Dogs are indeed people's best friends. A majority of owners report that their dog is a "member of the family," and that acceptable canine behavior and optimal care are high priorities for them. The human-animal bond, the close connection between people and their pets, is forged by positive interactions, but unacceptable canine behaviors that…

Although information has become increasingly prevalent in young people's lives, minimal research has addressed children's attitudes to the word itself. This paper scrutinizes questionnaire-based data to explore how 45 eight- to ten-year-old Canadians understood the term. "Information" was often considered to be material that met a need,…

This column describes the book, "The Tarantula Scientist," that features the work of arachnologist Sam Marshall, a scientist who studies spiders and their eight-legged relatives. Marshall is one of only four or five scientists who specializes in the study of tarantulas. The informative text and outstanding photographs follow Sam as he…

This book presents 15 tales that bring the animal world into the classroom. The stories in this book are divided into two sections: stories from aquatic ecosystems (both fresh- and saltwater systems), and from terrestrial systems, including desert, meadow, woodland, mountain, Arctic tundra, savanna, pine forest, and jungle ecosystems. All predator…

This book provides resources to teachers and librarians for creating thematic units on specific topics targeting grades K-8. Each topic includes key concepts, comprehensive teaching resources, teaching resources (nonfiction children's literature), reading selections (fiction children's literature), science activities, creative writing and art…

A model user's guide for the film, "The Frog King or Faithful Henry," introduces media specialists and educators to the range of possibilities for developing different activities for different objectives and age levels from a single film. An introductory article provides a synopsis of the film, rationale for its choice as a model, a…

Developed for the Texas Reading Club, a program sponsored cooperatively by local libraries and the Texas State Library and designed to encourage children and their parents to read and to use the library, this guide is intended to inspire program ideas, including activities, crafts, books, and audiovisuals, appropriate to the Reading Club's 1987…

This guide is a collection of books, activities, art, creative dramatics, creative writing, games, and films intended for use with children from age three through grade seven. Eight weeks of activities that are fairly simple and inexpensive to put together and of varying degrees of effort and complexity are presented in eight chapters reflecting…

Children's science books are listed under these headings: animals; astronomy; aviation and space; biography; careers; earth sciences; encyclopedias and reference books; environment and conservation; fiction; general science; life sciences; marine life; mathematics and computer science; medical and health sciences; physics and chemistry; plant…

Provides lesson plans for grade K-3 science; grade 1-2 reading/language arts/science; grade 1-4 science/language arts; grade 3-5 physical education/social studies and science; grade 4-5 reading/language arts/social studies; grade 5-8 social studies; grade 6-8 social studies. Lists resources and discusses library media skills, subject area…