Free Books
Coming Soon
My Other Books
Amazing Military Vehicles, the series
Rosen Publishing, 2009 All around the world and under its
oceans, U.S. military vehicles take on tough and dangerous jobs.
Helicopters rescue wounded soldiers, armored vehicles carry
Marines to the battle lines, huge planes bring food, water, and
medicine to places hit by disasters, subs search for enemy
ships, tanks protect troops on patrol, and ships launch planes
and missiles. Learn more about amazing military vehicles in
this exciting series.
Explore the Desert, Explore the Grasslands, and Explore the
Ocean
Capstone's FactFinders for Early Readers, 2006
Designed for readers ages 7 to 10, these books create a "you are
there" feeling using journal notes and sidebars. Each ends with the
description of a scientist and his or her work. For example, Explore
Grasslands highlights Con Slobodchikoff who studies how prairie dogs
communicate. He believes these little creatures have at a vocabulary
of at least 20 words!
Deserts, Lakes, Oceans, and Rivers
Capstone's Bridgestone Books, 2006
These short books highlight the plants, animals, people, and weather
of a specific earthform as well as how it was formed. Vivid photos,
amazing facts, and maps complete these fascinating geography
introductions.
The places and spaces of our world fascinate me. I’ve hiked the
deserts of Arizona, California and New Mexico. I’ve rafted, canoed,
and waded in rivers of both North and South America. I’ve swam in
the warm waters on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and jumped into
the cold waters of the Pacific. I’ve also explored the green waters
and muddy bottoms of the lakes in American Midwest. With each of
these little books, I drew upon those experiences to create a
personal yet accurate picture of the biomes of the world.
Life in a Freshwater Lake
Gale's Kidhaven Press, 2006
While freshwater lakes cover only a fraction of the earth’s surface,
these bodies of freshwater are home to thousands of different
species of plants and animals. Freshwater Lakes explains the
processes that form lakes, describes the plants and animals that
live in lakes, and shows how people affect lakes.
As I wrote Lakes I looked back on our experiences diving the lakes
of Oklahoma and Arkansas as well as the freshwater spring pools of
Florida. These memories inspired topics such as "Stuck in the Mud,"
"Everything Depends on Algae", "Floaters, Skimmers and Swimmers,"
and "Hunters, Paddlers, and Waders."
Plate Tectonics
Gale's Lucent Books, 2005
In seconds, mountains explode, earthquakes topple skyscrapers, and
tsunamis race across entire oceans. Tectonic forces are the cause of
these disasters. The Earth’s surface is a dynamic mosaic of giant
crustal plates that drift across the planet’s face. Plate Tectonics
explains the ancient geological forces that continue to shape our
planet and the fragile life on it.
When I wrote Plate Tectonics, I thought about my middle school
students. What about plate tectonics would capture their interest?
As I read the first-hand accounts of the geologists who developed
and refined the theory of plate tectonics, it was clear that this
was a time of excitement. These scientists, many only graduate
students in their twenties, broke through long-held traditions and
well-established views to create a theory that literally changed how
we see our world. I wanted to transmit to my readers that sense of
thrill and adventure. To that end, Plate Tectonics is filled with
quotes from the earth scientists whose ideas, discoveries, and
experiences have given us, as Helen Prager states in Earth’s Fury, a
way for “us understand the present, past and future shape of the
Earth's surface, and its earth-shaking, fiery, and watery displays
of power."
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