BRAIN VERSUS SCREEN : How Screentime Affects Our Brains

For adults, there are loads of great books that share the science behind what screens and tech are doing to our brains. But how do we explain that science to our kids in a way that’s fun, engaging, and judgement free? Let Award-Winning Science Communicator and Author/Illustrator Bethany Barton do that part for you: empowering your young readers with the facts and guidance they need to make brain-healthy tech choices, find balance, and realize digital wellness.

“A hilarious ‘toot salute’ to the gas we pass.” —*Kirkus Reviews*

I’M TRYING TO LOVE FARTS

Children’s Choice Award winner Bethany Barton tackles the digestive system and all the farts that come along with it!

As long as there have been people, there have been farts. And as long as there have been farts, they’ve been hilarious! Join Bethany Barton, creator of the award-winning I’m trying to Love . . . series, as she explores the digestive system, how food becomes energy, and what our bodies do with what is left over.

Equal parts funny and informative, I’m Trying to Love Farts will leave you with a whole new appreciation for our bodily gases.

“Full of interesting and amazing facts and the many ways math is crucial in our everyday lives, this entertaining, vibrant text is sure to get young readers excited about the subject.” — Booklist

“Even the most bee-phobic readers will have a hard time resisting this swarm of humor and fact.”–*Kirkus Reviews*

“Refreshing [and] fun…. A must for the lighter side of nonfiction.”–*School Library Journal*

“Colorful artwork, plenty of facts, and an entertainingly irreverent approach…[make this a] playful take on nonfiction.”–*Booklist*

* “The skillful juggling of scientific fact and emotional truth make this a winner.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

* “Barton’s wacky ink and digital artwork is simultaneously cringe-worthy and cackle-inducing…. Both arachnophobes and arachnophiles will find useful debate fodder squashed within these pages.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“The presentation is original and engaging, with a zippy text and hilarious visuals. The cartoon illustrations are appealingly childlike, with the font a hand-written scrawl, and the spiders depicted are downright cuddly.” —School Library Journal

“Watercolor-like splotches form the background for the spiders, who actually look hapless and cute. Fact-filled and funny arachnology.” —Booklist

“Chock full of facts, diagrams, and examples, including fun end pages, this book will reward readers who return to it frequently. Bold lines, lively colors and clever use of white space make for an eye-catching read.” –Kirkus, Starred Review

”For readers who ever wondered if germs were good for anything—they are! . . . This terrific book entertains, informs, and is extremely topical.” –*-School Library Journal,* starred review

“Barton’s lively ink-and-watercolor illustrations add to the fun while creating lively visual representations of information. A worthwhile addition to libraries and a potentially helpful resource for germophobic kids.” —*Booklist*

“An engaging introduction to really grasping and dealing with trash.”- School Library

I’M TRYING TO LOVE MATH

 * Named an Amazon Best Nonfiction Children’s Book of 2019  NOMINEE: Magnolia Book Awards (Mississippi Children’s Museum) * Junior Library Guild Selection * Featured in Scholastic Catalog *

Do multiplication tables give you hives? Do you break out in a sweat when you see more than a few numbers hanging out together? Then I’m Trying to Love Math is for you! In her signature hilarious style, Bethany Barton introduces readers to the things (and people) that use math in amazing ways — like music, and spacecraft, and even baking cookies! This isn’t a how-to math book, it’s a way to think differently about math as a necessary and cool part of our lives!

GIVE BEES A CHANCE

* Featured in The New York Times * FINALIST - SCIBA (Southern California Independent Booksellers Association) 2017 Book Award * LISTED - Scripps National Spelling Bee “Great Words, Great Works” NOMINEE: Beehive Book Award (Children’s Literature Association of Utah) 2019 * Louisiana Young Readers Choice Award 3rd-5th Grade * Junior Library Guild Selection * Featured In Scholastic Catalog* Featured on ABC Network’s Black-ish*

Not sure whether to high-five bees or run away from them?Give Bees a Chance is for anyone who doesn’t quite appreciate how extra special and important bees are to the world, and even to humankind!

Bethany Barton’s interactive cartoon-style illustrations and hilarious narrator mean this book is full of facts and fun. With bees officially on the endangered animals list, it’s more important now than ever to get on board with our flying, honey-making friends!

I’M TRYING TO LOVE SPIDERS

* WINNER - 2016 Children’s Choice Award - 3rd/4th Grade Book of the Year * Starred Review - Kirkus Reviews * Starred Review - Publishers Weekly * WINNER - Beehive Book Award (Children’s Literature Association of Utah) * WINNER - Black-Eyed Susan Picture Book Award (Maryland Association of School Librarians) * NOMINEE - Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award (Grades K-3) * NOMINEE - South Carolina Picture Book Award 2017-2018 * NOMINEE - Charter Oak Children’s Book Award 2016-2017 * NOMINEE - 2017 Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award * NOMINEE - North Carolina Children’s Book Award 2017-2018 * NOMINEE - Show Me Readers Award (Missouri Association of School Librarians) 2017-2018 * NOMINEE - 2018 Monarch Award (Illinois School Library Media Association) * NOMINEE - Garden State Book Award 2018 * Junior Library Guild Selection * Featured in Scholastic Catalog *

I’m Trying to Love Spiders will help you see these amazing arachnids in a whole new light, from their awesomely excessive eight eyes, to the seventy-five pounds of bugs a spider can eat in a single year! And you’re sure to feel better knowing you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being fatally bit by a spider. Comforting, right? No? Either way, there’s heaps more information in here to help you forget your fears . . . or at least laugh a lot!

I’M TRYING TO LOVE ROCKS

I’M TRYING TO LOVE ROCKS  * STARRED REVIEW- Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW - School Library Journal NOMINEE - Surrey Schools Narrative Nonfiction Book of the Year *NOMINEE - Missouri Dogwood Nonfiction Book Award * Junior Library Guild Selection * Featured in Scholastic Catalog *Featured on ABC Network’s Abbott Elementary

The fourth totally awesome, funny, and incredibly informative book in the “I’m Trying to Love…” book series!

Think rocks are boring? Hard to like? Kinda just sit there, doing nothing?
Why even write a whole book about them??
Bethany Barton will tell you why . . . because we wouldn’t be here if there were no rocks!
From the Grand Canyon to volcanos to diamonds and fossils, geology–the study of rocks–shows us where we’ve been and where we’re going. With tons of humor and scores of fascinating facts, Bethany Barton introduces younger readers to geology and why rocks matter . . . enough to write a whole book about them!

I’M TRYING TO LOVE GERMS

 * STARRED REVIEW - School Library Journal

Bethany Barton dives into the microscopic world of germs with fascinating information and tons of humor!

This book is covered in germs! But to be fair, so are we. Did you know that there are more viruses and bacteria on Earth than there are stars in the known universe? Learn all about the microbes in and on our bodies that help us survive, the ones that don’t, and everything in between. Written in Bethany Barton’s trademark balance of informative and hilarious, I’m Trying to Love Germs is a perfect entry point to viruses, the pandemic, and the importance of washing our hands.

I’M TRYING TO LOVE GARBAGE

I’M TRYING TO LOVE GARBAGE  * NOMINEE - North Carolina Children’s Book Award * Junior Library Guild Selection * Featured in Scholastic Catalog *
Do you ever wonder where we put all of our garbage, who gets rid of it, or how our planet isn’t a big pile of mess?

I’m Trying to Love Garbage has all the answers! From scavengers to detritivore to decomposers, nature’s garbage collectors are everywhere. But humans play an important role too, and our favorite narrator is back to tell us all about it.

With Bethany Barton’s trademark balance of informative and hilarious, readers will finish this picture book with a better awareness of the garbage they create and where it all ends up.