New Releases by Peter Lourie

Here is a compelling middle grade nonfiction tale of how one classic writer drew upon a rugged life of adventure to create works of literature, punctuated by stunning black-and-white art by Wendell Minor and illustrative photographic material. Swept up in the Gold Rush of 1897, young Jack London headed north to strike it rich in the Klondike and discovered something more precious than gold—the seeds of the stories that would flower into his classic novels The Call of the Wild and White Fang, and timeless short stories such as "To Build A Fire." This gripping tale follows London as he treks up the ruthless Chilkoot Trail, braves the lethal Whitehorse Rapids, survives a bad case of scurvy, and conquers many more dangers of the Yukon during his quest for gold. A Christy Ottaviano Book

Young readers can follow scientists as they scan the Alaskan wilderness for these magnificent creatures. Full color.

In The Manatee Scientists, John Reynolds does an aerial count of manatees from the Florida sky; Lucy Keith spends a weekend rescuing manatees trapped in a dam in Senegal; and Fernando Rosas takes the author on an Amazonian boat trip, looking for a young manatee he released back into the wild, with emotional results. These scientists are working hard to save manatees: docile, large sea mammals who are eaten in some parts of the world, feared in others, and adored in still others. But factors such as human encroachment, disease, environmental hazards, and being hunted are causing their numbers to decline: they are an endangered species, in need of help.

In Writing to Explore, David and Peter demonstrate how to teach adventure writing, which integrates nonfiction and fiction and motivates students to write with imagination, curiosity, and a hunger to learn everything about their topic. The book starts with a solid foundation in the basics of good writing: setting descriptions, writing atmosphere, and character development. The authors then explore the specific elements of adventure writing--from setting the stage to conducting research; from combining history and geography to effectively utilizing technology. The result is an adventure-based paper that is "rooted in real places, supported by facts, and developed with detailed description of images from real locations." Teachers will find handouts, sample activities, student writing examples, research sources, and tips to help them create a nonfiction writing program based around the adventure writing model. Research papers don't have to be boring to read or to write. This book will show you how to get vibrant papers from your students--papers that teach both reader and writer something new.

John Craighead George is an Arctic whale scientist studying bowhead whales in Barrow, Alaska. He conducts his research in harmony with the cultural traditions of the Iñupiaq Eskimos, natives to the area, who have been hunting these whales for more than two thousand years.

In 1527, the conquistador Cabeza de Vaca set sail for the Spanish territory of La Florida. His aim was to explore and colonize an unknown land that stretched from present-day Florida to Texas.

Presents, in text and photographs, a journey to Chaco Canton, New Mexico, examining ruins, culture, and theories of why the Anasazi abandoned the region.

Story of the chnages in the weather and how it affects people living in Alaska.

Describes how twelve-year-old Suzanna learned how to scuba dive and with her father, Peter swam with the sharks of Andros.

Tells about an ancient and mysterious civilization of Aztecs and also tells about archaeoligists who are determined to unearth their secrets.

Provides history, folklore, and modern tales about the second-longest river in the United States.

The author and his family make a present-day journey that retraces Sacagawea's trail, from Fort Mandan in North Dakota to Fort Clatsop in Oregon.

A chronicle of a journey to the Maya ruins of Palenque, Mexico.

Chronicles the author's journey along the Rio Grande, from the Rockies to the Gulf of Mexico.

An informative essay about a trip across the Erie Canal, complemented by photographs.

Eight billion dollars? worth of Inca gold and silver are rumored to be hidden in an unmapped region of the Andes. This is the captivating story of that fabled treasure and the centuries-old spell it has cast on many, including a young American student, Peter Lourie. While completing anthropological fieldwork in Ecuador, Lourie heard the legend of Atahualpa?s ransom. The Incas gathered seven-hundred tons of gold (Sweat of the Sun) and silver (Tears of the Moon) to purchase the freedom of their king, Atahualpa, from Pizarro and his conquistadors. After the Inca ruler?s murder, the treasure vanished into the forsaken Llanganati range of the Andes. Lourie abandoned his graduate school ambitions to search for Atahualpa?s ransom. His quest for clues and his journey into the heart of the Andes is an absorbing and exciting detective story. Lourie?s account is also unforgettable for its revelations about the lives and characters of seasoned treasure hunters, the obsessed few lured by the siren song of legendary gold.

A journey through the Brazilian state of Rondonia in the Amazon basin provides a look at the rain forest and the people who live there, including both Indians and settlers.

Two boys living along the Hudson River track historical clues and try to elude a crazed treasure-hunter as they search for bounty rumored to have been hidden in 1699.

Lourie's account of his trip is a fresh look at one of America's great and complex waterways, one of the few, in fact, that still contains its historical and biological species of fish. It is also the longest inland estuary in the world. Henry Hudson called it the "great river of the mountains." Nowadays, too often the Hudson is stereotyped as a ruined, polluted industrial river. its glorious past is compared to its present neglect.