Books in Giant Books Series series

The Preschooler's Busy Book contains 365 activities (one for each day of the year) for three- to six-year-olds using things found around the home. It shows parents, baby-sitters, and daycare providers how to:Save money by making your own paints, play dough, craft clays, glue, paste and other suppliesPrevent boredom during even the longest stretches of rainy or cold weather with ideas for indoor play like newspaper golf, magnet magic, the listening game, red light/green light, and hand puppetsHelp children learn to have fun in the kitchen making fruit kebabs, popsicles, homemade peanut butter, a happy-face sandwich, alphabet cookies, animal pancakes, finger Jell-O, popcorn ball creatures, and the best chocolate chip cookies in the whole worldTeach your child practical skills like setting the table, putting away the silverware, sorting socks, sewing practice, and carpentry (hammering golf tees into Styrofoam, with a toy hammer)Introduce your child to numbers and counting with activities like "One-Two, Buckle My Shoe," telling time, coin and stamp collecting, sorting a mixed-up deck of cards by numbers and learning how to find today's date on a calendarPrepare your child for reading by working on an alphabet puzzle, making alphabet cookies, making an alphabet book, and connecting the dots in alphabetical order to make a pictureGet your child started with music and rhythm by making a pie-plate tambourine, keeping the rhythm to a song on the radio with homemade rhythm blocks or shakers, or make music with musical glasses (filled with different amounts of water)Get your child moving with dances like "Hokey Pokey," "Skip to My Lou," "Ring Around the Rosie," and "London Bridge"Encourage your child to enjoy quiet activities like reading wordless picture books, working on puzzles, and watching clouds--and then drawing themIntroduce children to nature with a variety of outdoor adventures from nature walks and picnics to backyard camping, bird feeding, mud painting and making waxed leavesStart children growing things by planting apple seeds, avocado seeds or garlic cloves; or learning how to grow carrots, beets or sweet potatoes by putting cuttings into waterCelebrate holidays and other occasions with special projects and activities for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Easter and PassoverKeep children occupied on car trips by playing "I See A-B-C" or reciting "30 Days Hath September"

Connect the dots is just the beginning! Kids will have fun completing these animal pictures, but more than that they'll learn fabulous facts about hundreds of creatures from aardvarks to zebras. Whether extinct or still alive, endangered, or prehistoric, wonderful beasts all roam the pages of this delightful book. While children learn all about animals--their food, habitat, and size--they'll also begin to understand our ecosystem and how to conserve.· Prehistoric Pictures: Enter the lost world of the sea turtle Archelon; the fierce little saurus Deinonychus; and the Baluchhitherium--the largest land mammal that ever lived!· Extinct Animals: Meet some lost species, including the Bali Tiger, Dodo, and Eastern Bison.· Endangered Creatures: We can still see the African Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Koala, Panda, and Komodo Dragon, but they may soon disappear.There are lots of other wildlife, too, and mythological animals that you'll only find on the page!

The Arts & Crafts Busy Book should be required reading for anyone raising or teaching children. It is written with warmth and sprinkled with humor and insight. The Arts & Crafts Busy Book contains 365 screen-free, fun, creative and educational arts and crafts projects for children ages two to six that provide a great alternative to using TV as a babysitter. It shows parents and daycare providers how to: Stimulate creativity and self-expression with activities that encourage a child to explore his or her place in the world. Create experiments with paint, glue, playdough, paper, and markers that focus a child's energy constructively. Encourage the development of a child's concentration and coordination, as well as organizational and manipulative skills, with well-chosen arts and crafts projects. Save money by making arts and crafts supplies such as paints, playdough, and craft clay with ingredients that can be found around the home. Celebrate the holidays and other occasions with special projects and activities.

Don't get tongue-tied! Get sharp-tongued with this book of put-downs, insults, and excuses for every occasion.· Need a dastardly dig? How about: You remind me of a seat in church--PEW! · Is the teacher scolding you for calling out? Answer: Would you prefer that I telephone? · Are your parents upset that you forgot to take out the garbage? Try: It never takes me out! · Getting bullied by that creep? Snap back with: "You're the only person I know who got a D in recess."And there are hundreds more, with fun line drawings that add to the hilarity!

What's in the cards for you? The biggest selection of card games ever, from War and Stops to Forty Thieves and Solitaire. Some games are simple and depend on luck; others require more skills and practice. So get ready to start dealing, because here's just some of what's inside:· The best games for very young children, from Pig to Treasure Hunt.· Games that call for matching cards in pairs or sets of four-of-a-kind: Go Fish, Authors, and Old Maid.· The "Stops Family": Sequence, Crazy Eights, Go Boom, and many more.· Various types of Casino, Rummy, Trump, Whist, and Hearts.· The "All Fours Group", including Seven-Up, Auction Pitch, and Euchre.· Poker, from basic to Bluff to Five-Card Stud.You won't find more card games anywhere!

Look up and down, and diagonally, too: there's a "buried treasure" of words to uncover, hidden among the random letters. Young puzzle and language lovers can show what sharp eyes they have with this huge collection of word searches. Each one has a different theme, from Things That Fly (airplane, mosquito, flag) to Martial Arts (aikido, kickboxing), from Sundaes (caramel, cherry, yummy) to Wild Cats (cheetah, ocelot, puma). There are even 24 super School Time terms to track down. Only the best and most interesting word searches are found here--hundreds of them--and so are the answers, in the back, for anyone who needs a little help.

Knock, knock--guess what's here...This is the funniest, most gigantic compilation of knock-knocks ever! Arranged from A to Z, there are over 250 pages filled with thousands of sidesplitting jokes and comic drawings that will keep you and your friends in stitches. Try these for a good giggle:Knock-knock. Who's there? Celia.Celia who?Celia later, alligator!Knock-knock.Who's there?Ivan.Ivan who?Ivan working on the railroad.So if you're looking for a great big belly laugh, just open up this book and come right in!

With a little sleight of hand and the secrets behind hundreds of card tricks, you'll amaze, amuse, and astonish your friends every time. Become an expert at "sneaking a peek" at a card without anyone noticing. Practice doing slippery shuffles, cuts, and hand movements that fool an audience and really make a magical show. Win over the crowd with a professional's inventive stage patter and witty wisecracks.Choose from these cool tricks:· "Colorful" and "Presto" Predictions.· Transpose cards with the "Tick Tock Trick," "Easy Aces," and "One in Four."· Using "Easy Estimation," figure out how many cards a spectator picked from the deck.Plus: "The Rare Reverse," "My Favorite Card," the "Impossible Poker Deal," and several hundred more.

When Seraphina’s dad doesn’t come home from work one evening, she knows it wasn’t an accident. Her dreams the night before warned her about the government’s terrible plan for him. It is the year 2221 and 12-year old Seraphina has never experienced a breath of fresh air. Her life is one of confinement and misery, living in an enclosed society where the Authorization Department controls everything: food supply, schools, even the filtered air they are dependent on to stay alive. In her dreams she’s seen a different place though and believes there’s something beyond this artificial world. Feeling trapped and hopeless one day, she stumbles upon a magical creature that can show her the way out. Where did he come from? Can she trust him? Does this mean a better place really exists? When Seraphina steps outside the walls of Abaddon, will it be a death sentence or a journey to a whole new world?