During the Middle Ages, your position in life was based on birth. This position would follow you throughout your life. To make it easy for others to know your social class, rules about what you could wear—or not wear—were created. Such rules, called sumptuary laws, determined colors of clothing, types of fabric and trims, length of garments, types of sleeves, and types of furs. The laws also regulated shoe lengths and height, hat height, types of buttons, and even the number of buttons you could wear. People were to dress according to the class in which they were born. In this way, just by looking at someone, you could tell if they were important or not.
Roadway overpasses in Canada's Banff National Park allow bears and deer to safely cross roads, Readers also discover fish ladders and “salmon cannons” in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, rope swings for monkeys in China, and colorful crab bridges in Australia.
This book shows the importance of bat houses, bird houses, and butterfly shelters and how building these simple structures can save the lives of endangered species. Readers will also explore the importance of butterfly gardens and how they provide food and shelter for some of Earth’s most fragile and beautiful creatures.
Reptiles and amphibians need special help crossing roads. This book focuses on different approaches, from tiny turtle tunnels under railroad tracks in Japan, to salamander tunnels and turtle crossing guards in the U.S., to toad tunnels in the UK, and bucket brigades for frogs and toads in France.
Forest villages in France, England, the U.S. and Australia feature rope bridges and buckets of acorns for squirrels. Readers will meet some of the rescuers helping these little red squirrels survive.
Although some sharks are very scary and dangerous, most species are quiet creatures who pose no threat to humans at all. Readers will learn all about the many kinds of sharks, what they eat, where they live, and their importance to the ocean ecosystem in this fact-and-photo-packed look at one of nature’s top predators.
Spiders seem scary, but they are really quiet creatures who help humans by eating many insect pests. And it’s hard not to love nature’s best engineer as it builds elaborate web homes. Young readers will explore the world of spiders and their awesome abilities in this exciting and informative look at a creepy creature who really isn’t scary at all.
Even venomous snakes can be helpful to people and Planet Earth! Young readers will learn the truth about the many different kinds of snakes, how to tell which ones are truly dangerous and which ones just want to be left alone, and explore up close the unique bodies that help these reptiles survive.
Bats have a bad reputation as blood-sucking creatures of the night. But these fascinating mammals actually help people by eating insect pests and pollinating fruit trees and flowers. In this book packed with fun facts and vivid photographs, readers will learn all about the bat’s amazing body, its habits and activities, and how they can help this important species survive.
While on a camping trip, Jesse finds a curious piece of stone with an interesting pattern on it. With research and the help of Professor Peach, she learns that it's a piece of broken pottery with a pattern unique to a certain Native American tribe. After an archaeological dig with the Professor and her friends she finds more pieces of the ancient artifact. Using her art skills, Jesse is able to preserve the clay pot.
Jesse is having problems with her bike, but luckily, there's a local contest to win a bike taking place. To win, Jesse must use math skills to guess how many jelly beans are in a big jar. Find out how Jesse uses math skills to create a secret formula to solve The Secret in the Jelly Bean Jar.
While doing spring cleaning in her room, Jesse comes across a crayon on her window sill that is curiously bent over. She recalls that the crayon was there all winter and not bent at all. Jesse begins to wonder what caused the crayon to bend. Using science skills, Jesse discovers how the Sun is closest to Earth in summer and that's why the crayon melted.
A summer trip to her grandparents' house was going great until Jesse gets caught up in a mystery in the attic. When she encounters a pair of spooky green eyes during a lightning storm, Jesse sets out to use engineering skills to solve the Case of the Clicking Clock.
While playing in her tree house, Jesse is intrigued by a falling sycamore seed that slowly spins to the ground. But when she sees acorns falling fast directly down to the ground, she must solve the riddle while learning about propellers and windmills and using technology to understand aerodynamics.
The American West was once an unexplored frontier and the home of thousands of American natives. Explore the Old West—from fool's gold to buckaroos—with amazing facts about cowboys and Indians and the horses they rode.
History is full of fascinating stories of colorful characters, but some of the most interesting parts of history are really odd. You have probably seen scenes of government officials with their powdered white wigs, but in 1700s England and high-society in the American colonies, women created towering hairstyles. Decorations such as ships and flowers were sometimes added to their hairdos, especially if attending a big party. Taking hours to create, women used beef tallow and sugar-water to keep their hairdos in place. This fictional account explains a very real fashion trend and the problems it created for women trying to look stylish!
Explore vending machines and flushing toilets in Ancient Greece. Discover the amazing and amusing marvels this fascinating ancient civilization has given us from democracy to geometry.
Toothless at twenty in Colonial America? Discover some of the most amazing and amusing facts about life in Colonial America and how the pilgrims survived it all.
From castles and knights to the danger of bathroom breaks in the Middle Ages, readers discover amazing and amusing facts about cleaning up–or not–during the Middle Ages.
Learn all about pharaohs and daily life (and death) in Ancient Egypt. Discover 3,000 years of an ancient civilization through amazing and amusing facts about daily life, afterlife, and how the rulers kept it all under control.
Explore daily life in Ancient Rome from the Colosseum to commode and how this powerful empire ruled much of the world for more than 1,000 years.
In the Brothers Grimm’s story of “The White Snake,” a servant marries the King’s daughter to live happily ever after. Will that be the case in this cursed retelling of a doomed dinner?
In this updated retelling of Brother Grimm’s “Jorinda and Joringel” a shape-changing witch protects her privacy at all costs. When the engaged couple Jorinda and Jacob stumble into the witch’s part of the forest, she takes them captive. The hateful witch changes Jorinda into a singing bird. Will her fiancé save her or will the witch keep her singing bird caged forever?
At the first Winter Games in Chamonix, France only a few countries were represented by a dozen or more athletes. But now, about 3,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries compete in the Winter Olympic Games. These athletes compete in more than 100 events. The games showcase the strength and skills, stamina and endurance of amazing individual athletes from around the world.
Miryam's body doesn't fight off germs like it should. While doctors figure out how to make her better, Miryam needs to stay home for online classes. Trouble is: Miryam struggles to focus on her teacher and schoolwork. She likes in-person learning at school much better! Plus, she misses her friends! When Miryam's dad hears about the Helper Hounds, everything changes. Brisket the Helper Hound knows all about learning to focus and about staying in touch with friends.
