Dangerous Planet: Natural Disasters That Changed History

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We live in a world governed by chance. Events tumble one after the other like pebbles washed down a stream. Some are small, such as the random puff of wind that spreads a dandelions seeds. Some are big, such as the Big Bang, which got our universe started. Most are in between, such as the movement of continents or the collapse of a civilization. Big and small, important and insignificant, event tumbles on top of event. Eventually you get history.

Dangerous Planet was called "part Jared Diamond ... part Stephen Jay Gould" by the New York Times Book Review .

American Library Association selection for post-Hurricane Katrina reading.

Pathogens live in us and on us at our expense, causing infectious disease. If enough people get sick,pathogens cause epidemics that can force enormous changes on societies. Disease can determine not only who lives and who dies but who wins and who loses, who gets wealthy and who stays poor, which ideas become popular and which ones wither away. Plagues are the true invisible hand, guiding our destiny.

Outbreak was called   "pleasantly lurid" and “irksomely left-wing” by the Wall Street Journal, and "the stuff of nightmares" by the Denver Post.  Outbreak was chosen as the "cover of the week" by Publisher's Weekly, was listed as one of the years best books by the New York Public Library. It is included in Nancy Pearl's list of best children's books, Book Crush and translated into Korean.

The original paintings for Outbreak were exhibited at the Smithsonian’s Global Health Odyssey Museum at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, DC and the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, in Port Angeles, Washington.

Publishers Weekly cover of the week 

American Library Association selection 

Voice of Youth Advocates honoree 

Wall Street Journal review

Islam is one of the world’s great religions, one of history’s most important civilizations, and one of the foundational cultures of the West. During Islam’s first five hundred years, from the seventh through the twelfth centuries, this new religion created the most innovative and influential civilization on earth, an essential bridge between antiquity and modernity.

The Genius of Islam: How Muslims Made the Modern World surveys the remarkable contributions Islamic civilization has made to the world - in art, design, calligraphy, architecture, music, engineering, philosophy, astronomy, medicine, agronomy, optics, cartography, paper, and mathematics -  how those contributions sparked the European Renaissance and how, until recently, they were mostly forgotten. The Genius of Islam is  essential reading for anyone interested in history and the march of contemporary events in the Muslim world.  

United States Middle East Outreach Council non-fiction book for youth
Master list of notable books by the Children’s Book Council
Master list  of the National Council for Social Studies.

The New Ocean investigates six sea creatures and how they may fare in a hotter, more acidic, more polluted, and emptier ocean, plus possible futures for the near and more distant ocean and what that means for us. The book highlights efforts to address climate change, acidification and plastics pollution, considers the counterarguments (climate change denial) and discusses how readers can take action to try to take control of a very uncertain future.  This is a hard look at an uncomfortable topic in language that children can understand.

Publishers Weekly starred review

Bank Street College best children's book of the year

Green Earth award shortlist

By Joyce Milton

Illustrated by Bryn Barnard

What should you do if a gorilla charges right at you? Run away, climb a tree, or make a scary face? Find out the surprising answer and much more in this nonfiction book packed with amazing gorilla facts.  

Step 3 Readers feature engaging narratives about popular topics. For children who are ready to read on their own.

By Shirley Raye Raymond

Illustrated by Bryn Barnard

For centuries, sailors have handed down stories of the giant squid. They say this mysterious monster of the deep chases ships and battles whales. They say it can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and that its eyes can be as big as a human head! Are these stories fact or fantasy? Find out in this exciting beginning reader.

Step 3 Readers feature engaging narratives about popular topics. For children who are ready to read on their own.