Leisure time is for people do anything they want, but sometimes their interests are really freaky. While some people like to read books and others play board games with their families, many hobbies are a bit stranger. This wild book looks at the collections Americans treasure and the games they love—even if the collection is of their own fingernails and the game is bug fighting! Engaging subject matter and incredible photos show Americans relaxing in the oddest ways imaginable, delighting even the most reluctant of readers.

The American landscape is dotted with sites important to our nation’s history. This book is not about those landmarks, but those that are truly odd and unusual. Most readers know about Stonehenge in Europe, but what about Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska? Amazing photographs put readers up close and personal with incredibly odd feats of engineering, such as the world’s largest beagle and the world’s largest ball of twine. Engaging material straight from the wackiest interstate billboards fill the pages of this wild and wonderful book.

Every day is a holiday if someone wants it to be. No, really. America’s calendar is always adding new holidays, and some of them are truly odd. People from all over the world have moved to America, bringing unique traditions with them along the way. Other traditions are just silly and fun, such as September 19th's “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” With its high-interest subject matter and amazing photographs, this book will show readers the many holidays they’ve been missing, and maybe some they’d rather not celebrate at all.

The law of the land is not always uniform, and this wacky book is proof. Intrigued readers dive into the law books of America’s cities and towns, passing by all the boring stuff and getting down to the just plain weird. Forget jaywalking and other everyday crimes—in West Virginia it’s illegal to use a ferret for hunting! Incredibly engaging text and wild photographs help make sure readers won’t play bingo for too long in North Carolina and stay on the right side of the law when collecting seaweed in New Hampshire.

America isn’t old when compared to other countries, but it has its fair share of odd myths and legends. From the myths of Pecos Bill to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, our history has quirks and stories spanning all 50 states in the union. Readers explore the dark depths of storytelling in this exciting book filled with high-interest tales of American legends. Full-color photographs and freaky graphics help tell the tales that terrified—or just plain weirded out—American children for generations in certain cities or states.

From sea to shining sea, America loves to eat. This book takes readers on a journey through America’s sometimes-wacky digestive system via its weirdest diners, restaurants, and kitchens. Readers will love diving in to the culinary interests of America’s people, from strange meats like squirrel and possum to wild fruit and vegetable mixes like Jell-O salad. High-interest subject matter and amazingly odd photographs give readers a look at all the weird things people deep-fry at county fairs and the crazy concoctions different parts of the nation call “home cooking.”

Fake news and misinformation is everywhere. Learn how to teach elementary students to locate reliable information, evaluate sources, and develop their writing skills in the classroom and in the library. Empower students to find and evaluate information with this practical guide to supporting classroom writing and research instruction. You'll learn ways to teach students to evaluate information for accuracy and to collect information from credible sources such as library journals. Additionally, you'll learn how to incorporate writing into your makerspace, encourage curiosity through the inquiry process, and help students to find their voice. Along the way, you'll discover how to support various writing genres including technical writing and the research project and how to teach prewriting for digital media such as websites, blogs, and social media. Lesson plans, which can be adapted from year to year as a part of the classroom and library curriculum, explain how students can use databases, search engines, books, and expert testimony to gather information. Also included are student samples and hands-on activities that will get students excited about learning.