Books published by publisher Lark Books

Melt-and-pour soapmaking is the perfect easy and safe craft for kids, and this is the ideal guide to teach them how to do it. All the basics are covered to ensure "sud-sational" success, and 56 fun projects and nearly 300 colorful photos add to the appeal. The fun begins with choosing a soap base and selecting molds, from 3-D seashells and eggs to sandbox toys. Add fragrance, color, or other pizzazzy extras, such as pearlescent powder, shimmery cosmetic grade glitter, crushed dried flower petals, or herbs. Children will have a blast getting wacky with gross-out eyeball soaps, making soap popsicles complete with a wooden stick, getting happy with smiley faces, fashioning a soapasaurus, or cooking up "alphabet soap." Great gift ideas include a Best Friend Soap Bracelet or clear bar with a photo embedded for Grandma. Plus, there are cool soap facts throughout.

Karen Anna Vogel's 3 bestselling Christmas books all in one bundle, along with dozens of authentic Amish recipes baked or cooked in the stories. ***Love Came Down at Christmas: Ranked Amazon's #1 Christmas book 2014Twelve year old Lexi Remington has a Christmas wish: to get out of foster care and be adopted. She gets it into her head that she can take the place of Matthew Yoder, her shunned Amish neighbor, and be part of the huge Yoder clan. A stray white dog, fixing a manger set with her foster dad, and a homeless man all show Lexi an important lesson about the love of God...which prepares her heart for the biggest Christmas surprise ever.***Amish Knitting Circle Christmas: Granny & Jeb's Love StoryGranny Weaver started a knitting circle believing women are stronger spun together, just like her wool. But she was young once with her own struggles. In 1963 Deborah Byler is twenty-one and has turned down seven marriage proposals from hopeful suitors in Millersburg, Ohio. At her parent's request, she goes to live with relatives in the new Amish settlement in Smicksburg, Pennsylvania, praying she'll find a match. Jeb Weaver lives in a strict Swartzentruber Amish settlement, and he can no longer abide under the rules of the Ordnung. His older brother left the family farm and settled in Smicksburg, and convinces Jeb to do the same. When Jeb meets Deborah, he finds her too liberal and outspoken. Deborah thinks Jeb's judgmental and a complete stick in the mud. Their constant clashing makes sparks fly. Will an African American man, who hitchhikes around the country to attend Martin Luther King Jr. marches, help Jeb and Deborah see their own prejudices? ***Christmas Union: Quaker Abolitionist of Chester County, PARebecca Mendenhall is counting the days to Christmas, when she'll wed Johnny Whittier in their Quaker Meeting House. But in September, a division is formed between Rebecca and Johnny. The Fugitive Slave Law is enacted, making it illegal to aid runaway slaves in Pennsylvania, punishable by heavy fines and prison sentences. Rebecca's parents are avid abolitionists and Johnny' father is not, believing Quakers must abide by the laws of the land. Division's among the Quakers on how to deal with this new law splits their Meeting House in two: Rebecca in one house and Johnny in another. Will Rebecca and Johnny be united by their wedding date, or will Rebecca see Levi Vickman, a passionate young abolitionist, in a new light? A house divided against itself cannot stand, Rebecca's parents warn her, implying someone like Levi would be a better match. Abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and John Greenleaf Whittier, persuade many Quakers who feel they are breaking this new law realize that they are keeping a commandment from God: to cloth the naked, feed the hungry, and remember those in chains. Christmas Union is based on true stories of abolitionist in Chester Country, PA, and the anguish the Fugitive Slave Law brought to the local Quakers.

Kids absolutely love everything nasty and disgusting; it’s especially fun when their enthusiasm for the “ick factor” drives parents, teachers, and any adult in sight to distraction. Now youngsters can indulge their lust for the foul with 50 wonderfully repulsive projects (illustrated in color for that extra pow). The repellent journey starts with the stinky, scaly, slimy side of the human body; children meet the critters that live under the skin and fingernails, learn what causes those embarrassing sounds and smells, and make (very convincing) fake blood to throw Mom into a panic. They’ll cook up impressively scary gangrene fingers from marzipan; whip up “booger bath,” and grow a gross mold garden. To end this salute to the truly nauseating: a special “You’re Gross and You’re Proud!” celebration.

"[An] attractive book...30 clever projects will appeal to both boys and girls....A great resource."--School Library JournalPliable, colorful, and bake-in-the-oven polymer clay is the perfect material for youngsters. With this terrific just-for-kids manual from a renowned polymer clay artist, children can get their creative juices flowing. A comprehensive basics section covers everything from rolling, cutting and sculpting to mixing new colors and creating textures. Kids will really love the cool tricks, too, including marbling and embedding objects.

GOOOOAAAALLL! Score one for David Diehl, in his newest colorful and conceptual sports book for toddlers. Diehl celebrates the world’s most popular game, putting a bright spotlight on a single soccer-related word on every page. Striking graphic designs in dazzling hues convey all the excitement of a “goalkeeper” making a “save”; the referee issuing a “yellow card” to a misbehaving player; the suspense of a “free kick”; or the home team finally getting a beautifully completed “goal.” All of Diehl’s illustrations are intensely, brilliantly active, and kids will love it—because it’s never too soon to get ready for this electrifying game.

In order to win at the science fair, go to the experts: these blue-ribbon science experiments are based on those from real students, and they're smart, imaginative, fun to do, and sure to be a hit with the judges! Youngsters will find over 50 exciting and challenging choices in all the major categories. Using easily found materials, they'll test such things as whether people who play video games have a different reaction time than those who don't, or if sound travels better underwater than through air. Easier projects come first, more difficult ones after, and many include a section called "Take a Closer Look" with research suggestions and additional information.

Every child who performs these 50 fabulous feats will feel like a magician—but the magic here is really science at play. Every trick in the book has a sound, easy-to-understand scientific explanation that will stimulate kids’ understanding of basic concepts. Even as they’re having fun, children will wow the crowd by poking a skewer through a balloon without making it pop, or balancing a penny on a coat hanger. Nothing’s cooler than watching a real egg get sucked into a glass bottle, picking up ice without even touching it, or whipping up fizzy and colorful solutions that any mad scientist would prize. Wild optical illusions will boggle the mind and astound the eye.

Introducing a new crafts series for kids 8 to 12! With great care and love for their art, the talented experts at Lark have always produced books that encouraged creativity, experimentation, and imagination in the crafter. Now they're ready and eager to help children express themselves artistically. And you can be sure that every one of these delightful guides will virtually burst with fun projects, simple instructions, appealing photos, original techniques, and terrific materials. Polymer clay is the perfect material for youngsters: in addition to polymer's pliability, it doesn't dry out like regular clay, comes in a range of bright colors, and can bake in an ordinary oven. And the most important tools are your hands, so children can really dig in and feel the tactile joy of manipulating their work. With the help of a renowned polymer clay artist, kids can create 30 awesome objects. A comprehensive basics section covers everything from rolling, cutting and sculpting to figuring out amounts, conditioning the clay, mixing new colors, and creating textures. Kids will really love the cool tricks, too, including marbling and embedding objects. But what will really stir their creative juices are the really super projects, including a Donut Pendant, Bug Magnets, Trinket Bowl, Plant Critters, Fat Pen, Spirit Guide Doll, and Computer Monitor Wizard.

What will entice kids into the kitchen and turn them into budding chefs? Try yummy baked apples, to-die-for brownies, crunchy, munchy stove-popped popcorn with peanuts and chocolateÑall found in this lie-flat, spiral-bound cookbook made just for them. Inside, hungry snackers will find foods they can prepare to fill up that after-school empty belly, sate a postgame appetite, and banish movie-watching cravings. And, most important, all these bite-size mini-meals are fun to make, delicious, and (keep it a secret) healthy. A handy basics section includes details on how to read a recipe and teaches kids everything from creating a work space to presentation. Before long, confident youngsters will smoothly prepare such tasty dishes as guacamole, cheese straws, and baked chicken fingers.

What’s that delicious smell coming from the oven? It’s the aroma of biscuits, stuffed calzones, and glazed cinnamon rolls all baked by kids! These irresistible recipes—from brioche to baguettes, spanakopita to stuffed calzone, cobblers to custard—are guaranteed to lure young chefs to the kitchen. And they’ll feel confident cooking, too, because Rose Dunnington’s follow-up to Big Snacks, Little Meals and Delicious Drinks to Sip, Slurp, Gulp & Guzzle provides all the basics. She explains how to create a workspace; read a recipe; mix and knead; present fresh-baked foods for any occasion for friends and family; and more. Plus, each recipe in this lay-flat, concealed spiral cookbook features a color photo of the finished dish and plenty of helpful how-tos to guide beginners.

Animal lovers unite!Which large ocean animal is related to snails? Do ants actually work all the time? What do dragonflies eat? Discover the answers to these questions and learn about more than 30 bugs, spiders, and other common invertebrates! Bug, Bug, Spider! is the perfect coloring book for children who love bugs--or for helping kids learn to appreciate insects.Each coloring page in this book shows a special critter busy with its own unique activity, from a grasshopper with a jump rope to a cricket with a banjo. Each coloring page also features a bonus activity or craft idea related to that critter. As kids color through this book, they will discover fun new science facts about butterflies, caterpillars, spiders, slugs, beetles, fireflies, and more.This is a great book to pair with a nature journal, The Big Book of Bugs, or National Geographic's Ultimate Bugopedia to study these backyard critters. Add it to a home school unit study, pair it with an elementary school curriculum, or just enjoy the fabulous activities on their own!For ages 5+, kindergarten, first grade and up.Get it now! Kids will love coloring these pages!