genre a type or kind of literature. why learn about genre? it is one way to classify literature....

GenreGenre

A type or kind of literature

A type or kind of literature

Why learn about genre?Why learn about genre?

• It is one way to classify literature.• Knowing the characteristics of a

genre increases understanding of a text.

• Reading across many genres improves thinking and general knowledge.

• It is one way to classify literature.• Knowing the characteristics of a

genre increases understanding of a text.

• Reading across many genres improves thinking and general knowledge.

Caution!Caution!Many texts are not purely one genre,

but a mix of more than one:

A historical novel could also be a mystery.

A realistic novel may be written in the form of a poem. (verse novel)

Many texts are not purely one genre, but a mix of more than one:

A historical novel could also be a mystery.

A realistic novel may be written in the form of a poem. (verse novel)

Realistic fictionRealistic fiction

Characters:everyday people doing

everyday thingsSetting: modern time, realistic placePlot: realistic events

Characters:everyday people doing

everyday thingsSetting: modern time, realistic placePlot: realistic events


They say his clothes blend into the background, no matter where he stands. They say a lot of things about the Schwa, but one thing's for sure: no one ever noticed him except Antsy Bonano who realized the Schwa was "functionally invisible" and used him to make some big bucks.

Realistic fictionRealistic fictionGianna Z. has less than one week to collect twenty-five leaves for a science project, or else she might lose her spot at cross-country sectionals. Finishing her project will be enough of a hurdle, but with a grandmother who keeps losing her teeth, a father who drives her to school in the family hearse, and an arch-nemesis intent on stealing her spot on the team, Gianna will need a stroke of brilliance to make everything fall into place


Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece


Ally, Bree, and Jack meet at the one place the Great Eclipse can be seen in totality, each carrying the burden of their own problems, which become dim when compared to the task they embark upon and the friendship they find.

Realistic fictionRealistic fictionFive months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year

Realistic fictionRealistic fictionIn Caitlin's world, everything is black or white. Things are good or bad. Anything in between is confusing. That's the stuff Caitlin's older brother, Devon, has always explained. But now Devon's dead and Dad is no help at all. Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger's, she doesn't know how. When she reads the definition of closure, she realizes that is what she needs. In her search for it, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white the world is full of colors messy and beautiful.

Realistic fictionRealistic fictionEleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school but no one knows it. Most people her teachers and doctors included don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again.

Historical fictionHistorical fiction

Characters:famous historical people (may

not be main characters)Setting: pre-1970, could be

historical/important sitesPlot: authentic historical events (at

least in the background)

Characters:famous historical people (may

not be main characters)Setting: pre-1970, could be

historical/important sitesPlot: authentic historical events (at

least in the background)


Tomikazu Nakaji's biggest concerns are baseball, homework, and a local bully, until life with his Japanese family in Hawaii changes drastically after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.


A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

Historical fictionHistorical fictionEsperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Historical fictionHistorical fictionIt's late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate.

Historical fictionHistorical fictionHomer's older brother has been illegally sold to the Union Army. It is up to Homer to find him and save him. Along the way, he encounters strange but real people of that era: two tricksters who steal his money, a snake-oil salesman, a hot-air balloonist, and finally, the Maine regiment who saved Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg and won the war for the Union.


Battle by battle, Gary Paulsen shows readers one boy's war through one boy's eyes and one boy's heart, and gives a voice to all the anonymous young men who fought in the Civil War.

Historical fictionHistorical fictionWhile all his classmates are enjoying religious instruction, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood shares Wednesday afternoons with Mrs. Baker, his Camillo Junior High teacher. Not surprisingly, Holling lacks enthusiasm for mid-week appointments with an instructor who assigns him Shakespeare as out-of-class reading.


In 1947, with her jovial stepfather Joe back from the war and family life returning to normal, teenage Evie, smitten by the handsome young ex-GI who seems to have a secret hold on Joe, finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose devastating outcome change her life and that of her family forever.


It's 1962, and it seems everyone is living in fear. Twelve-year-old Franny Chapman lives with her family in Washington, DC, during the days surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. Amidst the pervasive threat of nuclear war, Franny must face the tension between herself and her younger brother, figure out where she fits in with her family, and look beyond outward appearances.

Science fictionScience fiction

Characters:mutants, robots, aliens, mad

scientists, thinking computersSetting: advanced tech-cities,

spaceships, other solar systems, planets, time travel, the future

Plot: alien attacks/visits, time travel, technology gone wrong,

Characters:mutants, robots, aliens, mad

scientists, thinking computersSetting: advanced tech-cities,

spaceships, other solar systems, planets, time travel, the future

Plot: alien attacks/visits, time travel, technology gone wrong,

Science fictionScience fictionCassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.The Society tells her it's a glitch and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky and begins to doubt the Society's infallibility.

Science fictionScience fictionWho is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn't remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers?

Science fictionScience fictionMiranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove

Science fictionScience fictionTodd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown. But Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets. Or are there? Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence. Which is impossible. Prentisstown has been lying to him. And now he's going to have to run.

Science fictionScience fictionImagine waking up in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. And no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit. So far, no one has figured it out.

Science fictionScience fictionPlaying on every teen’s passionate desire to look as good as everybody else, Scott Westerfeld projects a future world in which a compulsory operation at sixteen wipes out physical differences and makes everyone pretty by conforming to an ideal standard of beauty. The "New Pretties" are then free to play and party, while the younger "Uglies" look on enviously and spend the time before their own transformations in plotting mischievous tricks against their elders. But Tally discovers an ugly secret behind the pretty transformation.

Science fictionScience fictionAnn Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world as she once knew it is gone, ravaged by a nuclear war that has taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a remote valley with no evidence of any other survivors.But the smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann's solitude. Someone else is still alive and making his way toward the valley. Who is this man? What does he want? Can he be trusted? Both excited and terrified, Ann soon realizes there may be worse things than being the last person on Earth.

Science fictionScience fictionIn a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.

MysteryMystery

Characters:detectives, investigators, spies

Setting: could be crime scene, detective agency, creepy house

Plot: crime or mysterious event and clues that lead to a solution

Characters:detectives, investigators, spies

Setting: could be crime scene, detective agency, creepy house

Plot: crime or mysterious event and clues that lead to a solution

MysteryMystery

The often-tortured class weirdo has disappeared, leaving an enigmatic note on the school library computer. Is he a runaway, a suicide, or a murder victim?

MysteryMysteryThe sleepy Rocky Mountain town of Silverton, Colorado hasn t seen a murder in years according to Pat Mahoney, the county coroner. So when his teenage daughter, Cameryn, asks if she can be his assistant as preparation for a career in forensic pathology he figures it s a safe bet. But neither of them imagines that their first case will involve someone Cameryn knows . . . the fourth victim of a serial killer.

MysteryMysteryIn this art mystery, two sixth graders are intertwined in the story by a series of unknown coincidences, drawing them ever deeper into the theft of a Johannes Vermeer painting, A Lady Writing. The mathematical puzzle known as the pentomino plays a great role in the book,as well as emphasizing the admittedly empty spaces in accounts of the Vermeer's life.

MysteryMystery

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected

MysteryMystery

Being a hefty, deaf newcomer almost makes Will Halpin the least popular guy at Coaler High. But when he befriends the only guy less popular than him, the dork-namic duo has the smarts and guts to figure out who knocked off the star quarterback. Will can’t hear what’s going on, but he is a great observer. So, who did it? And why does that guy talk to his fingers? And will the beautiful girl ever notice him?

MysteryMystery

When Ted and Kat watched their cousin Salim get on board the British Airways London Eye, he turned and waved before getting on. But after half an hour it landed and everyone trooped off - but no Salim. Where could he have gone? How on earth could he have disappeared into thin air?

MysteryMysteryFor eighth-grade reporters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson, winning the national writing contest would have been prize enough. When they receive their all-access tickets to the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament, they are understandably gleeful. Their euphoria comes down a few notches, however, when they overhear a coach pressuring a player to throw a key game. In the March Madness environment, the two young scribes don't know whether they have blundered into the biggest scoop of a lifetime or what threatens to become a near-death experience!

MysteryMysterySixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. As the circumstances unfold, readers get a chance to think carefully about the crime and decide his innocence or guilt.

MysteryMystery

You and your best friend head out West on a cross-country bike trek. The two of you get into a fight and stop riding together. You reach Seattle, go back home, start college. You think your former best friend does too.

He doesn't.

Imagine your world shifting.

FantasyFantasy

Characters:talking animals, mythical

creatures, magic usersSetting: often medieval, time travel,

magical places, paranormal eventsPlot: heros on a journey or quest,

often good vs. evil

Characters:talking animals, mythical

creatures, magic usersSetting: often medieval, time travel,

magical places, paranormal eventsPlot: heros on a journey or quest,

often good vs. evil

FantasyFantasyIn the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE. Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents, unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers that grow stronger by the day.

FantasyFantasyHarry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility. All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley--a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years. But all of that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry--and anyone who reads about him--will find unforgettable.

FantasyFantasyFor seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. She can't tell anybody about what she does they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can’t control. Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone.

FantasyFantasyAn unidentified airplane appears out of nowhere. When the aircraft is boarded, its only occupants are babies; once they are removed, the pilotless plane vanishes. Jonah and Chip, now teenagers, discover that they were among the "airborne orphans," who seem to be somehow linked with missing children from history. Rather than forgetting the past, the two boys decide to venture into it, risking their survival to right the wrongs of time.

FantasyFantasyNick and Allie don't survive the car accident...but their souls don't exactly get where they're supposed to get either. Instead, they're caught halfway between life and death, in a sort of limbo known as Everlost: a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no longer exist. It's a magical yet dangerous place where bands of lost children run wild and anyone who stands in the same place too long sinks to the center of the Earth.

FantasyFantasyfter getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus.

FantasyFantasyA calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath.

FantasyFantasyTwelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Traditional LiteratureTraditional Literature

Definition: stories passed down for generations by oral storytelling

Myths, legends, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, tall tales

This is the foundation for fantasy.

Definition: stories passed down for generations by oral storytelling

Myths, legends, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, tall tales

This is the foundation for fantasy.


A visually appealing selection of 61 fables that mixes the well known ("The Fox and the Grapes," "The Tortoise and the Hare") with some that have been nearly forgotten ("The Mermaid and the Woodcutter").

Traditional LiteratureTraditional LiteratureDon't mess with the gods. And if they mess with you? Run. . .

Including King Arthur, The Minotaur, Inca legends and more!There was a time when monsters and dragons roamed the earth and the gods walked among us. A time of blood, swords and furious battles. A time of legends, heroes, darkness and death . . .


Don't mess with the gods. And if they mess with you? Run. . .

Including Gorgons, Banshees, Dragons, Sphinxes and more! There was a time when monsters and dragons roamed the earth and the gods walked among us. A time of blood, swords and furious battles. A time of legends, heroes, darkness and death . . .

Traditional LiteratureTraditional LiteratureIt is here that we find such figures as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretle, Tom Thumb, Rapunzel, and the Bremen Town Musicians--to name but a few. But be forewarned: these are not the tales as presented in The Little Golden Book series or on the big screen by Walt Disney. True enough, there is magic, wonder, and a world in which good triumphs... but there is also savage retribution, revenge, brutality, and torture.

Traditional LiteratureTraditional LiteratureThe earth breeds giants and ogres of indescribable horror -- the heavens hold omnipotent gods and goddesses, full of courage, strength and wisdom. Zeus, the almighty king of the gods, who cannot resist feminine beauty -- mortal or divine, and his jealous and vengeful wife, Hera. Perseus, takes on an impossible challenge: slaying the monstrous Medusa, whose glance turns men to stone.The Minotaur, half-man and half-bull, destroys the young victims sacrificed to his terrifying power. A fantastic world of spells and curses, magic and mystery, forces that create and destroy.

PoetryPoetry

Definition: shortened form of writing

Figurative language (metaphors, similes, personification)

Author’s expression of feelings, opinions

May follow a form or structure

Definition: shortened form of writing

Figurative language (metaphors, similes, personification)

Author’s expression of feelings, opinions

May follow a form or structure

PoetryPoetry

From an acclaimed anthologist comes this unforgettable collection of one hundred poems by teenagers, capturing the vertigo-inducing realm of romantic love.

PoetryPoetry

The companion volume to If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand celebrates the world of education and all the poignant, whimsical, and wondrous moments that occur in the classroom.

PoetryPoetryIn this companion to The New Kid on the Block, an early worm frightens the early bird, four vain and ancient tortoises race to see who can get to the finish line last, and outrageous imaginary characters such as the "Know-Nothing Neebies" pop up as magically as any creature from The Phantom or The Wizard of Oz ever did. Other subjects make fabulous fodder for fun, including sibling rivalry, bad table manners, meatloaf, and bats.

PoetryPoetryA collection of poems, stories, and essays written by girls twelve to eighteen years of age and revealing the secrets which enabled them to overcome the challenges they faced.

PoetryPoetryPssst...reader!I've got something to tell you. I'm not just another book of poetry. I'm full of voices you've never heard before. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a turtle, a snowflake, or a pile of dirty laundry? All sorts of objects and animals speak up in these poems that are just shouting to be read. So what are you waiting for? Check me out!

Verse NovelVerse NovelLike the Oklahoma dust bowl from which she came, 14-year-old narrator Billie Jo writes in sparse, free-floating verse. In this compelling, immediate journal, Billie Jo reveals the grim domestic realities of living during the years of constant dust storms: That hopes--like the crops--blow away in the night like skittering tumbleweeds. That trucks, tractors, even Billie Jo's beloved piano, can suddenly be buried beneath drifts of dust.

Verse NovelVerse NovelLaVaughn needed a part-time job, something she could do after school to help earn money for college. Jolly needed a babysitter, someone she could trust with two kids while she worked the evening shift.It didn't matter that LaVaughn was fourteen, only three years younger than Jolly. It didn't matter that Jolly didn't have a husband or a mom and dad, because LaVaughn gives Jolly and her two babies more love and understanding than should be possible for a fourteen-year-old, because if she doesn't no one else will.

Verse NovelVerse NovelA funny, sweet, original short novel written in free verse, introduces us to a boy who discovers the powers and pleasures of poetry. Against his will. After all, "boys don't write poetry. Girls do." What does he say of the famous poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"? "I think Mr. Robert Frost / has a little / too / much / time / on his / hands." As his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, introduces the canon to the class, however, he starts to see the light. Poetry is not so bad, it's not just for girls, and it's not even that hard to write.

Verse NovelVerse Novel

Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born.

Verse NovelVerse Novel

Free verse poems describe the reactions of students, colleagues, and others when a high school teacher is shot to death as the school day begins.

Biography, autobiography and memoirBiography, autobiography and memoirBiography: story of someone’s life writeen

by someone else

Autobiography: story of someone’s life written by him/herself

Memoir: a short account of an an author’s experiences written by him/herself (slife of life)

Biography: story of someone’s life writeen by someone else

Autobiography: story of someone’s life written by him/herself

Memoir: a short account of an an author’s experiences written by him/herself (slife of life)

BiographyBiographyAs a young boy growing up in the hills of central Vietnam, Nhuong’s companion was Tank, the family water buffalo. When bullies harassed Nhuong, Tank sent them packing. When a wild tiger threatened the entire village, Tank defeated it. He led the herd and adopted a lonely puppy. Tank was Nhuong’s best friend.

Nhuong gives readers a glimpse of himself when he was their age, and tells a thrilling story of how he and Tank together faced the dangers of life in the Vietnamese jungle which was their home

BiographyBiographyInto a memoir that is gripping, funny, heartbreaking, and unforgettable, Walter Dean Myers richly weaves the details of his Harlem childhood in the 1940s and 1950s: a loving home life with his adopted parents, Bible school, street games, and the vitality of his neighborhood. Although Walter spent much of his time either getting into trouble or on the basketball court, secretly he was a voracious reader and an aspiring writer. But as his prospects for a successful future diminished, the values he had been taught at home, in school, and in his community seemed worthless, and he turned to the streets and his books for comfort. Here in his own words is the story of one of the strongest voices in children's and young adult literature today.

BiographyBiographyHumorous, heart-warming, and just plain entertaining, these stories by Newbery Medalist Jean Craighead George recall what life was like as she raised three children and 173 wild pets. On any given day there might be a bat in the refrigerator, an owl in the shower, or a crow at the kitchen table. Jean Craighead George’s respect for nature and its many creatures is evident in all of her writing. Here, she offers a personal, firsthand account of the many animals that made their way into her life and her books.

BiographyBiographyIn l949, there were 42,000 cases reported in the U.S.; the author was the only one stricken in her hometown that year. The author details her diagnosis, treatment, frustration, and pain. Perhaps the most startling part of the book is her description of the sudden onset of the illness, coming with no warning and leaving her paralyzed.

BiographyBiographyWhen you grow up in a small town in the north woods, you have to make your own excitement. High spirits, idiocy, and showing off for the girls inspire Gary Paulsen and his friends to attempt: shooting waterfalls in a barrel, the first skateboarding, jumping three barrels like motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel except they only have bikes, hangliding with an Army surplus target kite, bungee jumping, wrestling . . . a bear? Extreme sports lead to extreme fun in new tales from Gary's boyhood.

InformationalInformational

Purpose: provides information on a wide range of topics

Non-fiction (it’s true!)Science, crafts, sports, news, current

events, social issuesInforms you on things you want to be

informed on

Purpose: provides information on a wide range of topics

Non-fiction (it’s true!)Science, crafts, sports, news, current

events, social issuesInforms you on things you want to be

informed on

InformationalInformationalThe Spies of Mississippi is a compelling story of how state spies tried to block voting rights for African Americans during the Civil Rights era. This book sheds new light on one of the most momentous periods in American history.


When veteran journalist John Schwartz took a close look at famous height studies, he made a surprising discovery: being short doesn’t have to be a disadvantage! Part advice book, part memoir, and part science primer, this fascinating book explores the marketing, psychology, and mythology behind our obsession with height and delivers a reassuring message to kids of all types that they can walk tall-- whatever it is that makes them different.


Biography of a man who floated above the action in the Civil War, counting rebel soldiers, detecting troop movement, and directing artillery fire against enemy positions.

InformationalInformationalAntarctica is a land of frozen secrets, with scarcely a handful that have been completely divulged. Join Sally M. Walker as she explores both historical and modern-day scientific expeditions to the continent and examines what secrets might still be locked in the continent's icy cloak secrets that might help scientists understand what the future holds for Earth and its changing climate

InformationalInformationalBut Kimeu couldn't relax. Frustration prickled his normally even nature. After two weeks of staring at the ground hour after hour, day after day, they had found nothing hominin. Not even a tooth. Why hadn't they found even a sliver of hominin bone? Heading sough from camp, he shuffled down the pebbled bank of the Nariokotome, scanning the ground for fossils. He was 300 yards south of camp when he spotted it.Almost anyone else would have walked right by without seeing it. But Kimeu was not almost anyone. He was a fossil hunter-the best there was.

InformationalInformationalEvery day, millions of families around the world gatherto eat together. Ever wondered what a typical meal is like on the other side of the world? Or next door? Cultural geographers Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio visited twenty-five families in twenty-one countries to create this fascinating look at what people around the world eat in a week. Meet a family that spends long hours hunting for seal and fish together; a family that raises and eats guinea pigs; a family that drinks six gallons of Coca-Cola a week.

genre a type or kind of literature. why learn about genre? it is one way to classify literature....

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