The Griffin and the Dinosaur: How Adrienne Mayor Discovered a Fascinating Link Between Myth and Science


Marc Aronson - 2014
    Instead, she loved to wander the prairie seeking wonders and filling her mind with stories.When she found herself in Athens, Greece, she plunged into reading the original versions of ancient myths--especially descriptions of the fabled griffin. As she read, an exciting idea took shape in her mind. Scholars had long treated accounts of the griffin as made-up fantasies. But to Mayor, they seemed to describe something ancient people had actually seen. What could that have been? Mayor's quest to solve that mystery led her from books to ruined temples, from museums to the graves of great tattooed warriors. Finally, after poring over formerly top secret maps, she located the forbidding desert where nomadic gold hunters once entered the lair of the griffin--and she came face-to-face with her quarry.Here is the story of Mayor's detective work, which has helped create a new science in which experts match myths and fossils and begin to see the world through our ancestors' eyes.

The Octonauts Explore the Great Big Ocean


Meomi - 2012
    With glow in the dark ink, a surprise page to fold out - and lots of exciting detail - this is the ultimate gift book for Octonauts-crazy children!The Octonauts are a crew of cute animals who love to explore the big blue ocean. From their underwater base, the Octopod, the eight intrepid friends are always ready for fun and excitement!The Octonauts are researching underwater habitats around the world, when Tunip the Vegimal starts to wonder where he comes from. So begins another underwater adventure full of fun and surprises as the Octonauts take Tunip and his Vegimal friends on an exciting trip around the world, on a quest for his true home.An action-packed nautical adventure with pages crammed full of additional information about each of the eight intrepid explorers – guaranteed to delight Octonauts fans all around the world!

The Kweeks of Kookatumdee


Bill Peet - 1985
    The birdlike kweeks are starving because their island does not have enough ploppolop fruit trees to feed them all, until Quentin makes an amazing discovery.

Trapp's Mountain


Robert J. Randisi - 2005
    Released from prison after serving time for killing the man who murdered his wife, John Henry Trapp returns to his mountain home, where his enemies are waiting to put him six feet under.

The Guilty Heart


Julie Parsons - 2003
    Everyone had thought that he was out playing with his best friend Luke. But later it turned out that Owen had left him in the middle of the afternoon. And never made it home. He vanished leaving no trace, except for a trainer found in a rubbish bin two weeks later.... His disappearance left his father, Nick, distraught, but also full of guilt. For instead of looking after Owen that day, Nick had spent the afternoon in bed-with one of their neighbours. It was an affair that would tear his family apart. The aftermath of Owen's disappearance drove Nick away from his wife and home, to America. He has moved from city to city, trying to forget. But it is impossible to run away from a guilty heart. Now, ten years on, a sudden encounter forces Nick to return to Dublin to confront his demons. He arrives to find the world has moved on. But he is determined to face up to his past, and to find out at last exactly what happened to his son. Little does he realise that his investigations will soon unleash further violence, taking him into a terrifying world that he barely knew existed.

Introduction to Loose Watercolor; Secrets of Fast Painting Revealed


Roy Simmons - 2013
    Have you tried before to paint in a loose and free way but found it to be difficult? In this Introduction to loose watercolor you will find the tools you need to free your creativity! Finally you will be able to paint in a way that is both liberating and refreshing to you, and your viewer. No prior knowledge is assumed, just bring a willingness to relax and lose the 'fear' of making a mark on paper. Once you start painting in the way demonstrated here, you will be able to express your emotional response to a scene with energy and power.After a brief introduction, you will see examples of loose paintings, learn the materials used (which will not break the bank!). Discover which colors the author recommends and see a complete step by step painting of a landscape. You will learn how to create inspiring sky effects easily, when to dry, and when to add highlights to add that final sparkle to a composition. Many of the techniques and ideas are somewhat unconventional! But they work,and you will be delighted with your results.

Chipmunk at Hollow Tree Lane


Victoria Sherrow - 1994
    Unexpected backyard intruders appear, but Chipmunk never strays from her vital task.

Charles Manson: The Man Who Murdered the Sixties


David J. Krajicek - 2019
    Freshly paroled, he stumbled into San Francisco in 1967 just as thousands of impressionable young people were streaming into town for the Summer of Love.Posing as a musician-come-guru-come-Christ-figure, Manson built a commune cult of hippies, consisting mainly of troubled young women. But what made this group set out on the four-week killing spree that claimed seven lives? Former Journalism Professor, David J. Krajicek, seeks to discover just that.

Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories


Ellen Levine - 1993
    In this inspiring collection of true stories, thirty African-Americans who were children or teenagers in the 1950s and 1960s talk about what it was like for them to fight segregation in the South-to sit in an all-white restaurant and demand to be served, to refuse to give up a seat at the front of the bus, to be among the first to integrate the public schools, and to face violence, arrest, and even death for the cause of freedom."Thrilling...Nothing short of wonderful."-The New York TimesAwards:( A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year( A Booklist Editors' Choice

The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat


Theoni Pappas - 1997
    Penrose, a cat with a knack for math, takes children on an adventurous tour of mathematical concepts from fractals to infinity.

Unsolved Crimes: Infamous Cases That Have Puzzled the Greatest Minds


Sarah Herman - 2018
    And yet still, from outrageous robberies to haunting serial killings, there remain those cases that refuse to be cracked.'Unsolved Crimes' collects together the most notorious and mind-boggling felonies ever committed.

Another Mother's Life


Rowan Coleman - 2008
     For wealthy Alison James, moving with her family to her hometown of Farmington presents more than a case of relocation jitters. Fifteen years ago, she fled town, eloping with her best friend's boyfriend. Now, blessed with three children, but uneasy in her marriage, she wonders if that decision led her away from the life she was meant to lead. Catherine Ashley, broke, the mother of two and almost divorced, can't help but wonder the same thing. Although she's content with her children, she finds herself returning again and again to those few weeks fifteen years ago when she fell deeply in love, only to be betrayed by her most trusted friend. Now, once more living in the same town, Alison and Catherine are about to find out just how different their lives could still be. But this time around they are adults, and while their own happiness is at stake, so is their children's. Wise and warmhearted, Another Mother's Life will make you laugh and cry -- and think about what you would do when confronted by some of life's most difficult choices.

The Cartoon Guide to Physics


Larry Gonick - 1990
    Physics will never be the same!

Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean


Maris Wicks - 2016
    These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. Whether you're a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty-year-old with a secret passion for airplanes, these books are for you!This volume: in Coral Reefs, we learn all about these tiny, adorable sea animals! This absorbing look at ocean science covers the biology of coral reefs as well as their ecological importance. Nonfiction comics genius Maris Wicks brings to bear her signature combination of hardcore cuteness and in-depth science.

Dinosaurs in Disguise


Stephen Krensky - 2016
    This fun, light read will tickle readers’ funny bones while subtly introducing themes of conservation and stewardship, inspiring children to question the world around them.