Laura Perdew is an author, writing consultant, and former middle school teacher. She has written more than 15 books for the education market on a wide range of subjects, including the animal rights movement, the history of the toilet, eating local, and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. She is a long-time member of the Society of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators. Laura lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Website: lauraperdew.com
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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