World Geography

Celebrated for her nonfiction books aimed at young readers and listeners, award-winning author Suzanne Tripp Jurmain illuminates historical figures in fun and engaging ways. Worst of Friends draws listeners into the earliest days of America's history to profile the friendship and rivalry that grew between Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both of whom would go on to become president of the United States.

Suzanna and her father, Peter, head to Andros Island, a diving paradise in the Caribbean. There, she learns the basics of scuba diving and eventually swims with fifteen reef sharks in this lively true underwater adventure.

Que felicidad! It's Cinco de Mayo, and Mouse follows his nose to the festival, where musicians play, dancers stomp, and delicious treats abound. Then Mouse spots a piñata and wants just one piece of candy... but he isn't the only one looking for a snack. Cat is planning his own fiesta with Mouse on the menu!

Sanghee's father lights a bonfire on top of the mountain near their Korean village every night. It is a signal to the next mountain, where another fire is lit as a signal to the next mountain, and so on all the way to the king's palace. If the first isn't lit, the others won't be lit, and the king will know that trouble has come to the land. One evening, Sang-hee notices that the fire is not lit. Has trouble come?

Thomas Jefferson is perhaps best known for writing the Declaration of Independence--but there's so much more to discover. This energetic man was interested in everything. He played violin, spoke seven languages, and was a scientist, naturalist, botanist, mathematician, and architect. He designed his magnificent home, Monticello, which is full of objects he collected from around the world. Our first foodie, he grew more than 15 kinds of peas and advocated a mostly vegetarian diet.

Lincoln's legacy is everywhere--there he is on your penny and five-dollar bill. And we are still the United States because Lincoln helped hold them together. But who was he really? The little girl in this audiobook wants to find out. Among the many other things, she discovers our sixteenth president was a man who believed in freedom for all; had a dog named Fido; loved Mozart, apples, and his wife's vanilla cake; and kept his notes in his hat.

This Caldecott Medal winner from prolific children’s book author and illustrator Gail E. Haley is steeped in colorful African and Caribbean language and folklore. It is the legendary tale of Kwaku Ananse - the spider man - and how he bargained with Nyame the Sky God to give his treasure of stories to the world.

A stray kitty gets a job in a sumo stable, chasing mice in exchange for food. But when eating like a sumo wrestler slows our feline hero down, he realizes he must train like a wrestler, too. Through hard work and perseverance - and with a little help from a big buddy - SumoKitty is born! A funny and heartwarming story inspired by the Japanese saying, "Fall down seven times, stand up eight."

Rivers wind through the earth, cutting down and eroding the soil for millions of years, creating a cavity in the ground 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and more than a mile deep known as the Grand Canyon. Home to an astonishing variety of plants and animals that have lived and evolved within its walls for millennia, the Grand Canyon is much more than just a hole in the ground. Follow a father and daughter as they make their way through the cavernous wonder, discovering life both present and past.

In the hills above Port-au-Prince, a young girl named Fallon wants more than anything to carry a large woven basket to the market, just like her Manman. As she watches her mother wrap her hair in a mouchwa, Fallon tries to twist her own braids into a scarf and balance the empty panye atop her head, but it’s much harder than she thought. Boom! Is she ready after all?

Do you love Texas so much that you want to tell your friends and family all about it? We know the feeling! Take them on a tour of the best things about Texas! From Big Bend National Park, to the Texas State Fair, to the Dallas Farmers Market, to the Alamo, all audiences will learn fun facts showing them how much they, too, will love Texas!

After years of harsh monsoon seasons, a forest on the river island of Majuli is in danger of being slowly washed away. Jadav is determined to save the forest he loves. This is the true story of how one young boy dedicated his life to creating and cultivating an expansive forest that continues to grow to this day. In a world impacted by climate change, Jadav Payeng’s inspirational story shows how one person’s contributions can make a difference in helping to save our environment.

The great unknown of the Southwest is conquered by a one-armed man and his crew of adventurers, placing the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon on the map of the American continent. It is a journey no human being had ever made before. Dangerous rapids, narrow canyon walls offering no escape, terrifying river waterfalls, capsized boats, near drowning, lost equipment and disillusioned men are dramatically described by John Wesley Powell, leader of this adventurous party.

*A Financial Times Best Book of the Year* A “provocative” (Booklist) and compelling look at the powerful global forces that will cause billions of us to move geographically over the next decades, ushering in an era of radical change. In the 60,000 years since people began colonizing the...

1919 was a world-shaking year. America was recovering from World War I, and black soldiers returned to racism so violent that that summer would become known as the Red Summer. The suffrage movement had a long-fought win when women gained the right to vote. Labourers took to the streets to protest working conditions, nationalistic fervour led to a communism scare, and temperance gained such traction that Prohibition went into effect. Each of these movements reached a tipping point that year. Now, 100 years later, these same social issues are more relevant than ever.

"Ethiopia and the Origin of Civilization" by John G. Jackson is a seminal work that challenges traditional Eurocentric perspectives on the origins of civilization. Originally published in 1939, Jackson's book seeks to highlight the significant contributions of African civilizations, particularly Ethiopia, to the development of human culture and civilization.

After an amazing trip to Ireland, Boken thought he was going straight home, but no. In fact, his parents had another few weeks of exploring planned for him. He would be seeing the sights of his home country, Spain. From the beauty of Segovia to the magnificence of Madrid, from historical Toledo to modern-day Valencia, Boken was in for a massive treat. He would learn to swim, make money dancing, have a weird and crazy dream, and fall hopelessly in love. And then he went to Córdoba, where he was to experience everything that his heart could dream of.

“Deeply reported and persuasively told, Roam is a gorgeous testament to the habitats that sustain life on earth—and the power and promise of protecting them. An inspiring and necessary read.” — Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction What if...

A young boy wakes up to the sound of the sea, visits his grandfather's grave after lunch, and comes home to a simple family dinner, but all the while his mind strays to his father digging for coal deep down under the sea. With curriculum connections to communities and the history of mining, this beautifully understated and haunting story brings a piece of history to life. The ever-present ocean and inevitable pattern of life in a maritime mining town will enthrall children and move adult listeners.

Whaling in the Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast was as dangerous as it was lucrative in 1897. In that particular year, winter came early, bringing with it storms and ice packs that caught eight American whale ships and about three hundred sailors off guard. The ships were imprisoned in ice with no hope of escape. With limited provisions on board the ships that hadn’t been crushed by the ice, there was little hope that these men could survive until warmer temperatures arrived at least 10 months later. Martin Sandler tells the incredible true adventure story of three men who were ordered by President McKinley to carry out an overland rescue in the dead of winter.