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Elizabeth Ripley tells a warm, understanding story of the great artist Vincent van Gogh. His arduous life, his struggles against poverty, his determination to continue painting despite lack of recognition, are discussed with dignity and empathy. Much of the story is told by van Gogh himself, as his personality authentically emerges through letters written to family and friends.All paintings are in full color, with a few extra sketches and paintings new to this edition.

A great artist and an influential diplomat, Peter Paul Rubens was a man of remarkable accomplishment. As a diplomat he was devoted to working for peace, visiting the courts of the most powerful leaders in Europe. As an artist, earning fame during his lifetime, he traveled across Europe decorating large palaces and churches.Elizabeth Ripley shows Rubens working and studying in Italy, where the foundations of his style were laid. She follows the development of his distinctive style, which strongly influenced the French and English painters of the following century. Rubens' vivid personality and character shine through as the greatness of his contribution to the world of art is shown.Readers will be drawn into the exceptional life of Peter Paul Rubens, one of the most influential Northern European artists of the 17th century.

Henry and his dog, Laird Angus McAngus, were fearless explorers. One morning they set out to find an ocean. They took along Henry's explorer's kit and a special new flag from an old shirt."It may be a long and dangerous trip," he told his mother as they left."I hope it won't take all day," she said."Who knows?" replied Henry. "It could take a year!"And it might have. For like many explorers of oceans, Henry and Angus were cast up on island with no escape. But good explorers are prepared for everything. And these two proved more than equal to the dangers they met, though there were some very tough moments.

An account of living history kept by Governor William Bradford and others of the Mayflower company, chronicling the adventures of the Pilgrims' day-to-day life after arriving in the New World.Homes in the Wilderness, first published in London in 1622, conveys the struggles of this gallant company of a hundred through the first long, hard winter of 1620, and the building of their settlement at Plymouth in the spring of 1621. The old language was modernized just enough in 1939 by the beloved author of Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown, while preserving the flavor of the original King James English.This edition for young people includes a list of Mayflower passengers, a glossary of old words, and several maps. Profusely illustrated by Mary Wilson Stewart.

Simon is an old cat. His family adores him and they do everything they can to keep him comfortable. After a full life of chasing butterflies, pruning houseplants and playing the piano, he now feels useless. Then one day his family drops something soft and small on this tummy. A¿kitten! There is much the kitten needs to learn about the world. Suddenly Simon has lots to do! Judith Byron Schachner pays homage to one special, very old feline in a book for anyone who has lived with and loved a cat. She is the bestselling author of Skippyjon Jones, Mr. Emerson's Cook and bits &¿pieces.

Autumn, winter, spring, or summer-any season is good for bird watching and bird feeding. For birds almost always have hearty appetites, and one of the best ways of watching them is by building a feeder where they can stop to eat.Follow the seasons with Dr. Blough in this new science nature book while he discusses bird menus, bird feeders, bird migrations, bird banding, and the equipment needed by the beginning ornithologist. He tells what to look for and points the way to wonderful discoveries that can be made about birds if you listen carefully, get as close as you can, look as long as you can, and see as much as you can.Jeanne Bendick's brightly colored drawings make identification of the fifty state birds, and much more, simple and fun!

In 1805, seventeen-year-old Tom Lockwood, his aunt and uncle journey westward from their Pennsylvania farm to join friends living in Missouri. Their peaceful trip down the big Ohio river, aboard a keelboat, turns deadly when the group falls into the hands of river pirates.With the help of friends made along the way, young Tom and his faithful dog, Cub, set about rescuing his family using all the grit, determination, and ingenuity they can muster.This classic Meader tale, written nearly 100 years ago, reads like it was penned just yesterday.Illustrated by Edward Shenton.

Paul de Kruif, an American microbiologist and author, was most well-known for writing this classic bestseller, Microbe Hunters. His accounts of fourteen microbe hunting scientists are enlightening, engrossing, and paradoxically humorous and entertaining at the same time. All of which indicate why Microbe Hunters has been on recommended reading lists, influencing many aspiring physicians and scientists, since 1926.These microbe hunters were pioneers searching for knowledge and truth, fighting against death to advance medicine. A few succumbed to the invisible assassins they studied. Their failures, disappointments and triumphs, as they persisted, are deftly presented by the author.

Our first reaction to the Spider may be one of revulsion or fear¿. To many of us, she is a distasteful creature destined to be crushed underfoot. But here in this book we meet the Spider as Fabre did-industrious builder, talented weaver, wily hunter, ill-fated mate. His observations, often surprising or amazing, on the lifecycle of the Spider are drawn from more than fifty years of studying and caring for them. Yes, the Spider is well worth studying.Jean-Henri Fabre is considered by many to be the father of modern entomology. He lived from 1823-1915, recording his research and reflections in the ten-volume work Souvenirs Entomologiques, from which the contents of The Life of the Spider have been compiled. The first volume of this set was written in 1879, he finished the tenth, and final, volume in 1909 when he was 86. The Life of the Spider was first published in 1912. Clement B. Davis added 16 full-page black and white drawings in 1919, which are included in this new and unabridged edition.

Most of the things you know about science would have dazzled and bewildered Archimedes. But many of the things you know about science began with him. The curious, logical, wonderful, exploring mind of Archimedes founded several branches of science, discovered many scientific laws and principles, and so very much more. As an inventor, he created the Archimedes screw to drain and irrigate fields, a machine that showed eclipses of the sun and moon, and designed war machines to defend his city of Syracuse from the Romans. In spite of all these achievements, Archimedes considered inventing an amusement, and mathematics his real work. He wrote brilliant proofs and theories on almost every mathematical subject.Jeanne Bendick introduces Archimedes through humorous yet easy-to-understand explanations of his inventions and contributions-and that the door to modern science opened through the mind of Archimedes.An extra chapter has been added giving more details to, and the translation of, Archimedes' Cattle Problem.

As far as I've been able to determine, giants come in roughly three sizes: 'Very' big, 'Way, WAY' big, and 'Good grief, would you look at THAT!' big. It is possible there there may be even larger ones, but I've never personally seen any. A few folks, mostly adults, contend that there are no such things as giants. I will not waste your time nor mine disputing such radical theories. They probably don't believe in the Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy either. Blasphemy.In addition (and you may not believe this) there are folks who dispute the fact that hamburgers grow on bushes. Good grief...doesn't anyone major in agriculture anymore? I know for a fact that a certain fast-food chain started this rumor. Want scientific proof? Well, there are pictures of several hamburger bushes in this very book.Jolly Roger

Here's the inspiring and true story of a young girl who was determined to read, and who went on to become a teacher, the founder of a college, an advisor to politicians, and a great humanitarian. Mary McLeod Bethune was the fifteenth child of hard-working parents, whose ancestry was one hundred percent African. She was their first child who was born free after the civil war.Mrs. Bethune worked tirelessly to build up, through education, the magnificent heritage that Black people share. During her hardest years, she refused to give up on her dream of starting her own school for Black children. It eventually became Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mrs. Bethune, born a few years after the Emancipation Proclamation, lived to see the historic Supreme Court decision on public school desegregation.