New Releases by Meredith Hamilton

Eye-catching illustrations, engaging text and delightful musical selections on the accompanying 70-minute CD lead children ages 8 to 12 (and parents, too!) on an exciting and educational tour through the instruments and music of the orchestra. Illustrated in exquisite and colorful detail with over 100 original drawings and photographs, this package is a fun and exciting musical journey for children.

The engaging text is broken into three sections: an introduction to each instrument of the orchestra from the cello to the timpani, the stories of famous composers from Bach to Stravinsky and an explanation of different musical styles from Baroque to Modern. Each step of the way, children can listen to actual musical examples of what they are learning about. Young readers will hear the sound of an actual violin as they study the instrument and enjoy the playful tune of a Mozart minuet as they read about the composer's precocious exploits as a child.

Poetry can be fun-especially when we can read it, hear it, and discover its many delights with the help of cartoon character Professor Driscoll, delightful illustrations, and the poetry read aloud on CD.

This wide-ranging journey through the history and highlights of the world's poetry covers everything from epics and odes to nonsense verse and haikus, and is filled with examples of every style.

The multimedia package encourages children to listen, read, and learn-and opens the door to a lifetime of appreciation of a rich literary tradition.

It painlessly introduces kids (and parents, too) to the greatest poets in history, from Homer and Shakespeare to Robert Frost and Ogden Nash-and provides excellent examples of their work and commentary on what makes it so special. In short, this is a galloping tour through poetic history loaded with all of our most significant and beloved poems. In addition to charming illustrations on every lively page, A CHILD'S INTRODUCTION TO POETRY contains a full-length CD with wonderful renditions of the poems read by professional actors.

A Child's Introduction to the Environment provides an entertaining and instructive tour of the Earth's varied environments, along with activities and materials to encourage young environmentalists.

Kids aged 9-12 and their parents will appreciate this upbeat yet clear-eyed, interactive look at our magnificent planet and how we can safeguard it.

Exploring in turn the water, land, and air around us, the book looks at the wide variety of environmental regions of the world (deserts, forests, cities, farms, ice caps, oceans) as well as the atmosphere, weather, energy sources, plants, and animals of each area. Short features throughout offer fun facts, projects, and experiments that kids can do with parents or on their own. And a special packet inside the front cover contains a reusable lunch sack, peel-off stickers with messages such as "TURN OFF THE LIGHTS," "RECYCLE," and "UNPLUG," and a special poster from the NRDC.

Charming original watercolor illustrations throughout are perfectly paired with an accessible text by a father-and-son team of writers (Dad is a meteorologist). And it is all printed on recycled material, of course!