Marco the Molecule

Water Adventure and Activity Book

Written by Rick Reynolds. Illustrated by Rick Reynolds and Cristina Watson. 57 pages

Join Marco the Molecule on his 4 BILLION year-long adventure! As a water molecule, life is almost never dull. He sometimes gets stuck in a glacier or underground for years on end, but most of the time he gets to have a blast riding the ocean currents and exploring the always-changing water cycle. He might be eaten in a leaf by a caterpillar and then somehow find himself in a beautiful rainbow on the other side of the world not long after.

Fully illustrated and filled with humor to engage all ages, the 7 parts of his water adventure story are followed by a variety of enjoyable activities designed to reinforce key terms and concepts such as evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration, runoff, and erosion.

Click here for a book sampler!

Some reasons kids and adults love the book:

• Entertaining episodes and visual diagrams make it easy to understand science.
• It’s fun to color Marco’s adventures and find him on every page.
• Engaging activities reinforce key concepts and terms.
• Body text is in Heineman Special, the easiest to read font developed through years of research.
• Marco knows how to have a good time!

Printed in Portland, OR on 100% recycled paper; bound with recycled plastic Eco-Coil made in the Pacific Northwest.

 

We are now happy to provide print and electronic books for free.

Donations are gladly accepted to cover the cost of printing locally with recycled materials.

Please contact us with requests that include the name of your school, if applicable and grades you work with if you are a teacher.

Praise for Marco the Molecule

“Rick Reynolds has accomplished the challenging task of combining significant science content in a way that is entertaining for elementary age children. Marco the Molecule, subtitled a Water Adventure and Activity Book, does a beautiful job of explaining the water cycle, but also engages children with appealing drawings that beg little hands to grab a box of crayons. The book includes fifteen pages of activities (with an answer key) that are designed for a wide age range. How fitting that it is published by Engaging Press, since this book is truly an engaging way to teach about the water cycle!”
Herb Broda, Ph.D., author of Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning: Using the Outdoors as an Instructional Tool, K-8 and Moving the Classroom Outdoors: Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning in Action.

“My kids love Marco!! After one read, my 5- and 7-year-olds describe the water cycle in detail. They are fascinated that everything in the world is made of molecules and are identifying all sorts of places where they might find Marco and his friends.”
Amy Hansen, Portland, OR

“My 6- and 9-year-old boys thoroughly enjoy Marco the Molecule: Water Adventure and Activity Book! They fight over it, and I am happy (of course) to see them fighting over an EDUCATIONAL WORKBOOK!! My 6-year-old, Joshua, and I got a chance to personally meet the author . . . Mr. Reynolds is an excellent educator, and a natural at teaching children about the environment around us. His knowledge and genuine admiration of the outdoors makes my little ones so curious about the world we live in. Joshua and his older brother, Julian, spent most of the evening last night working on Marco the Molecule, and later on Mr. Reynolds’ other book: The EverGreen Twins Activity Book: 40+ Eco-Activities, Games, and Outdoor Adventures. There’s nothing like watching their little minds absorb knowledge. They become curious about what we expose them to. THANK YOU for creating these wonderful books!!!”
Daniela Micu, Portland, OR

 

“I really like Marco because he has a lot of funny friends and he teaches us about the world.”
Siana Yanosy, Age 5

“I think it’s exciting and really dramatic what happens to such a tiny thing!”
Nathaniel Eddleman-Hanley, Age 9

“There are so many things I love about the book. It is awesome! I love learning about evaporation and I also love learning about how Marco did so much in the time of the dinosaurs, too. All the activities in the back, like the H2O-ku and word search are awesome, too!”
Ben Petrie, Age 7

“Absolutely fantastic! I love Marco in every way. I LOVE how you made it interactive for all ages. My 8-year-old daughter, Anna, quickly snatched it from my hands as soon as it came out of the envelope! She read through it, started coloring it, and then…completed the crossword puzzle–all in half an hour’s time.”
Kara Flockart, Stratford, CT

Interview with Rick Reynolds for Exploring Portland’s Natural Areas by Michael Barton

Listen to one of the Radio Disney interviews with Rick Reynolds.

We are now happy to provide print and electronic books for free.

Donations are gladly accepted to cover the cost of printing locally with recycled materials.

Please contact us with requests that include the name of your school, if applicable and grades you work with if you are a teacher.