During the Middle Ages, your position in life was based on birth. This position would follow you throughout your life. To make it easy for others to know your social class, rules about what you could wear—or not wear—were created. Such rules, called sumptuary laws, determined colors of clothing, types of fabric and trims, length of garments, types of sleeves, and types of furs. The laws also regulated shoe lengths and height, hat height, types of buttons, and even the number of buttons you could wear. People were to dress according to the class in which they were born. In this way, just by looking at someone, you could tell if they were important or not.
Thirteen-year-old Satoshi Matsumoto spent the last three years living in Atlanta where he was the star of his middle-school baseball team—a slugger with pro potential, according to his coach. Now that his father’s work in the US has come to an end, he’s moved back to his hometown in rural Japan. Living abroad has changed him, and now his old friends in Japan are suspicious of his new foreign ways. Even worse, his childhood foe Shintaro, whose dad has ties to gangsters, is in his homeroom. After he joins his new school’s baseball team, Satoshi has a chance to be a hero until he makes a major-league error.
Managing the daily influence of technology, including knowing when to ‘unplug,’ allows kids to bring balance to their lives. This leads to deeper friendships, more focus at home and school, and higher success in learning.
Being in the present moment, aware of what’s going on right now, helps kids be more focused, more patient, and likely to make better decisions for themselves. Readers will learn basic skils for being self-aware.
Thirteen-year-old Hannah Higgins is convinced her summer is ruined when she is forced to travel to Africa and work in a remote village in Kenya with her mom and uncle. Never having been to a developing country, she finds the food challenging and the community filthy. She has to live without electricity or running water. Then she is told she must attend school. Just when she thinks nothing could make this trip any worse, she learns people there are dying of hunger and preventable disease. Hannah becomes frustrated and wants to help, but when poverty threatens the lives of people she loves, all she wants to do is go home.
History recognizes the leadership and voice Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. brought to the civil rights movement in 1960s America. A 30-foot tall statue of Dr. King gazes into the future full of hope for all humanity. His words of peace are carved in the walls of the monument as a reminder to all Americans of the power of peaceful protest. Learn all about the first national memorial to an African American.
She was a gift of friendship and peace between France and the United States. “Liberty Enlightening the World” stands now as a symbol of America’s embrace of freedom and democracy. Find out why 4 million visitors each year come to see this majestic statue in New York’s harbor.
For millions of people, leaving home and coming to America meant giving up family and all things familiar. For more than sixty years, one site was the first place in America all new immigrants saw. Find out why Ellis Island holds such an important place in America’s history.
The story of Harriet Tubman and her role in leading slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad is well-known. But did you know that during the Civil War Harriet would often dress in disguise to gain important information to share with the Union Army?
It may be a parent's dream, but imagine life without the internet or world wide web. Would airlines be able to fly? Would our nation's security be at risk? What can be done to safeguard the internet?
It seems they're everywhere. But scientists believe bees are at risk of survival. What has put bees at risk and should we care? Imagine a world without these important pollinators and you'll see a world with fewer and fewer critical food sources.
Empires have been built from it, Wars have been fought for it. Imagine a world without oil. What alternatives do we have in a future with limited oil and other fossil fuels?
Look around. Plastic is everywhere. But some experts say today's plastic will be in our landfills for thousands of years to come. Imagine a world without plastic, in some communities, it's a new reality. Explore the good and the bad of plastic in our lives.
La Llorona (The Crying Woman) is a sad and haunting tale from Mexico. Parents have told the story for hundreds of years to misbehaving children and to guard against vanity. Some say the story is about Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and a native Mexican woman who served as his translator. Her loss can be compared to the loss of native Mexican culture after the Spanish conquest.
Slavery in the United States became illegal in the 1860s. Before that, many slaves found their way north by following the Big Dipper, or the Drinking Gourd as they called it. Our story begins in 1880 with Old Ellie and Old Sam, two escaped slaves who share their brave story along the path to freedom called the Underground Railroad.
In the early 1800s, white settlers and missionaries were intent on bringing the English language to the illiterate Native Americans. Sequoyah was intrigued by these leaves of paper with strange marks that talked. Doing what no one had ever done before, Sequoyah set about creating a written Cherokee languagehelping preserve the tribe's history and culture even today.
In 1845, Frederick Douglass's first autobiography became a bestseller. Many readers could not believe that such a brilliant writer was ever a slave. When Douglass wrote the book, slavery had not yet ended so he kept secret how he escaped from Maryland. By 1881, the Civil War had ended slavery and Douglass felt the time was right to reveal how he escaped. This play is adapted from Douglass's own words from The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.
Most people take it for granted: riding a bike. In the late 1800s, the bicycle first came to the United States from Europe. This new "steel horse" was wildly popular. But for women, who either worked in factories or stayed at home, the bicycle liberated them like nothing ever has. One two-wheeled invention changed fashion, opened doors, and led to a movement in women's rights still felt today.
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is a quote from the U.S. Constitution most Americans know by heart. The right to have a healthy peacetime life-- to be free from want, hunger, disease -- is one of the rights that defines happiness. Read why this right is important for young people today. Learn how societies around the world fare in providing freedom from want to all people. And discover ways to help deliver critical basic needs to others.
When World War II broke out in Europe, it was the beginning of a race to build bombs and war machines. Following the war, a new "arms race" began between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Today, nations continue to build dangerous weapons. Read why the freedom from fear is still important more than 70 years after President Franklin Roosevelt spoke of it. And learn about ways people are working to eliminate the arms of war and ensure freedom from fear around the world.
Protected by the Bill of Rights, the freedom of speech and expression is one of the most cherished rights possessed by citizens of the United States. Explore why this right is important to young people today. Read about ways the freedom of speech protects the media. And learn how this critical freedom is challenged around the world.
The North American colonies were a safe haven for Pilgrims seeking the freedom to worship in their own way. The freedom to worship, or not, is a sacred right protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Explore why this right is still debated today. And learn how the freedom to express one's religious beliefs continue to be a source of conflict around the world.
Energy is all around us. Food and sleep are the fuels our bodies use to create the energy we need to move, talk, and think. But scientists tell us some of the fuels that keep our homes and businesses running, power our transportation, and keep us safe are hurting Earth. Learn why energy companies are working to come up with cleaner ways to supply oil and gas, how fuels in the future will be safer for Earth, and what you can do now to use energy wisely. Book features: Table of Contents; Glossary; For More Information including books and web sites; Index; photos and captions; charts and graphs; source notes.
You know the 3Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. But what does it really mean and why is it important to cut back on waste? Each year, businesses and homes in the United States throw away enough garbage to equal 251 million elephants. Where would we keep that many elephants? More to the point, where does all that garbage go? Discover why waste is creating problems for Earth and how you can reduce, reuse, and recycle now. Book features: Table of Contents; Glossary; For More Information including books and web sites; Index; photos and captions; charts and graphs; source notes.
Have you thought about where your food comes from? Do you know the difference between organic and nonorganic foods, and is organic always a more healthful choice? Some farmers have opened their farms to the local community to help grow and pick crops. In this book, you'll read why community-supported agriculture is growing fast and how the choices you make at the grocery store can make a big difference in Earth's health as well as your own. Book features: Table of Contents; Glossary; For More Information including books and web sites; Index; photos and captions; charts and graphs; source notes.
