Nonfiction - Grades PreK-4

What is that garbage doing next to the garden? It's not garbage. It's compost! Amazing things happen inside a compost bin. In go banana peels, grass clippings, and even an old jack-o'-lantern. Out comes compost. The compost goes into the garden to make the soil rich for new plants. Compost is good for the earth. Composting also helps us make less garbage. In this book, you can watch as one family makes compost for their garden and also learn how to start your very own compost bin!

This book provides instructions for twenty craft projects with a monster theme, such as a howling banshee mask, a mummy pin, and a fire-breathing dragon puppet.

The oil spill was the largest in U.S. history. In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank. Oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico from a deep ocean well. For months, the energy company BP tried to control the leak. More than four million barrels of oil flowed into the Gulf before the well was stopped. Fishers, shrimpers, and many others along the Gulf coast lost their income as polluted water prevented fishing and stifled tourism. Meanwhile, countless workers tried to contain the spilled oil. Boat crews skimmed the oil slicks on the surface. Scientists poured chemicals into the water to break up the oil. Then bacteria could remove the smaller oil droplets from the water. Wildlife organizations rescued oil-slicked pelicans, turtles, and other animals. The government, together with BP and volunteers, rallied to help coastal areas recover. Oil Spill! Explores the Gulf of Mexico disaster from the beginning. With vivid images and diagrams, it breaks down the murky mess to look at how it happened, how it affected the Gulf, how it compares to past spills, and how kids can help the area recover.

Spend a day at a water hole on the African grasslands. From dawn to nightfall, see giraffes gulp, wildebeest graze, vultures squabble, and elephants wallow. Irene Latham's poems are accompanied by additional facts about the animals and their environment.