What would life be like if you had to do without modern inventions? How would you cope without a toilet or live without electricity? Starting from these thought-provoking questions, each title takes us on a historical journey to see how people coped in the past, and how they developed ingenious ways to make life safer and more pleasant. Key Features: Full-color cartoon-style original illustrations that make the books fun and attractive to reluctant readers A simple timeline providing an easily understood history of the subject A Top Tip offering helpful advice on what you should or shouldn't do in a tricky situation A How It Works section explaining the science behind the technology A You Can Do It! section which describes a simple, safe experiment, or an action you can take to help make the world a better place A helpful glossary and index in each book

We could not live without water. Almost two-thirds of our body weight is water. We rely on it to keep ourselves clean, to keep our bodies nourished, and to get rid of waste. But water can also carry deadly germs and poisons. One of the greatest challenges for scientists and governments today is to make sure that everyone has access to the clean, safe water that they need. You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Clean Water! is part of a brand-new science and technology strand within the internationally acclaimed You Wouldn’t Want to Be series. The clear, engaging text and humorous illustrations bring the subject to life and stimulate young readers' curiosity about the world around them. Specially commissioned cartoon-style illustrations in full colour make these books attractive and accessible even to reluctant readers. Information is conveyed through captions, labels and humorous speech bubbles in addition to the main text. Illustrated sidebars headed ‘How It Works’, ‘Top Tip’ or ‘You Can Do It’ supply more facts, describe simple, safe experiments, or steps that readers can take to help make the world a better place. Each volume includes a timeline and a list of ‘Did You Know?’ facts.

What would happen if there were no bees in the world? It would be a disaster! Without bees, we would, of course, have no honey. But we'd also lose a lot of other foods and useful products like cotton produced by plants that bees pollinate. We would also lose the animals that eat these plants, and the animals that eat those animals! As far as important species are concerned, bees are at the top of the list - you really wouldn't want to live without them! You Wouldn't Want to Live Without Bees! is part of a brand-new science and technology strand within the internationally acclaimed You Wouldn't Want to Be series. The clear, engaging text and humorous illustrations bring the subject to life and stimulate young readers' curiosity about the world around them.

You’re a princess born into the Egyptian royal family. But it’s not easy living in the palace. From family betrayals to Roman generals, you will discover it’s not easy being Cleopatra! This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like as Cleopatra. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.

Get ready . . . as a trusted slave in a quiet Roman town in 79 CE, you're about to undergo the most terrifying experience of your life. You'll never forget what it's like to live in Pompeii. Find out all about the horrible fate of the residents of Pompeii, what remains of the town today, and how Vesuvius' victims were preserved for eternity.

Describes what it was like to be an astronaut on the "unlucky" 1970 Apollo 13 mission to the moon.

It's a nuisance when it rains on a picnic. It's a tragedy when a tornado destroys a neighbourhood. But our planet would be very different place if it didn't have extremes of weather. Weather has shaped the world we live in, and humans have learned to live in almost every climate that can be found on Earth.

Contentment is a super power. If you can learn the skills of contentment, your life will be better in so many ways: You’ll enjoy your life more. Your relationship will be stronger. You’ll be better at meeting people. You’ll be healthier, and good at forming healthy habits. You’ll like and trust yourself more. You’ll be jealous less. You’ll be less angry and more at peace. You’ll be happier with your body. You’ll be happier no matter what you’re doing or who you’re with. Those are a lot of benefits, from one small bundle of skills. Putting some time in learning the skills of contentment is worth the effect and will pay off for the rest of your life.

For 5,000 years and more, libraries have been gathering and preserving writings of all kinds. They’re keepers of the world’s memory. They’re storehouses of knowledge, and imagination, and fun. Learn about how these places and their collections of written words allow us to check our facts, find important information, share stories, beliefs and ideas, build communities and learn valuable life skills. You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Libraries! is part of a brand-new science and technology strand within the internationally acclaimed You Wouldn’t Want to Be series. The clear, engaging text and humorous illustrations bring the subject to life and stimulate young readers' curiosity about the world around them. Specially commissioned cartoon-style illustrations in full colour make these books attractive and accessible even to reluctant readers. Information is conveyed through captions, labels and humorous speech bubbles in addition to the main text. Illustrated sidebars headed ‘How It Works’, ‘Top Tip’ or ‘You Can Do It’ supply more facts, describe simple, safe experiments, or steps that readers can take to help make the world a better place. Each volume includes a timeline and a list of ‘Did You Know?’ facts.

From the New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . . now a #1 Netflix series! In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the "coolest girl in the world" moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all---beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer's end they've become TullyandKate. Inseparable. So begins Kristin Hannah's magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives. From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness. Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn't know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she'll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she'll envy her famous best friend. . . . For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship---jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they've survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test. Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone's Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it's the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It's about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you---and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you'll never forget . . . one you'll want to pass on to your best friend.