 calls, a black mamba snake can slither 24 feet, four babies are born somewhere in the world, and much more. Time takes on new meaning in this stylishly illustrated, provocative look at time and how it’s measured.
Just a Second
It’s tough to be a scientist but especially hard when kids find out Fran’s middle name. To change it, Fran Kissypie Stein invents a machine to go back to change it with near-disastrous but with laugh out loud results.
The Fran that Time Forgot (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)
Sophisticated children (or children with an adult) will appreciate the variety of aircraft designs ranging from easy to difficult, silly to complex, and the science behind them. All is presented in easy-to-follow instructions and crisp diagrams.
Kids’ Paper Airplane Book
By 1909, Louis Bleriot’s persistence had paid off: this Frenchman became the first aviator to fly across the English Channel in an “air machine.” This Caldecott Medal winner is a quiet account of one man’s perseverance and passion.
The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot July 25, 1909
Brief information about a variety of dinosaurs is provided in a predictable form, accompanied by simple, attractive illustrations that call on readers to join in.