All Titles
The Name Game
A Look Behind the Labels
Illustrated by Ted Stearn
(Viking, 2009)
A Junior Library Guild Selection
* Did you ever wish your initials spelled something? (Or didn't?)
* Can your name influence the kind of person you are ? Or what you do?
* Do you know the best way to name your pet?
The Name Game explores these topics and more!
Combined with cartoonist Ted Stearn's hilarious line drawings,
this is a picture book that curious minds of all ages will devour.
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Recognition
". . . those interested in what we name things and why
will be pleased to encounter this well-researched and engagingly presented book."
- Kirkus Reviews
Extreme Scientists
Exploring Nature's Mysteries from Perilous Places
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
A Junior Library Guild Selection
* Scaling giant redwoods.
* Diving deep into underwater caves.
* Flying through the eye of a hurricane.
Some modern-day explorers risk life and limb to pursue scientific discoveries.
They're pioneers who collect data in laboratories few dare to enter.
Find out how science can be an adventure - in more ways than one!
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Recognition
"Fascinating."
- Carolyn Phelan, Booklist (starred review)
Real Adventures
-InfoDad.com
Scientists: Special ways of Thinking and Exploring
-by Mary Harris Russell, Chicago Tribune
"One of the coolest books I've seen out this season . . ."
- Amanda Snow, A Patchwork of Books
". . . Kids who need convincing that science isn't all white coats and test tubes will have their eyes opened here."
-The Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books
Phenomena: Secrets of the Senses
(Little, Brown and Company, Fall 2008)
A Junior Library Guild Selection
* Why do we dream?
* Are coincidences meaningful?
* What do first impressions tell us?
PHENOMENA explores these fascinating mysteries
and more -- surveying sensory worlds from a perspective
sure to make your mind tingle! Learn more.
Quotes
"Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake."
- Henry David Thoreau
American author, poet and naturalist
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Recognition
'Jackson moves beyond the basics of sensory perception
to explore its alluring edges. . . '
- Danielle J. Ford, The Horn Book
Sacramento Bee , Feb. 24, 2009
-Sacramento Bee
The Well-Read Child blog, Jan. 12, 2009
-The Well-Read Child blog
'Fascinating Look at the World of Science,'
-Charleston.net, 2009
Washington Post
-Book World, Nov. 2, 2008
Definitely a winner. . . ' Jan Fields
-MyShelf.com review
Notes from the Horn Book recommendation - October 2008
-Horn Book
ER Vets
Life in an Animal Emergency Room
(Houghton Mifflin Company)
A Junior Library Guild Selection
* A bird breaks its wing.
* A newborn foal slips into a coma.
* A cat clings to life after an arrow's shot through its chest.
Filled with poignant stories and behind-the-scenes photographs,
ER VETS follows the drama and excitement of the emergency
and critical care unit at one of the country's leading veterinary
hospitals and brings to light the courage and compassion it takes
to be an ER vet.
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Recognition
'Well-researched and well-written. ER Vets is an engaging book on a hot topic.'
- School Library Journal, starred review
'A captivating behind-the-scenes look . . . '
-Karen MacPherson, Washington Post, December 2005
2006 Orbis Pictus Honor Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
-The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
2005 ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Honor
-Henry Bergh Children's Book Honor
2007 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize Finalist
-AAAS/Subaru
NPR: Best Science Books of 2006
-NPR
VOYA (Voices for Youth Advocates) Nonfiction Honor List 2005
-VOYA
The Bug Scientists
(Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002; Paperback 2004)
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Small is beautiful - or so the bug scientists of the world believe. Insects, they say, boast qualities the rest of us have perhaps overlooked. They are among the earth's best fliers and farmers; they've survived and adapted for 350 million years; and millions upon millions of species have yet to be identified!
Follow the footsteps of several bug scientists and take a closer look at the extraordinary bugs that crawl, swim and whiz past us everyday!
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Recognition
'The much-maligned world of insects becomes fascinating in this latest entry in the excellent Scientists in the Field series.'
- Booklist, starred review
'From start to finish, this book is a compelling and fun-to-read example of how good nonfiction can be.'
- Children's Literature
New York Times Science Book Recommendation
-New York Times
Blood, Bones and Bugs
-Kathleen Baxter, School Library Journal
Our Natural World Book Suggestions
-Newsday
The Bone Detectives
How Forensic Anthropologists Solve Crimes and Uncover Mysteries of the Dead
(Little, Brown and Company 1996)
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A 1997 NSTA - CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children
It's said that "dead men tell no tales" -- yet their bones have some interesting stories to reveal. That's what police depend on when the only clues to a crime are written in bone. When this happens, it's time to call in the "bone detectives."
Follow Dr. Michael Charney - a forensic anthropologist - as he leads a step-by-step investigation and shows how a person's sex, race, age, height, and weight can be determined just by reading bones and teeth!
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Recognition
An American Library Association (ALA) Best Book
An International Reading Association (IRA) Teacher's Choice
School Library Journal "Best Books of 1996" list
'Right from the opening words, readers will find themselves glued to this fact-filled foray into the fine art of forensics.'
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
'This readable book is a fine example of the application of scientific knowledge to the 'real' world.'
-School Library Journal (starred review)
* See Award and Honors page for more
In Your Face
The Facts About Your Features
(Viking, A division of Penguin Young Readers Group)
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Our faces are our social signatures -- key to our identity and how most others recognize us. With six billion people in this world, no two look exactly alike!
But just how much do we really know about our faces? Why are our features - eyes, nose, mouth, and ears -- arranged the way they are? And how do we use these features to make as many as 10,000 different facial expressions?
Laced with full-color photos, IN YOUR FACE offers a fresh tour of some familiar - but fascinating - territory.
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Recognition
Texas Bluebonnet Award: 2006 - 2007 Master List
-Texas Bluebonnet
Unputdownable Nonfiction
-Washington Post, January 9, 2005
The Wildlife Detectives
How Forensic Scientists Fights Crimes Against Nature
Photographs by Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski
(Houghton Mifflin Company)
A 2001 NSTA - CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children
Slaughtering elephants for their ivory, shooting bears for their gall bladders, capturing sea turtles for soup. In the name of vanity, fashion and greed, people stalk and kill wild animals -- and get away with it, even when their acts are clearly against the law. But now scientists have a way to catch and convict poachers.
In a laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, they analyze clues from bone fragments to bloodstains. Firearms experts match bullets to guns. Ornithologists identify feathers. Using a high-powered scanning electron microscope, scientists distinguish ivory taken illegally from elephants. Even though ninety percent of these crimes still go unpunished, the wildlife detectives are, more and more often, linking suspects to victims.
In words and pictures, The Wildlife Detectives tells a poignant story and shows how good science can indeed save the day!
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Recognition
"Unfolds almost like a mystery novel . . . A book that will be welcomed by mystery fans and anyone who cares about animals."
- Booklist
"A riveting and thorough account of dedicated people banding together with the help of science and the law to catch an elk poacher . . . . A real-life animal detective story."
-Kirkus
"If all information books were structured as well as this one, students would read and read and read."
- Children's Literature
"This book presents science as exciting, worthwhile work, and from many young readers will spark a 'Hey, I could do that!' reaction."
- John Peters, The Five Owls
Hero Dogs
Courageous Canines in Action
(Megan Tingley Books/Little, Brown and Company, 2003)
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Dogs have long been faithful companions to humans, but there are some extraordinary canines with unique skills and superior work ethics that go above and beyond their traditional roles as pets. These are the hero dogs.
From bomb-sniffing dogs to guide dogs, these specially trained canines play an important role in our lives.
Featuring stories from the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, along with tales of everyday hero dogs, this book demonstrates the many miracles that can happen when hearts, hands and paws join together!
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Recognition
It's a Dog's Life
-School Library Journal
". . . Even cat people could like this book."
- Chicago Tribune
"Outstanding! You don't have to be a dog-lover to appreciate the compassion which emanates from the text and the photos in this story. . . I highly recommend the purchase of this book for every library. I will purchase it as gifts for my dog-lover friends."
- Mary Jo Humphreys, Librarian, Cactus Ranch, Round Rock (Texas)
Twin Tales
The Magic and Mystery of Multiple Birth
(Megan Tingley Books/Little Brown and Co., 2001)
A 2002 NTSA - CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children
Twins: they're miracles of nature, sharing the most intimate of bonds. Scientists have captured them on sonograms hugging, kissing, and reaching out to each other in the womb.
What makes twins so fascinating? You'll find out as you read about real-life twins such as:
- Kyrie Jackson, the preemie who saved her twin sister's life soon after birth
- Eng and Chang Bunker, the world's most famous conjoined twins,
- Eva and Miriam Mozes, twin sisters whose special bond saved their lives at Auschwitz
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Recognition
New York Times Book Shelf
-New York Times
TwinStuff.com review
- TwinStuff.com
"This informative photo essay will amaze and mystify twins and singles alike."
- Kirkus , starred review
"Jackson blends scientific facts with interesting personal anecdotes to create an informative and intriguing look at twins . . . this title will appeal to both report writers and children who are interested in learning more about this fascinating subject."
- School Library Journal, starred review