New Releases by Lauri Berkenkamp

From both a historical and scientific point of view, above and below the surface, this engaging guide brings the world’s oceans to life through fun facts, illustrations, and in-depth information. Interactive activities appear throughout, ranging from making solar stills and simple fishing spears to experimenting with a homemade diving bell and figuring out how much water it really takes to survive. With the oceans being the least explored environment on Earth, this reference illuminates some of the most incredible and surprising plants and animals as well as how to survive and navigate these vast expanses.

From avoiding predators to navigating through the jungle without a compass, this innovative guide provides kids with the vital tools one would need if lost in the Amazon. Offering practical survival techniques based on real stories, children will learn lessons that can be adapted to almost any outdoor situation, such as making fire, deciphering animal tracks, and using the natural world for all to create necessary supplies. Opening with an informative section on the region and its people, this essential resource combines history and science in a fun and engaging way. Facts and sidebars on the local creatures and plants are interspersed along with 15 activities for the home or classroom—from making a fishing spear to determining how much water is needed to stay healthy.

From tracking spring peepers and raising tadpoles to learning about seeds and recording plant growth, Explore Spring! 25 Great Ways to Learn About Spring invites young readers to explore the wonders of spring by becoming scientists in the field. Combining hands-on learning with solid science, trivia, riddles, and terrific illustrations, projects investigate “the reason for the season” and include identifying trees and measuring their growth, recording soil temperature, and observing the forest floor. Bird migration and nest building are covered, and the movement of air and water is studied with experiments in capillary action and in such activities as “Making Parachutes,” Making Kites,” and “Mapping Air Currents with Bubbles.”

For parents everywhere whose kids complain about helping around the house, stall over homework, and bicker with one other, help is at hand. With compassion and humor, this book takes on the most common points of kid-induced friction—those altercations and annoying behaviors that drive parents most nuts—and offers quick, practical how-to advice for how to handle them. It explains to parents how to navigate everyday challenges, from helping kids learn responsibility for their possessions to getting them to stop tattling, whining, and using disrespectful language. Complete with solutions, helpful hints, and interesting bits of information, this indispensable guide offers exasperated parents the emotional support and reassurance they need to reduce friction and increase communication in the household.

This commonsense, practical guide to talking to children about sex provides ways to launch conversations following some of the most common kid comments and questions: What’s That Thing? I’m Going to Marry Mommy. Sex Is When You Kiss. I Don’t Want to Talk About It. From teaching toddlers about body parts to important discussions with adolescents, this resource encourages parents to understand what children of particular ages and developmental levels are ready to know, what they should know, and how to tell them. Real-life questions and answers encourage parents to prepare for their talks and make discussions easier. Moreover, ideas for discussing this sensitive subject with a sense of humor help take away some of the awkwardness—for both children and parents.

In a household with children, disasters lurk around every corner. Laundry soap in the dishwasher. Baseballs launched through the neighbor’s window. Heads stuck between stair railings. Sandwiches in the VCR. What’s a parent to do? Mom, the Toilet’s Clogged! takes on common kid-induced household problems and provides hands-on, rational solutions that work. Offering practical and funny advice in the bestselling tradition of The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook and Hints from Heloise, this is the definitive guide to alleviating everyday trauma. Padded with interesting tips that most adults never thought they’d need—until they became parents—this book will help parents with whatever kid disasters befall them.

For parents everywhere who have had lovely family dinners ruined by misbehaving children, help is at hand. This guide provides a humorous, hands-on, parent-friendly approach to teaching children of all ages good manners in a wide variety of social situations, from accepting gifts graciously to which foods are OK to eat with fingers. Each chapter tackles a different situation, gives a brief outline of what manners are appropriate for it, and offers advice on how to teach and reinforce them to children of different ages. There is also a "What to Expect" chart broken down by age, and a Q & A section devoted to questions concerning children and manners.