The Kids' Natural History Book: Making Dinos, Fossils, Mummies & Zulu Huts (Williamson Kids Can!) [Paperback]

Judy Press (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Williamson Kids Can!

This book is suitable for ages 9 to 12 years. Here children create a virtual Kids Can! Natural History Museum complete with reconstruction's that they make, hands-on discovery corners for experimentation, and curator's notes. Create nature's creatures with an amazing Brachiosaurus skeleton reconstruction, a crab with working pincers, a delicate dragonfly, a whole family of arthropods, a swooping pterosaur, and a saber-toothed tiger.Play Fossil-ologist, Pin the 'Scale' on the Reptile, Mammal ...Or Not? And Bat Tag; be a penguin emperor dad guarding the egg; do the snake slither; make brain coral; and draw caricatures. Give scientific concepts real-life meaning with geologic time rap, a dinosaur clothesline time line, a huge animal kingdom button sort, and an after-dinner family chicken-bone reconstruction. Investigate the dino-bird connection (and how to use the Internet for late-breaking news); the hundred-year Brontosaurus mistake; how sharks float; why ostriches don't fly; and the horning instinct of green sea turtles. Yes, here kids learn that nature's history is a very happening thing.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-This idea-packed book focuses on animal life on Earth during the last 570 million years (the Cambrian period to the present), covering sea creatures, insects, dinosaurs, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. In the first chapter, Press provides an introduction to how natural history is studied and explains basic vocabulary. Difficult concepts are simplified through the use of familiar examples. In one instance, directions for sorting buttons or other objects lead into a clear explanation of the animal classification scheme. The author uses a similar technique to move from a child's personal time line to a description of geologic time, complete with a rap song. Simple craft techniques (with appropriate safety warnings), such as making a climbing spider out of cardboard and pipe cleaners, are applied to learning facts about animals. Helpful sidebars include "Eco-Alerts" that discuss endangered species or taking care of the environment and "Curator's Notes" that define terms in a succinct manner. Satisfying black-and-white drawings supplement the activities and information. A list of museums along with their Web sites is appended. A worthwhile addition to natural-history sections.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5, younger with adult assistance. The topic "Everything to Do with Life on Earth" may be broad, but Press approaches it with confidence and carries it off with panache. Beginning with a lesson in sorting that starts with a few common buttons and ends with the biological classification system, the first chapter offers "how-to tools" that will be helpful to children in understanding how scientists have discovered and organized information about animals. The succeeding chapters discuss animals groups such as sea creatures, dinosaurs, and birds, offering many simple activities and crafts suitable for the classroom or the home. The light yet informative tone is reflected in the illustrations, which include jaunty, cartoonlike figures of people and animals as well as scientifically accurate drawings. A good choice from the publisher's Kids Can! series. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Williamson Publishing Company (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885593244
• ISBN-13: 978-1885593245
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,618,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of Fun Information!, March 23, 2009

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Cherub (Oxford Ohio) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Kids' Natural History Book: Making Dinos, Fossils, Mummies & Zulu Huts (Williamson Kids Can!) (Paperback)

This is another great book by them (check them all out, they're great). This book is great for unit studies either for public school or homeschool (personally we us it for homeschool). We like to do an activity after we get home from the museum to reinforce what we learned. Great book full of fun activities!