In the final stage of the Stone Age, humans’ use of stone tools was coming to an end. People started farming, at different times in different places. Chapters cover how plants and animals were domesticated, how pottery production boomed, and how farming meant that people could settle down, stay put, and build great cities like Jericho. The first known plague victim dates from this era, and so do the earliest temples. Each chapter includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go deeper, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. A Timeline of the Neolithic Era gives a big-picture view.
In Middle Stone Age, change happened everywhere, but at different times in different places. Chapters cover how Mesolithic people shaped flints into scrapers and sharp tips for arrows and spears, how they and began domesticating animals, how they started building more permanent settlements, and how they drew other humans, maybe as an early way of writing. Each chapter includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go deeper, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. A Timeline of the Mesolithic Era gives a big-picture view.
Oklahoma City built a school especially for homeless kids. Basketball superstar LeBron James started a school for challenged students in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. In schools across the US, seniors are mentoring school kids as Foster Grandparents. This book features 12 stories about making a difference in education. Each chapter includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. A Ways You Can Help page offers suggestions anyone can try.
In North Carolina, an organization called TABLE feeds hundreds of hungry children every week. In war-torn countries, War Child helps children cope with trauma. Boys & Girls Clubs of America are guiding kids toward becoming successful adults. This book features 12 stories about making a difference for children around the world. Each chapter includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. A Ways You Can Help page offers suggestions anyone can try
A lively introduction to Canada’s most populous and multicultural city, the capital of Ontario and home to the CN Tower, 1,473 parks, and 600 snowplows. Each chapter features attention-grabbing photos, colorful details, and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Includes a timeline of major events, a page of Fun Facts, and maps showing Toronto’s location in its country and the world.
A lively introduction to the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, home to the Empire State Building, Central Park, and the New York Yankees. Each chapter features attention-grabbing photos, colorful details, and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Includes a timeline of major events, a page of Fun Facts, and maps showing New York City’s location in its country and the world.
This book is a lively introduction to the capital of Russia, the world’s biggest country, home to the Kremlin, Red Square, and gold-domed cathedrals. Each chapter features attention-grabbing photos, colorful details, and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Includes a timeline of major events, a page of Fun Facts, and maps showing Moscow’s location in its country and the world.
A lively introduction to the capital of England and the United Kingdom, home to the world’s oldest subway, a thriving theater scene, Buckingham Palace, and a building called the Pickle. Each chapter features attention-grabbing photos, colorful details, and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Includes a timeline of major events, a page of Fun Facts, and maps showing London’s location in its country and the world.
A lively introduction to the cosmopolitan desert city, home to the tallest building in the world. Each chapter features attention-grabbing photos, colorful details, and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Includes a timeline of major events, a page of Fun Facts, and maps showing Dubai’s location in its country and the world.
A lively introduction to the world’s most multicultural city, both ancient and modern, home to 29 million people and India’s capital. Each chapter features attention-grabbing photos, colorful details, and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Includes a timeline of major events, a page of Fun Facts, and maps showing Delhi’s location in its country and the world.
A lively introduction to Germany’s capital, divided by a wall for 28 years, reunited when the wall came down and now one of the world’s most exciting cities. Each chapter features attention-grabbing photos, colorful details, and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Includes a timeline of major events, a page of Fun Facts, and maps showing Berlin’s location in its country and the world.
When earthquakes rocked Mexico in 2017, UNICEF brought drinking water and blankets. They also got children back to school. When wildfires raced through California in 2018, an MLB player and his teammates raised money for fire victims. Soon after Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, an 11-year-old Florida boy designed a better sandbag. This book features 12 stories about making a difference when disaster strikes. Each chapter includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. A Ways You Can Help page offers suggestions anyone can try.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has helped people in need get homes of their own. Rapper Pharrell Williams offers free summer learning camps for at-risk and low-income kids. Pilots who belong to Angel Flight Northeast use their personal airplanes to fly patients to medical care for free. This book features 12 stories about making a difference for others in our communities. Each chapter includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. A Ways You Can Help page offers suggestions anyone can try.
What happened to Amelia Earhart? Was there really an ancient city called Atlantis? What caused the fire in the sky over Siberia in 1908? This book features 12 puzzling mysteries, some centuries old, that remain unsolved. Yet people today still wonder about them and try to find answers. Each story includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Additional mini-stories encourage further exploration.
Harry Houdini escaped from handcuffs, straightjackets, jails, and boxes, sometimes while underwater. Willie Harris broke barriers for black stuntmen. Kitty O’Neil reached 618 miles per hour in a rocket car. This book features 12 thrilling stories about people who braved injury and worse to do impossible things. Each includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Additional mini-stories encourage further exploration.
In 2018 in Thailand, 12 members of a boys’ soccer team were trapped in a cave. In 1987 in Texas, a baby named Jessica fell down a well. In 2010, 33 Chilean miners were working deep underground when their only way out collapsed. Each time, the world held its breath. This book features 12 stories of epic rescues. Some have happy endings, and some are bittersweet. Each includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Additional mini-stories encourage further exploration.
A lively introduction to the City of Lights, the capital of France, home to the Eiffel Tower, and a world center for culture and art. Each chapter features attention-grabbing photos, colorful details, and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Includes a timeline of major events, a page of Fun Facts, and maps showing Paris’s location in its country and the world.
A lively introduction to the world’s largest Spanish-speaking city, the capital of Mexico and its economic center. Each chapter features attention-grabbing photos, colorful details, and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. Includes a timeline of major events, a page of Fun Facts, and maps showing Mexico City’s location in its country and the world.
Video game technology is brought to life with photo-driven design, clear text, and an integrated timeline, making this an excellent resource on the history of video games for elementary students. The saga of video games is rife with epic quests, thievery, and competition. It took Ralph Baer about 15 years to complete his quest to play video games on home TVs, finally selling the first gaming console. Then Atari stole his table tennis game and made Pong and arcade history. Shortly after, Atari would also ignite the console wars with its Atari 2600. From Spacewar! to Mario Bros. to Fortnite, gaming has gone from geek to mainstream, with top Esports winners taking home millions of dollars. With virtual reality, where will gaming go next?
The technology of taking pictures is brought to life with photo-driven design, clear text, and an integrated timeline, making this an excellent resource on the history of photography for elementary students. So much science went into that selfie! First, people had to figure out how light even worked. Then, a French guy smeared sticky black stuff on a silver plate and the black stuff hardened in sunlight. And we had our first picture. (It was not a selfie.) People tried new chemicals and lenses and film to take better, faster pictures. Then came the digital revolution. Cameras got into cellphones and now there are SO many selfies. Will 3-D bring our photos right into reality?
Telephone technology is brought to life with photo-driven design, clear text, and an integrated timeline, making this an excellent resource on the history of landlines and cell phones for elementary students. Once upon a time, no one carried a phone around. Phones plugged into a wall and you could only move as far as the cord let you. And it basically stayed that way for 100 years! When we finally got cordless phones, you still had to stay in your house to call. The first mobile phones weighed 80 pounds and had to be carried around in a car—hence the term car phone. The dawn of the cell phone was the 1980s with the Motorola Dynatec. Phones changed forever. Now we have smart phones in our pockets!
The history of movie technology is brought to life with photo-driven design, clear text, and an integrated timeline, making this an excellent resource for elementary students. It took 50 years from the invention of photographs to the magical motion of movies. In the 1890s, Thomas Edison’s company decided to make a camera that could take a bunch of pictures really fast. Next came silent films, talkies, and Technicolor. New technology gave us widescreens, 3-D, IMAX, and, finally, the digital revolution. How will virtual reality change movie-going in the future?
Computer technology is brought to life with photo-driven design, clear text, and an integrated timeline, making this an excellent resource on the history of computing for elementary students. Back in the 1950s, computers were only for employees of the government and universities. They were way too expensive for the average person. In 1975, the Altair 8800 kit made them affordable. It also inspired a guy named Steve Wozniak to start Apple Computers with his friend Steve Jobs. Then came mice, GUIs, MacIntosh versus PC, and the World Wide Web. In the 2000s, computers got into cell phones and now everyone carries a computer in their pocket. Where will artificial intelligence take computers in the future?
The technological history of airplanes is brought to life with photo-driven design, clear text, and an integrated timeline, making this an excellent resource for elementary students. Bird envy drove aviation history. We studied bird wings to understand flight and made gliders. Then the Wright Brothers said, “Let’s add an engine!” and we left birds in the dust. Since then, we’ve flown faster, better, and bigger. What will happen next? Can Boeing or Airbus bring us hypersonic passenger jets? Would you ride in a self-flying taxi drone?
Describes the statues of Easter Island, including theories on how they were built, the people who built them, and what the statues are like today.
