Lucas's grandfather takes him to a spot near his ranch where the seeds grow that are known as Mexican jumping beans, in a story that also includes information on the beans and on the moth larva that cause them to jump.

Teacher's handbook for teaching science.

In a small Mexican village deep down in the Southwest corner of Mexico, there was the finest jumping bean community in all the land. Farmer Blue had the most lush, fertile farm in the area. He was very proud of the fact that the famous jumping bean community lived on his farm. He created a special area called the Oasis where they were safe from harm and could flourish to their heart's content. Some people marveled at his jumping beans, others mocked him. "These are famous jumping beans", Farmer Blue would say. "They are circus jumpers and always have a home hereThe Oasis was the center of the village. All community gatherings happen here. All the beans came together here before they make their own way each day. In the center of the Oasis was a beautiful turquoise waterfall with a lagoon and a river that flows through the farmland. Farmer Blue maintained the oasis for the beans for 60 years, so they could live there peacefully.

A Mexican jumping bean isn't a bean at all. It's a fascinating home and food source for a special kind of caterpillar! With Spanish vocabulary and a clever counting concept, this poetic story shares the life cycle of a Mexican jumping bean. This curious jumping insect is actually a seedpod from a shrub called yerba de la flecha, into which a caterpillar burrows, living inside the pod until it builds a cocoon and breaks out as a moth. Perfect for preschoolers and prereaders, this creative picture book explores the Mexican jumping bean's daily life and eventual transformation and escape from the pod.

This book contains 100 activities to do with Mexican jumping beans. Activities include experiments, poetry, art, music, and more! All activities are based on the universal concepts of wonders, patterns, changes, relationships, systems, and structures.

If you like the popular?Teaching Science Through Trade Books? columns in NSTA?s journal Science and Children, or if you?ve become enamored of the award-winning Picture-Perfect Science Lessons series, you?ll love this new collection. It?s based on the same time-saving concept: By using children?s books to pique students? interest, you can combine science teaching with reading instruction in an engaging and effective way.