Geography America

Crash tells the story of the Great Depression, from the sweeping fallout of the market collapse to the more personal stories of those caught up in the aftermath. Packed with photographs, primary documents, and firsthand accounts, Crash shines a spotlight on pivotal moments and figures across ethnic, gender, racial, social, and geographic divides, reflecting many different experiences of one of the most turbulent decades in American history.

She's 17. She's been abused. She has a child. And she's HIV-positive. She is Ana, and this is her story. It begins the day she is born infected with HIV, transmitted from her young mother. Now she barely remembers her mama, who died when Ana was only three. From then on, Ana's childhood becomes a blur of faint memories and secrets: secrets about her illness and about the abuse she endures.

Nicholas's father grew up in Brooklyn, but you'd hardly know it. An Italian dinner at Nicholas's house in the suburbs is whole wheat pasta, organic tomato sauce, and, if he's lucky, a tofu meatball. And Brooklyn? Well, Brooklyn is the place his father left and never talks about. Nicholas has never been there, and he doesn't want to go now.

One of the NASCAR circuit's greatest celebrity racers, Jeff Gordon is a favorite of motorsports fans around the country. This is the 100 percent true story of the making of an American racing legend. After competing in BMX races at just four years old, Jeff ran his first quarter-midget car race at the tender age of five years old. Can you imagine that? At that age most kids don't even know how to ride a bicycle, let alone drive a race car! He began racing stock cars in 1991 and soon after started competing for the most prestigious trophy in all of motorsports, the coveted Winston Cup.

Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.

Returning to the beach cottage, a cottage named Scallop, where she has always celebrated her birthday is a special occasion for Alice Rice. Who will see the first dolphin this time? The first pelican? What will have changed? Stayed the same? And will this be the year she finally finds a junonia shell?

As an environmental journalist and conservationist, Marjory Stoneman Douglas spent her life fighting to preserve the Florida Everglades. Now celebrated as a subtropical paradise with a diverse ecosystem, the Everglades was once considered a worthless swamp. Marjory recognized the wetlands as a treasured river, home to an array of species unlike anywhere else in the world—and she was determined to help protect it.

A true crime thriller - the first book for teens to tell the nearly unknown tale of the brazen attempt to steal Abraham Lincoln's body! The action begins in October of 1875, as Secret Service agents raid the workshop of master counterfeiter Ben Boyd. Soon after Boyd is arrested, members of his counterfeiting ring gather to discuss how to spring their ringleader. Their plan: grab Lincoln's body from its Springfield tomb, stash it in the sand dunes near Lake Michigan, and demand, as a ransom, the release of Ben Boyd - and $200,000 in cash.

Did you know that women once wore corsets under their bathing suits? Or that "semi-drowning" - the strip and plunge practice - was thought to be good for one's health? Or that Pudgy Stockton, the body-building queen of Muscle Beach, California, opened the country's first gym for women? From the bathhouses of the ancient Greeks to Venice Beach and Coney Island, Let's Go to the Beach takes a multifaceted and well-researched look at beaches and their attendant customs.

Rosalba is a nine-year-old Mayan girl living in rural Mexico. Like her mother and grandmother, she weaves stories of her people onto blouses, ensuring that the age-old traditions continue. But new influences are entering her life. A ladina girl from the city, visiting with her scientist father, passes on the astonishing news that the Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world in 2012. Rosalba knows nothing about that, but her village is faced with a bulldozer tearing through the forest, dying wildlife, and cornfields in danger.

Journalist Rick Bowers has contributed to Time, The Washington Post, and USA Today, and his fascinating Spies of Mississippi—about the spy network that tried to take down the Civil Rights Movement—earned a starred review from Booklist. Here, Bowers examines how, in the late 1940s, The Adventures of Superman radio show struck a powerful blow to the Ku Klux Klan when Superman aired episodes pitting the hero against the Klan in an effort to teach young listeners to stand up to bigotry.

Since Fidel Castro staged a coup and assumed power of Cuba in 1959, the United States has been obsessed with this small island nation, only 90 miles south of the Florida Keys. But because of the country's isolation, the island and its people have remained a mystery. This revised edition of Cuba takes listeners through the country's storied history, its people, and what the future holds for this island nation.

Itza era la princesa más hermosa de la tierra, y muchos pretendientes viajaban de todas partes para cortejarla. Aun siendo la hija del emperador, Itza no quería casarse con un hombre de poder y riqueza. En cambio, se enamoró de Popoca, un valiente guerrero que peleaba en el ejército de su padre, quien no le ofreció riquezas, sino la promesa de quedarse a su lado para siempre.

Curious Creatures of the Amazon: A Journey Through the Rainforest takes listeners on an exhilarating adventure into the heart of the awe-inspiring Amazon rainforest. Embark on a captivating exploration alongside Lily Thompson and her friends, as guided by her passionate zoologist father, Dr. Robert Thompson. From the towering canopy to the secretive understory, from the enchanting rivers to the mysterious nocturnal realm, this book unravels the captivating world of the Amazon's curious creatures and vibrant ecosystems.

Tavinho vivia viajando de avião com o pai. Mas aquela estava sendo uma grande novidade: era a primeira vez que Tavinho viajava em um avião pequeno, voando baixo sobre a floresta amazônica, pois o doutor Otávio estava interessado na compra de uma grande fazenda para exploração de borracha. Quando os dois sobrevoavam a floresta amazônica, o avião teve de fazer um pouso forçado no meio de uma aldeia de índios.

Every morning, I'm up at four o'clock. I brush my teeth, get dressed, and drag my sister Melanie to the car where Mami's waiting for us. ¡Se nos va hacer tarde! ¡Apurarse! For the next two hours, we'll be in the car driving—past tamale vendors (my favorite part), through la linea (my least favorite part), and across the US border. That's how we get to school every day. This is our normal. ¡Vamos!

Every morning, I'm up at four o'clock. I brush my teeth, get dressed, and drag my sister Melanie to the car where Mami's waiting for us. ¡Se nos va hacer tarde! ¡Apurarse! For the next two hours, we'll be in the car driving—past tamale vendors (my favorite part), through la linea (my least favorite part), and across the US border. That's how we get to school every day. This is our normal. ¡Vamos!

On most days, teacher and librarian Luis Soriano Bohórquez packs his two burros, Alfa and Beto, with books and makes his way over mountains and through valleys to visit children in far-flung villages in rural Colombia—all for the sake of literacy and culture. Based on the work of a remarkable man and his intrepid burros, this bilingual English and Spanish edition celebrates the impact that a special mobile library—called the “biblioburro”—has had on the lives of real children.

Angélica ha pasado todo el verano en la República Dominicana con sus tías y primas, sus abuelos y con la cotorra de al lado. Pronto, tendrá que despedirse. El final del verano significa regresar a casa para volver a la escuela en la otra orilla. Antes de irse, su abuelo le da el regalo perfecto, algo con el poder de atraer multitudes y mover a la gente tan rápido como las alas de un picaflor: una güira. Angélica se enamora de esta lata sin fondo y peine de hojalata que mantiene el ritmo, aunque al principio nadie parece compartir su entusiasmo.

Angélica has spent the summer in the Dominican Republic with her tías and primas, her grandparents, and their parrot, but soon she’ll have to say goodbye. The end of summer means returning home to start school on another shore. Before she leaves, her grandfather gives her the perfect gift. It's something with the power to make people dance as fast as the wings of a hummingbird: a güira. Angélica falls in love with this musical instrument, though nobody shares her enthusiasm at first. “What is that sound,” they say, “pennies inside a tin cup?”