December 21, 2012

Why Is It Winter? Experiment

We're not counting on the world ending today and neither is NASA. What we can count on is another winter solstice. Why is winter weather cold? What happens to plants in the winter? Where do animals go in the winter? What is hibernation? This book answers these questions and many more. There's even a simple experiment related to winter that will engage young readers and create a fun learning environment.

Experiment
You will need:
  • 2 ice cubes
  • 2 bowls or cups
  • salt
  • clock or watch
1. Put one ice cube in each bowl.

2. Pour some salt over one ice cube. Add nothing to the second ice cube.

3. Check the ice cubes every ten minutes. Which ice cube melts fastest? Can you guess why people put salt  
    on the streets and sidewalks in the winter?


Why Is It Winter? is from our Why Do We Have Winter? series for grades 1–2 is available from Enslow, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your preferred vendor.
Available with library binding and in paperback


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December 20, 2012

Enslow Provides Hurricane Relief for Libraries


How do you spell relief? B-O-O-K-S. 

When Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast it caused devastation to many homes and businesses. There were school and public libraries that suffered losses as well.  This week we're packing up book donations to send to some of the libraries that need help rebuilding their book collections. We hope to hear that these libraries will be re-opening in the near future with shelves stocked with books. 
In the meantime, many librarians are temporarily sharing space with other districts or public libraries or they have been moved into trailers while repairs are taking place. Some librarians have been provided space to receive donations, while others must wait until repairs to their space are completed. 

If your school or public library needs assistance due to damage caused by the hurricane, please contact us at customerservice@enslow.com with "Hurricane Relief" in the subject line. 

December 14, 2012

Looking for Easy Christmas Crafts?

Randel McGee specializes in paper crafts. 

Watch Randel McGee's how-to video to create an easy Christmas craft from our Paper Crafts for Christmas book. This book is written in simple language with step-by-step instructions and photos illustrating each step. Patterns for the crafts are also included.

Available in library binding and paperback.

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December 11, 2012

Enslow's "Poison Dart Frogs Up Close" In NY State 3rd Grade Common Core Lesson Plans

Engageny.org, a website created and maintained by the New York State Department of Education, released its Common Core-related curriculum for the state's elementary schools. Included in the Grade 3 Language Arts curriculum is the Enslow title Poison Dart Frogs Up Close. Author Carmen Bredeson's 24-page book features exceptional full-color photos of the deadly amphibians as well as a well-written, Guided Reading Level "K" text.

The curriculum, created by Expeditionary Learning, states that Poison Dart Frogs Up Close should be used as a "full text in hand." Click here for detailed information about the Expeditionary Learning lesson plan that includes the Enslow book.

Poison Dart Frogs Up Close is available in paperback or in a library-bound edition directly from Enslow Publishers or via your preferred vendor. Enslow's list price for the paperback is $6.95. The library edition is available from Enslow directly for $15.95; that price represents a 25% school/library discount from Enslow's list price.





Christmas Joke of the Day!

Question: What's red and white and red and white and red and white? 

Answer: Santa rolling down a hill! Author Ameilia LaRoche has fun with corny, funny and silly jokes in Ho-Ho-Ho Christmas Jokes to Tickle Your Funny Bone! from our new Funnier Bone Joke series.




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December 7, 2012

The Cost of Making eBooks (Part 1)

Navigating the eBook Highway 

The Cost of Making eBooks (Part 1)

 
Hi. I’m the Digital Production Developer at Enslow Publishers. My name is Kurt Weber and I’ve been asked to write up a series of blog entries about the more technical side of eBooks. I'll do my best to not bore you, but I have that affect when I try to talk technical. Or talk anything, really. My position didn't exist before the company’s decision to make eBooks some time ago and it's been an evolutionary process. Prior to this, I spent 10 years as a graphic designer on the Production Department staff.  Using desktop software, I was responsible for creating the page and cover layouts of our printed books. Now I am responsible for taking those same layouts and getting them converted into a friendly, eBook format that can be read anywhere in the world.
Since I began this journey well over a year ago, eBooks have broken into the mainstream. As eReader devices become more common, more people are discovering the merits of reading an electronic book. Those same people are just venturing out into the eBook marketplace and many are suffering sticker shock. In that time, I’ve been hearing the same question over and over again, “Why do eBooks cost so much?” Or, more to the point, “Why isn’t every single eBook dirt cheap? There’s no paper, no printing, no warehouse, no trucking, no physical costs at all, so why would an eBook ever be more expensive than a printed book? It’s just an electronic file, like an e-mail, right?”
It is true that there is no physical inventory to deal with, but there are physical expenses. After all, an eBook is still a physical object, albeit a digital one. I’ll go into those physical expenses more a bit later, but just because an eBook can’t be put in a store window or gift wrapped, doesn’t mean that it didn’t take time, effort, and money to create and deliver it to you, the reader.  Just because an eBook is an electronic file that CAN be e-mailed around the world in a flash, doesn’t mean that is how we get it to you. Not to get off topic too much, but your email has costs, too. Maybe not to you, but Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, or more accurately, their advertisers, are paying for your ‘free-mail.’ 
One idea that my decade of print experience has reinforced, is that it takes a lot of people to make a book. Any book. (Before you jump up and say, “Self-Publish!” please replace the word ‘people’ with the word ‘time’ in the previous statement and any further reference to ‘people’ and ‘staff’ mentioned below.) That reality check will answer the first question:

Since an eBook is always hidden in your reading device,
it's easy to forget about the hidden costs to make it!

Q: Why do eBooks cost so much? (I won’t go into actual dollar figures, but for some relative perspective, see this detailed two-part article.)
A: It takes a lot of people to make an eBook! Many of the same people who spend time making a printed book and getting it to market are now spending time making the eBook and getting it to market.
Before I dissect the issue, let’s assume that the book has already been written and even printed, but is now just being converted into a digital version. That will exclude the normal costs of author advances, editing, fact-checking, proof reading, photo research, securing photos and/or artwork, etc. So my example is really just addressing the argument, “If the printed book is already done and paid for, the only thing left to do is click SEND!” If only.
Let’s take the producers of the actual eBook file:
  1. There is processing staff that track down and prepare the existing layout files for conversion.
  2. There is production staff who take the existing layout file and translate it into HTML, XHTML, or XML code, and generate an EPUB file. There are automated programs that do this, but they have often been described as ‘meat-grinders.’ Get the idea?
  3. There is proofing staff that check for errors, line by line. Yes, we do proofread our eBooks because things do get lost or mixed up in the conversion! They also proof the code.
  4. Revise, revise, revise.
Already, you can see that a good number of people are involved in making the ‘physical’ eBook. All of this staffing and processing cost time. And as the old adage claims, Time=Money. (Yes, you self-publishers know what I'm talking about now!) I haven’t even gone into the hardware needs for processing and storing all of this digital information. I’ll save that for my next entry.


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December 6, 2012

"The United States at War" Titles Now Available as eBooks!




We are excited to announce that our series "The United States at War" has now been added to our growing list of eBooks. They can be purchased from all of your favorite eBook retailers including:





Library editions of "The United States at War" series are available from Enslow Publishers or your preferred vendor.


This series provides an interesting look at American wars through well-researched text, vivid color and black-and-white photographs, and detailed maps. Young readers will not only learn about the important battles and military leaders, but what life was like on the home front for women and children, and the legacy these wars have today.


To learn more about "The United States at War" series click.here.





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December 3, 2012

E-books available for purchase

Over the next few days we hope to introduce you to some of our new e-books. We will be adding more to the retailers sites as they are ready.

The Holocaust Through Primary Sources series, targeted toward the middle school reader, captures a variety of major events of the Holocaust, using first-person accounts. Through the words of the victims, bystanders, and perpetrators, individual experiences are told in detail. Unknown as well as well-known Holocaust figures are also looked at.

All six titles in this series (Auschwitz, Kristallnacht, Liberation, Rescuing the Danish Jews, Saving Children from the Holocaust, and The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising) are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Kobo.

The library and paperback versions of these titles are also available on enslow.com or through your preferred vendor.

November 26, 2012

It's Cyber Monday!

Because it is Cyber Monday, Internet access may be slow for all of us today.

Library ISBN 978-0-7660-3870-7
Paper ISBN 978-1-59845-286-0
Looking for titles for your teens and tweens for the holidays? How about some biographies on Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift? Enslow's paperback editions are great for middle school readers.
Library ISBN 978-0-7660-3873-8
Paper ISBN 978-1-59845-287-7

The fifteen titles in the Hot Celebrity Biographies series are all available in either library or paperback editions. Other Hot Celebrity Biographies include: America Ferrera, Daniel Radcliffe, Hilary Duff, Johnny Depp, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Michael Phelps, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Robert Pattinson, Selena Gomez, Shaun White, and Taylor Lautner.

These titles are available directly from Enslow, your preferred vendor, and are available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

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November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM ENSLOW PUBLISHERS!

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November 19, 2012

November 16, 2012

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Opens Today


The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 opens in theaters today. Did you know that author, Stephenie Meyer was simply writing for her own entertainment when she expanded what started out as a dream into the full-length story of Bella and Edward? Being an author had never even crossed her mind. Fans can read more about Stephenie Meyer in our biography, Stephenie Meyer: Author of the Twilight Saga from our Authors Teens Love series. Read a review of the book here.

Makes a great gift for Twilight fans!

Available from Enslow PublishersAmazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. Follow Me on Pinterest

November 15, 2012

Everything Old Is New Again. It's America Recycles Day!

Today is America Recycles Day. The America Recycles Day web site has great resources including finding out what can be recycled, and how to join an event or host an event in your area. You can even take the pledge to recycle more.

Here's what we're doing: Enslow Publishers, Inc., is committed to printing our books on recycled paper. The paper in every book contains 10% to 30% post-consumer waste (PCW)). The cover board on the outside of each of our books contains 100% PCW. Our goal is to do our part to help young people and the environment too! 

We also publish books that will help students understand why recycling and a clean environment is important. 

In our book, 
Recycle: Green Science Projects for a Sustainable Planet, students will learn about recycling and how it can save energy as well as valuable resources that are growing ever more scarce. By doing experiments, students can gain a better understanding of why recycling is important and why it plays a role in creating a greener world. For more information on this book and other books in the Team Green Science Projects series, visit our web site. 




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November 8, 2012

Blue Wave Classroom Exhibits at NAEYC




Check out our new Blue Wave Classroom booth # 2152 at the NAEYC Conference in Atlanta. Stop by our booth to receive your free tote and see how you can you use informational text from our classroom books to fill your Common Core State Standards needs. Just look for the big red and white apple balloon!

October 26, 2012

FREE Stuff Friday


We thought we'd post some free stuff this Friday. So, here are three seasonal worksheets available for download from our Blue Wave Classroom website. Kids will enjoy writing their own acrostic poems and they look great displayed on bulletin boards. Just click on any worksheet to take you to page where you can download all three for FREE! If you enjoy these, let us know and we'll provide more in the future.





October 24, 2012

Great Elementary Non-Fiction for Thanksgiving (and you can win them!)

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and it's a great time for kids to learn about Thanksgiving while building their literacy skills. Enslow Publishers' non-fiction expert authors believe that reading informational texts should  be educational and fun.  With that in mind, here are three great, Common Core correlated, Thanksgiving books to make sure that young readers have an educational and fun Thanksgiving.  As a side note: if you like any of these books, be sure to check out our Pick-A-Page giveaway (details at the end of the post).

Thanksgivng Day, by Dorothy Goeller, is a delightfully silly reader for children just beginning to read. Featuring bright illustrations and simple text with one sentence per page, Thanksgiving Day is great for kids reading alone or with an adult. Common Core Correlations for Thanksgiving Day can be found here.
Storyteller Randel McGee's Paper Crafts for Thanksgiving shows young readers how to make their own Thanksgiving crafts while learning about the holiday.  Paper Crafts for Thanksgiving contains easy step-by-step instructions as well as reproducible templates for all of the crafts shown in the book.  Common Core Correlations for Paper Crafts for Thanksgiving can be found here.
What is Thanksgiving?, by Elaine Landau, introduces early readers to the traditions of Thanksgiving with beautiful photos and carefully crafted text.  To further engage the reader, What is Thanksgiving? features an activity where the reader constructs a "Thank-You" poster to give their thanks to the community for Thanksgiving. Common Core Correlations for What is Thanksgiving? can be found here.

Our Pick-A-Page Giveaway is still going on!  To enter the giveaway, go to our e-catalog and pick a page of titles you would like to receive for free. Like us on Facebook and leave a comment on Facebook, letting us know which page you would like to receive, and how those books would benefit your school/library. For everyone who enters, they will receive one book from the page they requested. One winner will be chosen at random at the end of the week, and that person will receive a copy of every book on that page. The winner will be announced on Facebook sometime next week!

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October 10, 2012

The Holocaust Through Primary Sources: Kristallnacht

Kristallnacht: The Nazi Terror That Began the Holocaust, from Enslow Publishers' award-winning series of books, "The Holocaust Through Primary Sources", is now available as a paperback through Blue Wave Classroom.  Author James M. Deem's freshly researched, primary source-based of Kristallnacht is now readily available for use in the classroom.

Blue Wave Classroom offers a free educator's guide for Kristallnacht (available here) as well as State Standard and Common Core correlations (available here).

The original Library Edition of Kristallnacht can be found on Enslow Publishers' website here.

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October 4, 2012

More on the Common Core


There has been a lot of talk about the Common Core State Standards and how Appendix B applies. Many educators are using the list as a primary source for text.  The Common Core State Standards states as follows, with regards to appendix B:

Selecting Text Exemplars
"The following text samples primarily serve to exemplify the level of complexity and quality that the Standards require all students in a given grade band to engage with. Additionally, they are suggestive of the breadth of texts that students should encounter in the text types required by the Standards. The choices should serve as useful guideposts in helping educators select texts of similar complexity, quality, and range for their own classrooms. They expressly do not represent a partial or complete reading list."

There are many ways for educators to choose excellent books for their reading lists. Some of them include:
Recommendations from other teachers, librarians, and even parents!

Award Winners. You can find many award winning lists on the Internet.

Review committees and booksellers post their lists on their web sites.

How are you choosing your books for your reading list to use in conjunction with the Common Core State Standards? We would like to know!

October 1, 2012

Welcome to Blue Wave Classroom!





One of the main goals in the new CommonCore State Standards (CCSS) initiative is for students to read more informational texts. This means that student reading of nonfiction must increase dramatically. 

The mission of Enslow Publishers, Inc., is to publish high-quality educational nonfiction books for children and young adults. Blue Wave Classroom, extends this mission into school classrooms, in addition to school libraries and public libraries with our curriculum-aligned, leveled, nonfiction and historical fiction books for Pre-K to grade 12. 

Check out Blue Wave Classroom's special offer for new customers. Be sure like the Blue Wave Classroom facebook page for special offers and giveaways.  




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September 17, 2012

Battle of Antietam's 150th Anniversary and the Emancipation Proclamation

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War's Battle of Antietam. This engagement was historically significant for two reasons:
  • It was the single bloodiest day in the five-year conflict
  • The Union victory gave Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to publicly release the Emancipation Proclamation
For young readers learning about this key event and its implications, Enslow provides age-appropriate, historically sound information via a number of titles. The Battle of Antietam is included in author Zachary Kent's 128-page The Civil War: From Fort Sumter to Appomatox. The book, part of Enslow's "The United States at War" series, includes color photographs, a reader-friendly color design, and useful chronology and chapter notes. Each title in the six-book series is available in library-bound editions for $23.95; that price represents a 25% discount from Enslow's list price.

The Battle of Antietam is also included in author Elaine Landau's The Emancipation Proclamation: Would You Do What Lincoln Did? This accessible nonfiction book uses engaging speculative questions at the end of each narrative chapter to add value to the text. Landau's 48-page work, part of Enslow's "What Would You Do?" American history series, includes color and black-and-white illustrations, a timeline, a useful glossary, and further reading suggestions. All titles in the six-book series are aligned to national Common Core standards, as well as specific state standards (including non-Common Core states).

The Emancipation Proclamation: Would You Do What Lincoln Did? is available in a library-bound edition for $17.95. That's a 25% school/library discount from Enslow's list price for library-bound editions. A paperback edition is also available for the list price of $7.95. 

September 4, 2012

Enslow Cheerleading Books Ready for Football Season

Early September means football season, both in schools and public libraries. This high-interest sport offers many books for young readers to explore. While there are many books on athletes and sports teams, books that go "outside the lines" of the sport also draw interest. One such activity is cheerleading. A sport in its own right, cheerleading includes both genders, extends across various age levels, and embraces many positive, character building attributes.

Enslow Publishers' "Ready, Set, Cheer!" series offers page-turning books that get to the heart of cheer. Author Lisa Mullarkey's clear, age-appropriate style delivers a nifty counterpoint to the series' reader-friendly design and full-color photos. Suitable for grades 3 and 4, these Guided Reading Level "M" works provide a wonderful entry point for readers (especially reluctant readers) wanting to explore this rewarding activity.

Each title in this four-book series is available in a library-bound edition for $17.95; that price represents a 25% discount to institutional buyers. Paperback versions of "Ready, Set, Cheer!" is also available for $7.95 per title.



August 28, 2012

Enslow Fall 2012 Catalog Features Common Core

Enslow Publishers' Fall 2012 catalog is available! The printed edition is being delivered to schools, public libraries, and commercial accounts now. If you want to see the catalog immediately, you can access an electronic version of it at www.enslow.com.

We're excited about our Fall 2012 catalog, as it represents a new direction for Enslow Publishers. Thanks to strong interest in the Common Core, we've organized our catalog by four major curricular areas: language arts, math, science, and social studies. Many books also include key reading level information, such as Guided Reading Levels.

Importantly, we provide a path to find Common Core correlation details for many titles in the catalog. You'll discover that our books offer a wealth of correlations across multiple grade levels. Enslow's strong editorial quality also assures you that each book will deliver the rich informational text Common Core and state requirements demand. In short, they're the right, age-appropriate content for these times.

We believe Enslow's new Common Core catalog for Fall 2012, with 13 new series, offers outstanding collection value. Order now to have these new books in time for your library or classroom needs!

August 23, 2012

It's National Inventors Month

Library ISBN 978-0-7660-3963-6
Paperback ISBN 978-1-4644-0130-5
Enslow has three series on inventors. The first one, I Like Inventors, is a new 2012 series for the elementary reader, and contains 6 books: Madam C. J. Walker created her own line of hair-care products; George Ferris invented the ferris wheel; Philo Farnsworth invented the television; Ralph Baer invented the home video game; James Naismith invented basketball; and Vivien Thomas was a doctor's assistant who invented a new surgery technique used on babies with heart problems.

Library ISBN 978-0-7660-2847-0
For the middle grade student, Genius at Work! Great Inventor Biographies has 13 titles perfect for those readers. This series features the inventors above, as well as Les Paul who created the electric guitar; Igor Sikorsky who created helicopters; W. K. Kellogg, the founder of the cereal company; Theodore Maiman who invented the laser; Samuel Colt, who invented a handgun that did not need to be reloaded; Thomas Gallaudet,  who created sign language; and Stephanie Kwolek, the inventor of the bullet-resistant vest.

Library ISBN 978-1-59845-050-7
Also for the middle grade student, Inventors Who Changed the World has 7 titles. These titles are longer in length than the other two series. Alexander Graham Bell, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Johannes Gutenberg, Louis Pasteur, Marconi and Tesla, Philo T. Farnsworth, and Thomas Edison are covered in this series.

All of these titles are available directly from Enslow or your preferred vendor.


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