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The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest

Lynne Cherry

The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest Lynne Cherry Amazon Price: $7.00
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By: Voyager Books
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If a tree falls in the forest... someone or something will always be there to hear it. Many, many creatures will feel the effects when their source of sustenance and shelter falls to the earth. So when a man is sent into the Amazon rain forest one day, under instructions to chop down a great kapok tree, many eyes watch him nervously. It's not long before he grows tired, though, and the "heat and hum" of the rain forest lulls him to sleep. One by one, snakes, bees, monkeys, birds, frogs, and even a jaguar emerge from the jungle canopy to plead with the sleeping ax-man to spare their home. When the man awakens, startled at all the rare and marvelous animals surrounding him, he picks up his ax as if to begin chopping again, then drops it and walks away, presumably never to return.

Unfortunately, there's always someone else who is willing to take his place, but the message of this environmental book is plain: Save the rain forest! The story itself is not overly compelling, but each personalized entreaty from the animals provides an accurate and persuasive scientific argument for preserving nature's gifts. Lynne Cherry's fertile watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations, including a map of the tropical rain forests of the world, are vivid and colorful. A fine starting point for a discussion about conservation. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Rain Forests (Magic Tree House Research Guide)

Will And Ma Osborne

Rain Forests (Magic Tree House Research Guide) Will And Ma Osborne Amazon Price: $4.99
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By: Random House Books for Young Readers
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Explore the World -> Other

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Good info, v. readable 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Our girls read this after a trip to the Amazon, and found lots that they recognized & enjoyed. The standard of information is rather higher than that in the Magic Tree house books, which is reasonable, given that they don't have to worry about plot & characters as well!

If your child enjoys Magic Tree house, and would like to know more about the Amazon this is fine, but I would also recommend One Small Square: Tropical Rainforests (by Donald Silver). We took this with us to the rainforest (see review) and found it to be excellent.

Editorial Review:

What is the strangest plant in the rain forest? Which rain forest animal is the creepiest? What medicines have been discovered there? How can we save our rain forests? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Magic Tree House Research Guide: Rain Forests, Jack and Annie’s very own guide to the mysteries of the rain forest. Includes information on rain forests around the world; fun facts about rain-forest bugs, birds, plants, and animals; maps and photographs; and much more!

An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming

Al Gore

An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming Al Gore Amazon Price: $14.11
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By: Viking Juvenile
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Nature -> Environment -> Nonfiction
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Here's an Inconvenient Truth for Gore: in this Book, he misuses his Son's near-death Accident to hawk Global Warming Alarmism!!! 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 16 people found this review helpful.

The distresses with Gore's propaganda book for global warming are manifold. The first and worst sin Gore commits is he's NOT FAIR AND BALANCED in his struggling argument that global warming is real, caused by man, and the single-biggest threat facing the world. If Gore was FAIR AND BALANCED in his presentation, he could persuade more readers to give him the benefit of the doubt. Gravely for him, his presumptuous, one-sided and absolutist/elitist argument for global warming--where he brainwashes the reader to believe that global warming is 100% fact through arrogant declaration but no foundations--actually sours the reader and makes Gore appear as a fanatical, ideological DEMAGOGUE with an agenda and shabby credibility.

The most flagrant trespass in Gore's book is it's constructed to indoctrinate grade school/high school kids in the Religion of Global Warming. This is indisputable if we look at the layout of Gore's propaganda: it's short on text, full of colorful graphs, size 30 fonts on some pages, and full of pictures. With this shortcoming of substance, it's clear Gore's slideshow-turned-book was NEVER designed to make an intelligent argument about global warming's allegedly looming threat. It was designed to proselytize impressionable kids at the K-12 levels to believe in the Religion of Global Warming.

The predicament of failure of substance is found everywhere in Gore's propaganda book. He never has many sources to credibly validate the legitimacy of graphs and projections he cites!!!! Even gloomier for Gore's trustworthiness is that his sources come from biased, agenda-driven organizations whose "statistics" you cannot trust--if you're being intellectually honest, which the majority of sycophant-reviewers here refuse.

For instance, a purportedly "authoritative" chart claiming to show 2005 was the hottest year EVER in the history of humankind was conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an ideological group sponsored by the UN!!!! Their whole mission statement is to prove that global warming is to be blamed on human activities, so any statistics emerging from their partisan group must be discounted. However, unfair and unbalanced Gore has the insolence to cite this statistic as "authoritative."

Another misconstruction in Gore's argument of ideology is to blame man and global warming for Africa's abysmal problems with genocide and civil wars!!!! Despite the insanity of this supposition, Gore shamelessly alleges that this is so, yet if we analyze his thinking, it can easily be discreditable. Gore's accusatory misconstruction is we (read: US and the West) are single-handedly to blame for the murderous genocide and afflictions in Africa because of our alleged contribution to global warming!!!!

Gore charges the US "helped manufacture the suffering in Africa," as he bases this antagonistic accusation on the supposition that US greenhouse gas emission caused the drying up of Lake Chad--which he then misuses to account for the genocide in Darfur!!!! To any intellectually honest person, of course, the ethnic cleansing and civil war in Darfur are mainly caused by Muslim Janjaweed fighting the non-Arab rebels who are in turn fighting the Sudanese government. With self-hating, anti-American allegations like these, Gore's credibility itself suffers.

Yet another, equally heavy reprimand Gore deserves is for the irrational conclusions and methodology he continually abuses to arrive at his presumption that the scientific community has a consensus that global warming's manmade. In example, Gore mendaciously cites a Science magazine study of every massive, peer-reviewed article on global warming from scientific journals and magazines. He cites this utterly dissolute study to pretend to prove that there's consensus among EACH AND EVERY SCIENTIST ON THE PLANET that global warming is manmade. However, killing Gore's believability is the mortifying fact that said Science magazine study only reviewed TEN PERCENT of every available article on global warming. With this contemptible restriction on what a proper population sample of articles would be, Gore assumingly and pitifully declares that there is basically complete, 100% consensus on the fiction that every single scientist on earth is in unison about global warming.

If this is reliably the case, as Gore forges it to be, then why in the hell are there so many scientists who outright dispute Gore's BS allegations?!?! Some prominent critics of global warming are French geophysicist Claude Allegre; director of the Office of Climatology at Arizona State University Robert Balling Jr.; Associate Professor of Geology and Environmental Science at University of Auckland Chris de Freitas; and so on and so forth. These scientists only scratch the surface; for a more comprehensive list of authorities discrediting global warming, simply do a Google search or check Wikipedia.

Gore's book stumbles in its ineffective struggle to convince the reader of the conclusiveness of global warming. Instead, Gore and his fellow, global-warming co-conspirators simply incriminate themselves as ideologues menacingly dismissing the REAL, BIGGEST threat to the world: Islamic terrorism. Gore often speaks of his kids' kids hating our current generation for not addressing global warming, but they'll likely hate our generation more if we succumb to Gore's advice and pursue the unreliability of global warming while ignoring terrorism!!!!

Editorial Review:

Former Vice President Al Gore's New York Times #1 bestselling book is a daring call to action, exposing the shocking reality of how humankind has aided in the destruction of our planet and the future we face if we do not take action to stop global warming. Now, Viking has adapted this book for the most important audience of all: today's youth, who have no choice but to confront this climate crisis head-on.

Dramatic full-color photos, illustrations, and graphs combine with Gore's effective and clear writing to explain global warming in very real terms: what it is, what causes it, and what will happen if we continue to ignore it. An Inconvenient Truth will change the way young people understand global warming and hopefully inspire them to help change the course of history.

Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming

Laurie David and Cambria Gordon

Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming Laurie David and Cambria Gordon Amazon Price: $10.87
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Features:

  • Oprah's favorite things
  • For kids who are interested in the saving the earth and global warming
  • Written by Laurie David, the producer of An Inconvenient Truth
  • Irreverent and entertaining

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Issues -> Social Skills

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

great pictures! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

As the title summarizes, this book discusses the topic of global warming. The book is split up into chapters that describe what global warming is, how it can effect our planet and everything living on it, and what we can do to stop this problem. A glossary and an index are included. To fit with the earth-friendly subject material, the book is even printed with soy inks on recycled paper.

This book is a great introduction to the topic of global warming. Since this topic is something that people sometimes disagree on, readers can use the information in the book to form their own opinions. I think that the authors do a very good job of not only discussing their opinions, but also using facts to back them up. I think the best chapter in this book is the one discussing what we can do to help the earth. The ideas in this chapter are ones that young people can do on their own, like not leaving the chargers for their cell phone or mp3 player plugged in when the device is not connected to it. The bright bold pictures are what drew me in to this book and they would definitely keep readers interested.

Editorial Review:

The comprehensive resource readers can look to for understanding why global warming happens and the ways it impacts our planet, and how we can work together to stop it. Kids and adults alike can help prevent the full consequences of global warming - we all have a part to play'. By Laurie David and Cambria Gordon

Why Should I Recycle? (Why Should I?)

Jen Green

Why Should I Recycle? (Why Should I?) Jen Green Amazon Price: $6.99
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Environment & Ecology -> Nonfiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Recycling is Great Fun 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 17 people found this review helpful.

I taught a lesson using this book and it worked great. I got a lot of positive response from the children on recycling. We started a recycling center in our classroom and it is working great. I have received feedback from the parents as well that they have started their own recycling at home since we started this unit in our classroom. A lot of positive things have come from the use of this book with our unit.
Thanks
Pam Mikkleson
University of Nebraska Student
Lincoln. Nebraska

Editorial Review:

What if everybody threw away old bottles and newspapers, littering the world with glass and plastic and tin cans that should be recycled and made into new products? Mr. Jones is a teacher who sets a good example for kids by separating his trash for recycling. When he takes them on a class trip to a recycling plant they learn the value of recycling. Part of every child’s development involves asking questions. Today, some of the most important questions kids ask are related to the natural environment. The enlightening and entertaining four-book Why Should I? series demonstrates the importance of protecting nature. Books present brief, entertaining stories that answer children’s questions and feature amusing color illustrations on every page. A note at the back of each book is for parents and teachers, suggesting ways to use these books most effectively.

Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution

Steve Jenkins

Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution Steve Jenkins Amazon Price: $10.88
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By: Houghton Mifflin
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

debunking creation 4 out of 5 stars.
62 of 72 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book because my 7-year-old has learned to say hi to Jesus when he passes by a church (thanks to grandma). He stopped believing in Mother Nature and I wanted to nip religious fanaticism in the bud. This book worked! It is beautifully illustrated, interesting, and full of cool facts. It furthered our discussions about creation vs. evolution and since my son is a lover of dinosaurs, he is on his way to scientific allegiance. I highly reccommend it to any parent who wants to teach children about the history of the earth and to unteach insipid mythology. *Although I must warn, it has quite a bit of writing and big words for young children.

Editorial Review:

There are millions of different kinds of plants and animals living on the earth. Many millions more lived here in the past. Where did they all come from? Why have some become extinct and others lived on?

In this remarkable book for children, Steve Jenkins explores the fascinating history of life on earth and the awe-inspiring story of evolution, Charles Darwin's great contribution to modern science.

Science Encyclopedia (Usborne Internet-Linked Discovery Program)

Peter Tachell

Science Encyclopedia (Usborne Internet-Linked Discovery Program) Peter Tachell Amazon Price: $13.59
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By: Usborne Books
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Reference & Nonfiction -> Encyclopedias
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Environment & Ecology -> Nonfiction
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Poor Binding 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

The encyclopedia is not bad with the coverage and internet links. However, as a reference book, it should be in hard cover. The book, with soft cover and poor binding, started to fall apart just a week after we used it. What a disappointment!

A Mom's Choice Awards Honoree! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Florrie Binford-Kichler, Founder of Patria Press, Inc.- an award-winning independent publisher and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

Editorial Review:

Designed for the Internet generation, this reference book includes a thousand recommended Web sites, providing a gateway to the vast ammount of knowledge on the Internet. The specially selected Web sites aim to enrich the content with video, animation, sound, interactive experiments and on-line quizzes.

How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming (About Our Changing Climate) (About Our Changing Climate)

Lynne Cherry, Gary Braasch

How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming (About Our Changing Climate) (About Our Changing Climate) Lynne Cherry, Gary Braasch Amazon Price: $12.89
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Earth Sciences -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Environment & Ecology -> Nonfiction
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Environment & Ecology -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Kids can make a difference 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Maya Landers (age 10) for Reader Views (4/08)

"How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate," by Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch, was both interesting and informative. I didn't know anything about Global Warming, or how scientists know about it, but this book explained it to me. It also told me ways that I could participate in helping scientists get more data, which I thought was fascinating. I didn't know that there was anything that I could do to help. One of the ways that the book said that children could help was to record and chart when the first birds began to appear and when the first buds began to blossom.

The pictures were clear and sharp, and they featured extraordinary and beautiful views, as well of pictures of the some children who helped the scientists to collect their data. The type was large and easy-to-read. The book laid its facts out in a simple, easy-to-understand way that young children could understand, and there were definitions for most of the words, making everything even clearer still. While it could be for any age group, I thought that it was best suited for six-to-twelve-year-olds, although children and adults of any age would be able to understand and enjoy it.

The combination of pictures and information helped balance the book so that it was not too much like a textbook. Throughout the book, the authors show pictures and write articles about children who helped scientists collect data. In addition, readers learned facts about Global Warming and how scientists know about it. I thought that this was a very good balance between scientists and non-scientists, something that I do not find in many science books.

There are also photographs in the book that compare "now and then" -- for instance, what the Athabasca Glacier looked like in 1917 compared to what it looked like in 2005. The difference was astounding! I wasn't aware of the changes that Global Warming has provoked, and this book explained it to me. However, it wasn't a discouraging book. It told the facts, and then told you what you could do to help, not dwelling unnecessarily on gloomy or dispiriting things.

I would recommend "How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate" to my friends because I thought that it did a good job separating fact from fiction, and also because it showed real-life situations where children were able to help scientists.

Editorial Review:

When the weather changes daily, how do we really know that Earth's climate is changing? Here is the science behind the headlines - evidence from flowers, butterflies, birds, frogs, trees, glaciers and much more, gathered by scientists from all over the world, sometimes with assistance from young "citizen-scientists." And here is what young people, and their families and teachers, can do to learn about climate change and take action. Climate change is a critical and timely topic of deep concern, here told in an age-appropriate manner, with clarity and hope. Kids can make a difference!

This book combines the talents of two uniquely qualified authors: Lynne Cherry, the leading children's environmental writer/illustrator and author of The Great Kapok Tree, and Gary Braasch, award-winning photojournalist and author of Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming is Changing the World.

Owl Puke: Book and Owl Pellet

Jane Hammerslough

Owl Puke: Book and Owl Pellet Jane Hammerslough Amazon Price: $11.16
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By: PELLETS - Model: 13186
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Birds -> Nonfiction
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Biology
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Environment & Ecology -> Nonfiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Five-hoot rating! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It appears to be designed to appeal to kids, but turns out to also have stunning array of fantastic information, often more than you find in "serious" owl books (e.g., "North American Owls", or "Owls the Silent Fliers"). Also, maybe less than half of the book is directly about "owl puke", the rest being jam-packed with sections on owl calls, hearing and vision, hunting technique, how they stay cool, mating, digestion, puking in the animal kingdom (that's right, horses can't puke), a recipe for "owl puke" candy, etc. And naturally if your intent is to examine some owl pellets, then of course this is a great book for that too. Despite the great (and accurate) technical content, it would not be intimidating for a youngster to read. And it's sprinkled with humor. Highly recommended (by someone over 40).

Editorial Review:

Kids love science and yucky stuff. The Owl Puke Book and Owl Pellet brings these two worlds together in a unique package. What is an owl pellet? It's a football-shaped object regurgitated by owls, which contains the skeleton of at least one owl meal, be it a mouse, shrew, or small bird. A professionally collected, sterilized pellet comes with a lively, illustrated book filled with facts and activities about these amazing birds. For ages 8-12.Be amazed! Be a scientist! Be grossed out!

Clam-I-Am!: All About the Beach (Cat in the Hat's Lrning Libry)

Tish Rabe

Clam-I-Am!: All About the Beach (Cat in the Hat's Lrning Libry) Tish Rabe Amazon Price: $8.99
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

ANOTHER GREAT ADDITION TO A GREAT LEARNING SERIES. 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

THis time we go to the sea and learn about the ecology of that wonderful place. Per usual, the art work is wonderful and the kids all seem to love it, which, if you think about it, is the best indorsement you can get for a children's book. This is a beginner book and between the delightful text and the same silly illustrations, makes learning actually fun for the child. This is one you will certainy want to place in your school library, if you have not already done so, and certainly one you will want to add to your child's home library collection. Loved ever page of this one.

Editorial Review:

Norval the Fish is hosting a seaside talkshow for the Fish Channel–and the Cat in the Hat and Thing One and Thing Two are Cameracat and Crew! Among Norval’s special guests are his old friend Clam-I-Am (a shy gal who lives in the sand and likes to spit), along with horseshoe and hermit crabs, jellyfish, sand fleas, starfish, seagulls, and miscellaneous mollusks. Seaweed, seaglass, tides, tidal pools, dunes, driftwood, and waves make cameo appearances, too. Warning: Beginning readers are apt to be swept away!

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