Manuscript Summaries

There's a Spider in the Bathtub!
A picturebook that entertains kids while explaining one of life's great mysteries - why spiders are often found in the bathtub.

Pinkie the Katydid
The story of the life of a rare mutant katydid. Teaches kids about katydids and can be used as a springboard for the introduction/discussion of genetics.

These Molecules are Smelly!
A picturebook written in rhyme that introduces kids to chemistry by talking about the sense of smell.

The Not-So-Great-Auk
Teaches kids about the extinction of the great auk by providing a firsthand account via. an anthropomorphic great auk that is the last of his species.

The Furry Tomato
A furry tomato is discovered. Zany ideas are entertained about why the tomato might be furry until it is revealed that the tomato is simply moldy. A brief summary of the Rhizopus (AKA bread mold) life cycle is given. The entire story is told in rhyme.

Count Flatula
We all get tired of being serious sometimes, don't we? Publisher's Weekly performed a survey of children's book editors. One question was 'What are you tired of seeing?' The answer - 'anything dealing with vampires, farting.' Sure, sure, those are overdone. But what if you combined the two...

The Hall Monitor
What would happen if the hall monitor at school was a giant monitor lizard? This book explores that scenario while teaching children facts about monitor lizards.

Poke It! An Animal Alphabet Book
An alphabet book of unique animals; most of the animals will be new to children AND adults. Informative nonfiction text stressing odd facts is accompanied by a brief rhyming portion that ends with a child provoking the animal, with some interesting, amusing, or dangerous result. The rhyming part should amuse younger children while the text is geared for older kids, making it a good book for either age group, or for reading to two or more kids from different age groups at the same time.