Laura is a writing coach, presenter, former middle school teacher, and the author of The Fort (Page Street Kids, 2020) as well as dozens of nonfiction STEM books that focus on nature and the environment. This includes Biodiversity: Explore the Diversity of Life on Earth (Nomad Press, 2019) which is on the Booklist editors’ list of the Top 10 Books on the Environment & Sustainability for Youth 2020. She lives in Boulder, Colorado where she spends as much time as possible outdoors, hiking and watching wildlife.
Website: lauraperdew.com
A fascinating companion book to Keystone Species! Why are some plants and fungi more important to an ecosystem than others? Because they’re keystone plants! Every species has a role to play in an ecosystem, but some roles are more significant than others. In Keystone Plants and Fungi: Discover the Organisms Vital to Ecosystem Health and Biodiversity, young botanists examine the keystone plants that make the difference between a thriving ecosystem and a collapsing one. Oak trees,...
View
What does the ocean do? The mighty ocean covers 70 percent of the planet, supports more than 100,000 marine species, regulates climate, feeds billions of people, and plays a key role in the carbon cycle. In The Ocean: Explore a Watery World with Hands-On Science Activities for Kids, young marine biologists learn the ocean’s history and the key roles it plays on Earth, including its part in the carbon cycle and in regulating weather and...
View
How do we make contraptions that zoom, bounce, tower, and collapse? By using hands-on STEAM engineering! In Wacky Contraptions: Gadgets That Whiz, Whoosh, Whirl, and Twist with Hands-On Engineering Activities, young engineers brainstorm, design, and build devices using the engineering design process. Kids learn about simple machines, mechanical advantage, forces, energy, motion, electricity, and other physical science concepts while creating fun and fascinating prototypes that do different kinds of work. Plus, this book encourages kids to...
View
How do we make sure every species on the planet has a chance to thrive? In Conservation Success: Protecting Wild Spaces and Species with Hands-on Science Activities for Kids, young scientists ages 9-12 discover different conservation efforts around the world. Learn about the individuals, scientists, organizations, and countries involved in protecting species, habitats, and our planet! From returning lynx to the Colorado high country and recovering the population of California condors to turning poachers into...
View
Who's keeping the ecosystem healthy? In any ecosystem, every species has a role to play. From towering trees and enormous whales to the smallest microorganisms, and from plants and fungi to animals and insects, each species is important to the overall health of the ecosystem. But some of those species play such vital roles that without them, the ecosystem is in danger of collapsing. These are called keystone species. In Keystone Species: Meet the Animals...
View
All aboard for a journey around the world’s water biomes, where we’ll find lots of plant and animal life in this nonfiction picture book! In Aquatic Adventures: Biome Explorers, kids 5 to 8 embark on a voyage to Earth’s largest biome—water! Our voyage takes us down the mighty Mississippi River to the Mississippi Delta, to the Caribbean, and then out to open ocean. Muck around on the riverbanks, wade into the ocean, and snorkel around...
View
Grab a coat to take a trip to the vast, treeless, mostly frozen tundra biome in this nonfiction picture book! In Tour the Tundra: Biome Explorers, science adventurers ages 5 to 8 visit the Arctic, the Antarctic, and alpine tundra. In these beautiful, remote places, we observe migrating animals, waddle like a penguin, and witness wildflowers in bloom in the mountains above the tree line. Plus, we learn about the impact of human activity on...
View
Gear up to tour the world’s forest biomes with trees large and small, creatures short and tall in this nonfiction picture book! In Footsteps in the Forests: Biome Explorers, kids 5 to 8 take a walk on a rain forest canopy walkway, sit quietly to observe temperate forest wildlife, and bundle up to visit a chilly boreal forest. There are more than 3 trillion trees on Planet Earth, so we’ve got lots of exploring to...
View
Embark on a journey of the planet’s grassland biomes with this brightly illustrated nonfiction picture book! Hello biome explorers! Let’s take a trip to the grasslands! These are wide open spaces of grasses, grazing animals, and swooping birds. In Grassland Globetrotting: Biome Explorers, adventurous readers ages 5 to 8 journey to temperate grasslands and tropical savannas. Be on the lookout for bison and prairie dogs, wildebeests and giraffes! Kids are also introduced to the hardy...
View
Slather on the sunscreen and get ready to journey to the desert biomes of the world in this nonfiction picture book! In Destination Desert: Biome Explorers, kid scientists make the trek to four different types of deserts around the world—a hot and dry desert, a semi-arid desert, a coastal desert, and a cold desert. In each place, explorers discover the adaptations plants and animals such as cacti, shrubs, camels, ibex, and lizards have made to...
View
The Universe is full of hundreds of billions of twinkling stars. For thousands of years, humans have used stars to tell stories, navigate, and make wishes. But what is a star made of? How long will its light last? In The Stars: A Gazillion Suns, the character of the Universe takes us on a journey among the stars and explains how they are born, what makes them twinkle, how many there are, and even how...
View
There are trillions of stars in the universe, but one is particularly important to people on planet Earth—our sun. What’s the sun good for, anyway? Find out as the Universe explains just what makes the sun so important to planet Earth in The Sun: Shining Star of the Solar System. In this nonfiction picture book, children ages 5 to 8 learn how the sun creates the days, seasons, and years we experience on Earth and...
View
The moon is one of the smaller celestial objects in the universe, but it has some very important jobs. Without it, Earth would be a very different place! Narrated by the character of the Universe, The Moon: Small-but-Mighty Neighbor offers up clear scientific explanations designed to gets kids excited about astronomy, covering topics such as the moon’s phases, eclipses, and humans’ long history of watching the moon. A hands-on project, fun facts, and a poem...
View
Earth is our home, but how much do we really know about our planet? Quite a lot! In The Earth: One-of-a-Kind Planet, the narrator, who just happens to be the universe, explains where Earth is located in the solar system, how Earth was created, how life evolved on Earth, and more. Universe uses a friendly, relatable tone to engage young readers and explain complex science content in ways kids can understand and relate to. And...
View
When might a fancy leaf costume be useful for a fish? And how do fish in Antarctica keep from freezing? In Antifreeze, Leaf Costumes, and Other Fabulous Fish Adaptations, children ages 5 to 9 discover some of the amazing adaptations in the world of fish! Explore underwater habitats and discover ways fish have evolved to avoid the danger that lurks around every waving piece of seaweed. Detailed illustrations, layered text, a hands-on activity, and plentiful...
View
Not all birds build nests with sticks and have good manners. Some construct nests with their own saliva, while others use vomit as a defense! Sound strange? In Spit Nests, Puke Power, and Other Brilliant Bird Adaptations, curious kids ages 5 to 9 discover many of the unique adaptations of birds. Stories of these brilliant adaptations cultivate deeper discussions about the crucial environmental science topic of adaptations in general. Using an easy narrative tone and vivid...
View
How do sunscreen and mucus help amphibians survive? In Sunscreen, Frogsicles, and Other Amazing Amphibian Adaptations, kids ages 5 to 9 discover how one frog gets sunscreen to protect itself through the dry season and how another uses its own mucus to create a cocoon. Amphibians spend part of their time on land and part in the water, so they’ve evolved fascinating methods of surviving these different environments. Detailed illustrations, funny narrative, layered text, and...
View
A lizard that walks on water? A snake that slithers sideways? These are animal adaptations! In Water-Walking, Sidewinding, and Other Remarkable Reptile Adaptations, children ages 5 to 9 learn how and why the green basilisk lizard runs on the water’s surface, along with the very good reasons sidewinder snakes move the way they do. Explore these reptile adaptations and more with vivid illustrations, layered text, a hands-on activity, and plentiful back matter that motivates readers...
View
How do whales make their hearing better? What do lemurs do to make a point during an argument? In Stink Fights, Earwax, and Other Marvelous Mammal Adaptations, children ages 5 to 9 learn how lemurs settle arguments and how earwax helps a whale’s sense of hearing, along with a host of other deliciously strange-but-true tales! The lively conversational tone and the hilarious descriptions of bizarre adaptations engage a child’s sense of wonder while providing an introduction...
View
Why use a simple hand motion to wipe your mouth when you can build a machine to do it for you? Toppling dominoes, rolling marbles, racing balloon cars, springing catapults, and whizzing zip-lines are all elements used to build Rube Goldberg machines in Crazy Contraptions: Build Rube Goldberg Machines that Swoop, Spin, Stack, and Swivel with Hands-On Engineering Activities. The book introduces kids ages 9-12 (and beyond!) to the wacky machines designed by Goldberg, which...
View
From the tallest tree to the smallest microbe, Earth is home to more than 1.5 million known species of plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms. And scientists estimate there could be millions, if not billions, more that have not yet been identified! Biodiversity: Explore the Diversity of Life on Earth with Environmental Activities for Kids introduces middle schoolers to the evolution of life on Earth, beginning with the first single-celled organisms that emerged 3.8 billion...
View
Have you seen a dodo bird recently? Do you have mastodons playing in your back yard? Not likely-these species are extinct. In Earth's 4.5-billion-year history, more than 5 billion species have gone extinct, some of them at the same time. In Extinction: What Happened to the Dinosaurs, Mastodons, and Dodo Birds? readers ages 9 to 12 learn about the scientific detective work scientists perform to find the culprit behind mass extinctions. Introduces students to the...
View