Little People

ImagiNation(R) Resources

The Must-Have-Aboard Book List for 9-12 Years:

The Mystery on Cobbett's Island (Trixie Belden #13) by Kathryn Kenny When the Bob-Whites arrive on Cobbett’s Island for vacation, Trixie finds a mysterious letter. Many years ago, a fortune was hidden. But the clues in the letter are hard for Trixie to understand. What does “start sailing” mean? Is this a treasure hunt on land . . . or on sea?
Oceansby Interfact The book and CD ROM that work together. The disk is full of interactive activities, puzzles, quizzes and games. The book contains lots of information with color illustrations and photos. Characters like Frank the Fish and Bubbles the Seahorse provides answers to lots of questions and introduce "frank facts" throughout. Helps build computer skills, nature awareness, geography, and science. Comes in a protective plastic sheeve. The disk works on PC and MAC. From Two-Can Publishing in Princeton NJ.
Jenny Goes to Sea by Esther Averill (Illustrator) In Jenny Goes to Sea, Greenwich Village-based black cat Jenny Linsky travels around the world on the good ship Sea Queen with her master, Captain Tinker, and her adopted brothers, tiger cat Edward, and black-and-white cat, Checkers. Once on board, they meet the adventurous ship's cat, Jack Tar.
*Ocean Animals* is a hardcover collection of four sections written by different authors and sporting some of the most beautiful underwater photography you can imagine. The sections cover four of the most fascinating creatures of the deep, including Dolphins, Manatees, Sharks, and Whales. It is beautifully done with lots of fun facts and illustrations to boot -- a kids version of coffee table book. By North World Press in Chanhassen, Mn.
*Our Ocean Home* by Robert Lyn Nelson. If you don't have children, get this book for yourselves. It is truly beautiful and centered around the vivid and pleasing art of the acclaimed Hawaiian artist. Narrated by Honu, a green sea turtle, this enchanting story carries a message of hope and responsiibility, and ties us to the ocean family that belongs to us all. It will charm readers of all ages. By NorthWord Press in Minnetonka, MN.
DK Eyewitness Series - *Boatsby Eric Kentley (2000) - Flag* by William Crampton (2000) - Pirate by Richard Platt (2003) - *Seashoreby Steve Parker (1989) - Shell* by Alex Arthur (2000) - *Secrets of the Deep* by Frances Dipper (2003) - *Submarineby Neil Mallard (2003) - Hurricane and Tornadoby Jack Challoner (2000) - Arctic and Antarctic*by Barbara Taylor (2000) Highly recommended collection of books that use stunning photography to offer "eyewitness" views of boats and creatures, places and people.
*Kid's Book on Boatbuilding*by Will Ansel Soft cover, 30 pages. 2001. A look at what it takes to build a boat from a kid's point of view.
*Make it work! Oceans*. by Andrew Haslam and Barbara Taylor with Dr. Rachel Mills as consultant. A geography book that uses functional model landscapes to illustrate physical science processes (like icebergs, coastal erosion, volcanic action, wave formation, etc) in a kid-centered kind of way. They offer instructions for experiments and model-making projects. Somewhat technical but interesting and imaginative approach for the budding scientist.
*Sea Clocks : The Story of Longitude* by Louise Borden and Erik Blegvad In the vein of Dava Sobel's book Longitude but written in a way children can enjoy, this lovely, well-researched picture book introduces John Harrison, the 18th-century English carpenter turned clockmaker who spent more than 40 years perfecting a device that solved the centuries-old problem of determining longitude. The book presents tidbits that bring the man to life, starting in childhood and showing how he differed from "most other village folk," which sets the scene for his later accomplishments. With no formal training in clock making, he followed his instincts and used trial and error to build innovative timepieces. The narrative next describes the difficulties involved in determining east/west positioning at sea, explaining that captains could calculate longitude if only they had an accurate shipboard timekeeper. The book details Harrison's dedication, perseverance, and ingenuity, as he struggled to build and perfect an accurate sea clock and fought to have his invention acknowledged by the Board of Longitude.
*Sailors, Whalers, Fantastic Sea Voyages*by Robert Hale Awesome activity guide to North American sailing life. This book shows kids what life was like on the high seas during the great age of sail in the 19th century. To illustrate the exciting life aboard, more than 50 activities will keep them occupied with things like creating scrimshaw with a bar of soap, making a lighthouse with a reflector, oatmeal box, and soda bottle, and painting china in traditional designs using a blue pen and white paper plate.
Anything Harry Potter Though not about the sea, this series is guaranteed to keep young (and young at heart) scholars' noses in the books. Mere muggles could not possibly comprehend the power of the magic. Keep the boxed set of paperbacks on board at all times for emergency purposes!