Science Nature Books

I purchased this book as a cross curricular lesson. Although I teach science there is history, strategies, art, and exposure to building simple machines. I am using the book to make shoe box activities for me students and update myself on the wonders of Leonardo.

We are homeschoolers using this book in part of a unit on Inventors. My eight year old is able to read and enjoy the history behind the different inventions. I thought it would just be a "how to" book, but we are both really enjoying the well written historical information in this book. It really makes Leonardo and the world he lived in come alive. I like to just browse through the book and look at all of Leonardo's sketches as well.

The pictures and instructions are fairly easy to follow. The inventions do use common items, but we don't always have the right "common" items at the right times. We have modified most of the directions to use what we actually have in our house. Today we wanted to make the camera obscura, but we just threw out our last empty Pringles can... guess we'll be eating lots of chips in the next week :)

Wonderful book for kids who love to learn. Great info and facts even for adults. Highly recommend.

We love the book not only does it have very good information of the solar system is also a work book, my son loves it.

my grandson and myself find this book very interesting and easy to go through. it keeps his interest and anything that will keep him interested so he will learn is a good thing

I homeschool my kids and this is a great workbook. There are enough pictures and color to be interesting without being overbearing. It has good explanations of each topic and then lots of practice pages so the kids can really get a good feel for each topic. Many workbooks just touch on a subject but do not provide enough daily assignments and then you have to supplement. This book is more than sufficient on its own. There is an answer key in the back. This is a nice thick substantial book.

~Note for fellow homeschoolers~
'The Complete Book of...' line offers many great great workbooks. Some of the others we use are: Animals, English and Language Arts, Grammar and Punctuation, US History, Presidents and States, Dinosaurs, Science... just to name a few. They are great!

A well-written interesting book that should be part of any young person's library. So don't wait -- acquaint your children with this book. And don't be shy about telling your son or daughter's teacher about it, either.

I love this book because it teaches so much geography and history. The pictures are amazing.

I read this book in elementary school and went looking for it again last year as a gift for a niece. Be warned that there's a scene that she found really sad (Minn gets hurt) -- and it made her cry. So maybe it's not for sensitive first-graders. Still, the story is wonderful and little Minn is a great character. There's also a lot of fascinating natural detail. And stunning illustrations. It's a children's book version of a top-notch Nature documentary. "Nova" in print, if you will. Also check out Holling Clancy Holling's other books. They're all great, even looking back at them after three decades.

I discovered this book when I was in fourth grade. I thought it was the best book ever written. I especially enjoyed the juxaposition of the biology of the snapping turtle with the history and geography of the Mississippi River

At age 52, I can vividly remember discovering this book in my local library as a boy in 4th grade, especially the luminous color illustrations and drawings Hollings used to tell the story of the journey of a snapping turtle from the Mississippi's trickling source in Minnesota, to its fullness in the Gulf of Mexico. In following the life of "Minn," from hatchling to a veteran survivor of many predators and adventures, I learned the history and lore of the river and the animals and people who live in it and along its banks. This is a book that does not talk down to its young readers. I am buying one now to read again, and to share with any grandchildren who may come along in our family.

Read this book as a child, and wanted it in my own personal library. Wonderful book!

Kevin Sheehan has simplified the great qualities of important leaders and placed them in an entertaining text. A gift which I have passed on to my dearest friends, this book is both inspirational and educational. My highest recommendation.

Poignant, powerful stories. Beautifully written with a distinctive and important design. This book's not to be missed--by you, your friends, your business colleagues. Bravo!

Within his book A Leader Becomes A Leader, Kevin Sheehan delightfully illustrates the essence of true leadership. He poignantly definies a diverse group of past and present leaders; while exploring their life events and characteristics of greatness. Encourage your friends, family and coworkers to read this motivational book!

The author does a phenomenal job of breaking the topic down into small manageable and inspiring readings; also covers a great cross-section of leaders and the characteristics that made them successful. I ordered a dozen copies as executive and motivational gifts.

J. Kevin Sheehan presents a celebration of what's possible in his biographical snapshots of great leaders. By focusing on the unique character traits of outstanding leaders the author transforms the mysteries of leadership into something very real. He answers the question "what made them great?" in an extremely concise and inspirational style. Great as a corporate gift or graduation present. My children have used it for school projects and I have found inspiration for my own business. No home or school library should be without this most valuable tool.

The book arrived in a timely manner & no shipping damage. Item was just as described. Thank you.

This is a great book as far as the contents but after looking thru the book a couple of times several pages were falling out.

This book is a very handy book. I reference it very often. It has nice clear pictures and detailed descriptions on a wide variety of different crystals and gemstones. Over all a very good and informative book.

excellent, excellent book with vivid pics and of course all the wonderful sections and advantages already mentioned, but consider this...I have used the chapter "The Magical Connection between Stone and Star" to create healing bracelets/anklets for others and for myself made from the stones listed for our particular birth signs-very cool! The wealth of information at the tips of your fingers is just astounding...I refer to this and Judy Hall's "The Crystal Bible" and "Crystals and Healing Stones" for more obscure stones daily. I found it on a clearance rack and bought 3 copies-two sisters love crystals and two friends, so I was one short since I had my copy already...I am in the dog house because I mention it alot! IF YOU SEE IT GET IT, you won't regret it!

This book is typical of the "healing crystal" literature: a lack of understanding of basic geology and chemistry, combined with healing claims that are not substantiated in any way, resulting in dangerous advice for people with serious health conditions.

The book is littered with errors. Even the very first sentence is incorrect, when it claims that all gemstones originate from hot magma. (Opal, for example, can be sedimentary.) The authors claim "jasper ... always has a trigonal structure", when in fact jasper essentially doesn't form crystals at all. On page 150, the authors claim that fluorite is "also known as feldspar", when in fact feldspar is an entirely different mineral. On page 75, the authors confuse native antimony with the mineral stibnite, which is actually antimony sulfide. On page 85 the authors claim that that aragonite is silicon dioxide, not calcium carbonate. The mineral Charoite is consistently misspelled as "Chaorite". They claim that the crystal structure of Herkimer diamonds is similar to that of real diamond, when in fact they crystallize in completely different systems. They claim that kunzite is "aluminum acetate-lithium", when in fact it is a lithium aluminum silicate; no acetate at all is contained in it. They claim that Magnesite "consists almost entirely of pure magnesium", when in fact it is just magnesium carbonate. They claim that Magnesite "was first discovered in Africa", when in fact its co-type localities are in Greece and Italy.

The authors recommend the use of various minerals without noting health problems associated with them. Fr example, the authors recommend actinolite to stimulate "the inner organs such as the liver and the kidneys", but fail to note that the tiny fibers of actinolite have been associated with severe and potentially life-threatening respiratory disorders. They recommend using orpiment "externally as a powder to treat sexual disorders", but this is not a good idea, as orpiment is arsenic sulfide.

But the most serious problem with the book is the repeated and unsubstantiated health claims, all made without a single reference to any study in support of them. Someone with serious health problems might be persuaded to use the entirely ineffective remedies suggested in this book instead of seeking effective medical treatment. Cancer is unlikely to be helped by toumaline, sugilite, or lapis lazuli. High blood pressure cannot be improved with sodalite, lapis, or chrysoprase. Diabetes sufferers will find no relief with citrine or pyrite. Kidney ailments will not be improved with jade. For ulcers you should see your family doctor, not wear jasper or topaz.

I doubt this review will persuade many people, but they should ask: how was all this "knowledge" assembled? Where are the studies? How could a reader check if the authors were simply making all this up?

The applets available in association with this book (The Why Files Interactives) have been nominated for excellence in website design that incorporates motion. See the press release below:

3rd Annual Pixie Nominations Honor Online Films and Animations

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., March 17, 2004 -- On the heels of an earlier than usual Oscars, the Directors Board of Broadband Motion Pixure Arts and Technologies today released nominees for its 3rd Annual Pixie Awards, which honor achievement in online and broadband motion picture production.

Formally known as the Directors Board Awards for Achievement in Broadband Motion Pixure Production, the Pixie Awards are widely considered the top award -- if not the only award -- in a burgeoning area of artistic endeavor that includes animation, film, and web site design.

"It's an enormous honor to be nominated by the Pixie Awards in one category, but to be nominated in two categories is simply over the top!" said Looney Bin Animation Studios creative director Stan Holden upon hearing the good news about his animated feature Rebel Without a Claus.

"It's the equivalent of being nominated for an Oscar!" Holden added from his offices in Orange County, Calif.

The Pixie Awards include categories for Best Web Design that Incorporates Motion and Best Original Score for an i-Feature -- a film that resides entirely on the Internet.

...

The nominees for the 3rd Annual Pixie Awards are:
(edited for appropriate category)

Best Web Design that Incorporates Motion

SantaFeHealingArt --
Anand Nunnally, Jill Schwarz, Jason Goodyear, Clarence Cline, Lucinda Dykes, and Michael Tincher, Designers

Jibjab -- Evan Spiridellis, Mike Jaffe and Gregg Spiridellis, Designers

***The Why Files Interactives -- Sue Medaris, Tom Whittaker and Steve Ackerman, Designers

This book has won a Talby Award from the Society of Academic Authors. Please see release below.

Meteorologists' book wins visuals award
WINONA, Minn., March 24, 2003 -- A college meteorology textbook by Steve Ackerman and John Knox won a William Henry Fox Talbot Prize for excellence in visuals from the Sociey of Academic Authors. The book, Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere, published by Brooks/Cole under the editorshop of Keith Dodson, was praised by one member of the SA2 panel of judges as an "exceptional job pulling together relevant data to be presented in original graphic formats." Said other judges: "The text is visually sophisticated, truly interesting, and up-to-date, with always apt and sometimes ravishing images, figurative models, and tables used to support its thoughtful pedagogy." "This book has some of the most pretty and apt graphics that I have ever seen in a textbook.""Quite simply, the production quality is superb." "Visuals are integral and are used generously." Learning of the award, Knox said: "I'm excited to see that the judges appreciated our efforts so thoroughly -- especially since Steve and I are both first-time authors. Knox is a research scientist and lecturer at the University of Georgia. Ackerman is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The announcement in the fourth in a series on the 2003 Talbies.

I am a birder but always wanted to ID the trees that the birds were perched in. I first took this book out in the field to the Arboretums in San Francisco and Berkeley. I found the book easy to use for IDing native trees. I also took this book with me on a trip to the eastern Sierras and trees that I have previously looked at as "pines" turned into Lodgepole, Mountain Hemlock, Whitebark, Red and White Fir, and Jerrery Pine. It really opened up a new world for me. And naming nature is one way to understanding the wonderfully diverse tree species of the west.

this tree book is amazing.while i hate science, this book got me into it. its still not my favorite subject, but now i like it.