The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents), Second Edition

306 Pages·2009·6.75 MB·English

by  Gina Misiroglu

handy kids FM 7.5:Handy Kids 2nd edition 5/27/09 12:04 PM Page i
About the Author
G
ina Misiroglu began noting dozens of questions and answers for the second edi-
tion of The Handy Answer Book for Children (and Parents) while fielding life’s
questions from her two children, who are now 6 and 16. When she’s not busy par-
enting, she spends her time writing books, specializing in the authorship and edit-
ing 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 of American 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
Heroes (2001). Her books for Visible Ink Press include The Handy Politics Answer
Book (2002), The Superhero Book: The Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and
Hollywood Heroes(2004), and The Handy Presidents Answer Book(2005). She lives
in Los Angeles.
handy kids FM 7.5:Handy Kids 2nd edition 5/27/09 12:04 PM Page ii
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handy kids FM 7.5:Handy Kids 2nd edition 5/27/09 12:04 PM Page iii
THE
HANDY
ANSWER
BOOK
for
KIDS
(and Parents)
handy kids FM 7.5:Handy Kids 2nd edition 5/27/09 12:04 PM Page iv
handy kids FM 7.5:Handy Kids 2nd edition 6/11/09 10:01 PM Page vi
THE Copyright © 2010 by Visible Ink Press®
This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright
HANDY
laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other
applicable laws.
ANSWER No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writ-
ing 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
BOOK web site.
for
All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended.
KIDS
Visible Ink Press®
43311 Joy Rd., #414
Canton, MI 48187-2075
(and Parents) 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 print-
ings, 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-Publication 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
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Contents
INTRODUCTION ix
FOR MORE INFORMATION 277
INDEX 281
OUTER SPACE … 1 Poisonous, Meat-eating, and Other Extreme
Plants … Ferns, Mosses, and Mushrooms
Mysteries of the Universe … Planets and
… Trees … Plants that Help and Heal
the Solar System … Our Sun and the Stars
… Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids …
Exploring Space
PEOPLE AROUND
THE WORLD … 105
PLANET EARTH
Lots of People! … Languages and Cultures
AND OUR MOON … 21
… City Life … Farm Life
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 POLITICS AND
Earthquakes … Going Green GOVERNMENT … 125
Countries … Wars … Governments …
American Government … U.S. State Facts
CREATURES BIG
and Trivia
AND SMALL … 49
Dinosaurs and Ancient Life … Amazing
Animals … Bug Zoo … Fish and Sea
HOW THINGS
Creatures … Reptiles and Amphibians …
Birds WORK … 143
Nuts and Bolts … Buildings … Moving on
the Ground … Flying High … The Water
PLANT LIFE … 79
Highway … Communications and
Plant Basics … Seeds and Growth … Electronic Devices … Pictures, Lights, and
Fragrant Flowers, Beautiful Blooms … Lasers … Handy Things around the House vii
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MATH, MEASUREMENT, Hair, Skin, and Nails … My Senses …
AND TIME … 179 Eating and Drinking … Sickness and
Health … Disabilities and Substance Abuse
Numbers and Counting … Weights and
Measures … Calendars and Telling Time
DAILY LIFE … 231
Home Life … Families … Pets … Going to
ALL ABOUT
School … Serving My Community …
MY BODY … 197
Internet Safety … Bicycle Tips … Other
Bones and Joints … Muscle Power … My Safety Tips … Tough Questions: Divorce,
Building Blocks … Blood … Organs … Death, God
viii
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Introduction
W
hen Visible Ink’s publisher, Roger Jänecke, approached me about updating the
first edition of The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents), I was a bit skepti-
cal. 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 find out about
the world around you. Kids have an insatiable hunger for information and a curios-
ity that winds its way down every road. And it’s an adult’s job to satisfy that yearn-
ing 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 of The 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 popu-
lar edition with intriguing information on dozens of different topics, helping parents
provide answers that go beyond “because” and “it just is” and “I don’t know.” Consid-
er The Handy Answer Bookas a starting point—or for those who own the first edition,
a punctuation mark—a launching pad that will send an inquisitive mind in many dif-
ferent directions. Or think of it as a fun way to spend a few hours, flipping 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 definition 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 ques-
tions, explore the mysteries of the universe, and investigate weather-related phe-
nomena (“What is a hurricane? An avalanche? Lightning? Thunder?”) and various
features of our planet, including rainforests, deserts, oceans, and volcanoes. ix