"Invite bats, birds, butterflies, toads, and other neighborhood creatures into your yard, and reap the rewards of watching wildlife. Thirty-five projects, all made with natural materials that both blend into and enhance and backyard setting, are designed to meet the needs and safety considerations of animals as well as to delight the human eye. Enjoy the satisfaction of building: a rustic bat house ; a twig mosaic butterfly box ; gourd houses for purple martins ; a double-decker woven vine bird feeder ; toad house and more! Fact-filled sidebars and articles offer information on the needs and habits of various animals, helping you to design the perfect haven for your visitors"--Page 4 of cover

Lists all the resources needed to create a balanced curriculum for homeschooling--from preschool to high school level.

Get to know the amazing creatures right outside your door! What do toads like to eat? Why do crickets sing? Why does a firefly glow? If you've ever longed to know more about the habits of the animals and insects that live in your backyard, here's the book you've been waiting for! With Backyard Pets, you'll find out how to catch and care for lots of different, easy-to-find critters, from terrific toads to slithering slugs. You'll perform all sorts of investigations and activities, including discovering how snails eat and how caterpillars protect themselves, before you return your newly found pets safely to their natural home. And you'll even find out how to attract birds and butterflies to homemade feeders and gardens so that you can observe them every day as they go about their amazing lives. As you take care of your pets, you'll learn how to interpret fireflies' signals; how to entice worms from their burrows with sound; and how to make birdfeeders, hummingbird gardens, and toad abodes. Along the way, you'll discover lots of fascinating facts about the lives of these clever critters-from what their favorite foods are to how they see, hear, and move, and even how they help the environment.

Solon Robinson's 'Hot corn: Life Scenes in New York Illustrated' provides readers with a vivid portrayal of New York City life through the lens of the hot corn trade in the mid-19th century. Robinson's prose is both descriptive and engaging, painting a detailed picture of the bustling streets and diverse characters involved in this unique aspect of urban culture. The book's combination of social commentary and literary flair places it within the tradition of American urban realism, offering readers a window into the everyday experiences of working-class individuals in a rapidly changing city. Robinson's use of dialect and dialogue adds authenticity to the narrative, creating a nuanced and insightful view of New York society during this period. Solon Robinson's background as a journalist and traveler undoubtedly informed his perspective on the city's dynamics, making 'Hot corn' a valuable addition to the study of urban literature and American history. Scholars of 19th-century literature and social history will find this book to be a compelling exploration of city life, while general readers interested in the human experience will appreciate its engaging storytelling and unique insights into the past.