Hopping Fun Creations

Throughout his life, Chief Joseph of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce struggled to keep his people's land in northeastern Oregon and to solve conflicts with white settlers.

His skillful efforts failed when the government allowed the white murderers of his friend to go free and soldiers ordered the entire Nez Perce population to move to a tiny reservation. A handful of vengeful warriors murdered 18 settlers, sparking the War of 1877.

To avoid bloodshed and certain defeat against a powerful force, more than 700 Nez Perce men, women, and children—many of them elderly and wounded—traveled 1,500 miles across several states, pursued by five units of U.S. soldiers.

Chief Joseph is best known for the famous vow, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

You can read his tragic story in my children's biography Chief Joseph: The Voice for Peace.

I've been teaching English to immigrants for more than a decade and developed Letter Perfect English as a simple but flexible teaching tool. My learners have played 100 games and activities with this unique picture card deck, for beginners to advanced students, suited for use with teens and adults. The games develop vocabulary, speaking, listening, grammar, storytelling, and writing skills.

Forensic anthropologist Diane France is a scientist who's leading a life of crime. That is, she's a bone detective who solves murder mysteries by finding and identifying human skeletons. In her Colorado lab and traveling around the world, she has also "met" the bones of famous people in history, from Russian royalty to American outlaws and Civil War soldiers. Click on the title for more details.

Adriana Ocampo is a planetary geologist who has worked for NASA, the U.S. space agency, since she was a teenager. Her story begins in South America, where she grew up, but a passion for rocks and craters has led her all around the world. She explores Earth's past on foot, by leading field expeditions to seek out rocks that were blasted, melted, vaporized, and otherwise tortured by the explosive crash of an asteroid or comet.

Meanwhile, she investigates the fascinating features of Mars, Jupiter, and other planets through the electronic eyes of NASA's robotic spacecraft.

Crime Scene Investigation (ages 9 to 14, Lexile level 690, Accelerated Reader Quiz #112861) is the true story of the science, technology, and thinking skills behind collecting evidence at a crime scene. The book features interviews with crime scene investigators and real crime cases, including an art theft report that young sleuths can read for clues to "who dunnit."

Autopsies/The Body as Evidence (ages 9 to 14, Lexile level 690, Accelerated Reader Quiz #112860) explores how medical examiners treat corpses like a crime scene--searching every bit, inside and out, for evidence of how and when the person died. The last chapter features excerpts from an actual autopsy report and challenges readers to apply what they've learned to uncover a "smoking gun" clue to a murder.

Review by Booklist:
Young CSI fans will be engrossed by this title in the Crime Scene Science series. The well-balanced mix of case studies, scientific explanations, and descriptions of fieldwork offers a dynamic, behind-the-scenes look at crime-scene investigations. Hopping doesn't sensationalize; she focuses on facts: "a rotting corpse releases about 400 chemicals into the air." Even so, the graphic details and color photos may disturb some young people. A resource section of books and Web sites encourages further exploration.

I wrote Sports Hall of Fame with my husband, Chris Egan, a sports editor at the Ann Arbor News. The book features the spectacular Williams sisters of tennis—Venus and Serena—along with figure skating star Michelle Kwan, football quarterback Peyton Manning, basketball standout Grant Hill, and baseball cut-up Ken Griffey, Jr.

Short features about wind power, making water from fog, city heat islands, and other topics motivate young children to explore weather with related hands-on activities. Accelerated Reader Quiz #43209.

My top selling game book includes complete, highly motivating games for kids who like—and don't like—math. Grades 3-6.

PUBLISHERS: 101 Brain–Boosting Math Puzzlers and Ready, Set, Roll! Math Dice Games have recently gone out of print after years of successful sales to teachers. I can turn both titles into excellent children's books. Contact me for samples!