Most Popular Books by Joy Masoff

Gross is back and viler than ever! From the author of Oh, Yuck! the perennial bestseller about science with over 610,000 copies in print, comes OH, YIKES!, an illustrated encyclopedia of history’s messiest, dumbest, grossest, wackiest, and weirdest moments. If kids think pus and gas are fun, wait until they hear the lowdown on the real Dracula, samurai, gladiators, guillotines and vomitoriums, pirates, Vikings, witch trials, and the world’s poxiest plagues. Impeccably researched, deliciously wry, and subversively educational (check out the toilet-paper timeline), OH, YIKES! covers people, events, institutions, and really bad ideas, alphabetically from April Fool’s Day to zany Zoos. Here are the Aztecs, sacrificing 250,000 people a year for the gods—and for food. Fearsome Attila the Hun, scourge of the steppes whose spinning eyes terrified his friends and whose mastery of horses terrorized his enemies (how does someone so evil die? Nosebleed!). Saur, the 11th-century dog-king of Norway (and not too bad as kings go). Henry VIII and his marital problems, the story of the Abominable Snowman and the Loch Ness Monster, why sailors in the old days preferred eating in the dark (hint: you can’t see what’s crawling in your food), and the answer to the question, “How did knights in armor go to the bathroom?” Topped off with hundreds of illustrations and photographs along with hands-on activities that bring the past to life, OH, YIKES! puts the juice in history in a way that makes it irresistible.

Introduces readers to Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first men to reach the peak of Mount Everest, while discussing climbing equipment, weather conditions, rough terrain, and more. Original.

Kids love stuff that''s gross. From the liquids, solids, and gases--especially the gases!--or their own bodies to the creepy, crawly, slimy, slithery, fetid, and feculent phenomena in the world at large, kids with a curious bent just can''t get enough. Oh, Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty brings together, in one book, all the good things about some of the baddest things on Earth. Exhaustively researched and impeccably scientific, yet written with a lively lack of earnestness, Oh, Yuck! is an ants to zits encyclopedic compendium covering people, animals, insects, plants, foods, and more. Here are vampire bats, which sip blood and pee at the same time so that they''ll always be light enough to fly away; and slime eels, wreathed in mucus and eating fellow fish from the inside out. Oh, Yuck! explains why vomit smells; where dandruff comes from; what pus is all about; and why maggots adore rotting meant. Other features include gross recipes, putrid projects, 10 foods that make you airborne, and more. With hundreds of cartoon illustrations and real-life photographs, Oh, Yuck! is the complete guide to the irresistible--at least to an 8-to-12 year old--underbelly of life.

From the bestselling author of Oh, Yuck! and Oh, Yikes!, with over 1.25 million copies in print, here is an A-Z compendium of hands-on grossness. Featuring 114 interactive experiments and ick-tivities, Oh, Ick! delves into the science behind everything disgusting. Stage an Ooze Olympics to demonstrate viscosity and the nature of slime. Observe how fungi grow by making a Mold Zoo. Embark on an Insect Safari to get to know the creepy crawlies around your home. And learn what causes that embarrassing acne on your face by baking a Pimple Cake to pop—and eat. Eww!

Re-creates the American colonies before, during, and after the American Revolution by describing in words and pictures various aspects of the colonists'' lives, including work, food, clothing, shelter, religion, the events leading to the war, and life as a soldier.

Re-creates early American settlements by describing in words and pictures various aspects of the colonists'' lives including work, food, clothing, shelter, religion, and relationships with Native Americans.

A thoughtful, balanced, and timely book. The lively prose and vivid illustrations, capture the excitement of America''s multicultural history in a way that is accessible and appealing to children.

Presents the work done by fire fighters, including the equipment they use, the fires they fight, the rescues and investigations they perform, and the history and future of fire fighting.

Your guide to jumping, racing, skiboarding, nordic, backcountry, aerobatics, and more.

Your guide to freeriding, pipe and park, jibbing, backcountry, alpine, boardercross, and more.

Rhyming text and colorful illustrations with tactile patches describe and illustrate common minor injuries children suffer.

A history of African Americans from colonial America to the present.

Discusses all aspects of emergency medicine including the medical personnel and equipment needed to successfully help the patient.

The story of Mali, as seen through the eyes of a griot, a teller of stories and singer of history.