Marzena Sowa continues her endearing memoir recounting childhood behind the Iron Curtain in Poland. Even at the height of summer vacation deep in the countryside, the noise of urban unrest carries, bringing news of rations, strikes, and Solidarność. Amid a young girl's typical worries—the witch neighbor, the school nurse, her mother's angry temper—come the echoes of the strange and confusing world of adults.

Marzena Sowa's memoir of a childhood shaped by politics as told from a young girl's perspective. Structured as a series of vignettes that build on one another, MARZI is a coming-of-age story that portrays the harsh realities of life behind the Iron Curtain while maintaining the everyday wonders and curiosity of childhood.

In this debut novel, acclaimed short-story author Tim Pratt delivers an exciting heroine with a hidden talent—and a secret duty. Witty and suspenseful, here is a contemporary love song to the West that was won and the myths that shape us. . . . As night manager of Santa Cruz’s quirkiest coffeehouse, Marzi McCarty makes a mean espresso, but her first love is making comics. Her claim to fame: The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl, a cowpunk neo-western yarn. Striding through an urban frontier peopled by Marzi’s wild imagination, Rangergirl doles out her own brand of justice. But lately Marzi’s imagination seems to be altering her reality. She’s seeing the world through Rangergirl’s eyes—literally—complete with her deadly nemesis, the Outlaw. It all started when Marzi opened a hidden door in the coffeehouse storage room. There, imprisoned among the supplies, she saw the face of something unknown . . . and dangerous. And she unwittingly became its guard. But some primal darkness must’ve escaped, because Marzi hasn’t been the same since. And neither have her customers, who are acting downright apocalyptic. Now it’s up to Marzi to stop this supervillainous superforce that’s swaggered its way into her world. For Marzi, it’s the showdown of her life. For Rangergirl, it’s just another day. . . .

Nino would rather be outside playing than stuck inside doing homework—especially science homework. Then he discovers that one of the greatest scientists ever started out feeling the same way: Albert Einstein—the guy who invented that famous formula: E=mc2. And, as Ariane explains, there was a lot more to Einstein than just formulas. Thanks to him, we have GPS devices and electric gates, nuclear energy and ... well, yes, also nuclear bombs. Einstein did everything he could to make the world a better place—but after all, he was only human!

New multi-volume series both fun and educational, in slim pocket sized hardcovers! Current day kids Annie and Nico travel back to—ancient China to witness the construction of one of the most impressive architectural feats: The Great Wall of China. A system of walls and borders built to bolster the Silk Road and keep out intruders. Discover all the ins and outs of this gargantuan structure (in fact: it’s comprised of 16 walls) with Nico and Annie as your friendly time-traveling tour guides. Who knows, their fun fact finding journey might lead them to outer space where they can still see The Great Wall if they’re lucky!

Scratch is a fun, free, beginner-friendly programming environment where you connect blocks of code to build programs. While most famously used to introduce kids to programming, Scratch can make computer science approachable for people of any age. Rather than type countless lines of code in a cryptic programming language, why not use colorful command blocks and cartoon sprites to create powerful scripts? In Learn to Program with Scratch, author Majed Marji uses Scratch to explain the concepts essential to solving real-world programming problems. The labeled, color-coded blocks plainly show each logical step in a given script, and with a single click, you can even test any part of your script to check your logic. You'll learn how to: –Harness the power of repeat loops and recursion –Use if/else statements and logical operators to make decisions –Store data in variables and lists to use later in your program –Read, store, and manipulate user input –Implement key computer science algorithms like a linear search and bubble sort Hands-on projects will challenge you to create an Ohm's law simulator, draw intricate patterns, program sprites to mimic line-following robots, create arcade-style games, and more! Each chapter is packed with detailed explanations, annotated illustrations, guided examples, lots of color, and plenty of exercises to help the lessons stick. Learn to Program with Scratch is the perfect place to start your computer science journey, painlessly. Uses Scratch 2