Aided by an army of beachcombers, oceanographer Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer tracks trash in the name of science. From sneakers to hockey gloves, Curt monitors the watery fate of human-made cargo that has spilled into the ocean. The information he collects is much more than casual news; it is important scientific data. And with careful analysis, Curt, along with a community of scientists, friends, and beachcombers alike, is using his data to understand and protect our ocean.

In engaging text and unforgettable images, readers meet the woman who started it all (Curt’s mother!), the computer program that makes sense of his data (nicknamed OSCURS), and several scientists, both on land and on the sea, who are using Curt’s discoveries to preserve delicate marine habitats and protect the creatures who live in them.

From the depths of a cave in the Vermilion Sea, Ramon Salazar has wrested a black pearl so lustrous and captivating that his father, an expert pearl dealer, is certain Ramon has found the legendary Pearl of Heaven. Such a treasure is sure to bring great joy to the villagers of their tiny coastal town, and even greater renown to the Salazar name. No diver, not even the swaggering Gaspar Ruiz, has ever found a pearl like this!

But is there a price to pay for a prize so great? When a terrible tragedy strikes the village, old Luzon’s warning about El Diablo returns to haunt Ramon. If El Diablo actually exists, it will take all Ramon’s courage to face the winged creature waiting for him offshore.

When Mrs. Merz asks her sixth grade class to write poems of apology, they end up liking their poems so much that they decide to put them together into a book. Not only that, but they get the people to whom they apologized to write poems back.

In haiku, pantoums, two-part poems, snippets, and rhymes, Mrs. Merz’s class writes of crushes, overbearing parents, loving and losing pets, and more. Some poets are deeply sorry; some not at all. Some are forgiven; some are not. In each pair of poems a relationship, a connection, is revealed.

From the ingenuity of ancient engineering to the innovation of modern marvels, Wonders of the World reveals the greatest statues and structures that the world has ever seen. This striking book covers the ancient wonders, the later historical wonders, and the modern wonders of the world in glorious and colorful detail. Combining the latest computer-generated images with breathtaking photographs and engaging text, readers can peer into the world’s marvels, such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the unforgettable Taj Mahal, and the extraordinary Three Gorges Dam in China.

KFK Castles & Forts takes you on an incredible journey through history. From the first Iron Age hill forts, travel to some of the world’s greatest fortresses and castles. Find out more about Fort Ticonderoga and the part it played in the Revolutionary War; discover the secrets of Masada, King Herod’s Judean fortress; visit Château Gaillard, and a medieval French castle under siege; marvel at the architecture of Japan’s Himeji Castle; and learn about one of the most famous crusader castles, Syria’s Krak des Chevaliers—home of the medieval Knights Hospitallers.