Books Reviews - Page 32

Quilting
Biz Storms
Kids Can Press

Quilting makes this traditional art form simple enough for children ages 8-12. Youngsters will discover they can design and make original gifts and accessories, guided by easy-to-follow instructions, photos, and diagrams.

After Quilting outlines the basics of quilting, it shows how to stitch easy projects such as an appliqued pincushion and wall quilt. Children who follow the crafts in order will find that the projects become slightly more complicated, yet still simple, allowing them to build their quilting skills along the way. Quilting’s final project is a lap quilt.

Quilting encourages creativity, originality, and lots of fun.

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The largest volcano is not on earth, but on Mars. Olympus Mons, an extinct volcano, is three times taller than 29,035-foot Mount Everest, Earth’s highest mountain.

With fascinating facts and spectacular illustrations, this book takes young readers below the earth’s surface to see how red-hot magma rises through underground vents to burst out on the earth’s surface as lava.

Using colorful, detailed illustrations, The Best Book of Volcanoes explains underwater volcanoes, volcanic lakes, major eruptions, and the effects of an eruption. Mount St. Helens, a scenic, snow-capped mountain in Washington, is about 1,310 feet shorter than it was before it erupted in May 1980.

Children, ages 4-10, will get a fascinating introduction to one of earth’s mightiest, and most unusual, forces.

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The Sleepover Book
By Margot Griffin
Illustrated by Jane Kurisu
Kids Can Press

Consider this the ultimate party planner for girls ages 8-12. Pajama parties can be much more than doing each other’s hair, talking about boys, and watching videos. The Sleepover Book is packed with ideas, decorations, crafts, games, recipes, and more to make your daughter’s slumber party unforgettable.

It covers everything from creative invitations to morning breakfast food. In between are games and activities to entertain just about any little girl. And each one—such as filming a music video, organizing a team treasure hunt, or making jewelry—explains precisely what supplies to use and suggests how to make it as fun as possible.

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Sidney’s class is about to have its first swimming lesson, but Sidney, who says that swimming is “dumb” to mask his fears, tries everything to get out of it—faking illness, hiding in the locker room, and warning his teacher that getting in the water may turn him into a monster. But with the help of his friends and a few floaties, little Sidney overcomes a familiar childhood struggle and swims.

In overcoming his fear of water, Sidney realizes that what he feared so much isn’t so bad; it’s actually enjoyable. “Swimming isn’t dumb,” Sidney shouted happily. “Swimming is fun!”

This endearing story and enchanting illustrations, for children ages 3-8, gently shows that fears, no matter what they are, can be overcome.

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JayCee Goes to the Park
By Renuka Christoph
Illustrated by Paul Trice
JayCee Productions Inc.

Lured by a brand new bicycle and a beautiful day, JayCee, who is supposed to be studying for a test, gives in to temptation and uncharacteristically lies to his mother—twice—that he’s done his homework. But the guilt twinges start immediately, and begin to multiply: He can’t sleep that night; the next morning he’s tired and unprepared for his test; and sure, enough, he barely passes, a fact noted by his disappointed teacher.

Fed up with feeling bad, JayCee bravely decides to right his wrong. “This time I’m going to do what’s right,” he says to himself and confesses to his parents. But rather than the punishment he expects, JayCee receives a gentle admonishment from his father not to lie anymore. “Telling the truth is the right thing to do, no matter how hard it might seem to you,” his father tells him.

This book, using a storyline that most children ages 5-9 can relate to, emphasizes a valuable lesson that can benefit us all.

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Laugh and learn at the same time with this entertaining, highly informative, and cleverly illustrated book on the art of backpacking by two guys who spend half their life in the woods—they both work for the National Outdoor Leadership School in Victor, Idaho.

Beginning backpackers will appreciate the expert advice: how to dress; reading weather; finding an appropriate campsite; navigating with a map and compass; and properly packing a backpack.

“Mary Poppins had an amazing knack for getting just what she needed out of her bag. While I certainly don’t hold a candle to her, I do strive to pack in a way I can get at what’s needed without hassle,” O’Bannon writes.

Seasoned backpackers may even learn a thing or two about animal dangers, low-impact camping, and crossing dangerous rock fields where a loose stone can cause an ankle sprain or small rock slide. “Rocks that have been on the ground a long time tend to be more stable underfoot than ones that have fallen more recently,” O’Bannon writes. “Look for moss or lichen growing on the rock. This is a sure sign the rocks have been there awhile and may have settled in more.”

Whether you’re ready to hit the trail or just thinking about it, Allen & Mike’s Really Cool Backpackin’ Book is just the ticket.

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Bare ground is precious in Antarctica, so each spring, when sea ice begins to break up and the snow melts, seals and birds—penguins, blue-eyed shags, and South Polar skuas—head for the rocky beaches to nest, rest, molt, and raise their young.

Antarctic Journal, for readers ages 9-12, is about a 3 1/2-month journey to Palmer Station, an American scientific base on Anvers Island, to write and sketch the animal life in a harsh habitat in a remote part of the world.

In a wonderful blend of story and science, young readers learn that the Antarctic spring begins late in September, the warmest month is January, and winter begins to return in late March. They also discover that the female giant petrel, a scavenging bird, can fly 1,400 miles in five days on one feeding trip away from the nest; elephant seals can dive deeper than most whales to hunt squid; and one humpback whale may eat 2 million krill (crustaceans about 2 inches long) in a day.

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Exploring Caves: Journeys Into the Earth
By Nancy Holler Aulenbach and Hazel A. Barton, with Marfe Ferguson Delano
National Geographic Society

Experienced cavers Nancy Holler Aulenbach, a schoolteacher and cave rescue expert, and Hazel Barton, a microbiologist, accompanied by an IMAX theater film crew, descend into some of the world’s most fascinating underground passageways to study formations and the microscopic creatures who live there.

Dazzling photographs take young readers right along with Aulenback and Barton to mysterious and fascinating places that lie right under the earth’s surface. In Greenland, where rivers carve frozen caverns beneath the ice cap, cave walls shine brilliant blue because the ice reflects sunlight’s blue wavelength. Mexico’s caves in the Yucatan Peninsula are hazardous to explore because most are flooded by underground streams, requiring cave diving. A massive cave near the Grand Canyon sits 800 feet above the Little Colorado River and contains crystals that cover its walls.

Exploring Caves, for readers ages 9-12, also encourages the care of these places of incredible beauty. “Unlike a forest that can be replanted with trees, caves can never be replaced once they have been harmed,” the book reads.

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Try this money-saving tip: “After using a soapy steel wool pad, put it in the freezer—it will thaw quickly for its next use and it won’t be rusty.”

Or this: “My sister and I sometimes share the cost of a wedding shower gift. We purchase a laundry basket or kitchen trash can and fill it with cleaning products that we have purchased with double coupons. It allows us to give more.”

More than 900 such tips, gathered from experts, everyday people, and even kids, can be found in this book, whose author may be familiar to American Profile readers. Mary Hance is a regular contributor who authored stories on saving at the grocery store, planning a successful yard sale, and money-saving travel tips.

Each of her book’s 12 chapters focuses on specific savings: reduce grocery bills and household cleaning costs, family fun for less, keep vacation costs down, and using the Internet to save big bucks.

“My writing is … for people like you and me, who are making decisions every day about what we do with our limited resources,” Hance says.

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Jumbo Book of Easy Crafts
Judy Ann Sadler
The Kids Can Press

Fend off your little ones’ summer vacation cries of “I’m bored,” or “There’s nothing to do,” with this fun-packed craft activity book containing 175 ideas for creative youngsters. Best of all, most of the materials can be found around the home—aluminum foil, buttons, yarn, and flowers.

Children can create fun for themselves (a felt glue-together hand puppet, bubble blower, and bubble mixture), make things to wear (pasta jewelry, fabric painting), or make gifts for others (greeting card gift bag, Popsicle-stick basket). They also can learn paper weaving, puzzle making, how to press flowers, and how to build bird feeders from milk cartons.

Each page guides little hands with step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions and simple drawings. Plus, the author offers extra ideas on many of the projects: that old, child-sized sock can become a puppet, a beanbag to toss around, or a sachet.

The Jumbo Book of Easy Crafts not only will help fill those slow, summer days, but it also will encourage your child’s creativity.

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