Back Cover

Did you know that hydropower supplies 16 percent of all electricity worldwide? Did you know there are more than 57,000 big dams around the world! Canals and Dams! With 25 Science Projects for Kids invites kids ages 7 though 10 to investigate the waterways that help the world run! Through fun facts and engaging content, readers explore record-breaking structures such as the Panama Canal and Hoover Dam. They also learn about the physics that make canals and dams work! Elementary-aged kids discover how hundreds of years of innovation created the canals and dams we know today and how this technology affects people and the environment. Links to primary sources for kids offer a unique, interactive learning experience, while, while fun facts, engaging illustrations, timeline, glossary, and lots of resources keep kids wanting to learn more about the engineering design process. Canals and Dams! is part of a set of four Explore Engineering books, in which readers ages 7 to 10 develop foundational understanding of the physics that guides the building and maintenance of bridges, canals, dams, tunnels, and skyscrapers. Other titles in the Explore Engineering set include Bridges!, Tunnels!, and Skyscrapers! Try these hands-on STEM activities! Engineer a beaver dam Experiment with glaciers Build a model of the water cycle

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Did you know that hydropower supplies 16 percent of all electricity worldwide? Did you know there are more than 57,000 big dams around the world! Explore Canals and Dams! With 25 Great Projects invites kids ages 7 though 10 to investigate the waterways that help the world run! Through fun facts and engaging content, readers explore record-breaking structures such as the Panama Canal and Hoover Dam. They also learn about the physics that make canals and dams work! Elementary-aged kids discover how hundreds of years of innovation created the canals and dams we know today and how this technology affects people and the environment. Links to primary sources for kids offer a unique, interactive learning experience, while, while fun facts, engaging illustrations, timeline, glossary, and lots of resources keep kids wanting to learn more about the engineering design process. Explore Canals and Dams! is part of a set of four Explore Engineering books, in which readers ages 7 to 10 develop foundational understanding of the physics that guides the building and maintenance of bridges, canals, dams, tunnels, and skyscrapers. Other titles in the Explore Engineering set include Explore Bridges!, Explore Tunnels!, and Explore Skyscrapers! Try these hands-on STEM activities! Engineer a beaver dam Experiment with glaciers Build a model of the water cycle

Author Biography

Anita Yasuda is the author of more than 100 books for children. In 2013, she won the Honor Book award, Science for grades K-12, Society of School Librarians International for Explore Flight! With 25 Great Projects and in 2012, she won the gold Moonbeam award for her book Explore The Wild West! 25 Great Activities. She is a member of the Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). She lives with her family in Huntington Beach, California. Mike Crosier holds an MFA from the Center for Cartoon Studies. He is the illustrator of several books from Nomad Press, including Explore Greek Myths! With 25 Great Projects and Video Games: Design and Code Your Own Adventure. He lives in White River Junction, Vermont.

Table of Contents

Timeline
Introduction: Let's Explore Canals and Dams
Chapter One: Why Do We Build Canals and Dams?
Chapter Two: Types of Canals and Dams
Chapter Three: Engineering and Design
Chapter Four: Let the Building Begin!
Chapter Five: Famous Canals and Dams, Now and in the Future
Glossary Resources Index

Review

Explore Simple Machines! With 25 Great Projects Booklist ". . . Yasuda writes in particularly clear, simple language, and intersperses her explanations with historical notes, jokes that even the target audience will find laughably lame ('What did the apple say to the wedge? You split me up!') and 25 easy projects or demonstrations constructed from common materials. She also repeatedly urges readers to spot and classify the simple machines that are all around, encourages the use of a science notebook, and closes her discourse with descriptions of what inventors and engineers do. Illustrated with simple black-and-white cartoons and capped with well-considered lists of print and other resources, this makes a serviceable hands-on guide to the topic."
Explore Simple Machines! With 25 Great Projects: National Science Teachers Association - " . . . This is not your usual activity book. Written for the student, with inquiry in mind, the explanations are simple and easy to follow, and there is an explanation of what is happening and questions to extend the learning. I would use this book with young scientists in my class, and I would also put the materials in a center for young children to explore, make, and do . . .I honestly didn't think simple machines were fun or easy to understand. This book changed that for me and for my students."
School Library Connection

". . . Engaging and easy to read. Interested students will have no trouble reading and exploring the content on their own, but it could also be used by a teacher to plan STEM lessons and centers. . . would make a good addition to any library's STEM collection and will serve as a great resource for both students and teachers. Recommended "

Promotional

• $40,000 marketing and publicity budget (for series)
• Exhibiting at national and regional conferences including:
  American Library Association (ALA: 60,000 members)
  National Science Teacher Association/STEM (NSTA: 60,000 members)
  American Association of School Librarians (AASL: 10,000 members)
  Public Library Association (PLA: 11,000 members)
  Texas Library Association (TLA: 7,000 members)
  National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS: 25,000 members)
  International Literacy Association (ILA: 60,000 members)
  Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE: 40,000 members)
• Advertising in the following publications:
  SLJ display ads (3–4 times for series)
  Booklist/Booklinks display ads (3–4 times)
  Booklist/Booklinks online ads
  Follett Library
  Ingram (Children's Advance 2 times)
  Baker & Taylor (Growing Minds)
• Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author's speaking engagements at bookstores, libraries, schools, museums, events, and conferences
• Extensive social media outreach via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and author's website at anitayasuda.com

Long Description

Did you know that hydropower supplies 16 percent of all electricity worldwide? And there are more than 57,000 big dams around the world! Canals and Dams! With 25 Science Projects for Kids invites kids ages 7 though 10 to investigate the waterways that help the world run! Through fun facts and engaging content, readers explore record-breaking structures such as the Panama Canal and Hoover Dam. They also learn about the physics that make canals and dams work! Elementary-aged kids discover how hundreds of years of innovation created the canals and dams we know today and how this technology affects people and the environment. Discover how one dam can both supply electricity to entire cities, and flood entire towns, and how one canal can cut trade routes in half! Through 25 hands-on projects that use materials found around the house or classroom, kids will explore the mechanisms that make canals and dams work. Engaging STEM projects and experiments, such as engineering a beaver dam and experimenting with water, help kids break down the small processes behind big structures! By combining science with fun facts, jokes, activities, and experiments, kids will have an exciting adventure exploring the world's canals and dams, while links to primary sources offer ample opportunity for further student-led exploration. Canals and Dams! is part of a set of four Explore Engineering books. In the Explore Engineering series, readers ages 7 to 10 learn the physics behind the things they build: Why does a tower of blocks eventually fall? Why does a tunnel sometimes cave in? Through a series of focused, science-minded activities that require critical thinking paired with creative trial-and-error attempts at building, readers develop foundational understanding of the physics that guides the building and maintenance of bridges, canals, tunnels, and skyscrapers. Other titles in the Explore Engineering set include Bridges!, Tunnels!, and Skyscrapers!

Review Quote (previous edition)

Explore Simple Machines! With 25 Great Projects: Booklist ". . . Yasuda writes in particularly clear, simple language, and intersperses her explanations with historical notes, jokes that even the target audience will find laughably lame ('What did the apple say to the wedge? You split me up!') and 25 easy projects or demonstrations constructed from common materials. She also repeatedly urges readers to spot and classify the simple machines that are all around, encourages the use of a science notebook, and closes her discourse with descriptions of what inventors and engineers do. Illustrated with simple black-and-white cartoons and capped with well-considered lists of print and other resources, this makes a serviceable hands-on guide to the topic."

Review Quote

Explore Simple Machines! With 25 Great Projects: Booklist ". . . Yasuda writes in particularly clear, simple language, and intersperses her explanations with historical notes, jokes that even the target audience will find laughably lame ('What did the apple say to the wedge? You split me up!') and 25 easy projects or demonstrations constructed from common materials. She also repeatedly urges readers to spot and classify the simple machines that are all around, encourages the use of a science notebook, and closes her discourse with descriptions of what inventors and engineers do. Illustrated with simple black-and-white cartoons and capped with well-considered lists of print and other resources, this makes a serviceable hands-on guide to the topic."

Promotional "Headline"

$40,000 marketing and publicity budget (for series) Exhibiting at national and regional conferences including: American Library Association (ALA: 60,000 members) National Science Teacher Association/STEM (NSTA: 60,000 members) American Association of School Librarians (AASL: 10,000 members) Public Library Association (PLA: 11,000 members) Texas Library Association (TLA: 7,000 members) National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS: 25,000 members) International Literacy Association (ILA: 60,000 members) Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE: 40,000 members) Advertising in the following publications: SLJ display ads (3-4 times for series) Booklist/Booklinks display ads (3-4 times) Booklist/Booklinks online ads Follett Library Ingram (Children's Advance 2 times) Baker & Taylor (Growing Minds) Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author's speaking engagements at bookstores, libraries, schools, museums, events, and conferences Extensive social media outreach via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and author's website at anitayasuda.com

Description for Sales People

This nonfiction title for ages 7 through 10 invites children to delve the basics of engineering that make canals and dams possible, and discover the impact they have on our world. Readers understand foundational physics concepts at an early age, developing a comfort level with science and mathematics. Through STEM activities, readers understand how physical forces are exerted on the natural world, and how these enable the function of canals and dams. Kids make discoveries mirroring the engineers in the past and present who developed the canals and dams we know today. This book emphasizes the importance of sustainable development and the impact of canals and dams on the environment. The interactive nature of this book encourages children who may be reading below grade level to enjoy the content and offers enough science vocabulary to challenge those students who are above grade level. Readers learn about the history of canals and dams, as well as what engineers do and how engineers, architects, and construction workers work together in teams to build these structures. Kids learn the engineering concepts and designs that allow canals and dams to be safely built and used. Meets the engineering design standards for NSTA's NGSS curriculum for K-5th grade. Uses an inquiry-based approach to encourage readers to ask questions, define problems, carry out investigations, and reach their own conclusions about canals and dams and current construction ideas. Encourages the development of important skills, including problem solving and model testing. Uses an inquiry-based approach to encourage readers to experiment with engineering designs and reach their own conclusions about what works and what doesn't. Uses links to online primary sources to engage readers in further, independent study. Meets Common Core State Standards for reading informational text. Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.

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