Showing titles in Geography & Cultures

Today, most people remember E. B. White as the beloved children's book author who gave us Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, but did you know that most of his career was spent writing for famous magazines like The New Yorker? His lifelong dream to write a children's book about a mouse would take years to get published before it became the classic book we know and love today. A few years later, White would publish yet another children's book inspired by a pig he had raised and a spider whose webs he loved to admire in his barn.

The morning of August 24, AD 79, seemed like any other in the Roman city of Pompeii. So no one was prepared when the nearby volcano Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupted, spouting ash that buried the city and its inhabitants. The disaster left thousands dead, and Pompeii was no more than a memory for almost 1,700 years. In 1748, explorers rediscovered the port city with intact buildings and beautiful mosaics.

While the coronavirus COVID-19 changed the world in 2020, it still isn't the largest and deadliest pandemic in history. That title is held by the Plague. This disease, also known as the "Black Death", spread throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe in the 14th century and claimed an astonishing 50 million lives by the time it officially ended. Author Roberta Edwards takes listeners back to these grimy and horrific years, explaining just how this pandemic began, how society reacted to the disease, and the impact it left on the world.

Famed inventor Henry "Hank" Witherspoon has gone missing, and it's up to Jack and his brilliant siblings, Ava and Matt, to find him. At Hank's ransacked lab, the siblings discover clues to the project he's been working on - a new way to generate and store electricity, inspired by the electric eels of the Amazon.

Naima is a talented painter of traditional alpana patterns, which Bangladeshi women and girls paint on their houses for special celebrations. But Naima is not satisfied just painting alpana. She wants to help earn money for her family, like her best friend, Saleem, does for his family. When Naima's rash effort to help puts her family deeper in debt, she draws on her resourceful nature and her talents to bravely save the day.

Fridtjof Nansen war, wie sein Biograf Walter Bauer schreibt, "Polarforscher, Zoologe, Geograph, Meteorologe, Ozeanograph, Konstrukteur, Organisator, Schriftsteller, Professor und Rektor, Gesandter, Völkerbund-Delegierter, Hoher Kommissar und Friedensnobelpreisträger." 1888 durchquert er als erster Mensch Grönland und schließt Freundschaft mit den Inuit, deren faszinierende Lebensweise er monatelang studiert.

Au Backe! Eliot ist stinksauer, weil er seine Ferien auf der Ratteninsel Ratzekoog verbringen soll. Doch wie es der Zufall will, ist auch Isabella in Onkel Knuts Hütte einquartiert. Zum Lesen kommt Eliot aber nicht die Bohne, denn schon bald rücken den beiden Rattenkindern Bocky Bockwurst und seine Bande auf die Pelle. Beinahe ertrinkt Eliot sogar, doch da eilen ihm Pinguin Rakete und Fiete Flunder zu Hilfe.

King Lear has decided to retire from his royal duties. He calls his three daughters and asks each to tell him how much they love him. The eldest two, Goneril and Regan, flatter him with their words. Cordelia the youngest, only says that she loves him as a daughter must love her father. Furious, he disinherits her and divides his kingdom between her two sisters. But Goneril and Regan soon turn against Lear.

Goal! Jack and Annie have tickets to one of the most exciting soccer games ever - the 1970 World Cup! They are sure the famous soccer player Pelé will tell them a “secret of greatness”. The game is nonstop action and the stands are packed. But how will they find Pelé in a crowd of 100,000 soccer fans? Have they failed their mission? Or will the answer come when they least expect it?

Sachiko and Kenji just want to welcome the new year in the proper way, but their mother tells them they don't have the money for a New Year's feast. An act of generosity brings help from an unexpected source in this heartwarming Japanese classic. This year, may the Seven Gods of Luck visit you!

Mimi is not thrilled to be spending her summer in Karachi, Pakistan, with grandparents she’s never met. Secretly, she wishes to find her long-absent father, and plans to write to him in her beautiful new journal. The cook's daughter, Sakina, still hasn't told her parents that she'll be accepted to school only if she can improve her English test score - but then, how could her family possibly afford to lose the money she earns working with her Abba in a rich family's kitchen?

The sun is rising, the birds are tweeting and Emma Memma is ready to start her day... Learn how to sign the Auslan alphabet with Emma Memma and friends as they twirl through the day and prepare for a special surprise.

Ruth Gruener was a hidden child during the Holocaust. At the end of the war, she and her parents were overjoyed to be free. But their struggles as displaced people had just begun. In war-ravaged Europe, they waited for paperwork for a chance to come to America. Once they arrived in Brooklyn, they began to build a new life but spoke little English. Ruth started at a new school and tried to make friends - but continued to fight nightmares and flashbacks of her time during World War II.

Listen to author Marilyn Singer read this lively collection of poems about dance to the rhythm of each style. The poems are accompanied by original music.

When the spirited and imaginative Anne moves to live in Green Gables - a beautiful farmhouse, set among the summer flowers of Prince Edward Island - she quickly realises there has been a terrible mistake. Her new family - gentle Matthew and his stern sister Marilla - were expecting someone quite different! But will Anne succeed in enchanting Matthew and Marilla with her cheer and imagination?

Edie Berger is a prankster, the daughter of activists, and a revolutionary in her own right. Paris is Edie's home and her favorite place in the world. But when her parents decide to travel the globe fighting for good causes, Edie is left in the care of Odette, her strict grandmother—and, ultimately, shipped off to boarding school in England. A school trip finds Edie back in the streets of Paris, exploring with her friends and forced to confront the grandmother who sent her away. But is there more to Odette than Edie realizes?

A young cub is snatched from his family and home by a giant eagle, then dropped, injured and alone, in a suburban garden. This is where he meets his first Human and begins his long journey to becoming the most famous dingo in the world. He will never see his mountain home again or his family. But it is his destiny to save alpine dingoes from extinction, and he dreams of a time when all cubs like him can live in the wild in safety, instead of facing poison and bullets and hatred.

Omar knows his scholarship to Ghalib Academy Boarding School is a game changer, providing him - the son of a servant - with an opportunity to improve his station in life. He can't wait to experience all the school has to offer, especially science club and hopefully the soccer team; but when he arrives, his hopes are dashed. First-year scholarship students aren't allowed to join clubs or teams - and not only that, they have to earn their keep doing menial chores.

The Princess in Black and her friends are enjoying a day of sun and sea on Princess Sneezewort’s royal boat when a real, live mermaid princess emerges from the waves! Eeeeeee! Princess Posy needs their help protecting her very cute sea goats from being eaten by a very greedy kraken. But the princesses and the Goat Avenger quickly realize that fighting underwater can be tough for land dwellers, and only the mermaid Princess Posy can save the day. Can the masked heroes help her learn that being a princess means more than just being nice - it means speaking up?

Listen to three hilarious stories featuring the irrepressibly enthusiastic Mini Rabbit! Whether he is searching for cherries for Mother Rabbit’s cake, helping post a letter or setting up camp in the garden, Mini Rabbit always manages to turn a simple task into an exciting adventure!