The mighty Yangtze River, the third-longest river in the world, is the birthplace of Chinese civilization. This intriguing book takes readers along this ancient transportation route, strategic natural boundary, and lifeblood of an agricultural society. The near completion of the Three Gorges Dam has displaced more than a million people and changed the river's ecosystem dramatically.
This engaging book highlights the Rhine River, a major transportation route in Western Europe. Fairytale castles and picturesque vineyards provide scenic stretches between Basel, Strasbourg, Cologne, and Rotterdam. Cooperation by Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands has helped restore the rivers health.
This amazing book reveals the facts about the Ganges, a river sacred to Hindus. Flowing through one of the most densely populated areas in the world, its banks are also the site of shrines, temples, and holy cities, including Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
This wonderful book takes readers along the mighty Mississippi. Often celebrated in music and literature, its exploration by explorers spurred the growth of a new nation. Today, the Mississippi not only provides transportation for agricultural and industrial goods but also supplies water for millions of people.
Second in length only to the Nile, the Amazon River carries a greater volume of water than any other river in the world. This attractive book features the fascinating facts about this far-reaching river and the animals, plant life, and indigenous cultures that live in the surrounding rain forest.
Plants are living things that grow and change. Over time, plants have made remarkable adaptations to suit the habitats in which they live. Simple text and beautiful images highlight how plants have adapted to life in the Arctic, in aquatic environments, and in other habitats such as those in deserts and grasslands.
Changing Seasons clearly explains the fascinating changes that take place in nature every year. This vibrant book takes an in-depth look at why there are four seasons, the patterns that appear in each season, and how these changes affect both plants and animals.
Which season is it when it snows; when flowers grow; when leaves fall; when it is very hot? This simple book features childrens descriptions of the weather and activities that make each season fun for them.
In this simple science book, children will learn about the different states of water-liquid, vapor, and solid, and what happens when water changes from one state to another. An illustration of the water cycle helps explain how water evaporates, moves to the sky, and falls back down as rain or snow.
This introductory book shows children where the five oceans are on a simple map and on photos of planet Earth. Children are asked to find the icy oceans at the top and bottom of Earth and the warm oceans around the middle. Amazing photos of a huge moray eel, sea turtle, shark, octopus, and whales will delight young readers.
Young readers are introduced to the concept of habitats in this colorful book. Each spread describes a different habitat and the animals that live there. Children will learn about habitats in forests, deserts, grasslands, wetlands, on mountains, and in the Arctic and Antarctic. An activity asks readers to use what they have learned to match photos of habitats with their habitat names.
This fun book introduces readers to basic geography words. On each page, a child gives clues to the kind of landform they are sitting on. Then they ask the question, Where am I? Young readers learn about mountains, caves, deserts, and other things in our natural world. An activity at the ends asks readers to match photos with their landform names.
Kids will learn about position and direction by following along with Sam in his family's new home. Where will he put things in his room - top, bottom, inside, outside, behind, in front, above, or below? Other concepts include left and right, and north, south, east, and west.
In this beautifully photographed book, Bobbie Kalman takes children on a tour of different coasts, where they can ride some breathtaking ocean waves or meet underwater animals that live in nearby coral reefs. Children will also be introduced to some amazing coastal cities and learn about famous coastal rock formations.
Young readers will be fascinated to learn about how mountains are created and change. Through breathtaking photographs, they will wonder at Earths majestic mountains and meet some of the people and animals that live in the often-harsh environment so high above the ground.
Why do people need rivers? What causes rivers to flood? These are just a few of the questions answered by this fascinating introduction to rivers.
Minerals are chemicals that are the building blocks of rocks. Metals, crystals, and gemstones are all minerals found in rocks. This interesting book describes how to identify minerals, where they can be found, the rock cycle process, the uses of minerals, and how they are mined.
Rock collecting is a hobby that is easy to start. This engaging book describes how to dig, where you can and can't dig (restricted in national parks), the necessary equipment, how to identify rocks and gems, and the proper recording and storage of your collection.
What is the Rock Cycle describes the natural transformation of one type of rock into others. Beginning with igneous rocks made in volcanic eruptions, rock is weathered and eroded gradually to form a sediment. This sediment is then deposited and pressed into layers making sedimentary rocks. These in turn are transformed by heat and pressure into metamorphic rocks. Heat makes these melt into magma which, together with molten rock from the core of the Earth, make new igneous rocks.
It all starts with erosion for sedimentary rock. Worn down bits of rock become pressed together under pressure into strata, or layers. The formation of rock such as sandstone, shale, limestone, and dolomite is explained in this fact-filled book. Readers will also learn that this type of rock is useful in determining the Earths geological history because its layers often hold fossils and other geological clues.
Crystals are made up of minerals hardened into distinct shapes with regular repeating patterns. This informative book takes a look at the underground process that creates crystals, from sparkling quartz to ordinary salt, as well as where they are found and how they are mined.
This fascinating book explains how plants and animals become fossils, how they are extracted from excavation sites, and how paleontologists and geologists piece together Earth's history by studying these ancient clues.
Igneous rock has a dramatic beginningit requires red-hot volcanic activity. This fact-filled book explains how granite, lava, basalt, silica, quartz and feldspar are formed after hot, molten rock cools. Readers will also learn about volcanoes and tectonic plates, the minerals that make up igneous rocks, and the crystallization of rock material.
Heat, pressure and stress can also change some igneous or sedimentary rocks into other kinds of rocks. This fact-filled book describes the process that turns limestone into marble, shale into slate, and granite into gneiss. Metamorphic rocks are often used as materials for floors, roofs, and counter tops because of their beauty.
Life in a Suburban City looks at living in cities that have spread from the center far into the countryside. Many people live and work in areas that are miles from downtown. Los Angeles, California is the featured example, and focuses on family life in a typical suburb.
