PUB NEWS: Backyard Safari and The Vikings! Trudi Trueit

I am delighted to share the news that my new nonfiction series for children, Backyard Safari (Marshall Cavendish) debuts this month. At last! Here are the first five titles in the series (all will be available this month):

• BIRDS
• CATERPILLARS & BUTTERFLIES
• FROGS & TOADS
• SPIDERS
• SQUIRRELS

 

 
Backyard Safari is for every kid who loves small creatures that chirp, crawl, croak, fly, or jump. Designed for children ages 7 to 10, each book in the series introduces the characteristics, life cycle, and behaviors of a particular backyard animal. Once the reader is familiar with the subject, it's time for a step-by-step trek through their own yard in search of the animal. A basic field guide helps explorers identify the creatures they uncover and a project guide offers easy and fun projects to do. Plenty of fun facts, sidebars, and safari tips are sprinkled throughout the book (because I live to discover cool trivia!). I owe a big thanks to my wonderful editor, Christine Florie, and talented designer, Alicia Mikles, who outdid themselves to make these books shine.

School Library Journal says the series, “ … leads the reader into wanting to get up off the couch and get outside to see for oneself these animals.” 

Five more Backyard Safari titles will launch in the fall of 2012 (slug lovers, hold on, there’s one coming for you!). 

Also, for young history buffs, I have another book being released this month on the technological wonders of early Scandinavia. Technology of the Ancients: The Vikings (Marshall Cavendish) gives children, ages 9 and up, an inside look at Viking-age ingenuity. From agriculture to architecture to shipbuilding, readers will discover the secrets that gave the Vikings their edge when it came to exploration and invasion. This was a fascinating book to research and write. I didn't know Viking helmets never had horns. Turns out, it was just a myth (do you think we should break the news to a certain football team in Minnesota? Nah). 

And that's the beauty of nonfiction. Where else can you write about the quirky habits of squirrels and the daring exploits of the Vikings all in the same year?

For more info about these and other titles (I write fiction, too!) please visit my website at www.truditrueit.com.