George Brown's super burps are causing serious trouble for poor George again. And this time the trouble really stinks! The super burp strikes on Field Day during an outdoor class scavenger hunt. George vows to keep out of any mischief, but he winds up getting skunked.

George's magic burps threaten to ruin not only his team's chances of winning a class field day, but also his audition to be the fourth-grade sports reporter for his school's new closed-circuit television station.

Solitary, nocturnal creatures, skunks generally go about their business unnoticed. But then there’s that thing they do . . . and oh, boy, when they do it, no one can ignore them. But there’s far more to skunks than their stench, and with this beautifully illustrated entry in Reaktion’s Animal series, Alyce Miller gives these furry scavengers their due. More than being unappreciated, skunks, Miller reveals, have a long history of persecution: killed off as smelly nuisances, they have also been hunted for their fur and, yes, their unique musk, which has found a perhaps unexpected use in perfume. Moving from nature to culture, Miller delves into the long line of skunks that have played parts in literature, film, and folklore, from the antics of Pepe Le Pew to the role of skunks in Native American spiritual beliefs. As growing urban wildlife populations bring humans and skunks ever closer, Miller’s book will help us understand—and appreciate—these beautiful, intriguing, and wholly distinct animals.

Reaching Reluctant Young Readers features 150 middle-grade books. Each profiled title has the potential to hook the reluctant reader and lure them to read the entire book. To specifically encourage elementary and middle-school-age reluctant children to read, there is first a pitch to get the reader’s attention. That is followed by a short reading passage to “set the hook” and encourage the young person to read the rest of the book on their own. Further, the book contains several hundred additional recommended titles. The books selected for this collection were chosen following the criteria of reluctant reader books created by the Quick Picks committee sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association. While these guidelines were designed for young adult books, they also work well for middle-grade books. The criteria include: clear writing (no convoluted long sentences with sophisticated vocabulary), high interest “hook” in the first few pages, well-defined characters, interesting plot, and familiar themes.

George Brown battles a skunk, has fun at the water park, and gets stuck in a tight spot at the science museum.

From his founding of The Journal of Social History to his groundbreaking work on the history of emotions, weight, and parenting, Peter N. Stearns has pushed the boundaries of social history to new levels, presenting new insights into how people have lived and thought through the ages. Having established the history of emotions as a major subfield of social history, Stearns and his collaborators are poised to do the same thing with the study of human behavior. This is their manifesto. American Behavioral History deals with specific uses of historical data and analysis to illuminate American behavior patterns, ranging from car buying rituals to sexuality, and from funeral practices to contemporary grandparenting. The anthology illustrates the advantages and parameters of analyzing the ways in which people behave, and adds significantly to our social understanding while developing innovative methods for historical teaching and research. At its core, the collection demonstrates how the study of the past can be directly used to understand current behaviors in the United States. Throughout, contributors discuss not only specific behavioral patterns but, importantly, how to consider and interpret them as vital historical sources. Contributors include Gary Cross, Paula Fass, Linda Rosenzweig, Susan Matt, Steven M. Gelber, Peter N. Stearns, Suzanne Smith, Mark M. Smith, Kevin White.