Social Studies Education

The United States keeps its gold safe at Fort Knox. How is this done? There are fences, locks, guards, and more. Learn more about this high-security place!

Air Force One keeps the U.S. president safe while flying. Learn more about the features that protect this amazing plane. Also find out how team members protect the president as he travels on Air Force One.

What does the U.S. Supreme Court do? Learn about who can be on the Supreme Court, how they are chosen, where they work, and more. Descriptive main text, fast facts, and callout definitions work together to support understanding.

What is the U.S. Senate? Learn about senators, how bills become laws, where senators work, and more.

Make the world a better place for people in need! This book is full of ideas and projects listeners can put into action to fight poverty.

Make the world a better place for animals! This book is full of ideas and projects listeners can put into action to help animals.

Every year, the world’s farmers produce a lot of food for people to eat. Yet every night, millions of people around the world go to bed hungry. Why are people going without food when the earth is able to produce so much? Max Axiom and the Society of Super Scientists go on a fact-finding mission to discover the reasons behind food scarcity. Young listeners can join the team to find out why many people deal with food insecurity and learn ways that they can help.

What do taxes, jury duty, and being good citizens have to do with helping our government? Using engaging, age-appropriate language, listeners understand our responsibilities as American citizens and learn how to take active roles in our government. Fully translated Spanish text.

When election season starts, the race is on! But what do campaigns, candidates, polls, and the Electoral College have to do with voting for our nation's leaders?

Zoos are busy places filled with animals and the visitors who love them. Who are the people who keep zoos running? From vets to performers to groundskeepers, many people work together to serve the needs of a zoo. Learn about their important work in this book from the Wonderful Workplaces series.

What are our civil rights, and how are they different from our legal rights? What do gender, age, discrimination, and the U.S. Constitution have to do with our civil rights? Learn to decipher our nation's civil rights laws and learn how they protect our citizens.

Hospitals are busy places filled with sick and injured people and their caregivers. Who are the people who keep hospitals running? From schedulers to doctors and nurses to IT staff, many people work together to serve the needs of a hospital. Learn about their important work in this book from the Wonderful Workplaces series.

Movies are fun to watch with your family and friends. Who are the people who create these entertaining escapes? From special effects artists to writers to animal trainers, many people work together to serve the needs of a movie set. Learn about their important work in this book from the Wonderful Workplaces series.

Airports are busy places with people and things taking off and landing from trips across states, countries, and oceans. Who are the people who keep airports running? From security officers to baggage handlers to gift shop employees, many people work together to serve the needs of an airport. Learn about their important work in this book from the Wonderful Workplaces series.

How does the U.S. House of Representatives work? Discover who can be a representative, what they do, where they work, and more.

What does a jury do? Discover how a jury forms, its duties, and its importance in the court system. Descriptive main text, fast facts, and callout definitions work together to support understanding.

The political landscape has never been so tumultuous: issues with the electoral college, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and a lack of representation in the polls and in our leadership have led to Americans of all ages asking, How did we get here? The power to change lies with the citizens of this great country - especially teens! Rather than pointing fingers at people and political parties, You Call This Democracy? looks at flaws in the system - and offers a real way out of the mess we are in.

In the 1920s cotton buyer Earle Dickson worked for Johnson & Johnson and had a klutzy wife who often cut herself. The son of a doctor, Earle set out to create an easier way for her to bandage her injuries. Band-Aids were born, but Earle's bosses at the pharmaceutical giant weren't convinced, and it wasn't until the Boy Scouts of America tested Earle's prototype that this ubiquitous household staple was made available to the public.

How does the president get his job? How do people know who will win an election before everybody’s voted? Do the candidates hate each other? Dan Gutman takes on his strangest subject ever: the American political system. Reaching through history from the days of the founding fathers to today’s voting system, Gutman tackles complex subjects in a clear, easy-to-understand way. Even grown-ups will find something in here that they’ve never learned before.

American Libraries editor in chief Leonard Kniffel offers a compelling collection of interviews with prominent figures--all of whom have special connections to libraries. From President Barack Obama to actress Julie Andrews; from basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to former First Lady and librarian Laura Bush and many others, stars of literature, politics, entertainment, and the public arena speak with Kniffel about the ways libraries have been critical in their lives.