Nonfiction Science

The eerie silence was broken only by the sound of scuffling feet as marchers approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. The mood was sober. Hundreds of men, women, and children had been protesting in Selma for weeks to win black Americans the right to vote. They’d been threatened. Been arrested. Jailed. This march was likely to end in violence, yet they went anyway. But when state troopers attacked with billy clubs and tear gas, the brute force was a shock.

Eddie Rickenbacker was a World War I Flying Ace, a Medal of Honor winner, and even a racecar driver. But did you know that his first attempt at flying was to ride his bicycle off the roof of his house while holding an umbrella?

In the history of life on this planet, 99.9 percent of all species have gone extinct. But a few have survived almost unchanged. Author Rebecca E. Hirsch introduces listeners to six living fossils, including the chambered nautilus, the horseshoe crab with its sticky blue blood, and venomous platypuses that sting, as well as a comprehensive explanation of evolution and extinction for listeners who may not be familiar with the terms yet.

In Elkhorn Slough, an inlet on the California coast, seagrass grows healthy and strong in the shallow water. This healthy seagrass baffled marine biologist Brent Hughes. The scientist expected this estuary to be overrun with algae, causing the seagrass to die. Why was the seagrass thriving? As Brent investigated, signs pointed to an unexpected player helping to keep the seagrass healthy: sea otters! What do these top predators have to do with an aquatic grass at the opposite end of the food chain?

Have you ever wondered what mysteries the ocean holds? Prepare to explore the ocean from sunlit shallows to the deepest, darkest depths. Along the way, you'll meet many incredible creatures that are brand new to science. Dive to a coral reef and spot a new species of pygmy octopus. Travel deeper and discover fragile, nearly transparent jellies as they drift past. Then head down into a world of eternal night. You'll encounter animals that make their own light and zombie worms that feast on the bones of dead whales.

Who holds the world record triple jump record - for bullfrogs? Rosie, the Ribeter. She set the record in May 1986 at 21 feet, five and three-quarter inches. Her record has stood for over 30 years. This is her story.

Honey bees are among the world’s most important insects. They help pollinate many of the crops we depend on for food. Without them, the global food supply would be in great danger. In 1998, beekeepers in Europe made a shocking discovery—almost all of the honey bees had disappeared from their hives. Several years later, beekeepers in the United States found that many of their honey bees had vanished too. Scientists called this disappearance colony collapse disorder (CCD), and at first, no one knew why it was happening.

¿Qué tienen en común y en qué se diferencian los cangrejos y las langostas? Aunque ambos animales viven en el océano, uno prefiere nadar y el otro caminar. Uno puede ser encontrado en pozas costeras y el otro en alta mar. Ambos tienen esqueletos en la parte externa de sus cuerpos. ¡Hay mucho más sobre estos animales además de ser un buen alimento para nosotros! Aprende sobre estos crustáceos fascinantes en la edición más reciente de la serie de Un libro de comparaciones y contrastes.

Las focas y los leones marinos tienen un aspecto similar y algunas veces es complicado saber cuál es cuál. Ambos mamíferos marinos nadan con aletas y pueden encontrarse en océanos alrededor del mundo. Uno tiene orejas visibles, mientras que las orejas del otro no son externas. Uno atraviesa el agua utilizando sus aletas traseras, mientras que el otro usa sus aletas frontales para nadar. Ya sobre tierra, uno rebota hacia sus alrededores, mientras que el otro puede “caminar” sobre sus aletas.

¿Sabías que hay más insectos que cualquier otro grupo de animales? La diversidad de insectos es asombrosa. ¿Qué tienen en común las hormigas con las abejas? ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre una mariposa y una polilla? ¿Cómo están relacionados los gorgojos y las mariquitas? Algunos insectos tienen un par de alas, otros tienen dos pares y hay algunos que no tienen alas. Algunos insectos, aunque no todos, tienen un caparazón duro y externo (exoesqueleto). Aprende en qué se parecen y diferencian los insectos en esta nueva entrega de la serie de Comparaciones y Contrastes.

You're probably familiar with many of the common categories scientists use for animals: warm-blooded or cold-blooded, nocturnal or diurnal. But what about the animals that don't fit in? Sharks cannot be classified as warm or cold-blooded—they are somewhere in-between. And Eurasian eagle owls don't hunt during the day or night. Instead, they swoop through the trees at dawn and dusk. Author and science educator Jessica Fries-Gaither introduces eight common categories scientists use and the animals that break those rules.

Jackals will eat almost anything. On the African savanna, they will even steal food from much bigger animals, like lions. Learn more about the lives of jackals.

Emma Lilian Todd's mind was always soaring—she loved to solve problems. Lilian tinkered and fiddled with all sorts of objects, turning dreams into useful inventions. As a child, she took apart and reassembled clocks to figure out how they worked. As an adult, typing up patents at the U.S. Patent Office, Lilian built the inventions in her mind, including many designs for flying machines. However, they all seemed too impractical. Lilian knew she could design one that worked.

Snakes are both cool and creepy! So there is no better series to get young kids exploring books. Each title has interesting facts about these slithering reptiles.

Sea monsters have a long history in lore and literature. Homer first wrote of them in 700 BCE. What Do We Know About the Kraken? lets curious young listeners explore what we actually know about this mysterious sea monster's long history. Dive into the facts behind this massive squid-like creature that was first described using the word "Kraken" in the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Beep! Beep! Here comes a dump truck! Young students can learn basic facts about these load-bearing machines through simple text to support listeners who are just starting out.

Owls are one of the world's top predators. These stealthy hunters can fly nearly silently, see long distances, and easily hear prey. Discover the hunting behaviors of owls and see how they train their owlets.

What do you know about rays? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals.

Butterflies soar in the sunlight. While moths flutter under the moon and stars. Find out more about these mysterious and majestic insects similarities and differences, and their awestriking metamorphosis!

Lions are deadly predators. Their size, keen eyesight, and razor-sharp teeth and claws help them take down prey. Find out how lions hunt, interact with other lions in their pride, and raise their young.