New Releases by Rebecca Stefoff

Aimed at readers ages 12 and up, the brand new "Colonial Life" series complements the world history and American history curriculum and follows the National Standards guidelines. Easy-to-read chapters featuring full-color maps and illustrations take students from the early days of discovery and exploration, through the establishment of the first colonies by the vying European powers, to the events leading to the Revolutionary War and the founding of the United States.Comprehensive in scope, the series covers events in North, Central, and South America, including the early settlements, the thirteen British colonies, Canada, the Spanish possessions of the southwest and California, and the French territories. Thematic volumes introduce students to daily life on the settlements, the diversity of the people, rule of government, religions and beliefs, and the regional and global economies involving trade and commerce. Coverage also includes material on Native American cultural groups from the pre-Columbian era through their interactions with the European colonists and settlers.Feature boxes and sidebars in each volume discuss high interest events and developments and offer biographical information, and primary source material displays historical documents along with quoted text from important figures and excerpts of their writing. A glossary and a guide to further information including Internet resources help make this set an invaluable addition to any school or public library.

This book charts the course of colonial America from Christopher Columbus'' "discovery" of the new world in 1492 to the beginning of the Revolutionary War in 1775. Works and personal accounts by historical figures like John Smith and Benjamin Franklin provide students an understanding of topics like life in Jamestown and colonial education. In addition to learning about European settlers and explorers through primary sources, students will learn about the Native Americans who originally inhabited the country. Similarly, students will learn about African Americans who were forced into slave labor. Overall, students will gain an understanding of the colonies and how they became the United States of America.

"Discusses the main concerns of the environmental movement in the 1960s, and how those have evolved since; what''s changed for the better, what might be worse, and where ... we go from here"--Amazon.com.

Explains how and why grammar has evolved through the years, and where it is likely to go. Writing prompts engage and challenge the young reader. Meets Common Core standards for Literature.

Soil is something we don’t just live on, it’s 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.

The titles in this series explore and explain how wonders of the ancient and modern worlds were built. Each book covers the construction of each structure in terms of the engineering process and includes why each structure was built. The books describe the design stages and technologies used during construction and explain the design changes or problems builders faced along the way.

Dikes and levees help protect people from rising floodwaters and hurricanes. Discover the engineering behind dikes and levees.

Dams change the landscape, providing reservoirs of freshwater and even producing electricity. Discover the engineering behind dams.

Tunnels allow people to cut through tall mountains or even travel deep underwater. Discover the engineering behind tunnels.

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

Through centuries of storytelling, giants have evolved into monstrous fairy tale creatures with unique powers. This book explores many stories about giants and discusses their place in history as well as in today’s society.

First Published in 2015. Aimed at young adults and written in an accessible way, with colour images, this book contains information about the cities and towns of the early settlement of North America. With reference to first camps and the development of communities, the rise of cities in the British Colonies, more out reaching towns and villages, the Spanish and French cities and towns and a look at urban life in early America. Includes a timeline and sections for further reference.

First Published in 2015.Aimed at young adults and written in an accessible way, with colour images, this book contains information about the exploration and early settlement of North America.. It includes the first explorers to reach America, a section on colonies and conquistadors, venture into North America, and the Pilgrims and finishes with the areas of New Netherland, England and Spain. Includes a timeline and sections for further reference.

Discover the lives of Mary Read and Anne Bonny, the dangerous female duo who sailed with Calico Jack.

Polar Bears are the largest bears on Earth. Learn about their history, behavior, lifecycle, and the conservation efforts that are being done to protect these arctic hunters

Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior. It was widely thought that animal play, mostly in mammals, was part of Darwinian natural selection and somehow fit into survival of the fittest. However, animal researchers believe that animals play out of pure joy, rather than aiding in their survival. This jovial book about animal play, tells the secrets of, and the science behind, clever baboons that know which cars to break into for snacks, mighty elephants that grieve, tricky octopuses that squirt water, and beetles that read messages through their feet. This book includes explanative text by award-winning author Rebecca Stefoff and an extensive bibliography. Key scientific terms and phrases are explained and includes procedures for scientific observation.

Can animals feel empathy or have a consciousness? Through the extensive work from ethologists like Charles Darwin and Jane Goodall, it is widely thought that some animals do feel empathy. Research is ongoing, however, dogs, birds, elephants, rodents, and dolphins are thought to all have a moral compass. In what ways do these animal species show empathy or feeling? Through explanative based text by award-winning author Rebecca Stefoff, your readers will be challenged to notice animal behavior in a myriad of ways. Key scientific terms and phrases are explained and step-by-step guidance for scientific observation procedures are included.

Readers of the books in Todays Writers and Their Works will learn the story behind each writers story.

The history of the United States is, in large part, the history of its Landmark Legislation. In this series, the authors take the reader behind the scenes to show the drama that led to each bill''s being passed and the effect each piece of legislation has had in the development of our country. Each book includes an informative "From Bill to Law" feature, which explains in easy-to-follow fashion how the process of legislation works. Patriot Act tells the story of how the events of September 11, 2001, led to the bill officially known as the USA PATRIOT Act, and the controversy over civil liberties versus national security that has been debated ever since. Book jacket.

Take a step back in time to explore the origin of humans.

Take a step back in time to explore modern humans.

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

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

A Young People''s History of the United States brings to US history the viewpoints of workers, slaves, immigrants, women, Native Americans, and others whose stories, and their impact, are rarely included in books for young people. A Young People''s History of the United States is also a companion volume to The People Speak, the film adapted from A People''s History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States. Beginning with a look at Christopher Columbus’s arrival through the eyes of the Arawak Indians, then leading the reader through the struggles for workers’ rights, women’s rights, and civil rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and ending with the current protests against continued American imperialism, Zinn in the volumes of A Young People’s History of the United States presents a radical new way of understanding America’s history. In so doing, he reminds readers that America’s true greatness is shaped by our dissident voices, not our military generals.

This study of Native American societies is adapted for younger readers from Charles C. Mann''s best-selling 1491. Turning conventional wisdom on its head, the book argues that the people of North and South America lived in enormous cities, raised pyramids hundreds of years before the Egyptians did, engineered corn, and farmed the rainforests.

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.

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.

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.

The arachnids include some of the planet's most feared creatures, such as venomous scorpions and deadly funnel-web spiders. Other arachnids-like the tiny house dust mites that live by the millions in all of our homes-are among the world's smallest and most successful animals. The Arachnid Class explores the origins, scientific classification, and biology of arachnids, from familiar garden spiders to less common creatures such as wind scorpions and the rare, cave-dwelling "living fossil" spiders of Southeast Asia. The more than 80,000 known species of arachnids play important roles in the world's ecosystems. As The Arachnid Class shows, these creatures also affect human life in a variety of ways. Book jacket.

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.