Most Popular Books by Patricia Lauber

Describes the eruption, aftermath, and gradual return of life to the Mount St. Helens slopes devastated by the 1980 eruption.

Sand in their bread caused serious tooth problems for the ancient Egyptians, peasants and pharaohs alike.Skull surgery was commonly performed by the Inca Indians of Peru. A thick soup made of grain and seeds was a typical winter meal in Denmark during the Iron Age. How can we be so sure of what ancient life was like? Largely because, in recent years, mummies have begun to "talk" to scientists who study them for clues to the distant past. X-rays reveal mumm ies that have never been unwrapped. The shape of the face appears, and resemblances may establish family relationships. In the bones of a mummy, medical scientists can read age at death, signs of disease, fractures that healed. Teeth yield information about diet and health. Sometimes a mummy offers a surprise: an Egyptian mummy is found to have two skulls; another, long thought to be the child of a high priestess, turns out to be a baboon. Sometimes a mummy tells a moving story: examination of a girl''s mummy shows she lived her short life in considerable pain; a man''s mummy, with broken bones and slit throat, proves he met a violent death.Generously illustrated with photographs ranging from the gruesome to the starkly beautiful, Tales Mummies Tell is a remarkable account of mummies -- intriguing talebearers from the pastand of the ways scientists unlock their secrets.

Explores the planets of our solar system, highlighting the prominent features of each. Includes new photos and information gathered by the Voyager explorations.

" ... Take a look inside and discover the truth about our canine companions!"--Cover back.

Publisher Description

Through a true-or-false format, presents statements about the history, uses, and behavior of horses and discusses them.

"[Here is] a charming introduction to the truly amazing octopus [from its intelligence to its ability to change colors to the camouflaging black ink it squirts to escape predators]. Lauber''s chatty, fact-filled text makes the book a good read-aloud, and Keller''s amusing and colorful drawings enhance it—a perfect match of text and illustration." —SLJ. Children''s Books of 1990 (Library of Congress)

Describes changes in eating customs throughout the centuries and the origins of table manners.

Why should you be a friend to trees? Trees are a valuable natural resource. People depend on trees for food, and animals depend on trees for food and shelter. But most important, we depend on trees because they add oxygen, a gas we all need, to the air. While trees give us many wonderful products, we must also protect them because we can''t live without them.

Discusses the truth behind such beliefs as "Cats can see in total darkness," "Cats have nine lives," and "A cat signals its feelings with its tail."

Text and photographs describe the many different ways that seeds travel and disperse.

Tells how hurricanes form, how scientists study them, and how they have affected the United States throughout this century.

An account of how and why Mount St. Helens erupted in May 1980 and the destruction it caused, and a discussion of the return of life to that area.

Examines the significance of food chains and food webs, and explains why each link in a chain is important because of the interdependence of living things for survival