New Releases by Nancy Dickmann

Experience the Fun and Meaning of Halloween and How It''s Celebrated Across the Globe It''s fall, and Luna is gearing up for a spook-tacular Halloween with her family and friends. Join them to discover more about how and why we celebrate this exciting holiday! Get into the Halloween spirit with Celebrations & Festivals: Halloween, a beautifully illustrated, narrative non-fiction picture book made for kids. This engaging and informative book takes young readers on a colorful journey through the history and significance of Halloween and other related festivals that share similar themes, all told with a gentle, kid-friendly voice. Meet Luna, her little brother Oliver, their parents, their dog Rafferty, and their black cat, Midnight! Together, they get ready for a fun-filled Halloween by visiting a pumpkin patch, navigating a corn maze, and making spooky decorations for their home. Luna also has fun with her friends; carving jack-o''-lanterns, baking sweet treats, throwing a Halloween party with festive games, making costumes, going trunk-or-treating, and, of course, trick-or-treating on Halloween night! Halloween doesn''t have to be too scary--this book helps kids who might be afraid understand and enjoy the traditions and symbols of Halloween so they can join in the fun too! Follow relatable characters and their parents as they celebrate Halloween, spreading joy and fun throughout the community. Discover the origins of Halloween and how it''s become the holiday we know today. Create your own decorations and party pieces, like a pumpkin piñata and spooky cobwebs. Try out a tasty recipe for banana ghost pops. Enjoy 16 extra pages of non-fiction content, including quizzes and activities that bring the learning to life, encouraging kids to engage, create, and understand the cultural significance of Halloween and related festivals around the world. Perfect for families, educators, and young readers, this book celebrates diversity, inclusion, and all the fun of Halloween. Discover more with other titles in the amazing Celebrations & Festivals series!

Natural beauty and quirky culture await in Only in the Pacific Northwest, your go-to guide to the US and Canadian region that has it all.

"What is it like to live in or visit Portugal? What makes Portugal''s culture unique? Explore the geography, traditions, and daily lives of Portuguese people"--

Let''s Play is the perfect companion for kids looking to fill afternoons with fun, while learning about other countries and cultures in an interactive and engaging way.

What is it like to live in or visit Brazil? What makes Brazil''s culture unique? Explore the geography, traditions, and daily lives of Brazilians.

What is it like to live in or visit Germany? What makes Germany''s culture unique? Explore the geography, traditions, and daily lives of Germans.

You''re rock hunting along a lakeshore with your eyes glued to the ground. A see-through rock lights up in the sunlight. Your heart races as you pick up the rock. It has beautiful bands of orange, cream, and brown. You''ve just found an agate! Find out how agates form, where they are found, and about some of the most amazing agate discoveries. Then learn how you can find and collect these striking rocks too!

This brand-new series highlights some of the major contributions women have made in the world of science. From studying stars and discovering comets to flying into space as pioneering astronauts, women have been central to learning about space. Female astronomers gave us our first understanding of how large the universe really is and how much matter it contains. They were key to designing humans'' first rocket-powered flights into space. And as soon as women could go into space themselves, they were eager to do so: some 65 women have now become space travelers. This book tells their stories and describes their vital contributions. ABOUT THE SERIES: From studying the stars to curing disease, understanding plants and animals, pioneering computer studies, and unraveling the secrets of atoms and molecules, women have played a vital role in scientific advances since the ancient world. Yet their contributions have often gone unrecognized or, worse, have been credited to others. With lively text, photography, and art, Super SHEroes of Science sets out to redress the balance and give credit where it''s due. It examines the contributions to various fields of science of individual women from around the world!

This brand-new series highlights some of the major contributions women have made in the world of science. What shapes our planet? Women have been answering the question for centuries on many levels. Scientists such as Marie Curie have investigated the building blocks of matter, and the physical forces that act upon them. Geologists have studied the rocks beneath our feet by venturing dangerously close to erupting volcanoes, and have figured out what lies at Earth''s center and why its surface moves as it does. Women have also led the way in exploring the planet''s atmosphere and the causes and effects of climate change, the most urgent problem scientists are trying to solve. This book tells their stories and describes their vital contributions. ABOUT THE SERIES: From studying the stars to curing disease, understanding plants and animals, pioneering computer studies, and unraveling the secrets of atoms and molecules, women have played a vital role in scientific advances since the ancient world. Yet their contributions have often gone unrecognized or, worse, have been credited to others. With lively text, photography, and art, Super SHEroes of Science sets out to redress the balance and give credit where it''s due. It examines the contributions to various fields of science of individual women from around the world!

You step carefully along the shore of a river. A lumpy rock catches your eye. You pick it up and smile as you drop the lightweight rock into your bucket. When it''s split open, you see beautiful blue crystals glittering in the light. It''s a geode--just like you thought! Find out how geodes form, where they are found, and about some of the most amazing geode discoveries. Then learn how you can find and collect these marvelous mineral-filled rocks too!

After rock hunting near a river all day, you bring home a bucket filled with rocks. You break one open. Inside, gold cube-shaped crystals shine. You''ve found pyrite! It will be a perfect addition to your growing rock collection. Find out how fool''s gold, or pyrite, forms, where it is found, and about some of the most amazing pyrite discoveries. Then learn how you can find and collect this gleaming gold mineral too!

Discover which puppies are calm and quiet and which are bouncy, boisterous, and a bit of handful! Find out fascinating facts about each breed and the characteristics which make them so super cute, be it the big adoring eyes of the labradoodle or the wrinkly fur of the Shar-Pei. It''s time to decide who gets your vote as the cutest puppy ever! Stunning photographs and easy-to-read text make this the perfect book for young animal lovers.

Discover which kittens are calm and quiet and which are bouncy and playful! Find out fascinating facts about each breed and the characteristics which make them so super-cute, be it the big adoring eyes of the Persian or the curly fur of the Selkirk Rex. It''s time to decide who gets your vote as the cutest kitten ever! Stunning photographs and easy-to-read text make this the perfect book for young animal lovers.

What is it like to live in or visit Italy? What makes Italy''s culture unique? Explore the geography, traditions, and daily lives of Italian people.

An engaging introduction to the world''s growing population and globalization, the challenges that presents, and the consequences for the natural world. "This bright and colorful nonfiction book covers the serious topics...concisely and in easy-to-understand language....It presents each topic in a nonpolitical way with just enough information to educate the reader but not overwhelm them....could also be used by teachers to start meaningful conversations in their classrooms..."—School Library Connection, Recommended Covering topics such as the global food chain and food miles, the gap between the world’s richest and poorest people, transportation, tourism, migration and the refugee crisis, and international responses to natural disasters and pandemics, the book also includes positive suggestions to enable readers to make a difference, and project ideas to help them engage with the topic. From the book: In an ideal world, the Earth’s resources would be shared out equally. But the sad truth is that they aren’t. Many people live a comfortable life, with everything they need. Others scrape by, with no money for luxuries. And many people live in poverty, facing a daily challenge to survive.

Delivery trucks carry millions of packages around the country each day. In New York City alone, 1.5 million packages are delivered every day! Young readers will learn about the types of delivery trucks, their main parts, and what they carry inside.

You need to get to another part of a big city quickly. What can you do? Take the city bus! City buses take people where they need to go day after day. They help people get to workplaces, stores, and more. They are hard at work in all types of weather. Young readers will learn about the main parts of city buses, how they work, and why they are important to cities and the people who ride them.

Describes snowplows, including their main parts and how they keep roads safe to drive on

Did you know that the average American produces about 4.5 pounds of waste every day? That''s a lot of garbage! Garbage trucks are hard at work picking up this garbage. They carry the trash to landfills and other places. Young readers will learn about the types of garbage trucks, their main parts, and how they work.

A car breaks down on the highway. It won''t go. What vehicle can help? A tow truck! Tow trucks carry broken vehicles to repair shops so they can be fixed and get back on the road. Young readers will find out about tow trucks, their main parts, and how these important vehicles are used.

Will tomorrow be cold or warm? Cloudy or sunny? Wet or dry? Meteorologists make predictions about how weather conditions will change. Find out how they do it and what challenges they face in trying to help people prepare for coming weather conditions.

People don''t sleep standing up. But cows do! Why? You have questions, and this book has the answers. Find out all about cows and why they don''t need to lie down to catch some Zzzzzs.

Spiders live everywhere! We even find them inside our homes. But how do they get way up on the ceiling? You have questions, and this book has the answers. Find out about spiders, including their body parts and behavior.