Best Selling Books by Rebecca Stefoff

A critical exploration of magic, its history, and practitioners.

The Erie Canal was mocked as a big ditch when it was started, but by the time it was completed in 1825 it was called an engineering marvel. Readers learn how engineers overcame a rise in elevation of 568 feet between the Hudson River and Lake Erie with locks and aqueducts to create a waterway that changed America.

How do you know you are getting the best deal in town? Sharpen your consumer smarts with Smart Spending. Curriculum Connections: - Shows how math can be used in real-world situations - Provides multistep word problems with the four basic functions - Compares and contrasts differences between needs and wants - Meets the national standards for fourth grade personal finance education

Celebrate the richness and diversity of the United States of America in this exciting series.

Explores the past, present, and future to shed light on complex, high-priority public policy. Offers the pros and cons of each issue with opinions from social policy experts.

This volume describes the diverse peoples who came to the United States from 1820, when records began to be kept, to 1924, when the gates were nearly closed to immigrants. The reactions of Americans to the new arrivals, laws that were passed, and the experiences of those who lived through it are richly presented here.

Discover the life of Redbeard (Heyreddin Barbarossa), the powerful Ottoman Admiral who nearly conquered Africa.

In this explosive book, Houston Baker takes stock of the current state of Black Studies in the university and outlines its responsibilities to the newest form of black urban expression—rap. A frank, polemical essay, Black Studies, Rap, and the Academy is an uninhibited defense of Black Studies and an extended commentary on the importance of rap. Written in the midst of the political correctness wars and in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots, Baker''s meditation on the academy and black urban expression has generated much controversy and comment from both ends of the political spectrum.

"A critical exploration of ghosts and haunted houses"--Provided by publisher.

"A critical exploration of witches and witchcraft"--Provided by publisher.

Describes the country of Zimbabwe.

Two of every five mammals on Earth are rodents, yet most people know little about this amazingly diverse order of animals. Rats and mice may be all too familiar, but what about gundis and degus? And did you know that porcupines are rodents, but rabbits are not? The Rodent Order explores the world of rodents, from prehistoric guinea pigs the size of horses to the Laotian rock rat, a "living fossil" recently found alive in the forests of Southeast Asia. The Rodent Order also examines the long relationship between people and rodents. For thousands of years, rodents have influenced human life as pests, food, pets, and carriers of disease. Today human activities are threatening the survival of some rodent species, but other rodents are flourishing-sometimes right under our noses. Book jacket.

Focuses on the pros and cons of marriage in the United States--including covenant marriages, same-sex unions, and the effect of divorce on kids--through personal stories, opinions, and scholarly studies. Provides a historical look at marriage and includes

Skyscrapers stretch high into a cityu0092s skyline, providing places to work and live for millions of people. Discover the engineering behind skyscrapers.

Did you know that half of all the animals in the world that have backbones are fish? There are more kinds of fishes than there are amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals added together. And scientists are discovering more species of fish almost weekly. Brilliantly colored or camouflaged, as big as a whale or smaller than a little fingernail, fishes are found almost everywhere there is water. The Fish Classes explores the origins of the first fishes, with a glimpse of some of the extraordinary varieties that became extinct long ago. The book also examines the five classes of modern fishes, surveys their physical features, habitats, and ways of life, as well as some of the threats they face today. Book jacket.

Discusses the development of the telephone, from its early days until today.

Enormous underground mushrooms and microscopic molds belong to an immensely varied group of organisms that occupy a unique branch in the tree of life. The Fungus Kingdom traces the history of this half-billion-year-old kingdom and explores its diversity, as well as its complex reproductive methods. The Fungus Kingdom also examines the effects of fungi on human life, which are both helpful and harmful. From poisonous mushrooms and disease-causing spores to life-saving penicillin and the yeasts used in making food and drinks, fungi are woven into the fabric of life in important, and sometimes unexpected, ways. Book jacket.

Discusses the evolution, biology, life cycle, and social and mating and behavior of chimpanzees.

Soil is something we donu0092t just live on, itu0092s something we live in. Throughout history, mankind has developed ways of using soil to build dwellings. The ancients built cities out of bricks, the Native Americans of the Southwest used soil to build adobe settlements, and the pioneers on the prairies built sod homes to combat heat and cold. This book examines the properties of different kinds of soil and what makes that soil useful for building a structure.

Idaho is ... a state of astonishing natural beauty with a complex identity. Geography divides Idaho into two distinct regions, and some Idahoans find it easier to identify with their neighbors in earby states than with the rest of their own state. Divided and ruggedly independent as they are, however, Idahoans are united in the proud affection they feel for their state. They are torn between wanting to sing its praises and wanting to keep its secrets to themselves. Book jacket.

Forensic Science Investigated takes young readers inside this fast-growing field, showing them how crime scene investigators and forensic specialists gather evidence, solve crimes, and even liberate innocent people who have been mistakenly imprisoned.

This series takes readers on a journey through the evolutionary history of humans.

Explores the folklore and facts connected with vampires, zombies, and shape-shifters such as werewolves.

"An exploration of the origins, history, development, and societal impact of the microscope and the telescope"--Provided by publisher.

Forensic Science Investigated takes young readers inside this fast-growing field, showing them how crime scene investigators and forensic specialists gather evidence, solve crimes, and even liberate innocent people who have been mistakenly imprisoned.

A very basic introduction to Sir Arthur Evans'' famous excavations at Knossos and the reconstruction work he oversaw.

We say that the sun "rises" in the morning and "sets" at night, but is it really moving? Readers will learn about the long, sometimes dangerous struggle to discover whether the sun revolves around Earth, or Earth around the sun, and find out what scientists now know about our planet''s place in the universe.

Monerans, the most numerous life-forms on earth, are better known as bacteria. They are prokaryotes, organisms that consist of a single cell without a nucleus. Invisible to ordinary sight, bacteria were discovered in the seventeenth century, after the invention of the microscope. Then, in the 1970s, scientists using the new tool of DNA sequencing discovered another group of prokaryotes called the archaea. The Moneran Kingdom explains the differences between bacteria and archaea-two of the three domains of life on Earth-and provides an overview of milestones in microbiology. The reader is introduced to the structure and life cycle of the prokaryotes, the role of bacteria in the origins of life on earth, and the many ways monerans influence life for human beings-from disease to digestion to decomposing waste. Bacteria may be "germs," but they are vital to our continued survival. Book jacket.

"A summary of the life cycle, diet, behavior, anatomy, and conservation status of deer"--Provided by publisher.

Discusses monarchies as a political system, and details the history of monarchies throughout the world.

An overview of the characteristics, habitat, way of life, and conservation status of various primates.

This book on the four elements and the periodic table shows the scientific method at work and proves and disproves the subjects at hand. It explores a branch of modern science or a major scientific milestone, comparing and contrasting it with an older idea that has been proved wrong or fails to meet the strict and studied standards of science. A robust index, glossary, science content, and bibliography accompanies the descriptive and concise text while the further reading section inspires future research and deeper thought.

Illustrations and text provide information about the physical characteristics, habits, and habitats of various species of chameleons and other related lizards.

From emperor penguins nesting in the frozen reaches of Antartica to peregrine falcons that have made themselves at home among urban skyscrapers, birds are amazingly adaptable. The Bird Class surveys the many orders and families of living birds and traces the origins of these winged, feathered marvels. Bird biology, life cycles, behavior, and habitats are also explored. The Bird Class sounds a warning about the threats that many of the world''s ten thousand bird species now face, and describes some of the actions being taken to protect them. Book jacket.

Conifers range from familiar pines that grow in almost all parts of the world, to the towering redwoods and sequoias of the American West, to rare plumyews found only in remote Asian forests. these 600 or so species of evergreen trees and shrubs bear their seeds in cones and keep their needlelike leaves through all seasons. Although the conifers are greatly outnumbered by other kinds of plants in the world today, they are an ancient part of the plant kingdom. The Conifer Division explores the origins of these 310-million-year-old plants, as well as their unique physical features and roles in the environment. The Conifer Division also looks at the enormous cultural and economic importance of these plants and at the questions hanging over the fate of the world''s last great conifer forests. Book jacket.

Discusses the various conflicts between the colonists and Native Americans and, later, between the United States and Native Americans.

Details the American expansion into Texas and the far west from the late eighteenth- to the mid-nineteenth century, including information on the Oregon Trail, the war with Mexico, and the California gold rush.

Chronicles the exploration and settlement of lands west of the Appalachian Mountains during the late 1700s and early 1800s.

"Explores various perspectives on the Space Race. The reader''s choices reveal the historical details"--