Sebastian Bach: The Boy from Thuringia


Opal Wheeler - 1937
    It is amazing how much history, biographical material, and music is included in this book! Sebastian Bach, The Boy from Thuringia is the first complete work on the life of Bach ever written for children. Every important incident is mentioned and every detail of the story is true. It is filled with vivid descriptions of Bach s childhood: how he sat up many nights and copied music by the light of the moon, and how he walked two hundred miles to a choir school at Luneburg. Then his adult life: how he helped his wife Magdalena put the twenty children to bed every night; how he spread brown bread with honey for them to eat every afternoon; and how he taught them all to sing and play different musical instruments. The music reproduced here represents all of the different kinds of music that Bach ever wrote. A child can never really know music unless he knows Bach, for his contribution is the foundation and structural basis of all music. But it is more the human side of this book that will make it live, for in it the great master breathes. All who read it will know him not only as a musical genius, but also as an eager child, an affectionate father, and a lovable human being."

Children Just Like Me


Barnabas Kindersley - 1995
    . . each of these children has hopes and fears, dreams and beliefs. Their cultures are different, yet in many ways their daily lives are very similar, as are their hopes for the future and their ways of looking at the world.Over the past two years, a photographer and a teacher have traveled to more than 30 countries, meeting and interviewing children. Each child's story is recorded in this remarkable book, published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Extraordinary photographs bring to life the children's families and homes, their clothes and food, their friends and favorite games, and other aspects of their daily lives.The children live in places as diverse as New York, Mongolia, and the Amazon Basin. These are children from both industrialized and developing nations, children from busy cities and remote rural communities, and children from tribal cultures. Their environments include mountains, deserts, rain forests, plains, and polar regions. Most live in families, but Suchart, a novice monk, lives in a monastery, and Tadesse, an Ethiopian boy, lives in an orphanage. Children everywhere will enjoy reading about the lives of these children who share their world.Those who want to make friends with children around the world can join the Children Just Like Me Penpal Club, details of which are included in this book. Part of the Penpal Club membership fee goes to support UNICEF, helping children all over the world.

Life of Fred: Apples


Stanley F. Schmidt - 2011
    Wrote The Sand Reckoner and Got Killed Being Rude, ante meridiem (a.m.), Donner and Blitz in German, One Million, Euclid Wrote The Elements, Squares, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Whales Are Not Fish, The “There Are Zero . . .” Game, Sets, the Popularity of Zero, Why Boats Are Cheaper to Rent in the Winter, Triangles, Herbivores and Carnivores, the Colors of the Rainbow, a King in Checkmate, the Story of the Titanic, ≠ (not equal), x + 4 = 7, One Thousand, Counting by Hundreds, Reading 3:05 on a Clock, Rectangles.

Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt


Barbara Mertz - 1964
    In Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs, Dr. Mertz explores the breathtaking reality behind her fiction by casting a dazzling light on a remarkable civilization that, even after thousands of years, still stirs the human imagination and inspires awe with its marvelous mysteries and amazing accomplishments.A fascinating chronicle of an extraordinary epoch—from the first Stone Age settlements through the reign of Cleopatra and the Roman invasions—Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs brings ancient Egypt to life as never before. Lavishly illustrated with pictures, maps, photographs, and charts, it offers tantalizing glimpses into Egyptian society and everyday life; amazing stories of the pharaohs and the rise and fall of great dynasties; religion and culture; folklore and fairy tales; stories of the explorers, scientists, and unmitigated scoundrels who sought to unravel or exploit the ageless mysteries; and breathtaking insights into the magnificent architectural wonders that rose up from the desert sands.Revised and updated to include the results of the most recent historical research and archaeological finds, Dr. Mertz's book is unhampered by stuffy prose and dry academic formality. Instead, it is a vibrant, colorful, and fun excursion for anyone who's ever fantasized about exploring the Valley of the Kings, viewing up close the treasures of the temple of Queen Hatshepsut, or sailing down the Nile on Cleopatra's royal barge.

Mummy


James Putnam - 1960
    Unwrap hair-raising facts about natural and man-made mummies! Here is a look at how bodies were prepared, why ancient cultures made mummies, and how bog and ice mummies were preserved by freak climatic conditions. "A great collection of mummy information and specimens."—School Library Journal.

George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist


Janet Benge - 2001
    Bushwhackers! She pulled her baby close to her chest and stood rooted to the dirt floor in fear. A man stumbled through her doorway. "We got us one, boys!" he yelled, waving his rifle in the air and dragging his captives into the cold night.Once a kidnapped slave baby, George Washington Carver found freeom in learning everything he could about the world around him. Overcoming poverty and racism, George became a brilliamt scientist and a gifted professor who dedicated his expertise to helping black farmers escape the devastating grip of poverty.George's scientific creativity knew no limits. His ingenious experimentation with peanuts and other plants helped rescue the failing Southern economy. Stilll remembered for his far-reaching and diverse achievements, Dr. Carver generously shared his talent simply for the reward of helping others.

The Story of Egypt: The Civilization that Shaped the World


Joann Fletcher - 2015
    It is full of spectacular cities and epic stories—an evolving society rich in inventors, heroes, heroines, villains, artisans, and pioneers. Professor Joann Fletcher pulls together the complete story of Egypt—charting the rise and fall of the ancient Egyptians while putting their whole world into a context to which we can all relate.Fletcher uncovers some fascinating revelations: new evidence shows that women became pharaohs on at least ten occasions; that the ancient Egyptians built the first Suez Canal and then circumnavigated Africa. From Ramses II's penchant for dying his grey hair to how we know that Montuhotep's chief wife bit her nails, Dr. Joann Fletcher brings alive the history and people of ancient Egypt as nobody else can.

The Twelfth Transforming


Pauline Gedge - 1984
    In The Twelfth Transforming, Pauline Gedge tells the rich and dramatic story of Akhenaten's catastrophic rule -- and of the Empress Tiye, whose efforts to save her beloved country from her pharaoh son unwittingly bring a curse upon the land. In scene after scene, ancient Egypt comes vividly to life: the splendour of the imperial courts; the unrelenting heat of the desert; the misery wrought upon the land when the life-giving Nile fails in its annual inundation. The Twelfth Transforming is historical fiction at its finest, an epic of a ruler, a dynasty, and a people confronting their glorious and tragic destiny.

Tirzah


Lucille Travis - 1991
    Tirzah and her lame brother, Oren, help gather straw to make bricks. She observes the suffering of her people and the injustices that are done to them by the Egyptian police. Moses begs Pharaoh to let them go, but Pharaoh makes them work harder.One night, when the plague of death strikes down Pharaoh's own son, he allows the Israelites to flee on foot, only to pursue them with horses and chariots. He believes he will have them trapped between the mountains and the sea, but God miraculously delivers them. The Israelites celebrate with a song of hope and victory. Tirzah befriends a young Egyptian girl who has fled with them, even though others treat her badly. In spite of hardship and disappointment, Tirzah and her family keep trusting Yahweh to carry them through.

Antony and Cleopatra


Adrian Goldsworthy - 2010
    As one of the three men in control of the Roman Empire, Antony was perhaps the most powerful man of his day; while Cleopatra, who had already been Julius Caesar's lover, was the beautiful queen of Egypt, Rome's most important province. The clash of cultures, the power politics, and the personal passion have proven irresistable to storytellers.But in the course of this storytelling dozens of myths have grown up. The popular image of Cleopatra in ancient Egyptian costume is a fallacy; she was actually Greek, and far better versed in Roman culture than most storytellers give her credit for. Despite her local dominance in Egypt, her real power came from her ability to forge strong personal allegiances with the most important men in Rome. Likewise, Mark Antony was not the bluff soldier of legend, brought low by his love for an exotic woman - actually he was first and foremost a politician, and never allowed Cleopatra to dictate policy to him.In this history, based exclusively on ancient sources and archaeological evidence, Adrian Goldsworthy gives us the facts behind this famous couple. It may not be the story we expect or even wish for, but it is every bit as fascinating as the myth.

What Was the First Thanksgiving?


Joan Holub - 2013
    Of course, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag didn’t know it at the time, but they were making history, celebrating what would become a national holiday.

Simplify Your Homeschool Day: Shorten Your Day Sweeten Your Time


Tamara L. Chilver - 2013
    These tips have also directly impacted her teaching to make it a much more effective process. Now her family is able to spend more time focusing on their passions.In Simplify Your Homeschool Day, you will learn:*Practical tips that can save you hours of teaching, planning, and grading each week;*Effective communication techniques that can eliminate frustration and dramatically impact your child's learning;*When you should enlist help;*Creative learning strategies that can be applied on the go; and*How to pursue your own passions.These time-saving tips will increase your child's enjoyment of learning by reducing the time it takes him to complete school work without decreased learning. Put some extra time back into your day right away!

The History of Ancient Egypt


Bob Brier - 1999
    It lasted 3,000 years, longer than any other on the planet. Its Great Pyramid of Cheops was the tallest building in the world until well into the 19th century and remains the only Ancient Wonder still standing. And it was the most technologically advanced of the ancient civilizations, with the medical knowledge that made Egyptian physicians the most famous in the world.Yet even after deciphering its hieroglyphs, and marveling at its scarabs, mummies, obelisks, and sphinxes, Egyptian civilization remains one of history's most mysterious, as "other" as it is extraordinary. This chronological survey presents the complete history of ancient Egypt's three great Kingdoms: the Old Kingdom, when the pyramids were built and Egypt became a nation under the supreme rule of the pharaoh and the rules of Egyptian art were established; the Middle Kingdom, when Egypt was a nation fighting to restore its greatness; and the New Kingdom, when all the names we know today-Hatshepsut, Tutankhamen, Ramses the Great, Cleopatra, and others-first appeared.Listening Length: 24 hours and 25 minutes

Who Is George Lucas?


Pam Pollack - 2014
    He founded Industrial Light and Magic, which transformed special sound and visual effects throughout the Hollywood film industry. He is best known, of course, as the creator of the Star Wars movie, television, gaming, toy and merchandise empire, as well as the archeologist-adventure series Indiana Jones.  Discover the man behind the magic in Who Is George Lucas?

Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes


Langston Hughes - 2006
    Edited by the two leading experts on Hughes’s work, and illustrated by the brilliant Benny Andrews, this very special volume is one to treasure forever. A much-requested book that was years in the making…and well worth the wait. One of the central figures in the Harlem Renaissance—the flowering of black culture that took place in the 1920s and 30s—Langston Hughes captured the soul of his people, and gave voice to their concerns about race and social justice. His magnificent and powerful words still resonate today: that’s why it’s so important for young people to have access to his poems. Now they do, in a splendid volume edited and illustrated by a top-caliber team who are simply the best in their fields. The introduction, biography, and annotations come from Arnold Rampersad, a Professor and Dean at Stanford University, who has written The Life of Langston Hughes, and David Roessel, co-editor with Professor Rampersad of The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes and editor of the Langston Hughes collection in Knopf’s Everyman series. Benny Andrews—a painter, printmaker, and arts advocate whose work is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian, among others—has created gallery-quality illustrations that pulse with energy and add rich dimension to the poems. Among the anthologized poems are Hughes’s best-known and most loved works: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”; “Aunt Sue’s Stories”; “Danse Africaine”; “Mother to Son”; “My People”; “Words Like Freedom”; “Harlem”; and “I, Too”—his sharp, pointed response to Walt Whitman’s earlier “I Hear America Singing.” Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes is a publishing event for all to celebrate.A Selection of the Scholastic Book Club.