Katherine Paterson was in her forties and a married mother of four when she sent her first young adult novel, ;The Sign of the Chrysanthemum, to a publisher.
Donovan Mitchell is built like a running back. At 6’3 and 215 pounds, he’s shorter than many top basketball stars. Yet he makes the most of his size, guarding the net against many larger players. He might have been a pro baseball player like his dad. But an injury shifted his focus. Leaving his home for New Hampshire when he was 16, he worked hard to achieve his dream. His rookie season he became a top scorer for the Utah Jazz and led his team to the playoffs.
A true story of their destruction and devastation as told by a young marine who suffered a lifetime of illness from atomic fallout because of secrets kept by our government.
When Luke Bryan was nineteen, he was ready to become a country music star. His bags were packed. He had an apartment waiting for him in Nashville. Then his older brother Chris was killed. Everything changed. He remained in his hometown of Leesburg, Georgia. It looked like his dreams might never come true. It would be a long, hard journey to Nashville to become a hit singer.
LeVeon Bell faced some tough challenges. He had a single mom. Money was tight. Yet his hardest challenge was how easily football came to him. It was so easy, he didnt have to work to win games. As a high school player, he realized top schools werent looking at him. He knew he had to change his strategy. He began working harder at the game. It paid off. He was chosen by Michigan State University. Today he plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers, his familys favorite team. Hes one of the best running backs in the country.
Carson Wentz learned to be patient. In high school, his older brother was the starting quarterback. Carson didnt get to start until his senior year. At North Dakota State University, he waited three years before starting for the Bison. Yet all that waiting helped. He spent the time learning to lead. He trained and reviewed plays. In practice, he became the toughest quarterback the Bison faced. When Carson became a quarterback for the Eagles he no longer had to wait. He became a starter right away. And Eagles fans only had to wait one year for their team to win its first-ever Super Bowl.
The Earthquakes are an original. One of the first ten teams in Major League Soccer, they were called the Clash. For years, the team struggled. Then they changed their name. The Earthquakes went on to win their very first MLS Cup. Maybe there's something in a name. For over twenty years, almost every post-season match has been between the Quakes and the L.A. Galaxy. It's a battle between Northern and Southern Californian. Quakes fans know these matches bring out the team's best. For over two decades, top players have won matches for the Quakes.
As a member of the first generation of African Americans who were born just after the end of slavery, Scott Joplin faced a world of unique challenges. His musical family scraped out a living by sharecropping and cleaning houses—but Scott was exceptionally gifted, and his mother made sure he got piano lessons. Classically trained, he spent several years playing in churches and saloons. While for a time he wanted to compose classical music, he was drawn to ragtime, an early form of jazz that featured African folk tunes and syncopated rhythms. After his first composition, "Maple Leaf Rag," was published in 1899, Scott Joplin was able to keep ragtime popular for the next two decades. In fact, ragtime influences can be heard in later forms of music, such as jazz, blues, and even rock and roll. Scott Joplin, the Father of Ragtime, whose compositions cut across geography, race, and class, was truly a Master of Music.
Stories of famous pirates from around the world are retold in this fast-moving series; Each book includes an analysis page in each chapter that helps the kids understand what is real and what might have been fictionalized over time; Each book provides a concluding chapter that recounts for the kids whether the pirate is more legend or mostly truth.
The New York Yankees have reserved a section of the stands. Fans there wear black robes, hold gavels, and stand at the order, All Rise. They are waiting for a home run from The Judge. They usually dont have to wait long. At 6'7" and 280 pounds, Aaron Judge is one of the biggest Major League Baseball players in history. No one hits the ball as hard. No one hits it as far. No one hit as many home runs as a rookie as Aaron. Yet he remains humble and feels blessed for the opportunity to play baseball. He tries to show it by being friendly to every fan he meets. These days he has a lot of fans.
A viking explorer who led what was probably the first European expedition to North America, Leif Erikson followed in his father's footsteps (Erik the Red) to become the leader of the first settlement in Greenland after his father's death. Born in Iceland, Leif and his family sailed to southern Greenland about 985 where his father founded a settlement near present-day Julianehab. Here, Erikson preached Christianity. His life was recorded in long Icelandic stories called sagas. From these sagas we can learn about the life and explorations of this Norse explorer. You, too, can follow his adventures herein.
For Jared Goff, throwing a football was always easy. He was so good at it that he became the first true freshman starting quarterback in University of California Berkeley history. But when he became a pro football player in 2016, it suddenly wasnt as easy. In his first year with the Los Angeles Rams, the team lost all seven games he started. Jared didnt give up. He didnt blame others. He just worked harder while never forgetting how to have fun. It all paid off as the Rams had a winning record in his second season. The future looks very bright for this gifted young quarterback.
Steam–powered locomotives helped bring people across the West but they also brought their share of problems. Traveling through enclosed tunnels or past the tall buildings of cities, the smoke from steam engines could be dangerous, even deadly. The story of electric trains is the story of the search for a better way. Electrically powered trains and trolleys helped build cities like Los Angeles. They let people live in new places, even far from where they worked. They were fast and efficient and led to some of the most modern trains on earth.
The Timbers werent like most professional soccer teams. They began longer before Major League Soccer. The first Timbers played pro soccer in 1975! They were such a popular team in Portland, Oregon that their biggest fans called themselves The Timbers Army. When Major League Soccer added Portland, Oregon, to the list of cities getting soccer teams, the Timbers kept their name. They also kept their sprit. With few star players and a small city behind them, the Timbers won many home games. In 2015, they even won the MLS Cup the top award in Major League Soccer.
In the United States laws apply to everyone, they are written down, and they are not easily changed. It was not always like this. Over 3,000 years ago, a Middle Eastern king wanted to rule fairly. He had the laws of his kingdom written in stone, and then he shared the laws with his people. His name was Hammurabi and he ruled Babylon- where the country of Iraq is today- for over forty years. Although he expanded his country and won many wars, today he is best remembered for his code of laws. The way laws are written in the United States owes so much to Hammurabi that pictures of him can be seen in the House of Representatives.
Born the son of a powerful king, Alexander the Great worried that there would not be any land left for him to conquer by the time he took over the throne. Instead, while he was still in his twenties, he ruled one of the largest empires in history. But before he could lead, he had to learn . . . from some of the greatest teachers in the history of the world.
Airports welcome planes of all shapes and sizes. Only one attracts crowds wherever it lands. The Antonov 124 was built to carry tanks and helicopters for the Russian military. Today it carries everything from jet engines to trains. It is the biggest working cargo plane in the world.
Trapdoor spiders are amazing! Their doors are made with dirt and leaves. They are very hard to see. The spider waits beneath its trapdoor. Insects that cross it get grabbed. Discover how this spider kills in All About North American Trapdoor Spiders.
For years, people doubted pro soccer would ever catch on in the South. After the Miami and Tampa Major League Soccer teams folded in 2001, there wasn't an MLS team in the region for a very long time. It took the owner of the Atlanta Falcons ten years to convince MLS to let him have a team. Then it cost over one billion dollars to build a new stadium for football and soccer. When Atlanta United FC began playing, fans thought it was worth it. Today some games attract over 70,000 people. They come to watch a young, fast, and high scoring team. In their very first year, Atlanta reached the playoffs. In their second, they were at the top of their conference. For most fans the question isn't whether Atlanta will win a championship, but when.
Marco Polo was 17 the first time he saw his father. Soon after, he joined his father and uncle on a trip from Marco's hometown of Venice, Italy, to China. In the 1200s, that journey took several years and the three travelers faced many hazards. Once he arrived, Marco impressed the country's powerful leader Kublai Khan enough to become an ambassador and governor. He spent years crisscrossing China, then known as Cathay, in the Khan's service. He finally returned home, but a few years later he was imprisoned during a conflict between Venice and Genoa. During his imprisonment, he wrote a book that described places and sights few Europeans knew even existed and changed their view of the world forever.
What age is the right age to have your first pet? Everything a youngster needs to know about owning and caring for a new rabbit is explained in this book including easy-to-understand instructions about daily care, cleaning, feeding and maintaining for one of most popular pets in North America.
More than any other musician in the early twentieth century, Duke Ellington brought jazz into nightclubs and later into the living rooms of America. The music he played sprang in part from the blues and gospel rhythms of the plantation slaves living in the mid-nineteenth century, infused with the sounds of ragtime from the turn of the century. Jazz has been called the first musical form created in the United States. It was a type of sharp improvisation for which band members played anything they wanted along a chosen key or set of chords, so every night the music was different. Duke led with his piano playing, but he allowed various other members of his band to shine, too. Embracing new technologies such as radio receivers and record players, Duke Ellington was an early pop star.
What age is the right age to have your first pet? Everything a youngster needs to know about owning and caring for a goldfish is explained in this book including easy-to-understand instructions about daily care, cleaning, feeding and maintaining for one of most popular pets in North America.
In Japan, the high-speed train may not be faster than a speeding bullet, but it's close. Traveling at almost 200 mph, the bullet train speeds across the country. It has helped cities grow and made it easier to live far from them. Although it looks like science fiction it is more than fifty years old.
The first thing many people think about when they think about Rwanda is the tragedy endured by its people in 1994. Yet this African nation is so much more than that. Located near the equator, its mountains keep much of it cool. Warm temperatures and steady rain help farmers produce bananas. And hidden in forests 10,000 feet above sea level are mountain gorillas, shy vegetarians that attract thousands of visitors from across the globe. Despite its history, Rwanda is considered paradise by many.
Temujin was nine years old when his father was killed. His father's clan would not help his mother. He almost starved. Yet despite growing up poor, he united the Mongol tribes. As an adult, he successfully led an invasion of China, one of the most powerful countries in the world. He ruled over the largest empire in history. He became known as Genghis Khan.
The sound of a rattlesnake's rattle is very scary. In South America, it means a snake with far more venom than a northern rattler is nearby. The South American rattlesnake is great at hiding and catching small animals. Its rattle warns people to stay away. Learn all about this crafty predator in South America's Deadly Rattlesnake. One of six titles in the series Lethal Strikers: Latin America's Deadliest Snakes, this book is filled with valuable info and photos of this deadly rattler.
The sound of a rattlesnake's rattle is very scary. In South America, it means a snake with far more venom than a northern rattler is nearby. The South American rattlesnake is great at hiding and catching small animals. Its rattle warns people to stay away. Learn all about this crafty predator in South America's Deadly Rattlesnake. One of six titles in the series Lethal Strikers: Latin America's Deadliest Snakes, this book is filled with valuable info and photos of this deadly rattler.
The bushmaster is the perfect killer. It looks just like roots and branches along the ground. It can sense when a warm-blooded animal approaches. It can also lie very still for days, even weeks without eating. The Bushmaster Snake: Can Kill Almost Anything In Its Path shows how this huge pit viper hunts and feeds. Part of the series Lethal Strikers: Latin America's Deadliest Snakes, this book has color photos of the bushmaster along with loads of information on this interesting snake.
Environmental Protection explores the crises of endangered species, global warming, and pollution, and the people and organizations that are working to eliminate the problems. This title also focuses on people who have been helped, the progress that has already been made, and the challenges still left to be met. The young reader analyzes the stories and develops his or her own opinion of what can be done to solve our environmental problems. The book has been developed to address many of the Common Core specific goals, higher level thinking skills, and progressive learning strategies from informational texts for middle grade and junior high level students.
There has never been a helicopter like the Sikorsky S-92. It can fly in the desert. It can fly in the ice. It is not only the fastest helicopter, it will soon be used by the U.S. President.
Born just a few years after Mozart died, Franz Schubert had a lot in common with the famous composer. Schubert was also a gifted child who astonished adults with his musical ability. As a teen, Schubert was taught by one of Mozart's rivals. And like Mozart, Schubert's life ended prematurely and was filled with struggle. Still, while Mozart was celebrated across Europe, Schubert was almost completely unknown until just a few years before his death. The challenges of Schubert's life inspired his art—music which is today performed across the world. Schubert's life, his challenges, and his compositions are all reasons he is considered one of the greatest composers.
Abby Wambach began playing soccer before she was five. She scored 27 goals in just three games. By the time she was nine, she'd been put on the boys' team. It didn't matter. No matter who her opponent was, she always figured out a way to get around them and drive the ball into the goal. As an adult, she became a professional soccer player while helping the US win gold medals in the Olympics.
Cockroaches are more than just the scary insects running across your kitchen floor at night. In fact, very few of the over 4,000 different cockroaches invade homes. The Madagascar hissing cockroach stays far away from people. They live on the famous island near the African coast. They get their name from the loud hissing sound they make. You can learn how they make this noise along with many other interesting facts about these unusual insects in All About the African Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. Part of a series on Insects Around the World, this book is filled with full-color pictures and interesting information. So, if you are curious about one of the biggest cockroaches in the world, take a look!
Cellar spiders are odd-looking. They have long, thin legs. Their body is almost clear. And they bounce up and down whenever something touches their web. Yet these spiders are amazing killers. Instead of fighting, they wrap their enemies in a web. Much larger spiders often lose to the cellar spider. Learn all about these interesting creatures in All About North American Cellar Spiders.
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