Get closer to nature than you've ever been before with this jaw-dropping guide to our wonderful world. Marvel at the breathtaking photography showcasing flora and fauna in the most incredible, intricate detail. From ants to elephants, the animal kingdom is explored and explained in this extraordinary encyclopedia that puts you at the heart of the action. See the tiny spines on a stinging nettle, watch lichen spreading over a tree, and observe the secret suckers on an iguana's feet. The mysteries of the natural world are displayed in brand new images, together with cross-sections, macro, and electron microscope images. Alongside the utterly absorbing visual content, Explanatorium of Nature brings its own fountain of knowledge about how nature works. For instance, did you know baby foxes that are born with blue eyes turn to gold? Or that reptile scales are made from the same material as your fingernails? Discover how spiders spin webs, how birds fly, how snakes kill, and much, much more. This irresistible ebook is a guaranteed favorite for animal lovers, nature enthusiasts, and budding wildlife experts everywhere.

Who's the best teacher for scientists, engineers, AND designers? Mother nature, of course! When an inventor is inspired by nature for a new creation, they are practicing something called biomimicry. Meet ten real-life scientists, engineers, and designers who imitate plants and animals to create amazing new technology. An engineer shapes the nose of his train like a kingfisher's beak. A scientist models her solar cell on the mighty leaf. Discover how we copy nature's good ideas to solve real-world problems! “Amazing! . . . Love that the book features the scientists and inventors, and that there is a diverse set of them. I find that the best way to introduce people of any age to biomimicry is to tell the stories of the stars: the organisms and their biomimics!” —Janine Benyus, co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute

This fascinating nonfiction picture book about animal construction projects will captivate young scientists and naturalists—and have them looking for more in their own backyards! Did you know the natural world is a construction zone? All over Earth, on land and at sea, animals are building the most amazing things. From tricky trapdoors to undersea cities to palaces of pebbles and more, come see the incredible creations of animal architects.

Take a roller-coaster ride through the past with this fact-including and visually stunning children's history encyclopedia. Discover the major turning points in history, from the evolution and migrations of early humans, to the rise and fall of great empires such as Ancient Rome and the Aztecs. Get the inside track on wars and conflict, including European knights, Japanese samurai, Inca warriors, and the major clashes of World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the War on Terror, and so much more. This visual reference encyclopedia uses stunning photographs and supporting illustrations to trace the history of science from Ancient Greece, through the major contributions of the Islamic world, the Scientific Revolution, the Space Race, and on to modern technology. The arts, religions, and ideas are also showcased, from Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime, the Renaissance, and Greek drama to the origins of major world religions, such as Christianity and Buddhism. Explanatorium of History is the ultimate visual encyclopedia for kids ages 10-14, telling the story of "us," from the dawn of human history up to the present.

Welcome to the Explanatorium of the Earth - the only Earth encyclopedia for children you'll ever need, with amazing photographs of everything from supervolcanoes to tsunamis. What makes volcanoes erupt? Why are tornadoes and hurricanes so destructive? How do rocks, fossils, and gems form? Explanatorium of the Earth takes you on an incredible voyage deep into the heart of our planet and back to discover the powerful forces that continually shape and remodel our ever-changing world. Discover how tectonic plates tear apart and collide, moving inch by inch to create continents, mountain ranges, oceans, and volcanoes. Witness the destructive power of earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes. Learn how the slow but relentless process of erosion and weathering wear away rock, reducing mountains to dust and carving valleys and canyons into the land. And learn how the living world and rock cycles have worked together for millions of years to stabilize the planet's climate, keeping Earth suitable for life.

A powerful new understanding of cooperation as an antidote to alienation and inequality From the crises of racial inequity and capitalism that inspired the Black Lives Matter movement and the Green New Deal to the coronavirus pandemic, stories of mutual aid have shown that, though cooperation is variegated and ever changing, it is also a form of economic solidarity that can help weather contemporary social and economic crises. Addressing this theme, Practicing Cooperation delivers a trenchant and timely argument that the way to a more just and equitable society lies in the widespread adoption of cooperative practices. But what renders cooperation ethical, effective, and sustainable? Providing a new conceptual framework for cooperation as a form of social practice, Practicing Cooperation describes and critiques three U.S.-based cooperatives: a pair of co-op grocers in Philadelphia, each adjusting to recent growth and renewal; a federation of two hundred low-cost community acupuncture clinics throughout the United States, banded together as a cooperative of practitioners and patients; and a collectively managed Philadelphia experimental dance company, founded in the early 1990s and still going strong. Through these case studies, Andrew Zitcer illuminates the range of activities that make contemporary cooperatives successful: dedicated practitioners, a commitment to inclusion, and ongoing critical reflection. In so doing he asserts that economic and social cooperation must be examined, critiqued, and implemented on multiple scales if it is to combat the pervasiveness of competitive individualism. Practicing Cooperation is grounded in the voices of practitioners and the result is a clear-eyed look at the lived experience of cooperators from different parts of the economy and a guidebook for people on the potential of this way of life for the pursuit of justice and fairness.