Nonfiction World

Iran is an ancient country that used to be called Persia. The Persians were one of the oldest civilizations on Earth, and Persian culture has a strong presence in Iranian culture today. In this book, explore Iran’s rain forests, national cuisine, and the traditions of a people that trace their roots back thousands of years.

Afghanistan borders seven different countries and is a connection point for East, South, West, and Central Asia. It has long been a center of trade and culture, with many different civilizations throughout history calling it home. In this title, students will hear about Afghanistan’s wildlife, landscape, culture, and more.

Did you know that Iraq was home to the oldest known human civilization on Earth? This area used to be known as Mesopotamia, and many different ancient peoples lived there. Listeners will learn about daily life in Iraq, contemporary Iraqi culture, and the changes the country is going through today.

Venezuela is a land of striking beauty. Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, plunges more than 3,000 feet in the Guiana Highlands. Lake Maracaibo, the largest lake in South America, sits in northwestern Venezuela. Eager listeners will get their feet wet in this title that explores Venezuela's landscape, people, and heritage.

Do you know the Alaskan Inuits? They were people who lived in the past. They had special customs, traditions, culture, and lifestyle that reflect their immediate environment and living conditions. Knowing the history of ancestors will help shape a thorough understanding of how the world evolved. Add a new layer of learning everyday. Grab a copy today.

See America without leaving your chair with this exciting series for beginning book explorers.

See America without leaving your chair with this exciting series for beginning book explorers. Engaging, easy-to-understand narrative text introduces young listeners to some of the most important sites in the U.S.A.

The year 2015 marks several literary milestones: the centennial of Saul Bellow's birth, the tenth anniversary of his death, and the publication of Zachary Leader's much anticipated biography. Bellow - a Nobel laureate, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and the only novelist to receive three National Book Awards - has long been regarded as one of America's most cherished authors. Here, Benjamin Taylor, editor of the acclaimed Saul Bellow: Letters, presents lesser-known aspects of the iconic writer.

One night at a dinner party in Florence, historian Daniel Lee was told about a remarkable discovery. An upholsterer in Amsterdam had found a bundle of swastika-covered documents inside the cushion of an armchair he was repairing. They belonged to Dr. Robert Griesinger, a lawyer from Stuttgart, who joined the S.S. and worked at the Reich's Ministry of Economics and Labor in Nazi-occupied Prague during the war.

Eva and her identical twin sister, Miriam, had a mostly happy childhood. Theirs was the only Jewish family in their small village in the Transylvanian mountains, but they didn't think much of it until anti-Semitism reared its ugly head in their school. Then, in 1944, ten-year-old Eva and her family were deported to Auschwitz. At its gates, Eva and Miriam were separated from their parents and other siblings, selected as subjects for Dr. Mengele's infamous medical experiments.

Listen all about the brave little pigeon that carried out a dangerous mission to deliver a desperate message across a deadly battlefield.

Art looting is commonly recognized as a central feature of Nazi expropriation. After the war, the famed Monuments Men (and women) recovered several hundred thousand pieces from the Germans' makeshift repositories. Well-publicized restitution cases, such as that of Gustav Klimt's luminous painting featured in the film Woman in Gold, illustrate the legacy of Nazi looting in the art world today. But what happened to looted art that was never returned to its rightful owners?

The mythic origin stories of the Grand Canyon and the Native American tribes who live in and near it.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany. The Nazis terribly persecuted Jews and other groups of people. They murdered millions of Jews across Europe during World War II. A preteen girl named Anne Frank and her family managed to hide from the Nazis for two years. During this time, Anne wrote about her experiences almost every day in her diary. Discover the courage of Anne and her family during one of the most horrific times in history.

Over the span of two hundred years, Great Britain established, governed, lost, and reconstructed an empire that embraced three continents and two oceanic worlds. The British ruled this empire by correlating incoming information about the conduct of subjects and aliens in imperial spaces with norms of good governance developed in London. Officials derived these norms by studying the histories of government contained in the official records of both the state and corporations and located in repositories known as archives.

In the number one New York Times best seller, The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be, Joanna Gaines celebrates how creativity and acceptance can come together to make for a bright and beautiful adventure. The book, illustrated by Julianna Swaney, follows a group of children as they each build their very own hot-air balloons. As the kids work together, leaning into their own skills and processes, we discover that the same is true for life — it's more beautiful and vibrant when our differences are celebrated.

In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian on his way to tend horses in World War I, followed his heart and rescued a baby bear. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war. Harry Colebourn's real-life great-granddaughter tells the true story of a remarkable friendship and an even more remarkable journey - from the fields of Canada to a convoy across the ocean to an army base in England...and finally to the London Zoo, where Winnie made another new friend: a real boy named Christopher Robin.

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.

You can always recognize a painting by Kahlo because she is in nearly all of them, with her black braided hair and colorful Mexican outfits. A brave woman who was an invalid most of her life, she transformed herself into a living work of art. As famous for her self-portraits and haunting imagery as she was for her marriage to another famous artist, Diego Rivera, this strong and courageous painter was inspired by the ancient culture and history of her beloved homeland, Mexico. Her paintings continue to inform and inspire popular culture around the world.

Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17 for speaking out against injustice even when it was terrifying to do so. She was an ordinary Muslim girl who wanted to attend school, and she refused to stop protesting for her rights even after being attacked by a powerful group in Pakistan who wanted women to remain in the shadows. She continues to fight for women’s rights and free education for children all over the world.