Nonfiction Science

You're not just imagining it: People are getting more and more rude - from cutting in line, gabbing on their phones and clipping their nails on public transportation, to hurling epithets on Twitter and in real life (including a certain President who does both). And the worst part is that it's contagious, leading reasonably courteous people to stoop to new lows in order to respond to the ever-coarsening encounters we face every day.

Butterflies bloom as delicately as flowers in this magnificent story of beginnings, middles and ends: eggs, caterpillars, and finally butterflies.

This second collection of This I Believe essays gathers 75 essayists - ranging from famous to previously unknown - completing the thought that begins the book's title. With contributors who run the gamut from cellist Yo-Yo Ma to ordinary folks like a diner waitress, an Iraq War veteran, a farmer, a new husband, and many others, This I Believe II, like the first New York Times best-selling collection, showcases moving and irresistible essays.

On the eve of a major treaty conference between Iroquois leaders and European colonists in the distant summer of 1722, two White fur traders attacked an Indigenous hunter and left him for dead near Conestoga, Pennsylvania. This act of brutality set into motion a remarkable series of criminal investigations and cross-cultural negotiations that challenged the definition of justice in early America. Leading historian Nicole Eustace reconstructs the crime and its aftermath, bringing us into the overlapping worlds of white colonists and Indigenous peoples in this formative period.

They’re explosive and invisible. They’re extinct and never-ending. What are they? Science mysteries, of course! Get ready to crack the cases and the real science info wide open. You might need your goggles for this one.

Did you know there are over 400 different species of sharks? Did you know they have been on Earth much longer than humans, and even lived before the dinosaurs? Here you'll learn all about these fearsome kings of the ocean, including their eating habits and the basics of their anatomy. Sharks come in many sizes, from under a foot long to over 40 feet - and that's not even counting the long-extinct, 60-foot-long Megalodon shark. And while some have been known to bite people, they are usually quite content to hunt other sea creatures.

Charlotte Runcie has always felt pulled to the sea, lured by its soothing, calming qualities but also enlivened and inspired by its salty wildness. When she loses her beloved grandmother and becomes pregnant with her first child, she feels its pull even more intensely. In Salt on Your Tongue Charlotte explores what the sea means to us and particularly what it has meant to women through the ages.

We are complacent. We bask in the idea that Canada holds 20% of the world’s fresh water - water crises face other countries, but not ours. We could not be more wrong. In Boiling Point, best-selling author and activist Maude Barlow lays bare the issues facing Canada’s water reserves, including long-outdated water laws, unmapped and unprotected groundwater reserves, agricultural pollution, industrial-waste dumping, boil-water advisories, and the effects of deforestation and climate change. This will be the defining issue of the coming decade, and most of us have no idea that it is on our very own doorstep.

King cobras slither across the ground. Learn all about these venomous snakes and their habitats in King Cobras.

Bengal tigers silently stalk their prey. Learn all about these sneaky night hunters and their habitats in Bengal Tigers.

Toucans fill the rain forests with chatter. Learn all about these colorful birds and their habitats in Toucans.

Learn about ducks and their ducklings.

Howler monkeys spend most of their lives in the trees. Learn about these noisy monkeys and their habitats in Howler Monkeys.

Travel to Egypt. Find out the facts about this country in Africa.

Few activities grip our attention more than animal watching. Dolphins and seals bring us much joy, and sharks and alligators hold us in awe. But animals can also prompt a variety of fascinating questions. Why do dolphins sometimes surf? How well can birds of prey actually see? Why do giant pandas eat bamboo fast food? Why are cavities essential to one reptile's survival? What effect can a slight temperature change have on alligator hatchlings? How can some seals stay underwater so long and dive so deeply without harm?

What happens to garbage after it is picked up? Where does water go? Discover what happens to garbage, recycling, water, and mail after it leaves the home.

Vroom! Engines roar and wheels turn in this fun series. Exciting facts about different machines engage beginning listeners while simple, predictable text that aid them on the first step of their literacy journey.

What animal has the biggest eyes? Why do elephants have enormous ears? This series explores different animal parts and demonstrates how and why these parts vary throughout the animal kingdom. Each title introduces listeners to four animals whose distinct body parts are unique and important.

Spend a day on the farm with this fun series! Learn what farmers do, as well as what kinds of crops they grow, animals they care for, and machines they use.

A baby kangaroo lives in its mother’s pouch. A zebra group is called a dazzle. A mother octopus has 50,000 babies! Find out how animal families care for their young, keep one another safe, and share duties. Accessible and fun K–3 level information reveals the animal world to young listeners and researchers in this Pebble Explore title from the Animal Societies series.