Good stuff: Children’s Nonfiction & Educational

The Life and Times of the Peanut by Charles Micucci (ISBN-13:
978-0618033140) –

Plant growth and peanut farming are explained, together with historical and scientific information.  This is a well-written, interesting, beautifully illustrated book.  Other books in this series by Charles Micucci –

The Life and Times of the Honeybee

The Life and Times of the Ant

The Life and Times of Corn

The Life and Times of the Apple

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The Boy’s Bible (NIV) by Rick Osborne (ISBN 0310703204) –

When I first bought them copies of this Bible, my boys were ages 8 & 11.  They spent more time “browsing around” because it’s interesting and well laid-out.  My eldest has moved on to a different Bible, but my now-12 yr old has been using it for 4 years, and he particularly likes the little devotional and explanatory boxes.

NOTE: This Bible is heavy, but for some reason the publisher bound it to the boards with heavy paper… which eventually starts cracking and tearing at the hinges.

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Dotto and the Pharaoh’s Mask and Dotto and the Minotaur’s Maze by Alkis Alkiviades (ISBNs 0810927837 & 0810927780) –

It’s a pity there are only two “Dotto” titles.  Both of my boys loved these activity-books.  A fantastic premise and well-designed puzzles should hold the interest of a wide range of age groups, while educating and fine-tuning motor skills. Very elaborate puzzles — be warned that dots and numbers are tiny, so kids with vision or coordination problems may be easily frustrated with this series.

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Compare and Contrast, Grades 5 to 6: Using Comparisons and Contrasts to Build Comprehension (Basic Skills Series) by Jennifer Rozines Roy (ISBN 1568229291) –

I was impressed with the variety, and thought this was well-written.  Book includes good mind-stretching activities for review, fill-in assignments (or however you choose to use them) in History, Reading Comprehension, Math Skills, and more.

Copyright 2010 by Tammi Mossman.