As a former seventh grade English teacher, middle-grade author Laura Martin received the best possible training to write for her target reader. This experience also gave her great insight into creating curriculum that inspires and engages this age group. Too often books are dissected, Martin says, which is not the right approach. Students in the 8-12 age group need to play, explore, and discover. For her critically acclaimed Edge of Extinction book series, Martin created teaching materials that focused on the dinosaur theme while providing recommended activities to engage the students. Her teaching guides for her series and latest novel, Float, are available as free downloads through her publisher's website. Martin sees these materials as a natural complement to her books and as a way to make her books more marketable to teachers.