Books with author Catherine Fet

This is a Level 2 Reader book: 4-6 simple sentences per page,1st-2nd grade vocabulary, large type, lots of colorful pictures on every page. Great for kids who have started reading on their own. Everyone enjoys adventure stories about secret vaults, sunken ships, and pirate treasures, but what about real-life treasures and treasure hunters? What are the biggest treasures ever found, and how do modern-day treasure hunters work? What if I have found a treasure: Does it belong to me?We answer all these questions! The reader will learn about the hidden hoards of Vikings, and Romans, and an ancient ship loaded with gold that ended up under the ocean sand. Who discovered those treasures? And how? From pirate ships and the Spanish treasure fleet to the Titanic - there are tons of gold, coins, precious artifacts, and adventures in our book!And treasure hunters! Some of them try to steal the treasures, some generously donate them to a museum, and one of them threw his treasure out! Well, if you are a gopher digging your underground tunnel, what use do you have for a bag of coins taking all that tunnel space you need to store your roots and grain for winter?...

A Russian fairy tale in English, adapted for kids who have started developing fluency in independent reading. This is a Level 3 Reader: 6-8 sentences per page, 2nd-3rd grade vocabulary, large type, lots of colorful pictures and pretty vignettes.Vasilisa's stepmother and her stepsisters send her to the Dark Forest to bring magical golden apples from the garden of the Dark Forest Witch. The golden apples turn anyone who eats them into a stunning beauty, and Vasilisa's sisters are vying to marry the King.In her journey through the Dark Forest Vasilisa proves her commitment to love, kindness, and patience, wins the golden apples and brings them to her arrogant, evil-hearted stepsisters.Turned into stunning beauties, wearing spectacular dresses sewn by Vasilisa, the stepsisters present themselves to the King. But if your heart is evil, your beauty won't last.Vasilisa's tears and sleepless nights woven as pearls into her stepsisters' beautiful dresses, evaporate when Vasilisa smiles, and so does the evil sisters' beauty.And guess who the King falls in love with!

Alchemical Potions is an independent reading and fantasy fiction activity book for kids ages 7-11. The reading level is 2nd grade and up. My 7-year-old son loves magic wands, magic spells, and stories about hidden treasures and fantastical beasts. But he is not much of a reader. I wrote this book for him, and any kid who likes playing a hero more than reading about heroes. Are there dragons haunting your garden, or lurking in a scary tree nearby? The dragon lore, and the potions we make to protect our home from the fire-breathing beasts help kids engage in imagination play, and become the main character of their own magic fantasy story. The book alternates activity - making alchemical potions and casting spells - with reading pages, where we talk about dragons, as well as the history of alchemy and science.In Alchemical Potions I assume that the reader owns a magic wand. You can find instructions on making your own magic wand in my book Invincible Magic Book of Spells.The magic spells and potions in this book are fantasy fiction material: They are not based on any witchcraft, New Age, or esoteric religion lore or rituals.The Alchemy aspect of the book is based on the practical methods of medieval alchemists. The potion recipes use only safe everyday objects and substances you have at home or outside (sand, rocks, rainwater, salt, leaves...) We'll distill rainwater with solar distillation (using sunlight to warm up and evaporate water).We will also learn some facts from the history of Alchemy, and answer these questions:- What is the origin of the words Chemistry, Alchemy, Laboratory, Elixir, Gibberish, and Spectrum? (hint: Alchemy!)- What is the Philosopher's Stone?- What kind of monster is a Basilisk, and why did people carry a mirror in their pocket in the Middle Ages?- What are stalactites and stalagmites?- What is Gothic architecture and what is the origin of gargoyles?- What are meteor showers and how did ancient people use meteorite rocks?- How did Newton discover the light spectrum?- How to make a rainbow with a glass of water and a sheet of paper?- What is the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus and what are the 12 Keys of Basilius Valentinus?- What is sand and from where do white and black sands come?- Who was St. George, and what is the legend about St.George and a dragon?- What physical phenomena did alchemists call a dragon and dragon's blood?- Why did Vikings have dragon heads on the bows of their ships?- What is Yggdrasil in Viking mythology?... and more!

Finn has escaped Incarceron, but Keiro and Attia are still Inside. Outside, things are not at all what Finn expected - and both Finn's and Claudia's very lives hang on Finn convincing the Court that he is the lost prince. Back Inside, Keiro and Attia are on the hunt for Sapphique's glove, which legend says he used to escape. In order to find it, they must battle the prison itself. Incarceron has built itself a body and it wants to go Outside - just like Sapphique, the only prisoner Incarceron ever loved."High-intensity, mind-bending . . . Fisher further explores themes of reality, illusion, and freedom without losing her intensely original world-building and authentic characters." - Booklist, starred review"Even as the steadily ratcheting certainty of impending catastrophe keeps the pages turning, the sheer richness of the evocative descriptions demands that every sentence be savored. . . . For those who can appreciate the interplaying reflections of lies, myths and memory, a modern masterpiece." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review

The relationship between siblings can be tough, and the sibling dynamic can be further challenged when one child has autism. This interactive workbook is designed for siblings of children with autism. Introducing the experience of autism in simple language, children are encouraged to complete activities that identify differences and strengthen relationships. This book is focussed on understanding and supporting a sibling while developing individual emotions and identity. The pages are designed to be drawn on and personalized by the child. Ideal for young children aged 8-12 who have a sibling with autism, the activities can be completed with a parent's guidance or on their own. Full of resources, strategies, and exercises, this workbook can support professionals working with children and facilitate healthy sibling relationships.

This is an activity book for kids and teens, teaching traditional Gypsy-style fortune telling with playing cards. Great for fun with friends and guaranteed to bring you popularity among your classmates!We provide a list of traditional card meanings and teach you to interpret 3, 9, and 10-card spreads.Why playing cards? Why not Tarot cards?The esoteric Tarot cards used for divination, as well as Tarot interpretation techniques were invented only at the end of the 18th century by the French fortune teller Etteilla. For 400 years until then, since cards first appeared in Europe, the fortune telling was done only with regular playing cards. They are a much older tradition.Our focus is not on the esoteric aspect of divination but on the storytelling you do as you learn to connect clues offered by cards into a narrative and predict the outcome of potential events. Narratives like this - whether they touch real life events or stay in the realm of play and fantasy - help you to work through cause and effect scenarios, sort out your feelings, take responsibility for your actions, and consider the motivations and feelings of people in your life.Have fun playing a fortune teller! This engaging activity will help you get in touch with your intuition and come up with valuable insights about the reasons and motivations behind people's behavior.

The Truth About Lies, Liars, and Lying is a 33-page independent reading book for kids ages 7-10. It is reading level 4.The book is colorful, heavily-illustrated, humorous, and informative. I wrote it to help my son and any kid 7-years old and up to grasp the concept of a lie, and explore its nature and consequences in an entertaining format without lecturing, finger pointing, or gloom and doom.The goal is to help the kid make a new step toward critical thinking and the ability to analyze their own and other people's motives and behavior.We'll briefly look at different types of lies - from white lies, fibs, exaggerations and bluffs to disinformation, cover-ups, half-truths and perjury. We'll ponder over what our conscience is and whether legal things are always moral. We'll establish the four main reasons people lie, and find out where the custom of crossing fingers when lying comes from.We'll meet some liars from the animal kingdom, and condemn their behavior.If you think blue jays and squirrels are innocent sweet balls of fur and feathers, you are in for a shock. And any kid will agree that a cuckoo belongs behind bars!We'll also spend a couple pages wondering why kids occasionally lie, offer some helpful ideas, and laugh together at the classic kid lies. We'll make sure we distinguish between lying and pretend play, such as imaginary friends, Santa, and the Tooth Fairy.Finally we'll spend a lot of pages studying every method under the sun to detect a lie, such as analysing a liar's word choice and body language, and asking the right questions. Sometimes you can help a person confess: We'll learn how!We'll also look into lie detectors and whether they work. And, since we are on that subject, we'll find out how spies beat polygraph tests. What else? Pinocchio, of course, and lies in advertising. Also, stories of famous con artists, including the one who sold the Brooklyn Bridge.We'll also touch on US law: The oath, The Fifth and Sixth Amendments, why people take the Fifth, and what Miranda rights are.LIke any kid, I fibbed when I was little, but I also felt bad about it, and eventually figured out it was not worth the stress, the effort, and the embarrassment. I hope sharing these bits of information about lies, liars and lying will help our kids embrace the easier way - being consistently and happily honest

This book closely follows the gospel stories of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection from the Annunciation through Pentecost. It has the dual goal of introducing young readers to the gospel narratives and teaching them to appreciate and interpret works of art portraying gospel-based stories and allegories. The heritage of Christian art is a vital part of the history of Europe and the Western world. Whether our families are Christian, non-Christian, or secular, our cultural education is incomplete without a knowledge and appreciation of art inspired by Christian concepts and symbolism.Each mini-chapter of this book consists of two parts:1. Event NarrationEach story from Jesus' life is narrated, directly quoting newer, easy-to-read gospel translations and partially summarizing events to keep the narration compact. The narration carefully avoids any "preachy" or interpretative elements suggesting this or that theological or denominational angle. 2. Illustrations and Art CommentaryEach event is illustrated with one or two paintings - great works of European art from the Middle Ages through the 19th century. The Art Commentary section - draws the attention of a young reader to the stylistic features of each painting, - teaches them to spot Christian symbolism and interpret the emotions of characters,- presents glimpses of art history and teaches the reader to recognize historical art styles, such as medieval Gothic art, Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque, Academic, Pre-Raphaelite, and realistic art styles.The reading level of this book is about age 9 and up. Whenever the narration includes any theological terms (such as Annunciation, Ascension, Messiah) or art terms (such as foreground, perspective, composition) I provide a definition.

All those 'how to be polite' books for kids, meh... 'Teach your teddy bear good manners'...yawn.My kid - and maybe your kid, too - doesn't mind if his teddy bear is rude, but he doesn't like losing in a negotiation, and he wants to be taken seriously by grownups, and that's where the real opportunity is hiding. Let's explain to our kids that being strategic and diplomatic in their speech and polished in their manners attracts a special trust from grownups, and pays off big time in ice creams, movies, robots, unicorns, and other objects of desire.With my kid, abstract concepts such as being nice to your teddy bear for the sake of human decency, simply don't work. So I have no qualms about telling him: Learn to talk to me like a well-mannered grownup, and I will oblige you with the stuff that you want.I also wrote this book from the perspective of being on the kid's side. The book is not didactic, it doesn't lecture about polite speech or manners, it treats these things as currency in getting what you want, and we make fun of grownups here and there in a good-natured way.The Magic of Big Words is an independent reading book for kids ages 7-11 (about level 4-5). The goal of the book is to - expand our kids' vocabulary in the grownup direction;- teach (or polish) polite and diplomatic communication with grownups;- teach that quality and responsibility in communication gets results;- introduce the concept of style, and develop interest in learning about style and the history of languages.What are 'big words'? To explain we compare everyday (or kids') speech made mostly of short words of Germanic origin with educated, grownup speech sprinkled with the post-Norman-Conquest French-Latin 'big words' (like 'appreciate,''reasonable,' or 'consequences'). To introduce this idea we'll learn about William the Conqueror, the Norman invasion and the battle of Hastings, and compare two versions of the same story - written in everyday language, and in the literary 'big words' language.Then we'll explore being diplomatic in our speech: How diplomats communicate and how to turn up the volume of politeness to get the grownups to YES (when 'please' is not enough). In this part we'll cover ultra-polite ways to- ask for help or things- ask for permission to speak- disagree- express displeasure- say NO diplomatically- soften your speech stylistically to prevent defensiveness- give diplomatic advice- use euphemismsNext we'll play with being sophisticated in our speech: This is our show-off Professor's English. We'll cover- a bunch of Norman-Conquest words to expand our vocabulary (like great = spectacular, pretty = exquisite, and so on);- words and expressions of French origin used in educated speech (like 'carte blanche')- common Latin expressions used in educated speech (like 'et cetera')- words of Italian origin used in educated speech (like 'fiasco').Along the way, we'll introduce simple linguistic concepts, such as: word origin, word vs expression, euphemism, idiom, word roots, and enjoy discussing funny English words (like 'ragamuffin'), hilarious idioms, and the longest word in English (the character limit does not permit me to type it here!)And finally, we'll put this all together in a BIG strategy that will enable kids to conduct a stellar negotiation and get from their parents (or Santa) anything (or almost anything) they want. Regrettably, I can't share this secret information here. For the sake of this book, I have to be on kids' side, and therefore I'd better wrap up this description before I spill any more beans...