This interesting sketch book explains how to “breath life” into your drawings and what to look for when drawing wildlife.  Close attention is paid to movement and how it changes shadows and lines. (KS) 

Barbaras, Kathy.  Let's Find Out About Toothpaste.  New York: Scholastic, 1997. 

Where does toothpaste come from? How is toothpaste made? Wait until you find out . . . you'll be amazed! (JW) 

Chaiet, Donna & Francine Russell. The Safe Zone: A Kid’s Guide to Personal Safety. New York: Morrow, 1998. 160p.

This is an excellent book on personal safety for all ages.  Stay alert.  Use body language to avoid being a victim.  Use positive self-esteem to show others that you should be respected.  Let others know if they have crossed a physical or feeling boundary.  Don’t be an easy target!  Real life “what if” situations are examined. (DR)

Cole, Joanna and Stephanie Calmenson.  Rain or Shine Activity Book: Fun Things to Make and Do.  Illustrated by Alan Tiegreen.  New York:  Morrow, 1997.  192p.  ISBN 0-688-12131-4  Grades 3-5, Prof. 

Ready for a riddle?  What do you call a pony with a sore throat? (A little horse)  Here are riddles, tongue twisters, card games, street rhymes, jump-rope rhymes, street games, paper crafts, arts and crafts, brainteasers, paper and pencil games, magic tricks, and string things.   (MK) 

Dillon, Leo and Diane. To Every Thing There Is A Season: Verses from Ecclesiastes. New York: Blue Sky Press, 1998. 

According to the poet Tennyson, Ecclesiastes written over 2,000 years ago is the greatest poem of ancient or modern times. The words of Ecclesiastes remind us that there are things in life that all people share. Each illustration is from a different culture around the world. (MJG) 

Gibbons, Gail.  Behold the Dragon.  New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1999.

A long time ago people would hear and see things that they could not explain.  They thought that it must be some sort of monster or dragon causing the trouble.  That is why today we have dragons in so many of our stories, myths, and songs.  Learn all about the origin of the dragon in this colorfully illustrated book (DA)

Hightower, Susan.  Twelve Snails to One Lizard.  Pictures by Matt Novak.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Unp.  Grades 1-3.  ISBN 0-689-80452-0. 

Milo the beaver needs to repair his dam and needs to figure out how long a branch he needs.  Bubba the bullfrog has plenty of advice.  The branch needs to be thirty-six inches long.  How long is that?  Well, it's 36 snails.  Or, it's 3 lizards.  Or, it's one snake--but only if the animals cooperate.(MK) 

  Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane.  Celebrating Chinese New Year.  New York: Holiday House, 1998.

From shark fin's soup to lion dances, Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith shares the rituals and customs of preparing for the Chinese New Year.  Join Ryan and his family in San Francisco as they prepare for family dinners, parades, and other traditions associated with this important holiday. Lawrence Migdales's colorful photographs enhance this story. (SR) 

Jackson, Donna M.  The Bone Detectives.  Canada:  Little Brown, 1996. 

It might not be a pleasant business, but trying to solve the mysteries behind unidentified human bones is definitely interesting—and the work involved is amazing!  Who did the bones belong to, how long have they been lying there, and what happened to him or her?  See how the different scientists and artists put together the pieces of the puzzle to solve the mystery. (KS) 

Jones, Charlotte Foltz. Fingerprints and Talking Bones: How Real-life Crimes are Solved. New York: Delacorte, 1997. 

Can a skeleton confess?  Can a talking parrot lead the police to a suspect?  Do plants really help nab murderers?  Find out as you read the fascinating accounts. Amateur sleuths and aspiring scientists will enjoy this police-work primer. (BD) 

Jones, Charlotte Foltz.  Mistakes That Worked.  New York: Delacorte, 1991. 

You’d be surprised at how many products we use daily were the result of a mistake.  Anything from aspirin to bricks, Velcro to paper towels, and even chocolate chip cookies!  Jones has included 40 inventions in this humorous book.  How some of these things came to be will astound you! (HF) 

Kent, Peter. Hidden Under the Ground: The World Beneath Your Feet. New York: Dutton, 1998. 33 pgs.

This book addresses the reasons man has gone underground throughout the ages—underground tombs, caves, dungeons, homes, travel.  It also explains the methods used to bore into the earth.  The illustrations are accompanied by short summaries. (DR)

Krull, Kathleen.  They Saw the Future: Oracles, Psychics, Scientists, Great Thinkers and Pretty Good Guessers. Illustrated by Krysten Brooker.  New York: Atheneum, 1999. 

This fun book will interest a wide range of readers—from fifth grade to adults.  Short, illustrated chapters describe Leanardo Da Vinci, Nostradamus, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Edgar Cayce, and others. In the back, there’s a bibliography for further reading—after you read this, you are going to want more! (MK) 

Kuklin, Susan.  From Head to Toe:  How a Doll is Made.  New York:  Hyperon, 1994. 

Dolls come in all shapes and sizes and are made for different too.  Watch how one doll, Autumn, named after the season, is molded, designed, painted, assembled and dressed.  Big color photos take you on a tour of the doll factory, watching the people who create her. (KS) 

Markle, Sandra.  Math Mini Mysteries.  New York:  Atheneum, 1993. 

This fun book shows you how to use experiments, puzzles, investigations and predictions to solve math problems.  You'll learn how to enlarge a picture, make your own mazes, create sequence jewelry and more.  My favorite chapter is the “Most Popular Dog Survey.”  What's yours? (JS) 

McCaughrean, Geraldine.  Greek Gods and Goddessess.  New York: McElderry  Books, 1997. 

Beautiful, lively pictures by Emma Chichester Clark accompany this retelling of 15 Greek myths.  These myths include explanations for the origins of the gods an goddessess, Spring, dolphins, and the peacock.  (SH) 

Oz, Charles. How is a Crayon Made?  New York: Scholastic, 1998. 

Have you ever wondered how crayons are made? Really? You will be AMAZED to learn what it takes to make a crayon. (JW) 

Platt, Richard.  Shipwreck.  New York:  Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. 

Take a look under the sea at all the treasures left behind.  Learn how divers began exploring the depths—using a crazy looking thing called a bell, and compare their equipment to today’s.  Look at famous shipwrecks and photos of the treasures that have been recovered.  (KS) 

Schmandt-Besserat. Denise. The History of Counting.  Illustrated by Michael Hays.  New  York: Morrow, 1999. 

A great book for future mathematicians or for anyone who wants to know about math.  The author describes early counting systems, then describes the numbers used by the  Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans.  The Arabic numerals were a terrific invention, but no one knows when or where or who invented them.  Lovely illustrations.  (MK) 

Schwartz, David M.  G is for Googol.  Berkeley: Tricycle Press, 1998. 57 pages.

Having trouble with math?  This book will help.  It is packed full of crazy words and interesting pictures, one for every letter in the alphabet, that will help you to understand why and when math is useful. (Contents, glossary) (DA) 

Seuling, Barbara.  To Be a Writer: A Guide for Young People Who Want to Write and Publish.  New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 1997. 

This practical gives a good overview of the writing process and the publishing process.  Seuling includes information on writing fiction, writing nonfiction, keeping notes and journals, interviewing experts, how to revise, and publishing opportunities for young people.   (MK) 

Simon, Seymour.  Strange Mysteries from Around the World.  New York: Morrow, 1997.  58p. Grades 4-7.  ISBN 0-688-14636-8. 

Here are nine mysteries.  Find out about a possible atomic blast forty years before the bomb was invented, about fish and frogs falling from the skies, and about a disappearance of an entire ship's crew.  (MK) 

Sturges, Philemon. Bridges Are to Cross. New York: Putnam, 1998, 30 pgs.

The intricate papercut illustrations of this non-fiction book are captivating. Fifteen different bridges are recreated and examined with short text. You will never look at bridges again in quite the same way and the last bridge will surprise you. (DAH) 

Swain, Gwenyth.  Bookworks:  Making Books by Hand.  Minneapolis:  Carolrhoda Books, 1995.

Books and bookmaking have come a long way.  Learn the history behind books:  what was used to make the pages and why.  Then learn, step by step, how to make your own. (KS) 

Tanaka, Shelley.   Discovering the Iceman.  New York: Hyperion, 1997.  48p.  Grades 3-6.  ISBN 0-7868-0284-7. 

With plenty of close-up gruesome photographs of the Iceman, this book is fun.  He was discovered in 1991, and scientists determined that he was 5,300 years old, making him one of the oldest humans ever found.  (MK) 

  Wilcox, Charlotte. Mummies & Their Mysteries. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda, 1993. 

Did you know that mummies have been found all over the world? Some people were preserved because they were royalty or holy men.  But many bodies have been mummified by the environment in which they were buried.  How is a mummy made?  Why would anyone work toward becoming a mummy while they are still alive?  As scientists study mummies, answers to these questions may become clearer. This book contains close-up color pictures.  Read it if you dare! (AB) 

  Vernon, Roland. Introducing Vivaldi.  Parsippany, N.J.: Silver Burdett Press, 1997. 

There was once a sickly  Italian boy named Antonio Vivaldi. His father taught him how to play the violin.  He played and wrote music so well, that later, when he became a Roman Catholic priest, he was asked to teach music to orphan girls.  Soon, he became famous all over Venice. But then something happened to make the people almost forget their musical priest. (AB) 

Yolen, Jane.  Here There Be Witches. Illustrated by David Wilgus.  New York: Harcourt, 1995. 

A collection of seventeen stories and poems accompanied by realistic pencil and charcoal illustrations by David Wilgus await in this Jane Yolen volume.  Stories of witches, warlocks, and wizards allow for optimum imagination juices to flow. (SR)