Roberta Baxter

Mosquitoes bite. Their bites make us itchy. They make an annoying whining sound. Most people hate them. But mosquitoes are also pollinators. Pollinators help plants to grow. Orchids and goldenrods need pollination by mosquitoes to survive. Like butterflies, the elephant mosquito carries pollen from flower to flower. Native Pollinators: Mosquitoes is a good place to start learning about the role of mosquitoes in the life cycle of plants.

Moths are fuzzier and fatter than their butterfly cousins. A lot of moths are brown and dull looking. Butterflies get songs and poems written about them. Hardly anyone swoons over moths. But moths deserve our respect and attention. Moths are pollinators, and many are native to America. While most insect pollinators work during the day, moths take the night shift. They visit flowers that bloom under the light of the moon. Moths play a vital role in...

Matter is everywhere! This book uses real-world examples to bring the concept of the states of matter to life in an approachable way. Clearly-written text draws in readers with concrete examples involving familiar, everyday things, from gas grills to ice cubes. The book covers the history of and key figures in the understanding of the states of matter. Major concepts covered include solids, liquids, gases, plasma, crystals, atomic bonds, surface tension,...

Anthropologists believe that the oldest musical instrument is the human voice. There is no culture, no matter how primitive or remote, that does not sing. People can sing high and low notes, and with great emotion. This title is richly illustrated with large photographs, maps, and a STEM activity that provides simple instructions to help children make their own instrument. Voices is a reading journey that inspires and stimulates learning exploration....

Stop! Don't step on that beetle. Many beetles are pollinators. Without them, we wouldn't have magnolia flowers, palm trees, or the fruit of the pawpaw. Beetles can be pests and also helpful. Farmers use ladybug beetles to eat insects that are eating their plants. In the United States, there are more than 30,000 native beetles-and more are discovered everyday. These native pollinators are small in size but giants in the insect world. Native Pollinators:...

Across the globe, devastating disasters have changed the course of history. This title brings the challenger explosion to life with well-researched, clearly written informational text, primary sources with accompanying questions, charts, graphs, diagrams, timelines, and maps, multiple prompts, and more. Explore the tragedies and triumphs of this disaster, how it helped shape the world as we know it, and how what we've learned from it has made the...

Hummingbirds are amazing! They can hover, fly up and down, and they are the only bird to fly backwards. Their wings flap 50 to 60 times each second creating the humming noise for which they are named. Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. They pollinate honeysuckle, the morning glory, blueberry flowers, and an array of other trumpet-shaped native plants. Native Pollinators: Hummingbirds is a good place to start learning about these energetic pollinators....

Did you know that archaeologists discovered two trumpets in King Tut's tomb in Egypt? That makes the trumpet one of the oldest instruments in the world. Trumpets thrill us with strong clear notes. This title is richly illustrated with large photographs, maps, and a STEM activity that provides simple instructions to help children make their own instrument. Trumpets is a reading journey that inspires and stimulates learning exploration.

The first car with a gas engine had only three wheels. What were early cars like and who made them? Find out about the first electric car, the first car race, Henry Fords Model T, and more.

Give readers an inside look at the dangerous job of bomb squad technicians. Additional features include a table of contents, a Fast Facts spread, critical-thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, a selected bibliography, an introduction to the author, and sources for further research. What goes through the mind of a bomb squad technician when she's handling explosives? How do SWAT team members do their job with such skill and precision?...