Mary Kay Carson's Blog

SIGNING OFFby Brandon Marie MillerDear Blog Peeps,Well, it's time. I can't believe our very first post was over ten years ago! And now, after nearly 100 blogs, we are saying goodbye to new material on Hands-On-Books. Thank you to everyone who has read, commented, and shared our blog! Happily, ten years of goodness remains for kids and adults, teachers, librarians, and parents to find-- great

 Welcome this month's guest blogger, Heather L. Montgomery*!Round rocks, red leaves, rhinoceros beetles—we all know that kid who would cram them in a pocket then clutter up the closet. . . That kid might be a scientist. George Washington Carver, Jane Goodall, Charles Darwin—all were incessant collectors as kids! My recent picture book, What’s In Your Pocket? Collecting Nature’s Treasures,

�� ��My��new book BONES UNEARTHED! will publish on November 23.�� In those wacky times of broken supply chains, the pub date wasdelayed from September, the perfect date to launch a book from my middle grade Creepy &True series. Now the book will drop just before Thanksgiving (and is available forpreorder in case you are doing early holiday shopping.����https://amzn.to/3a0B4Tt�� ) *���� This is my

   My new book BONES UNEARTHED! will publish on November 23.  In those wacky times of broken supply chains, the pub date wasdelayed from September, the perfect date to launch a book from my middle grade Creepy &True series. Now the book will drop just before Thanksgiving (and is available forpreorder in case you are doing early holiday shopping.  https://amzn.to/3a0B4Tt  ) *   This is my

 Welcome this month's guest blogger, Rebecca Hirsch*!Fall is coming. Maybe you’ve noticed it too—a chill in the air, leaves starting to turn, darkness arriving earlier in the evening. It's perfect time of year for an outdoor exploration of the dark and its animals with my new picture book, Night Creatures: Animals That Swoop, Crawl, and Creep while You Sleep.The book follows a mother and child as

Welcome this month's guest blogger, Jennifer Swanson!How many of you are currently watching the Tokyo Olympics? Me!  I LOVE sports. I should. I grew up with three brothers and a father who love sports. It was natural that I would as well. After all, I spent most of my days playing baseball in the backyard with my brothers, shooting hoops in the driveway, swimming laps in the

 When Hillary Clinton won the Democrat nomination for US president in 2016, many thought that she was the first woman so honored.Not so. Several women, Victoria Woodhull and Shirley Chisholm among them, had their names placed in nomination across the years.The name that rings in my mind is Margaret Chase Smith, Republican senator of Maine, who was nominated at the Republican Convention at San

Welcome guest blogger Jenna Grodzicki! My newest book, Wild Style: Amazing Animal Adornments, features 11 animals that decorate themselves in order to survive. Doing the research for this book was a blast! These wacky adornments help the animals stay safe from predators, protect their bodies, show power, make it easier to find a mate, or allow them to sneak up on their meal unseen. One such

by Mary Kay CarsonHappy spring, everyone! My just-released latest book Animal Watching is the perfect companion to warmer weather. It's part of a new Outdoor School series of books that encourages kids to get outside and explore the natural world. Kirkus gave the books a starred review, saying that the book is, "[s]ure to encourage readers to go outside and get to know their animal neighbors."

We welcome Lisa Amstutz, whose Mammal Mania! will be released on April 20. Happy Book Birthday!My newest book, Mammal Mania (Chicago Review Press,2021), explores what makes mammals unique, as well as their anatomy, behavior,and conservation needs. Like the others in the Young Naturalists series,it features three hands-on activities in each chapter. I designed these activities to introduce