Amazing Biome Projects You Can Build Yourself

Front Cover: 
Summary: 

Amazing Biome Projects You Can Build Yourself  takes kids ages 9 and up on a circumnavigation of the globe to learn about Earth's terrestrial and aquatic biomes.

 They'll wander through forests, sizzle in deserts, shiver in the tundra, plunge beneath the seas to explore coral reefs, and slog through marshy waters. Along the way, kids will encounter flora and fauna adapted for survival in each unique climate zone. They'll learn about gnarly krumholz trees, bioluminescent sea creatures, camouflage, carnivorous plants, and blubbery marine critters. In each biome, people who use science in their jobs are highlighted, whether at the site of a disastrous oil spill or an oh-so-cool mastodon dig.

Endorsement: 

This high-powered tour of ecological principles is chocked full of information, activities, and science vocabulary.  Science educators and parents will be thrilled with the amount of information the author has packed into Biomes. —Greg DeFrancis Director of Education Montshire Museum
 

Resources: 

BOOKS

Cherry, Lynn. What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming.       Dawn Publications, 2008.
Davis, Barbara J. Biomes and Ecosystems. Gareth Stevens, 2007.
Olien, Rebecca.  Kids Care! 60 Ways to Make a Difference for People, Animals, and the Environment.
   Ideal Publications, 2007.
Parker, Steve. 100 Things You Should Know About Endangered Animals. Barnes & Noble, 2008.
Reilly, Kathleen M. Planet Earth: 25 Environmental Projects You Can Build Yourself. Nomad Press, 2008.
Rothschild, David. Earth Matters: An Encyclopedia of Ecology. DK Publishing, 2008.
Simon, Seymour.  Earth: Our Planet in Space. Simon and Schuster, 2003.
Thornhill, Jan. This Is My Planet: The Kids’ Guide to Global Warming. Maple Tree Press, 2007.
VanCleave, Janice. Science Around the World: Activities on Biomes From Pole to Pole. John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
Weigel, Marlene. Encyclopedia of Biomes. U-X-L, 2000.
Wexo, John B. Endangered Animals (Zoobooks Series.) Wildlife Education, 2001.
Wines, Jacquie. You Can Save the Planet: 50 Ways You Can Make a Difference. Scholastic, 2008.

WEB SITES

Center for Educational Technology, Biomes Module
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/ msese/earthsysflr/biomes.html
Enchanted Learning, Biomes
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/
NASA’s Earth Observatory
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Laboratory/Biome/
University of California Museum of Paleontology’s Biome Exhibit
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/index.php
World Wildlife Federation’s Main Biomes of the World
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/education/webfieldtrips/major_biomes/ind...
WEB SITES FOR KIDS
Calculate your household’s carbon footprint
http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/
EPA Environmental Kids Club
http://www.epa.gov/kids/
EEK! Environmental Education for Kids
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/eek/
Inch in a Pinch: Saving the Earth
http://inchinapinch.com/
Kids Do Ecology
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/kids/
National Geographic Kids
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
NOAA for Kids
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/kids
USDA Forest Service
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/ce/content/for_kids/index.cfm

About the Author: 

Donna Latham is an award-winning author and playwright and a lifelong nature lover. A former librarian and educator, Donna received the ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award for Fire Dogs. She also received an Honorable Mention Award from the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild for the play "Paddy and the Mermaid." Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Illinois Reading Council. She lives in temperate St. Charles, Illinois, with her husband Nick Longo, an environmental scientist, and Nikki, a sweet Lhasa Apso who’s adapted for life as a writer’s mascot.

About the Illustrator: 

Farah Rizvi is a graphic designer and an illustrator. She moved to the United States in 2000 and received her bachelor’s degree in graphic design with a concentration in French from Colby-Sawyer College.

Activity Description: 

Go outside and scout around for a plump pine cone. Then use the cone’s seed case to make a birdfeeder, and observe the birds that swoop in for a crunchy snack.

Coming Soon

Tundra

PUB DATE SEPTEMBER 2010 Endangered Planet will investigate our planet’s biomes and examine the modern threats to each ecosystem. Learning about the causes and effects of acid rain in the tundra and slash-and-burn logging in the rainforest, for example, students will gain a deeper understanding of the interconnected nature of all ecosystems.

Featured Review

"This book brings time into your home school in a totally new way…. Tools of Timekeeping will have kids begging to take time for…time. An excellent addition to any studies, this would be a particularly pleasurable way to enhance summer learning." —Eclectic Homeschool Association May 2008