Skyscrapers: The Heights of Engineering: Science Comics

Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic— dinosaurs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, robots, and more. 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!

In this volume, join a pair of superheroes as they uncover the secrets of skyscrapers, from the great Egyptians pyramids to the world’s tallest building. Read along and learn how skyscrapers are a bold combination of applied physics, ingenuity, and a lot of hard work!

Introduction. Glossary. Full-color illustrations were drawn in pencil, inked with pens, then scanned and colored in Photoshop.

Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir

Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by her mother's second husband. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night—and discovered the magic of writing. Through subsequent years, her notebooks were her most enduring companions. In this remarkable memoir told in both poetry and prose, Grimes explores her harrowing past, showing how the power of words helped her conquer the hazards—ordinary and extraordinary—of life.

Author’s note. Black-and-white photographs.

Cooking Class: Global Feast

Rogue Heart

Neo Beijing, 2201. To escape the ghosts of her past, eighteen-year-old telepath Ama works by day in a bakery and cafe, and moonlights as a lounge singer in a smoky bar at night. She's anonymous, she's safe from the never-ending world war, and that's how she'd like to stay. But then a resistance group called PHNX recruits her to help save young girls from a government experiment exactly like the one she fled. Soon, Ama is traveling with the resistance on a series of dangerous missions, using her telepathic and telekinetic powers to infiltrate authoritarian Alliance operations and gain intelligence for the democratic resistance.

Fitness Routines of Simone Biles

Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast in history. Few were surprised when she won a record four gold medals at the 2016 Olympic Games. She swings faster, twists cleaner, and soars higher than everyone else. How does she do it? With a demanding fitness routine and keen awareness of the mental component of the sport, Biles produces almost superhuman results. Many consider her the greatest gymnast ever. Learn more about Simone’s superior fitness and nutrition programs.

Mr. Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets

Meet Mr. Penguin—Adventurer (And Penguin!)

When Mr. Penguin and Colin crash-land on a snowy mountain, they discover strange noises coming from an old, ruined fortress. Might it be connected to the mystery of missing pets? Why are there shadowy figures lurking about? And will Mr. Penguin conquer his fear of flying?

This second installment in the humorous, page-turning series from Alex T. Smith, the author-illustrator of the popular "Claude" series, is sure to thrill young readers looking for a good adventure.

Two-color illustrations.

Defining and Discussing Freedom of the Press

Recent events have shone a bright spotlight on the news media, including “fake news,” internet trolls, and attacks on journalists. This book describes the history of the right to freedom of the press, how the constitution protects reporters, and what happens in places where the press is not free.

The "Shaping the Debate" series is designed to help readers in grades 5-9 understand social issues from multiple viewpoints and to articulate their own opinions. Each book in this series explains the title issue and how it affects people and policy; introduces people and movements involved in bringing awareness to the issue; highlights applicable major U.S. laws, judicial decisions, and progressive to moderate to conservative viewpoints; and touches on global implications of activism, awareness, and policy change.

Poppy & Sam and the Mole Mystery

It’s a new day in the garden, and Poppy and Sam are paying a visit to their friend Snuggles Molesy. But Snuggles is in a pickle, looking for a lost pair of pretty pink glasses! Sleuths Poppy and Sam begin to investigate: all around the garden, along the shore of the creek, and even inside the pies Snuggles had been baking. Along the way, they ask the other critters they encounter.

Poppy and Sam don’t have much luck finding the glasses, but they do come across a variety of other treasures: a flowered umbrella, a flute, a yellow spinning top, and more. By the end of the story, they set up a whimsical lost and found with all of these objects—and finally find the rosy specs, while their fellow garden friends find misplaced treasures of their own.

The second Poppy and Sam adventure, this picture book/graphic novel hybrid is full of friendly characters, charming details, and a fun and suspenseful storyline that will be sure to delight young readers.

Full-color illustrations.

Can You Hear the Trees Talking?: Discovering the Hidden Life of the Forest

Meet Peter Wohlleben—but you can call him Peter the Forester!

With his groundbreaking, internationally bestselling book The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben established himself as a global advocate for forests and our relationship with trees. Now, Peter shares his famous imagination and storytelling style with children, asking surprising questions about trees with exciting quizzes, photographs, and hands-on activities to help even the most reluctant learners discover the answers.

Did you know that trees have parents, and tree grandparents with wrinkles? That tree kids go to school for hundreds of years? That there is such a thing as the forest internet? And that trees make us healthy and strong. Sometimes, even trees get sick, but we can help them heal.

Author’s note. Index. Full-color photographs and illustrations.

A Boy Is Not a Bird

In 1941, life in Natt’s small town of Zastavna is comfortable and familiar, even if the grownups are acting strange, and his parents treat him like a baby. Natt knows there’s a war on, of course, but he’s glad their family didn’t emigrate to Canada when they had a chance. His mother didn’t want to leave their home, and neither did he. He especially wouldn’t want to leave his best friend, Max. Max is the ideas guy, and he hears what’s going on in the world from his older sisters. Together, the boys are two brave musketeers.

Then one day, Natt goes home and finds his family huddled around the radio. The Russians are taking over. The churches and synagogues will close, Hebrew school will be held in secret, and there are tanks and soldiers in the street. But it’s exciting, too. Natt wants to become a Young Pioneer, to show outstanding revolutionary spirit and make their new leader, Comrade Stalin, proud.

But life under the Russians is hard. The soldiers are poor. They eat up all the food and they even take over Natt’s house. Then Natt’s father is arrested, and even Natt is detained and questioned. He feels like a nomad, sleeping at other people’s houses while his mother works to free his father. As the adults try to protect him from the reality of their situation, and local authorities begin to round up deportees bound for Siberia, Natt is filled with a sense of guilt and grief. Why wasn’t he brave enough to look up at the prison window when his mother took him to see his father for what might be the last time? Or can just getting through war be a heroic act in itself?

Author’s note, with photograph. Note on historical context. Map.

Otto Goes North

A cozy picture book about friendship across borders, travel, and knitting.

Full-color illustrations.

Hello

A wordless picture book shows that the power of communicating can span across the galaxies.

Full-color illustrations.