The word Croatoan carved onto a post and the letters “CRO” scratched onto a tree. What do these two clues reveal about Roanoke’s missing English colonists? Interested students can sort through possible answers in this read that begins as a history lesson and ends as an unsolved mystery.
Most people in Pripyat never expected the day to come when they’d have to flee for their lives. The Soviet Union boasted about the safety of the nuclear city. But in 1986, one of the town’s nuclear reactors exploded and released deadly radiation. This title explains the Chernobyl accident for curious readers.
The wild reputation of Bodie was unmatched in the Old West. The California gold-mining town attracted a rough crowd. Bodie had gamblers, drinkers, gunslingers, and robbers all after riches. This high-interest children’s title includes a wealth of information about the gold rush that once made Bodie a “get rich” destination.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a lens for discovering the hidden secrets of outer space. The tool has zoomed in on unknown galaxies! This book gives young readers a close-up of the Hubble Space Telescope, showing off its mirrors, cameras, solar panels, and more.
Explorers of the fourth planet from the sun, Mars rovers collect rock and soil samples with their robotic arms. They also snap pictures of the Red Planet. Curious young readers can wander around with rovers in this book to look for signs of life on Mars.
Did you know that more than 70 probes have been sent to the moon in the past 50 years? Their missions have included orbiting the moon to take pictures and gathering samples of moon material. This children’s title maps the probe-driven progress on making the moon a base for space exploration.
Robonauts have been built to be substitutes for astronauts. They are made to look and move much like humans so they can take over time-consuming or dangerous space work. This high-interest book lays out the similarities and differences between astronauts and their high-tech doppelgangers.
The city in the clouds, Machu Picchu, has an air of mystery surrounding it. Historians know the site belonged to the Inca Empire, but they do not know much else. In this book, reluctant readers will explore possible reasons why Machu Picchu was first built and, in time, abandoned.
The largest space machine to ever orbit Earth is the International Space Station. It is essentially a giant science lab for astronauts. Interested young readers are invited to enter the International Space Station in this title and defy gravity like the astronauts inside.
Craco’s historical happenings hint at a curse. The town faced a plague, then war, then earthquakes and landslides. In the end, the natural disasters dealt the final blow, causing Craco to physically collapse. In this book, young readers will discover a medieval town that eventually lost its uphill battle for survival.
Hashima, Japan’s sea walls give it the appearance of a ship lost at sea. This look is the reason for the Battleship Island nickname. In this title, reluctant readers will also see Battleship Island as a time capsule. Pieces from the past will point to the deserted island’s coal-mining boom time.
Exploring the universe greatly depends on space robots. They go where astronauts cannot go and survive where astronauts cannot survive. Food, water, sleep, and oxygen are not required for them to function, and radiation exposure is not a concern. Young readers curious about space will gravitate toward this high-interest title.
Soldiers regularly put themselves in harm’s way to promote peace and protect freedom. This means they have great appreciation for their robotic stand-ins— PackBots. The remote-controlled robots especially save the day when they find hidden bombs! This book puts kids on a reading mission to discover how robots serve the military.
The MQ-1 Predator drone served the U.S. military well for over two decades. The flying robot’s early missions were surveillance and reconnaissance. But in time, the drone became armed with Hellfire missiles for attack missions. This STEM-aligned title shows interested readers robots that don’t stay grounded.
General Motors brought the first factory robot to life in 1961. The 4,000-pound assembly-line robot was named Unimate. It proved it could build cars twice as fast as humans could! In this children’s tech title, the behind-the-scenes robots that make factory work fly get much-deserved attention.
A wasp might sting you, but you can’t say you weren’t warned! Wasps have bright colors to caution that they do have a dangerous side. This insect introduction makes it safe for beginning readers to get up close to wasps and enter their world.
Ladybugs are pest control workers in bright, polka-dotted uniforms. These little exterminators take care of aphids and other insect menaces for farmers by eating them up! This bug profile shows kids that ladybugs are more than just beautiful beetles—they are insects with purpose.
Honeybees are in the honey-making business. These insects turn nectar collected from plants into honey and then store it in honeycombs. In this book, young kids will job-shadow honeybees working hard in their hives. Readers will see how busy bees make productivity look fascinating.
Did you know that aphids poop honeydew? It’s true! And it’s also fact that ants harvest this sweet poo. In this insect introduction, early readers will see aphids more as honeydew suppliers than pests. Red ones, black ones, green ones, woolly ones, and winged ones are all swarming in this title!
Some adult dragonflies can fly as fast as 60 miles per hour—a common speed limit for cars on a highway! Quick flight is essential for them to catch prey in midair. In this children’s title, readers will travel alongside dragonflies moving from page to page.
The last insect to need a megaphone would be a cicada. No bug is louder than a male cicada buzzing for a female! This title shouts cool cicada facts at kids, including that cicada noisemakers are called tymbals and that nymphs can stay underground for up to 17 years!
Fireflies are among nature’s tiniest luminaries. They are special in their ability to light up and blink at one another. Though they do not live for more than a couple months, they sure shine bright while alive! This title casts fireflies in a beautiful light for beginning readers.
If insects held their version of the Olympic games, a grasshopper would for sure make the podium for the long jump event. The long-legged insect can jump forward 20 times its body length! Elementary readers will make leaps in their understanding of grasshoppers in this book.
Damselflies could very well be part of the inspiration for the term “bug-eyed.” Their compound eyes are huge and protruding! Young readers will look with amazement at damselflies flying, eating, molting, and more in this insect close-up. A staring contest is on!
The insect symbol of hard work just might be a worker ant. A worker ant’s life is fully committed to finding food for a colony and caring for young. This book for beginning readers magnifies an insect that can carry more than its own weight!
