Most of Leonardo's inventions were never made in his lifetime—they remained sketches in his famous notebooks. Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself shows you how to bring these ideas to life using common household supplies. Detailed step-by-step instructions, diagrams, and templates for creating each project combine with historical facts and anecdotes, biographies and trivia about the real-life models for each project. Together they give kids a first-hand look intothe amazing mind of one the world’s greatest inventors.

    Gladys Aylward, a housemaid from England, dared to trust God in the face of dire and seemingly hopeless circumstances. Her life is one of the truly great missionary stories of our era.

    She knew how many miles it was to the moon (and how many back). She loved studying algebra and geometry and calculus and using math to solve problems in the outside world.Soon math led her to MIT and then to helping NASA put a man on the moon! She handwrote code that would allow the spacecraft’s computer to solve any problems it might encounter. Apollo 8. Apollo 9. Apollo 10. Apollo 11. Without her code, none of those missions could have been completed.Dean Robbins and Lucy Knisley deliver a lovely portrayal of a pioneer in her field who never stopped reaching for the stars.

    Galileo Galilei was just such a man--a genius--and the first to turn the telescope to the skies to map the heavens. In doing so, he offered objective evidence that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe but that it and all the other planets revolved around the sun. Galileo kept careful notes and made beautiful drawings of all that he observed. Through his telescope he brought the starts down to earth for everyone to see.By changing the way people saw the galaxy, Galileo was also changing the way they saw themselves and their place in the universe. This was very exciting, but to some to some it was deeply disturbing. Galileo has upset the harmonious view of heaven and earth that had been accepted since ancient times. He had turned the world upside down.In this amazing new book, Peter Sís employs the artist's lens to give us an extraordinary view of the life of Galileo Galilei. Sís tells his story in language as simple as a fairy tale, in pictures as rich and tightly woven as a tapestry, and in Galileo's own words, written more than 350 years ago and still resonant with truth. This title has Common Core connections.Starry Messenger is a 1997 Caldecott Honor Book.

    Mary was a popular girl who loved her parents, worked hard and was keen to learn but most of all she longed to have a bible of her own. But Mary knew that bibles were hard to come by and if she was fortunate enough to find one, it would be expensive so her dearest wish looked as if it would be an impossible dream! An inspiring story of a young girl's commitment to God and love for His word.

    And despite his father's efforts to turn young Darwin — a poor student — into a doctor or clergyman, the born naturalist jumped instead at the chance to sail around South America, observing and collecting flora and fauna all the way. In a clear, engaging narration, Kathryn Lasky takes readers along on Darwin's journey, from his discovery of seashells on mountaintops that revealed geological changes to his observations of variations in plants and animals, suggesting that all living things are evolving over time. Matthew Trueman's striking mixed-media illustrations include actual objects found in nature, enhancing this compelling look at the man behind the bold theory that would change the way we think about the world — and ourselves.

    Dull as dishwater. Without rhyme or reason. Leapfrog. Excellent. Gloomy. These words and phrases, so much a part of our daily language, were coined by William Shakespeare more than four hundred years ago. In what other ways has Shakespeare shaped and influenced our words and culture? Find out with Michael Rosen’s fascinating exploration of the enduring genius of the greatest playwright in the English language, SHAKESPEARE: HIS WORK AND HIS WORLD. Learn what theatre was like when Shakespeare created and acted in his plays. With dramatic illustrations by Robert Ingpen, the fluid text is sprinkled with Shakespearean quotations to re-create the Bard’s world of kings and queens, fairies and potions, and bloody beheadings. This sweeping account is a biography, a history, and a retelling of some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays—all in one approachable volume.

    His most famous was the "Clermont," a steamboat he launched on the Hudson. Here is his boyhood.

    But Hitler brought her childhood to an end and forced her and her family into hiding. Who Was Anne Frank? looks closely at Anne's life before the secret annex, what life was like in hiding, and the legacy of her diary. Black-and-white illustrations including maps and diagrams provide historical and visual reference in an easy-to-read biography written in a way that is appropriate and accessible for younger readers.

    Selecting the best of our literary heritage, Baldwin cast it into a form that delights children of all ages. Beginning with stories of heroes from British history, including King Alfred and the Cakes, King Canute on the Seashore, and Bruce and the Spider, the book moves on to tales of other lands. From Ancient Greece come stories of The Brave Three Hundred, Alexander and Bucepahlus, and Diogenes the Wise Man. Introducing the history of Rome are the Story of Cincinnatus, Horatius at the Bridge, and Julius Caesar. The stories of William Tell, Arnold Winkelried, and Robin Hood impart a bit of the flavor of the Middle Ages. Rounding out the collection are a number of timeless tales that show heroes in action: Damon and Pythias, The Sword of Damocles, Picciola, and The King and His Hawk.Children naturally take a deep interest in such stories. The reading of them will not only give pleasure but will help to lay the foundation for broader literary studies since nearly all are the subjects of frequent allusions in poetry and prose. Young children will enjoy having these stories read to them, while older children will delight in reading them to themselves.Book Details: Format: Paperback Publication Date: 11/1/2005 Pages: 200

    Marco Polo shook Europe with descriptions of the world he'd seen on his epic journey to the court of Kublai Khan. But was Marco Polo the world's most accomplished explorer? Had he really seen the Roof of the World in Central Asia, and the City of Heaven in far-off China? Or was he a charlatan who saw nothing more than the conjurings of his inventive mind? Join Russell Freedman as he tackles a centuries-old mystery.

    A young Venetian of the thirteenth century, brought up amid luxury and wealth, of a bold spirit and a curious mind, went forth from his home in the beautiful Queen City of the Adriatic, and for many years lived among a far-off Asiatic people, and at a court of barbaric and yet splendid pomp. He made many far and dangerous journeyings in the wild distant lands and among the fierce tribes of Cathay, Thibet, India, and Abyssinia. His life was passed amid an almost incessant succession ot exciting events, of strange adventures, and of hair-breadth escapes. He rose to high distinction and power at the Tartar court of the mighty Kublai Khan, one of the most famous conquerors and potentates who ever, in either ancient or modern times, have led legions to devastating wars, or have ruled teeming millions with despotic sway. Nor did his career of valor and stirring action end with his return, middle-aged and laden with riches, to his native Venice. He engaged in the bitter warfare between the two rival republics of the sea, Venice and Genoa; became a prisoner of the latter state; and while in prison, dictated the wondrous narrative of his adventures which still survives, a precious legacy left by this great traveller to later generations. I have attempted to transform the somewhat dry and monotonous translation of this narrative into an entertaining story, that may engage the attention and the interest of my young readers; for which it certainly presents ample opportunities. If the task is properly done, no one can fail to follow Marco Polo from his Venetian home, across the entire continent of Asia to the court of Kublai Khan, and in his various adventures and journeys while in the far-off Orient, without eager curiosity and ever-deepening interest. The central figure of the story is heroic, for Marco Polo was in all things manly, brave, persevering, intelligent, and chivalrous; and the scenes and incidents in which he was the leading actor were in the highest degree thrilling and dramatic. This pre-1923 publication has been converted from its original format for the Kindle and may contain an occasional defect from the original publication or from the conversion.

    His imagination was so large that, just "by thinking on it," he invented calculus and figured out the scientific explanation of gravity.Yet Newton was so small-minded that he set out to destroy other scientists who dared question his findings. Here is a compelling portrait of Newton, contradictions and all, that places him against the backdrop of 17th-century England, a time of plague, the Great Fire of London, and two revolutions.

    Over 80 black-and-white illustrations bring Armstrong?s story to life.

    Illustrations.