Nonfiction World

Hispanic America, Texas, and the Mexican War examines the history of the southwestern area of the United States. Topics covered include the settlement of the area that became the southwestern portion of the United States, detailing how it evolved from land settled by Native Americans, to Spanish territory, to states that were pawns between the North and South prior to the Civil War.

Steve Jobs, adopted in infancy by a family in San Francisco, packed a lot of life into 56 short years. In this Who Was...? biography, children will learn how his obsession with computers and technology at an early age led him to cofound and run Apple in addition to turning Pixar into a groundbreaking animation studio. A college dropout, Jobs took unconventional steps in his path to success and inspired the best and the brightest to come with him and "change the world".

The world you live in promotes sex as the answer to just about everything. The pressure to go along with the crowd is greater than ever before, and it's easy to compromise in little ways that are a lot more harmful than they seem. You and your friends may become caught up in destructive relationships or sexual activities without even knowing how you got there. You just want to be normal - to fit in, to be liked, to look attractive to the opposite sex. But are you paying too high a price?

Happy birthday! Let's celebrate! All around the world people are turning another year older. What are some ways birthdays are celebrated in Asia? Or in South America? Discover the ways people celebrate birthdays in this engaging series that develops kids' understanding of our diverse global community and their place in it.

Viola Desmond was an accidental game changer. She built a career as a beautician and businesswoman. But her one act of defiance triggered a revolution in which the Black people of Nova Scotia began to stand up for their rights. Back in the days, there was an unspoken rule on segregation based on color. Viola challenged that rule when she stood in court.

Snakes, sharks, and spiders - oh my! Do you know what the most deadly animal in the world is? What about the difference between poison and venom? Learn the answers for yourself and discover what animals you definitely want to stay away from.

Amid the constant rain of German bombs and the escalating violence of World War II, British parents by the thousands chose to send their children out of the country: the wealthy, independently; the poor, through a government relocation program called CORB. In September 1940, passenger liner SS City of Benares set out in a convoy of 19 ships sailing for Canada. On board were 90 CORB children, chaperones, and crew, along with paying passengers. When the war ships escorting the Benares to safe waters peeled off, a German submarine attacked and torpedoed the Benares.

Ten thousand Allied troops landed in the Netherlands in September 1944. This was the largest airborne invasion ever undertaken and it ended in utter disaster. Eight thousand men were killed, wounded, or captured during the Battle of Arnhem. Yet, what of those who escaped? And how did they manage it when surrounded by German troops? Leo Heaps' remarkable book, The Grey Goose of Arnhem, charts the activities of 250 men who, with the aid of Dutch Resistance, made it back across the Rhine to Allied lines.

Spend twenty-four hours with the ancient Chinese. Travel back to AD 17, during the fourth year of the reign of Wang Mang of the Han dynasty, a vibrant and innovative era full of conflicts and contradictions. But as different as the Han culture might have been to other great ancient civilizations, the inhabitants of ancient China faced the same problems as people have for time immemorial: earning enough money, coping with workplace dramas, and keeping your home in order.

In the early 1900s, women were dying in large numbers from treatable diseases because they avoided receiving medical care. Examinations performed by male doctors were often demeaning and even painful. In addition, women faced stigma from illness—a diagnosis could greatly limit their ability to find husbands, jobs or be received in polite society. Motivated by personal loss and frustration over inadequate medical care, Elizabeth Blackwell, Lizzie Garret Anderson and Sophie Jex-Blake fought for a woman's place in the male-dominated medical field.

Every January 26, people gather on New Delhi’s Rajpath amidst a colorful jamboree of fluttering flags, marching soldiers, and dancing children. What is celebrated on this day is at the heart of our democracy - the magnificent Constitution of India. The document didn’t only lay down the law but united India with a vision that took two years, 11 months, and 17 days to realize. Subhadra Sen Gupta captures the many momentous occasions in Indian history that led to its making in The Constitution of India for Children.

Travel at top speeds in this fast-paced series! Reluctant learners will explore the fastest cars, boats, jets, motorcycles, and trains in the world. They will learn the history of these machines, how they work, and what the future holds for the fastest rides on Earth.

Long-term social and demographic changes - and the conflicts they create - continue to transform British politics. In this accessible and authoritative book, Sobolewska and Ford show how deep the roots of this polarization and volatility run, drawing out decades of educational expansion and rising ethnic diversity as key drivers in the emergence of new divides within the British electorate over immigration, identity, and diversity.

How do fireflies light up? Why do bees and wasps sting? How do butterflies get nectar from flowers? This series shows how unique insects eat, work, and live. It will have young listeners buzzing with excitement! This volume includes Butterflies, Honey Bees, Ladybugs, and Praying Mantises.

On May 19, 1942, during World War II, a German submarine, a U-boat, in the Gulf of Mexico stalked its prey 50 miles from New Orleans. The submarine set its sights on the freighter Heredia. Most onboard were merchant seamen, but there were also civilians, including the Downs family: Ray and Ina and their two children. Fast asleep in their berths, the Downs family had no idea that two torpedoes were heading their way. When the ship exploded, chaos ensued - and each family member had to find their own path to survival.

For more than a millennium, the Byzantine Empire presided over the juncture between East and West, as well as the transition from the classical to the modern world. Rather than recounting the standard chronology of emperors and battles, leading Byzantium scholar Jonathan Harris focuses on a succession of archetypal figures, families, places, and events.

A naive young man, a railway enthusiast and radio buff, was caught up in the fall of the British Empire at Singapore in 1942. He was put to work on the 'Railway of Death' - the Japanese line from Thailand to Burma. Exhaustively and brutally tortured by the Japanese for making a crude radio, Lomax was emotionally ruined by his experiences.

It was the biggest event in the history of women's sports. And for the Americans, it came down to five kicks. After regulation play and two overtimes in the final game of the 1999 women's World Cup soccer match, the score was 0-0. Penalty kicks would decide the world champion. The Chinese and the Americans would each pick five players. One kick per player. With the score tied 4-4, the Americans had one more chance to win it all.

How do an owl’s wings help it fly silently through the night to sneak up on prey? How fast does an eagle dive to catch fish? Each book in Raptor World highlights a different raptor, its hunting techniques, and the physical attributes that make it an expert bird of prey.

Even when he was a kid, everyone thought Jeff Kinney was talented. People loved his drawings, and when he went to college his comic strip, Igdoof, was so popular that it spread to other universities! Still, Jeff faced challenges. His cartoons were rejected by syndicates that claimed his art was unprofessional. Then an idea struck: Jeff would write a journal from the perspective of a child, illustrated with doodles just like a kid might do. And so the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series was born - and it was a hit!