While digging a hole in his back yard, an eleven-year-old Kansas boy finds the fossilized remains of a gigantic prehistoric animal, a discovery that brings both fame and controversy.

Over the past several decades, Richard Ellis has produced a remarkable body of work that has been called "magnificent" (Washington Post Book World), "masterful" (Scientific American), "magical" (Men's Journal), and a "dazzling tour de force" (Christian Science Monitor). Ellis's new book-a fascinating tour through the world of the sperm whale-will surely inspire more such praise for the author heralded by Publisher Weekly as "America's foremost writer on marine research." Written with Ellis's deep knowledge and trademark passion, verve, and wit-and illustrated with a wide array of images including his own signature artwork-his study covers the full spectrum of the sperm whale's existence from its prehistoric past to its current endangered existence. Ellis, as no one else can, illuminates the iconic impact of Physeter macrocephalus ("big-headed blower") on our history, environment, and culture, with a substantial nod to Herman Melville and Moby-Dick, the great novel that put the sperm whale (and whaling) on the literary map. Ranging far and wide, Ellis covers the sperm whale's evolution, ecology, biology, anatomy, behavior, social organization, intelligence, communications, migrations, diet, and breeding. He also devotes considerable space to the whale's hunting prowess, including its clashes with the giant squid, and to the history of the whaling industry that decimated its numbers during the last two centuries. He even includes a story about a beached juvenile he helped rescue, an event that provided scientists with one of their first opportunities to observe a sperm whale in the water and up close. Offering a rich tapestry for anyone with an interest in the marvels of ocean life, Ellis's book provides an indispensable guide to the life and times of one of the planet's most intelligent, elusive, and endangered species.

This volume recommends some 500 positive, heart-warming stories for young readers—stories of the human spirit and what it can accomplish; stories of loving families surviving crises in positive ways; historical tales full of quick-witted people (especially girls); fairy tales with strong women; true stories of survival; and more. These gentle and uplifting reads span every genre—from science fiction and fantasy, to mysteries, realistic fiction, biographies, and nonfiction. They are Accelerated Reader titles, Reading Counts titles, and Junior Library Guild selections. Primarily intended for grades 5 to 9, this is a list of reading suggestions for the young adult who wants a great read but does not want to be offended. Grades 5-9.

" ... With an emphasis on non-fiction and the boy-friendly categories of genre fiction, this book offers a wealth of material including tips for how to booktalk one-on-one as well as in large groups, methods of performing indirect readers' advisory with parents or teachers, and suggested read-alikes as well as titles to offer a boy in place of a book he did not like or would not read ..."--Page 4 of cover.

While caring for an injured rabbit which becomes her confidant, horoscope writer, and a source of good luck, a thoughtful seventh grade girl learns to see things in more than one way.

Something stinks about fishing. And as far as Cade Carlsen is concerned, it isn’t just his family’s best-selling catfish bait, either. While there is no denying that the secret recipe concocted by his grandfather does indeed produce one of the foulest odors ever known, it is not the bait’s smell but its effectiveness that bothers Cade. Fish feel pain, Cade is sure of it, so he and his family are complicit in the suffering and death of countless catfish. Cade is determined to make amends, but the question is, how?

Librarian and educator Michael Sullivan provides the tools that librarians, school library media specialists, and educators need to overcome cultural and developmental challenges, stereotyping, and lack of role models that essentially program boys out of the library. Attracting boys to library programs in the "tween" years will maintain their interest in books and reading over a lifetime, creating good health habits from a young age. Sullivan's practical and proven programming builds on the unique developmental needs and interests of boys in this middle stage. From playing chess to swathing the walls in butcher paper to give boys a physical space to respond to books, Sullivan's practical ideas and developmentally astute insights show librarian and teacher colleagues how to make vitally needed connections with this underserved population.

The Midwest has produced a robust literary heritage. Its authors have won half of the nation's Nobel Prizes for Literature plus a significant number of Pulitzer Prizes. This volume explores the rich racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the region. It also contains entries on 35 pivotal Midwestern literary works, literary genres, literary, cultural, historical, and social movements, state and city literatures, literary journals and magazines, as well as entries on science fiction, film, comic strips, graphic novels, and environmental writing. Prepared by a team of scholars, this second volume of the Dictionary of Midwestern Literature is a comprehensive resource that demonstrates the Midwest's continuing cultural vitality and the stature and distinctiveness of its literature.

Assistant Principal Jacob Farley had disappeared, but as Mt. Mole’s least-liked citizen, no one in town seemed to be in any hurry to find him or his captor. So thirteen-year-old Andrew J. Forrest takes on the investigation himself, discovering along the way many buried secrets about his hometown, its population, and most explosively, about the town’s namesake hill, Mt. Mole itself.

A solid introduction to stable isotopes that can also be used as an instructive review for more experienced researchers and professionals. The book approaches the use of isotopes from the perspective of ecological and biological research, but its concepts can be applied within other disciplines. A novel, step-by-step spreadsheet modeling approach is also presented for circulating tracers in any ecological system, including any favorite system an ecologist might dream up while sitting at a computer. The author’s humorous and lighthearted style painlessly imparts the principles of isotope ecology. The online material contains color illustrations, spreadsheet models, technical appendices, and problems and answers.