The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents)

Gina Misiroglu

Description

Kids ask the darndest things . . . and here are the answers—all in one helpful book!

Anyone who has ever been a kid, raised a kid, or spent any time with kids knows that asking questions is a critical part of being a kid. Kids have curious minds, and they come up with some very interesting questions. Why do dogs bark? Why is the sky blue? Why do people have to grow old? Questions like these are how kids find out about the world, and these questions deserve answers. But the truth is, adults don’t always know the answers. The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) comes to the rescue!

Written with a child's imagination in mind, this easy-to-understand book is a launching pad for curious young minds and a life raft for parents at wits end. It addresses nearly 800 queries with enough depth and detail to both satisfy the curiosity of persistent young inquisitors and provide parents with a secure sense of a job well done. It'll equip every parent for those difficult, absurd, or sometimes funny questions from their kids, such as …

Why do people speak different languages?

Why do I cry?

How can fish breathe underwater?

Can people who die see and talk with living people after they are gone?

Why do women in some countries wear veils?

How did my life begin?

How does a vacuum cleaner pick up dirt?

How does my body know to wake up when morning comes?

With numerous photos and illustrations, this tome is richly illustrated, and its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. A launching pad for inquisitive young minds and a life raft for parents who are at their wits’ end, The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) is a book that every parent needs, and every kid will covet!

Sujets

• Juvenile Nonfiction
• People & Places
• Reference
• Science & Nature
• General officer
• Animals
• General
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Visible Ink Press
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781578593248
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 12 Mo

Extrait

About the Author

G ina Misiroglubegan noting dozens of questions and answers for the second edition o fThe Handy Answer Book for Children (and Parents) while elding life’s questions from her two children, who are now 6 and 16. When she’s not busy parenting, she spends her time writing books, specializing in the authorship and editing of pop culture, biography, American history, and general interest titles. Misiroglu has developed dozens of titles for publishers as varied as Warner Bros. Worldwide Publishing, Price Stern Sloan, New World Library, Macmillan Reference USA, and Sharpe Reference. She is the editor ofAmerican Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History (2008);Girls Like Us: 40 Extraordinary Women Celebrate Girlhood in Story, Poetry, and Song(2000) —winner of the New York Public Library’s “Best Book for Teens” Award—and Imagine: The Spirit of Twentieth-Century American HeroesHer books for (2001). Visible Ink Press includeThe Handy Politics Answer Book(2002),The Superhero Book: The Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes (2004), andThe Handy Presidents Answer Book(2005). She lives in Los Angeles.

Also from Visible Ink Press The Handy Anatomy Answer Bookby James Bobick and Naomi Balaban ISBN: 978-1-57859-190-9 The Handy Astronomy Answer Bookby Charles Liu ISBN: 978-1-57859-193-0 The Handy Biology Answer Bookby James Bobick, Naomi Balaban, Sandra Bobick, and Laurel Roberts ISBN: 978-1-57859-150-3 The Handy Dinosaur Answer Book 2nd editionby Patricia Barnes-Svarney and Thomas E Svarney ISBN: 978-1-57859-218-0 The Handy Geography Answer Book 2nd editionby Paul A. Tucci and Matthew T. Rosenberg ISBN: 978-1-57859-215-9 The Handy Geology Answer Bookby Patricia Barnes-Svarney and Thomas E Svarney ISBN: 978-1-57859-156-5 The Handy History Answer Book 2nd Editionby Rebecca Nelson Ferguson ISBN: 978-1-57859-170-1 The Handy Math Answer Bookby Patricia Barnes-Svarney and Thomas E Svarney ISBN: 978-1-57859-171-8 The Handy Ocean Answer Bookby Patricia Barnes-Svarney and Thomas E Svarney ISBN: 978-1-57859-063-6 The Handy Philosophy Answer Bookby Naomi Zack ISBN: 978-1-57859-226-5 The Handy Physics Answer Bookby P. Erik Gundersen ISBN: 978-1-57859-058-2 The Handy Politics Answer Bookby Gina Misiroglu ISBN: 978-1-57859-139-8 The Handy Religion Answer Bookby John Renard ISBN: 978-1-57859-125-1 The Handy Science Answer Book™ Centennial Editionby The Science and Technology Department, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh ISBN: 978-1-57859-140-4 The Handy Sports Answer Bookby Kevin Hillstrom, Laurie Hillstrom, and Roger Matuz ISBN: 978-1-57859-075-9 The Handy Supreme Court Answer Bookby David L Hudson, Jr. ISBN: 978-1-57859-196-1 The Handy Weather Answer Bookby Kevin Hile ISBN: 978-1-57859-221-0 Please visit us atvisibleink.com.

® Copyright © 2010 by Visible Ink Press This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or web site. All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended. ® Visible Ink Press 43311 Joy Rd., #414 Canton, MI 48187-2075 Visible Ink Press is a registered trademark of Visible Ink Press LLC. Most Visible Ink Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Customized printings, special imprints, messages, and excerpts can be produced to meet your needs. For more information, contact Special Markets Director, Visible Ink Press,www.visibleink.com, or 734-667-3211. Managing Editor: Kevin S. Hile Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski Typesetting: Marco Di Vita Indexing: Lawrence W. Baker Proofreader: Sharon R. Gunton ISBN 978-1-57859-219-7 Cover images: iStock.com. Library of congress cataloging-in-Publiçation Data Misiroglu, Gina Renée.  The handy answer book for kids (and parents) / by Gina Misiroglu. — 2nd ed.  p. cm.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 978-1-57859-219-7 1. Children’s questions and answers. I. Title.  AG195.G25 2009  031’.02—dc22 2009020191 Printed in Thailand by Imago. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

INTRODUCTION FOR MORE INFORMATION INDEX OUTER SPACE Mysteries of the Universe Planets and the Solar System Our Sun and the Stars Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids Exploring Space PLANET EARTH AND OUR MOON The Blue Planet The Moon Up in the Sky Clouds and Storms Hot and Cold Days Big Mountains, Deep Holes Water, Water Everywhere Volcanoes and Earthquakes Going Green CREATURES BIG AND SMALL Dinosaurs and Ancient Life Amazing Animals Bug Zoo Fish and Sea Creatures Reptiles and Amphibians Birds PLANT LIFE Plant Basics Seeds and Growth Fragrant Flowers, Beautiful Blooms Poisonous, Meat-eating, and Other Extreme Plants Ferns, Mosses, and Mushrooms Trees Plants that Help and Heal PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD Lots of People! Languages and Cultures City Life Farm Life POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Countries Wars Governments

American Government U.S. State Facts and Trivia HOW THINGS WORK Nuts and Bolts Buildings Moving on the Ground Flying High The Water Highway Communications and Electronic Devices Pictures, Lights, and Lasers Handy Things around the House MATH, MEASUREMENT, AND TIME Numbers and Counting Weights and Measures Calendars and Telling Time ALL ABOUT MY BODY Bones and Joints Muscle Power My Building Blocks Blood Organs Hair, Skin, and Nails My Senses Eating and Drinking Sickness and Health Disabilities and Substance Abuse DAILY LIFE Home Life Families Pets Going to School Serving My Community Internet Safety Bicycle Tips Other Safety Tips Tough Questions: Divorce, Death, God

Introduction

W hen Visible Ink’s publisher, Roger Jänecke, approached me about updating the rst edition ofThe Handy Answer Book forKids (and Parents),I was a bit skeptical. Why, one might ask, update a great reference book that contains just about every question kids from ages 4 to 12? Well, the answer is simple: Because kids ask the darndest things … and they keep asking … and asking. Anyone who has ever been a kid, or had a kid, or hung out with a kid, knows that asking questions is what kids do. It happens to be a great way to nd out about the world around you. Kids have an insatiable hunger for information and a curiosity that winds its way down every road. And it’s an adult’s job to satisfy that yearning for learning—by answering the questions you know, or by pointing kids in the direction of a good reference book when you don’t. Written with a child’s imagination in mind, this revised edition ofThe Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents)is bursting with nearly 800 questions and answers on just about every topic in a kid’s world. After collecting many new questions from moms and dads across the country, we were able supplement the book’s already popular edition with intriguing information on dozens of dierent topics, helping parents provide answers that go beyond “because” and “it just is” and “I don’t know.” ConsiderThe Handy Answer Bookas a starting point—or for those who own the rst edition, a punctuation mark—a launching pad that will send an inquisitive mind in many dierent directions. Or think of it as a fun way to spend a few hours, 6ipping from page to page and absorbing new nuggets of trivia to introduce to your friends. The expanded second edition focuses on subjects that are front-and-center in a child’s world, things that are part of kids’ daily lives or spark their imaginations— from the stars twinkling overhead to earthworms burrowing into the earth. By the way, do you know why stars seem to twinkle? Or how big Earth is? Can you name our plants and pull a quick denition of a dwarf star out of your hat? Can you answer the ever-popular question, “Why is the sky blue?” The expanded “Outer Space” and “Planet Earth and Our Moon” chapters provide answers to these questions, explore the mysteries of the universe, and investigate weather-related phenomena (“What is a hurricane? An avalanche? Lightning? Thunder?”) and various features of our planet, including rainforests, deserts, oceans, and volcanoes. “People around the World” takes you on a journey around the globe, delivering answers to intriguing questions like which country is the smallest (Vatican City) and which country is the largest (Russia). This chapter also provides details about dierent cultures throughout the world, explaining why we have dierent religions, why people speak dierent languages, and which language is spoken by the most people in the world (Mandarin Chinese). You can also compare the starkly dierent lifestyles of those who live amid the bustle of a city and those who work the land. Speaking of farm life, do you know why so many barns are painted red? Or why horses sleep standing up? “Politics and Government” supplements this chapter with explanations about dierent types of government and the troubling question of why countries ght wars. Included here are also fascinating answers about state trivia. Is the District of Columbia a state? Which U.S. state was once its own kingdom? You’ll find out in this section. Perhaps the most interesting subject for kids (and adults, too) is the sometimes mysterious workings of their own bodies, particularly as they navigate their way through the mineeld of burgeoning adolescence. “All about My Body” addresses the many changes a kid’s body goes through and covers the body’s basic functions, from how muscles work to why knuckles crack. And we don’t shy away from the less appealing (or more appealing, depending upon your age and point of view) aspects of

the human body, answering questions about sweat, pimples, warts, scabs, vomit, burps, and hiccups. From a very young age, children become aware of and are fascinated by animals, and for many of us that fascination continues throughout our lives. “Creatures Big and Small” answers scores of questions about animals of all kinds, from the ancient dinosaurs to the tiniest insects and bee-sized bats to the slowest mammal (the sloth) and the biggest animal that has ever lived (the blue whale). Sometimes learning one small fact—like why each zebra has unique black-and-white stripes—can inspire us to look around and see things a bit differently. In “Plant Life,” curious minds will learn that plants are more than just attractive ways to decorate a yard; the Earth’s unique ecosystem depends on plants, and their life systems are complex and amazing. Looking for a concise explanation of photosynthesis? Look no further. Do you wonder about the dierences between the plants in your own backyard and those that survive in the Arctic tundra? Wonder no more. Have you always wanted to know if there’s a 6ower big enough to 6oat in? In the Amazon jungle, the Giant Water Platter grows leaves that reach six to eight feet across and can support the weight of small child. All of us—young and not so old—use numerous high-tech tools and gadgets everyday. It’s hard to imagine life without cellular phones and e-mail, not to mention elevators, airplanes, televisions, and light bulbs. But what miracles of technology make these items function? The chapter “How Things Work” explains it all. Did you know that a television relies on photo cells, electrical signals, and a microphone to function? And how do those things work together, anyway? Ever wonder how an X- ray takes pictures or how a submarine can submerge and rise in the water? What are barcodes, anyway? And why do stores—and consumers—rely on them? And what about numbers, counting, weights and measures, and telling time? The new chapter on “Math, Measurement, and Time” complements the “How Things Work” chapter and supports topics that kids encounter in school. The chapter “Daily Life” addresses such critical questions as “How can I get a bigger allowance?” “Why do I need to get along with my brother and sister?” “Why do I have to go to school?” “Why do dogs wag their tails and bark?” “And why do I have to do homework, anyway (assuming the dog didn’t eat it)?” This chapter also helps kids dene the roles of various family members and explains the value of things like telling the truth, behaving politely, and being a good sport. It also anticipates some of the more difficult questions kids ask about divorce, growing old, and dying. It’s been said that children are like sponges, soaking up an amazing array and depth of information at a mind-spinning rate. Part of this rapid learning rate can be explained by physiological developments, but little knowledge would be possible without a sense of wonder and interest. And while those qualities can be found in abundance in most children, they are by no means the exclusive province of the young. If we’re lucky, we continue to feel the excitement of learning new things and deepening our understanding our entire lives. —Gina Misiroglu

For Oliver and Luke— who always keep the questions coming!