A 1949 Newbery Honor Book The history of America at sea is presented through the travels of Seabird, a carved ivory gull.

    Just turning on a light switch was a new experience. In 58 tantalizing questions and answers, author Ann McGovern gives readers a fascinating look at life in New York City at the end of the 19th century-where the rich and poor lived, how they dressed, traveled, dined, and entertained themselves, what kind of work they did. Readers may be surprised to learn that many children had to work for a living in horrendous conditions, that school were often inadequate and overcrowded (there could be 100 or more students in a single classroom), and that bicycling was the most popular sport in the country. (Baseball, cowling, tennis, football, boxing, golf, archery, and skating were also popular. Basketball and volleyball were new.) Together, the text and art are filled with details that bring the era to life for young readers.

    New York City in the 1860s was a mess: crowded, disgusting, filled with garbage. You see, way back in 1860, there were no subways, just cobblestone streets. That is, until Alfred Ely Beach had the idea for a fan-powered train that would travel underground. On February 26, 1870, after fifty-eight days of drilling and painting and plastering, Beach unveiled his masterpiece—and throngs of visitors took turns swooshing down the track. The Secret Subway will wow readers, just as Beach’s underground train wowed riders over a century ago.

    When Papa's seven little mouse boys ask for a bedtime story, Papa does even better than that—he tells seven stories, one for each boy!This Level Two I Can Read is geared toward kids who read on their own but still need a little help.This sweet bedtime tale is from Arnold Lobel, the beloved author and illustrator of the Newbery Honor and Caldecott Honor award-winning Frog and Toad books.

    . . nothing. But then . . . BANG! Stars caught fire and burned so long that they exploded, flinging stardust everywhere. And the ash of those stars turned into planets. Into our Earth. And into us. In a poetic text, Marion Dane Bauer takes readers from the trillionth of a second when our universe was born to the singularities that became each one of us, while vivid illustrations by Ekua Holmes capture the void before the Big Bang and the ensuing life that burst across galaxies. A seamless blend of science and art, this picture book reveals the composition of our world and beyond -- and how we are all the stuff of stars.

    But what is there to eat in April? In May? Follow along and eat like a bear throughout the year: fish from a stream, ants from a tree, and delicious huckleberries from a bush. Fill up your belly and prepare for the long winter ahead, when you'll snuggle into your warm den and snore like a bear once again.

    Lay on a BIG spidey smoocheroo.b. Smile, but back away slowly.c. Grab the closest object, wind up, and let it fly.d. Run away screaming.If you chose b, c, or d, then this book is for you! (If you chose a, you might be crazy.)I'm Trying to Love Spiders will help you see these amazing arachnids in a whole new light, from their awesomely excessive eight eyes, to the seventy-five pounds of bugs a spider can eat in a single year! And you're sure to feel better knowing you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being fatally bit by a spider. Comforting, right? No? Either way, there's heaps more information in here to help you forget your fears . . . or at least laugh a lot!

     In January, the cows stay in the barnyard, and the chickens don't lay many eggs. By March, you can tell spring is coming: the barn is filled with baby animals. Month by month, the animals at Maple Hill Farm sense the changing seasons and respond to the changes. Through gently humorous text and charming illustrations, Alice and Martin Provensen capture one year at their beloved Maple Hill Farm in a way sure to delight city slickers and country folk alike.

    . .* The first zoo was established forty-three hundred years ago in what is now Iraq?* Aztec King Moctezuma II had such an incredible collection of animals that it took six hundred men and women to care for them?* Children across Great Britain wrote to Queen Victoria when Jumbo the elephant was sold away from the London Zoo?* Fifty buffalo passed through Grand Central Station in 1907 on their way to the Bronx Zoo?* Zoos now play a crucial role in animal conservation?Kathleen Krull and Marcellus Hall bring witty insight, jazzy style, and a globe-trotting eye to our millennia-long history of keeping animals -- and the ways animals have changed us in turn.

    She has to use standard units like inches and nonstandard units like paper clips to find out height, width, length, weight, volume, temperature, and time. Lisa decides to measure her dog, Penny, and finds out ... Penny's nose = 1 inch long Penny's tail = 1 dog biscuit longPenny's paw print = 3 centimeters wide ... and that's only the beginning! Lisa learns a lot about her dog and about measuring, and even has fun doing it.This clear and engaging concept book, delivered with a sense of humor, is certain to win over the most reluctant mathematician.

    Frizzle's class is learning all about water. And when Wanda suggests they take a trip to Waterland, Ms Frizzle gets that funny look in her eyes. But instead of taking her class to the water theme park, she takes them on a seriously wet and wild ride - through the water cycle! Join the class as they evaporate, condense, rain, and make their way back to the ocean...only to evaporate all over again!

    As a mother describes to her child how many species of birds nest, from pigeons on concrete ledges to owls in oak tree boles to swallows above barn doors. The soothing refrain of “you nest here with me” eases her little one and readers alike to slumber. Combining their poetic writing and their love of birding, mother and daughter Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple have written what is sure to become a bedtime classic.

    That is, until the day he gets a call from some Earth scientists telling him he isn’t a planet anymore! You probably wanted to meet a real planet, huh? So, Pluto takes the reader on a hilarious and informative journey through the solar system to introduce the other planets and commiserate about his situation along the way. Younger readers will be so busy laughing over Pluto’s interactions with the other planets, asteroids, moons, and even the sun, they won’t even realize just how much they’re learning about our solar system!

    Can you imagine that many of anything?The playful illustrations from New York Times–bestselling artist Isabel Greenberg and the friendly, straightforward voice of author Seth Fishman illuminate some of the biggest numbers in the universe—a hundred billion trillion stars—and the smallest—one unique and special YOU. Here is a book for story time, for science time, for math time, for bedtime, and all the times in between.Perfect for curious children, classrooms eager for STEM content, and readers who have devoured Ada Twist, Scientist and How Much Is a Million?

    Launched in the spring, this exciting learning-to-read program combines DK's highly visual, non-fiction Eyewitness style with engaging, age-appropriate stories to help children learn to read. The four reading levels make up a structured literacy program that carefully guides children through their first steps in reading, and progressing to become confident and proficient readers. Each book is guaranteed to capture a child's interest, while developing his or her reading skills and general knowledge. Introducing 8 new titles each season, these are high quality paperbacks at affordable prices. Children will want to collect them all!