Science

On a cold day in November 1944, eighteen-month-old Eileen Saxon was brought into an operating room at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She could barely breathe, and he lips and fingertips had turned a dusky blue, the result of a heart condition known as blue baby syndrome. Most doctors who had seen her expected her to die within hours.

The world's seeds are in crisis.

Of 12,000 plant species used for human food, only about 150 are being grown for sale, only eight grains are traded throughout the world, and half of our calories come from just three: rice, wheat, and maize.

This means that our food diversity is diminishing at a shocking rate. More than on in five plants on earth are threatened with extinction. Our lives depend on all kinds of seeds, but they are facing many threats: war-torn countries, damaged habitats, and climate change, to name a few.

April Pulley Sayre’s wry, quirky storytelling tone shines from the warning on the first page (“This is a S-L-O-W book. Do not read it while surfing, water skiing, or running to escape giant weasels.”) right through to the glossary at the end. In between, readers will explore an astounding variety of information about all things slow—in nature, geology, art, outer space, etc. Throughout, The SLOWEST Book EVER playfully encourages readers to slow down and savor everything.

Have you ever wondered how experts train a gorilla? Or what design features make a great gorilla habitat? Did you know that some gorillas can solve problems on giant touch-screen computers?

Filled with facts and photos, Gorillas Up Close takes us into the world of gorillas. Explore the differences between gorillas in zoos and in the wild with the gorilla family troop in Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. Readers will delight in the similarities gorillas share with humans while finding out more about these incredible animals.

Around the world, from US coastal towns to island nations of the Pacific and the deserts of Africa, people are in danger of losing their homes. Some have already fled. Others know they are running out of time. By 2050, at least 25 million people will be driven from their homes due to the effects of climate change.