I did a lot of research on the sites, consulted with archaeologists who excavated them, and had all chapters professioanlly reviewed to make sure they are accurate and current. Using this guidebook will give you a unique cultural and historical framework for discovering the scenic beauty of the Southwest. I include current directions to sites (only sites that are open to the public, accessible, interpreted, monitored), suggest other nearby places to visit further reading.
This book has sold nearly 90,000 copies over to date. Happy exporing!
David Grant Noble: Author of "Ancient Ruins of the Southwest"
List price: $16.95 (that's 20% off!)
This 61-page picture book contains simple language easily read by first and second graders (on a par with Dr. Suess), but its sophistication about children's propensity to lie will keep them coming back until they are approaching middle school.
The premise is simple: While everyone, even the author, has told some lies--"I'm late because my watch stopped, I did not spend my lunch money on candy"--most people need to tell the truth to feel good about themselves. People get along much better in life if they tell the truth.
The book explains that there a lot of different kinds of lies, and a lot of reasons that people tell them. "Some people can look at others, face to face and they can tell an enormous WHOPPER. But when others lie, their faces get red, and they have to turn to look away." People lie because they don't want to tell the truth, don't want to admit that they have done something wrong, prefer to blame others, think it will get them out of trouble. Lying, on the contrary, often gets people into even more trouble.
Some of Moser's books are funny. Not this one. But Moser does make even adults look silly when they lie. A car salesman looks ridiculous telling his customer "This car is in perfect condition." A politician, who promises, if elected, to raise only wages, but never to raise taxes, looks silly too. So does the kid who tells his friends that his uncle was an explorer before becoming an astronaut and a movie star.
Next, kids learn about why it's important not to lie. First, liars need good memories, so they can remember who they lied to and what they told them. Otherwise, they'll get confused and will soon be caught in their lies. Worrying about this makes some liars unable to eat or sleep. It even makes them worry that people will stop believing or lose respect for them. If people want respect and trust from others, Moser tells kids, "you must apologize for lying and tell the truth."
Telling the truth, he concludes, is "like ice skating--the more you do it, the easier it becomes." Once kids have digested this message, they tell the truth more often, and have every reason to feel proud. Alyssa A. Lappen
List price: $16.95 (that's 30% off!)
Much as we might like to, it's a mistake to teach children that no one ever hurts others, and Moser doesn't try. He starts by telling kids the truth--every day someone hits, kicks or shoots someone.
Why do people behave so violently? Sometimes, they do so because they want things that belong to others, or want to tell them what to do. Sometimes they are so angry they can't control themselves or they want attention.
Sometimes they have seen too much violence on TV, in movies or in video games, which can all make violence look and sound exciting. Children may think, "Wow, those things look like fun." They want to drive fast cars and smash them, learn how to fight and knock people down or get a gun and shoot it. They may even want to learn to make bombs and blow up buildings.
This book, published in 2001, may well have been written after September 11. The simple illustrations definitely suggest the terrible pain of that trauma, albeit in as non-threatening a way as possible. The story also explains that while it may be fun to watch people do violent things in movies, games and on TV, they are pretend. When the shows and games end, the actors go home.
But in real life, it is not fun to be threatened. People can be hurt by violence. They can really die. It's not fun to be in a car wreck, knocked around by a school yard bully or to have a gun aimed at you. Getting shot is not fun.
Violence is not new to the world, Moser explains. For thousands of years, people fought, using their fists, and their teeth, and later on, rocks, clubs, knives, spears, bows and arrows and finally guns.
None of these things are good or bad, the author explains. "They are simply tools." Guns and spears, bows and arrows can be good for hunting and knives may be used to cut meat and vegetables.
But sometimes people use tools as weapons. Robbers carry guns to steal from others, and sometimes kill.
People who do these things are a menace to themselves and others. Why would anyone want to be a menace? They shoot and kill other people, hurting the friends and families of their victims. Sometimes their victims are little children.
About 2/3 through, the author turns to 10 methods kids can use to deal with these problems. Some will help children shape their own attitudes towards violent individuals who can hurt themselves and others. Others concern how kids should consider violent games and TV and things they can do instead of watching or playing such things.
The tools offered here are sensible and should help children understand the dangers around them, how they can react responsibly to others' violent actions and how they might channel their own anger. Alyssa A. Lappen
List price: $16.95 (that's 20% off!)