Books published by publisher Sunstone Pr

In easy-to-read style, simple experiments with common household objects teach young readers first-hand about solar power. The book makes learning fun and appeals to children who want to try things out for themselves. Step-by-step directions are given for each experiment along with a complete list of the items needed. In each project, the sun is the hero and (in story form) the book uses three children as characters to ask questions and them perform the experiments which are ''done in the sun.'' Parents and teachers will welcome this book as an aid to explaining how the sun works for all of us. Fully illustrated, black and white line drawings, bibliography.

This series of line drawings by legendary Santera (saint-maker) Marie Romero Cash, depict many of the popular saints painted by the santeros of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Northern New Mexico. ''The saints have always been an integral part of the culture,'' Marie says, ''so much so that in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in New Mexico the art of the religious folk art of the santero became a part of its history. In creating this coloring book, my goal was to not only impart knowledge about the santero culture, but to provide images that could be colored in by children or adults, and could also be used for many other purposes, including embroidery or various decorative arts.'' Each full-page image is suitable for coloring by children at playtime or in a classroom setting. Easy to read information on many popular patron saints is included, as is the feast day of each saint. Teachers will find this coloring book a valuable teaching tool. There is also an author preface and an article about Marie Romero Cash by well-known journalist, Kay Lockridge.

The mystery. The rich heritage. The haunting sorrow and mesmerizing beauty captured in the solemn eyes of the saints. Explore the world of the Northern New Mexican Santo in this coloring book unlike any other. Santos of Spanish New Mexico is a perfect introduction for both young and old into the art of carving and painting images of saints that represent the care and love of the community that the Santero (maker of saint images) comes from. The Santero is a self-taught craftsman who utilizes handmade tools, pine, aspen, cedar or cottonwood root to fashion representations, figurines, and objects in honor of the patron deities brought to the New World by their ancestors during the late 16th century. Learn a little about the saints and the various depictions you can recognize anywhere throughout Northern New Mexico. A tradition handed down from generation to generation, the art of making Santos is still very much alive and thriving in this special region of the world. Care has been taken to be faithful to the artistic details of the original works. Like the folk art he has endeavored to reproduce, Al Chapman's drawings in this book are simple and sincere. This book is a good companion to What is a New Mexico Santo? by Eluid Levi Martinez and Santos, A Coloring Book of New Mexico Saints by Marie Romero Cash, both from Sunstone Press.

A generation before the establishment of the European colonies on the East Coast of America, Spanish explorers and friars were trudging the deserts and mountains of the Southwest in search of souls, riches and glory. By 1598, Juan de Onate had established the first permanent settlement in the American Southwest, twenty-two years before the Pilgrims founded Plymouth Colony. The story of this first colony, the explorations, the defeats and successes, the hopes blighted and the hopes fulfilled are told in this concise history of the era.

A generation before the establishment of the European colonies on the East Coast of America, Spanish explorers and friars were trudging the deserts and mountains of the Southwest in search of souls, riches and glory. By 1598, Juan de Onate had established the first permanent settlement in the American Southwest, twenty-two years before the Pilgrims founded Plymouth Colony. The story of this first colony, the explorations, the defeats and successes, the hopes blighted and the hopes fulfilled are told in this concise history of the era.

The author introduces his fascinating book about grasshoppers and their relations by pointing out the error of Aesop's fable which compares the grasshopper unfavorably to the ant. 'Actually,' he says, 'the grasshopper is no more a ner'er-do-well than the ant; it simply does the things it has to for a happy and successful life.' He then shows how grasshoppers and the other related insects-crickets, katydids, etc.-are equipped for life and how they act from birth to death. Particularly interesting are in the incidents and examples that were drawn from the author's observation of his own collection of grasshoppers, crickets and katydids that he kept in cages. As in Sunstone's other books by Wilfrid Bronson, the text in this book for young readers is in large, clear type, and there are many illustrations on each page.

The author says, ''I grew up in nature surrounded by forests. I would spend whole days playing in the woods in the presence of bears, perched on the tallest trees with the hawk, on top of mountains peaks with the eagle, hiking with the mountain lion, running with the deer, soaking in the streams, singing with the hummingbird and dancing with the butterfly, ice skating on the frozen pond, skiing topless in the moonlight, watching the shooting stars with my dad's giant telescope, collecting everything wild, stones, flowers, resin, herbs, barks, asparagus, berries, fruit, mushrooms, the wind even...hunting, and gathering Mother Earths magic. I instinctively knew the natural world was good for my well being. I talked to the plants and asked for their secrets. My love for the Universe, nature, beauty, and the sacred kept growing so intensely that I started to express it in the form of poetry at age eight. My first poem, ''The Black Tulip,'' won an adult poetry contest. Poetry has been a way for me to share my deep gratitude for all the gifts. I've apprenticed for many years as a 'Vegetalista' traveling to Peru and all over the world learning plant medicines, sitting in ceremony, and now holding ceremony. This book is an offering to Mother Earth, to Spirit. Gracias Senora. Gracias Senor. Life is the ceremony.''

The mother ditch, or acequia madre, is the main water line that is dug by hand and feeds many of the smaller acequias that cover the fertile land of Northern New Mexico. The acequias, water ditches, were used to irrigate the fields of crops for many farmers in the early days of settlement in New Mexico. A unique technology, the acequia, especially the mother ditch, had to be taken care of by everyone in the community that benefited from its generosity. A governing body was established to watch over the utilization and maintenance of the ditch. The mayordomo was the top elected official to preside over the governing council, and he was also required to perform numerous responsibilities representative of the people of the community. The acequia was truly one of the last vestiges of a life where people depended on each other for survival. The life of the community revolved around the acequia. Cooperation was essential to ensure everyone's sustenance. Today, many of the acequias the early settlers of New Mexico depended on have dried up. Yet, when one stands in the footings of these sand pits, you can feel the presence of the power of water that was so significant to the development of human progress in this part of the continent. English and Spanish edition.

Milo, a fifteen-year-old boy with a highly developed imagination has fallen through the cracks of his teachers' expectations and lands in a world of his own fantasies where he becomes a participant in the Magical Scavenger Hunt. Surprised and baffled to find himself in such a strange place, he finds a talking cat who agrees to help him navigate the puzzles and trials of the contest. When he stumbles onto the discovery of a legendary talisman, he attracts the enmity of a powerful, vindictive wizard who pursues Milo as he unravels the mythical secrets and properties of the artifact. Milo gradually discovers that he must trust his own abilities instead of trying to do whatever others expect of him while remaining loyal to the friends he makes as he follows the clues that come his way. When at last the showdown with the wizard comes, it is Milo's fundamental belief in himself that he must rely on. Includes Readers Guide.

The chiste, the short funny little story, and the cuento, the homespun little tale, are part of the great oral tradition of the Hispanic Southwest. As a little boy, the author heard many chistes and cuentos at the feet of his father, Don Pablo Gonzales. Soon after his retirement from the field of education, Felipe Gonzales started collecting chistes and cuentos. He then realized that many pearls from his father's repertoire were lost forever. Thus, a twenty-five year commitment began to put this popular genre into print in Spanish and English. The sources include humorous tidbits of traditional and contemporary everyday life. These stories reflect the mores, the customs, the religion, and the language of a subgroup of Americans.

In many surprising ways ants are like people: both are the only animals who have nations, governments, working people and armies. Reading about the habits and customs of ants is like following the adventures of an explorer in a new and fascinating land. In this book the author, who is well known for his interesting stories of science, takes us into this wonder world of ants and describes the different kinds of ants from the familiar kinds which can be found in any field to the devastating army ants of Africa. There are the hunter ants that grow their own vegetables, the thief ants and the slave-making ants who kidnap the children of other tribes. As in Sunstone's other books by Wilfrid Bronson, the text in this book for young readers is in large, clear type, and there are many illustrations on each page.