Books in Smithsonian series

Friendly and fascinating, dolphins are one of nature's most intelligent animals. They live in families called pods and can make a series of 2,000 high-pitched clicks to locate fish in the water. Despite their beauty and playfulness, dolphins face serious dangers from commercial fishing and human activity. It's vital that people support governmental laws to protect these wonderful creatures.Award-winning science writer Seymour Simon has teamed up with the Smithsonian Institution to give you an expert view of these clever, curious, and mischievous mammals in a full-color photographic introduction.

Preschoolers will learn fun facts in this Smithsonian Kids book about all sorts of planes and the first people who flew in them. This interactive board book is sturdy enough for the most enthusiastic little explorer, with interactive features such as sliding tabs, spinner wheels, and lift-a-flaps to build fine motor skills. Beautiful illustrations with real-life photos bring the history of flight to life. Its a perfect way to get your family ready to visit a museum!Smithsonian Kids books feature engaging educational content for little learners that reflect the integrity of the Smithsonian. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book goes to support the Smithsonian's educational mission.LEARN & DISCOVER: Come and discover the amazing history of flightEXPLORE: Take a journey and explore all about the different types of aircraft, pilots, and moreFUN FACTS: This interactive book is perfect to engage curious preschoolers minds. It is rich with information to keep little ones entertained and engaged in learning and exploring while full of fun interactive tabs, flaps, and wheels that toddlers love to play withDEVELOP: Lifting flaps, spinning wheels and moving tabs encourages the use of fine motor skills and the content-rich text builds vocabularyHISTORY: Smithsonian Kids books feature engaging educational content for little learners that reflect the integrity of the Smithsonian. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book goes to support the Smithsonian's educational mission

Who needs bones to swim the seven seas? Learn all about marine invertebrates, the ocean's amazing boneless animals in this cool Smithsonian reader.Octopuses, clams, sea worms, even coral: they're all marine invertebrates. Having no internal skeleton gives them an interesting shape—not to mention unusual ways of moving around, getting food, and protecting themselves. Fascinating underwater photography and lively, accessible text draw kids into the watery world of these cool ocean creatures.

They’re creepy, they’re crawly, and they’re absolutely fascinating! Award-winning science writer Seymour Simon’s engaging narrative, combined with up–close, visually arresting photographs give the readers an insider’s look into the spiders’ world as they spin webs, capture prey, and mate. Find out how spiders are essential to the environment and why they don’t have to frighten you in this updated edition. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.Seymour Simon knows how to explain science to kids and make it fun. He was a teacher for more than twenty years, has written more than 250 books, and has won multiple awards.This book includes an author's note, glossary, and index and supports the Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) standards.

Who hasn’t looked to the night sky and wondered, what’s out there? Miracles of human curiosity, bravery, and science have made it possible to begin answering that question. From wishful stargazing to moon walking to, someday, intergalactic travel, the story of human space exploration is full of daring adventure, incredible machinery, and endless curiosity about our place in the universe.

Are You My Dinner?Sure, everybody knows worms eat dirt . . . but did you know that scorpions are on the menu for meerkats? Or that there’s a vampire finch (three guesses what it eats!)? Or that some people eat stinkbugs? No way . . . way!Kids will gobble up this super-cool fact book inspired by the wide-ranging collections of the Smithsonian. It’s a full menu of lively text, fantastic photos, fun illustrations, and snappy design that all about who’s eating what, where food came from, and how we started eating it in the first place.

Buffalo = Bison = the All-American AnimalThe American bison (buffalo) is one of the most recognizable North American mammals. In fact, it is the official national animal of the United States—where you'll still find them roaming.This photo-filled reader explores the natural world of the huge, shaggy beast, its habits and habitats, and the buffalo's cultural and iconic importance, especially to American Indians.

Home is a long way from home!There are no refrigerators in space—think about it! Life on the International Space Station is well, another, way of life: you wake up in a sleeping bag tied to the wall; open a food package which keeps your meals from floating away, and then maybe go to work . . . walking in space! (And the toilet? That’s a story!) A lively reader about daily life on the ISS.

Have you ever noticed how blue Earth looks in photographs taken from space? This is because of our oceans. Earth is the only planet in our solar system with water on its surface—more than 200 quadrillion tons of water—and it's constantly in motion. You don't have to live near the ocean to know its power. Changes in temperature far out in the sea can cause a drought thousands of miles away. The oceans affect us all. Award-winning science writer Seymour Simon brings you this full-color photographic introduction to the ocean! This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.Seymour Simon knows how to explain science to kids and make it fun. He was a teacher for more than twenty years, has written more than 250 books, and has won multiple awards.This book includes an author's note, glossary, and index and supports the Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) standards.

What time is it . . . and how do you know?This fact- and photo-filled Smithsonian Penguin Young Reader will fill you in on how people first began measuring time and why knowing "when" is important.Time is when things happen and how long they take to happen--but how long is all that? The history of telling time is the history of inventions and communication, from hour glasses to atomic clocks, from calendars to chronometers. Tick-Tock is a fun look at the many ways different people have tried to get in sync.