Michigan- The Great Lakes State is a book written for children; however, I think many adults will find this short book about the state of Michigan to be fascinating. The short book, a mere 24 pages, is part of the Our Amazing States Series from PowerKids Press. It was written by Tika Downey; published in 2010, and covers a variety of subjects.
The book starts off talking about the fact that Michigan has two different peninsulas; often people only think of the upper portion of the state as a peninsula. The state of Michigan is surrounded by water, thus it is a state that is divided into two portions and both halfs are considered to be peninsulas. There is information on how Detroit got it’s nickname of Motown.
Michigan is rich in history and this book doesn’t cheat you from discovering some of that richness. There is information on explorers, Native American tribes, the Underground Railroad, sand dunes, rivers, lakes, mountains and wildlife.
An important thing to know about Michigan is what it contributes to the rest of the country by way of manufactering, farming, forestry and tourism. The book discusses those things and also gives you ideas of things to do for fun and learning in Michigan. For instance, did you know that Michigan has the most lighthouses of any state in America? There are over 120 of them according to this book. I find that information to be fascinating.
Many famous people were born or raised in Michigan including presidents of the United States Of America, athletes, writers, and inventors. There is much to learn between the covers of this book and you will enjoy the pictures as well. I highly recommend this book for children from ages 5-13 and adults as well.
The Talent Show was written by Dan Gutman who just happens to also be the author of the children’s book, The Homework Machine. He writes children’s books with a wonderful gift of knowing what makes a kid tick. The Talent Show is all about kids coming together to save their town, Cape Bluff, Kansas after it is destroyed by a tornado.
I like how he lays out the story of what each child is doing when the tornado hits. Then he delves into the chaotic world of the adults who are stumped on how to overcome the despair that comes with the responsibility of rebuilding a town which has seen disaster more than once. As the adults are brainstorming ideas on how to go about financing the rebirth of their town and their personal lives…one adult has a crazy idea.
That idea just happens to be putting together a talent show. When that crazy idea is compared to the other crazy idea…well, let’s just say that the crazy idea of a tallent show…suddenly becomes very popular. Not only that, but kids become empowered and energized and so do the adults. Everyone pitches in to make it a success. Each child discovers things about themselves and their friends that they never knew.
Of course, as the town gets behind the talent show and it’s efforts to raise money for the school library, that’s lost all of it’s books in the tornado, trouble brews behind the scenes. Characters and personal integrity are revealed and friendships are strengthened and lost in the process. What I like about Dan’s book is that if one pays attention; lessons on positive personal development can be put to good use. Discovering our own strengths and weaknesses and learning how to encourage positive self- growth and diminish the negative qualities we possess, can be very enlightening.
If you want to learn more about the writer Dan Gutman or his books check out his website here: http://www.dangutman.com . This book, The Talent Show was published in 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. I would say that this book is ideal for kids 7-12 years old.
Wow, this large sized book filled with photographs and illustrations is a book that I wish I would have had as a kid. The Kids Guide to Nature Adventures would be a great book to give to your kids at the beginning of summer to keep them entertained on those days when they are sure to say that they are bored and don’t have anything to do. This book solves that problem because it has plenty of things to do which are definately not boring; they are fun and filled with learning experiences.
There are chapters on Hiking, Camping, Wildlife, Mini-Wildlife, Plant Life, Exploring The Shore, and Night Life. Each chapter has activities, helpful hints, photographs and exploratory ideas. It is so interesting in fact that I do believe a child looking for something to do will find it between these pages and not even realize that they are learning valuable information!
While the book fosters the idea of exploring the world we live in it also instills practical and solid information about the proper ways to do so; keeping safety and conservation in mind. I really like how the book teaches kids to practice independent outdoor skills but also, instills the wisdom of keeping adults involved and informed about the activities.
This book is a few years old, it was published in 2003 by Lark Books, a division of Sterling Publishing Co, Inc. It was written by Joe Rhatigan and the photographs were taken by John Widman.
This is a great book for kids. This handbook shows wonderful illustrations for performing magic tricks with ropes and coins. It also gives you wonderful tips for preparing ahead of time to do a trick, gives information about what props are needed to do the tricks; and, the book also gives ideas and hints on performing the tricks in the best way possible. There are even little snippets about famous and skilled magicians and tricks that they were known for.
For those who have not performed in front of an audience…there are some helpful ideas on how to relax your audience and help them focus on what you want them to focus on and how to distract them from the things that you dont want them to notice while performing a trick. For tricks that use slight of hand motions there are some behind the scenes suggestions that will keep the audience guessing about how the magician was able to perform such a neat trick.
Kids will love this book so that they can amaze anyone by doing these tricks in front of them. It will make them an instant hit with their peers when they know how the trick is done and their friends do not.
The author of the book is Joe Fullman, the editor is Amanda Askew, the designer is Jackie Palmer, the illustrator is Mark Turner for Beehive Illustrations. The publisher is Steve Evans and the creative director is Zeta Davies. The book was published by QEB Publishing, Inc in 2008. Their website can be found here: http://www.qeb-publishing.com
Percival’s Party is a book to delight the senses of the eye. There are brillant colors on every page in the book. Percival is a butterfly with wonderful friends who are determined to help Percival have the best party in town.
This book shows the joy of teamwork, friendship, and artistry. I think most young children will enjoy the storyline as well as the shiny mylar colors. The great thing about this book is the design of it…as it is a sturdy board book that will stand the test of time and the wear and tear of excited young fingers who will eagerly turn the pages.
No this is not a “new” book…it was copyrighted in 2002 . The author is Jill Turner and the illustrator is Peter Townsend. Here is the website for the book. sales@thebookcompany.com.au The publisher is Glenn Johnstone
Discovering Wetlands is one of the books in the series of World Habitats. There are six books in this series including this one…the others are: Reefs, Mountains, Rain Forests, Arctic Tundra, Tropical Savanna. This book was written by Janey Levy.
The subject of wetlands is very important. Most of the time when we hear about wetlands it is in regards to legal fights between business or homeowners who are in a fight with agencies set up to protect the wetlands. It is important to find a balance between life choices and protecting the wetlands life cycles.
The wetlands are a part of our ecosystems that help to improve the quality of life for people, plants and animals. There are three main types of wetlands…each has it’s own function. There are marshes, swamps and peatlands. Each of those have several types of varieties. Take for example marshes…there are saltwater and freshwater. Each of them provides different functions for plant and animal life. Many plants are only found in wetlands; the same with animals. The wetlands provide breeding grounds as well as, a perfect environment for raising their young.
Humans have started to understand the impact of destroying wetlands. In the past, it was not unheard of to divert the water from the wetlands; trying to reclaim more ground for building and planting on. In doing that…many things were destroyed. Wetlands help to prevent flooding. Man was not meant to live in some of those areas, many in coastal regions…and infact, in recent years, flooding has taken a huge toil on city’s and populations that have built businesses and homes, in areas that were formerly wetlands and paid a very high price in doing so.
Since the 1900′s about half of the world’s wetlands have vanished. In the United States, we loose about 100,000 acres every year. Some species of animals and plants only live in wetlands…so when we lose the wetlands, often we lose those plants and animals as well. Wetlands also help to clean up water that we use for drinking…it filters it, naturally, for us.
This book was published in 2008 by the Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. You can go to this website to learn more: www.powerkidslinks.com/whab/wetland/ . The world around us is beautiful and useful. This book helps to explain some of what we see around us and why it is there. This book is for Juvenile readers. It is hardcover and full of fun and important information.
Hidden Michigan is a wonderful book that opens the eye of the reader to many of the wonderful things to do and see in Michigan. The writers, Anne Margaret Lewis and Janis Campbell, have all of the answers to the subject that always comes up with children about mid-summer; I’m bored…isn’t there anything to do?
If the book was written for adults it would be a tourist guide written in small print with photographs and written descriptions of where to go, where to stay, and how much everything costs. However, this is written for children; so it tells about things that interest them.
There are sports, heros, dinosaur footprints, activity centers, famous food places, orchards, planetariums, bridges, lighthouses, animals, water parks, inventors, museums, festivals, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Bear caves, boats, trains, ferries and so very much more to explore.
No boring old pictures in this book…the whole book is illustrated and in a fun way…turn the book in different directions and you find something new to peak your interest. The book was illustrated by Wendy Popko. Kids will love this book. It is fun to discover new places and things to see in your own back yard.
Hidden Michigan was copyrighted in 2006; and was published by Mackinac Island Press, Inc. Here is there website: www.mackinacislandpress.com
Butterflies have fascinated humans for a very long time. This book has some wonderful, colorful pictures of butterflies in various stages. The information in the book includes topics such as getting to know butterflies, preparing for the adventure of butterfly watching, knowing where to look to find butterflies, and making observations; it is a wonderful guide. Read the rest of this entry…