Maria Zef

This novel tells the remarkable story of an unusual community of Siberian bandits who are the opponents to Stalin and deported to Transnistria, a long section between Moldova and Ukraine, even today no man's land, ravaged by corruption, organized crime and smuggling. There grew up Nikolai proud to recognize no other authority than his elders and defining themselves as honest criminals.

In Bosques, carefully leveled text and vibrant, full-color photographs take beginning readers on a tour of a temperate forest. Readers learn about this important ecosystem and the variety of living things adapted to live there.

This fascinating narrative gets under the skin of the world’s tallest buildings! How many people are involved in creating a skyscraper? What environmental factors come into play? What does it take for a skyscraper to function? All these questions and more will be answered as we visit the skyscrapers from New York to Malaysia to China. Students will gain a deeper understanding of skyscrapers and how they shape our world.

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and this book introduces readers to 14 women who invented very useful, helpful items. They include Chicago native Margaret Wilcox who invented the car heater, Indiana native Marion O'Brien Donovan who invented disposable diapers, Pennsylvania native Stephanie Kwolek who invented Kevlar, and Austria-born actress Hedy Lamar whose secret communications systems led to the creation of WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS.