New Releases by John Farndon

How Does Your Heart Beat? is a fantastic introduction to the incredible ways that our body keeps us alive. The respiratory, circulatory, and immune systems are explained through hilarious, colorful illustrations and an engaging question-and-answer format, designed to appeal to even the most reluctant readers. Packed with plenty of giggle-worthy gross bits, it''s a fun and accessible young guide to an important subject. Stuff kids want to know, that need an answer... How much blood is in your body? What are germs, and are they all baddies? What are boogers made of? Yuk! Find the answers to these questions and much more! Kids will love the hilarious illustrations. With so many fun facts to uncover, science has never been more fun!

What''s in Your Guts? is a fantastic introduction to the science behind the human digestive system for young kids. Hilarious, colorful illustrations and an engaging question-and-answer format makes this key subject fun and accessible for even the most reluctant readers. It''s also packed with plenty of giggle-worthy gross bits that kids love to read about! Stuff kids want to know, that need an answer... how does your body turn food into poop? why do farts smell bad? why do we need to pee, it''s sometimes very inconvenient! what''s so good about our liver? Find the answers to these questions and much more! With so many fun facts to uncover, science has never been more fun!

Explore the beauty and power of planet Earth with this fantastic book. Packed with hundreds of mind-blowing photographs and extraordinary facts, children will be pulled in and engrossed from start to finish. The Earth Book explores natural forces such as fierce tornadoes, mighty ocean features such as colossal currents, Earth''s natural wonders such as Ayers Rock and explosive activity such as volcanic eruptions.

Find out how atoms fit together and how our solar system spins. Take a look at Earth''s biomes and then explore the human body and more with full-color illustrations designed to keep young readers engaged and entertained while they learn.

Explore the structures you encounter in your everyday life and around the world that exist because of engineering. Discover how the world''s tallest building stays standing and more with full-color illustrations designed to keep young readers engaged and entertained while they learn.

Learn how number systems and measurements allow us to make sense of the world. Discover how important addition and subtraction are and look at cell division with illustrated spreads designed to give readers fast, digestible facts that keep them engaged.

From cyber worlds to nano-technology, discover an array of always-changing technologies. High-interest, humorous illustrations and bite-sized facts will keep young readers engaged.

How do hurricanes form? Why do the seasons change? What are tetonic plates? Step inside the inner workings of Planet Earth to find out... This book takes you on an access-all-areas tour of the planet you call home. Dig deep underground, float amoung the clouds, and surf the ocean currents to get a close-up look at the fascinating processes that shape our world.

Follow four centuries of discovery and change, from the moment people set out to explore the world to turbulent times when it turned upside down—even for the people who stayed home! See how South American gold fueled Spain''s Golden Age, Ivan the Terrible expanded Russia at a terrible cost, a French king and an English king lost their heads (literally), and the United States won independence. Illustrated maps highlight key events and give a bird''s eye view of what was happening when and where—including mind-blowing inventions such as the telegraph, photography, and the car.

Jump back in time to discover what was happening during the mysterious Middle Ages. Some people occupied themselves with putting crowns on their heads, others kept busy discovering and spreading new religions, and some focused on invasion and conquest. Follow along as warlords carve out kingdoms in Europe, China''s only empress comes to power, Vikings set foot in America, and Mongol hordes create the greatest land empire. Fun, illustrated maps sweep you across the world from the Incas'' Machu Picchu to medieval Mali and shogun Japan and on to the court of Kublai Khan. What a ride!

Step back into the recent past and discover the moments that defined the modern world. The century took off with the Wright brothers'' historic flight, then swung between two devastating world wars, while people''s revolutions around the globe shook up society and transformed politics. Discover how the Russian Revolution overthrew the tsars, the Cold War split Europe, suffragettes won the right for women to vote, Nelson Mandela became South Africa''s first black president, and more. Cool, illustrated maps show what was happening in different places at the same time, including milestones such as talking pictures and television, the moon landing, and the World Wide Web.

Take an enthralling journey from the Stone Age onward, and see how our ancestors became great builders and rulers. They grew food, discovered metals, made tools, and invented writing. You will see a mighty civilization in Egypt, wise Chinese philosophy, Maya culture in Central America, the colossal Roman Empire, and much more. Illustrated maps let you compare what is happening across the globe at various moments in time. While the Santorini volcano was wiping out the Minoan civilization, flushing toilets were being invented in the Indus Valley (Pakistan). The Greeks held the earliest Olympic Games while the Zapotec built pyramids in Mexico. Find out where it all started!

Step back into our most recent past and see how the modern world arrived. The century ''took off'' with the Wright Brothers'' historic flight, then swing between two devastating world wars and people''s revolutions around the globe. Discover how... *The Russian Revolution overthrew the tsars *The Cold War split Europe *Hippies celebrated the Summer of Love *Mandela became South Africa''s first black president ...and lots more. Cool, illustrated maps show what was happening in different places at the same time, along with milestones such as talking pictures and TV, the first Moon landing and the World Wide Web. Breathtaking!

The molten rock just under Earth''s solid crust sometimes erupts suddenly and violently, causing streams of red-hot lava and scorching high-speed avalanches called pyroclastic flows. Volcanoes can bury entire cities in ash, poison the air with suffocating gases, trigger earthquakes and tsunamis, and drastically alter our climate. Witness the world''s most extreme volcanic disasters throughout history, from the Yellowstone supervolcano to Vesuvius and Krakatoa, and find out what could happen if they erupt again. Learn how volcanoes form, what causes them to erupt, and why the benefits may outweigh the dangers for the people who live near them. Discover the science and technology that could help volcanologists save lives by predicting future devastating explosions.

Ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom . . . your incredible heart beats more than once every second, no matter what you''re doing. And your lungs pull in up to 145 gallons of oxygen each day. So how are your heart and lungs connected, and what do they do? Join the Stickmen as they explore your body to find out how your heart pumps blood, how oxygen travels through your body, and how your body fights off germs. You''ll discover why you need two trillion red blood cells, how exercise affects the body, and what exactly is inside your lungs. Colorful diagrams and fascinating text show how your circulatory system works to keep you fit, warm, and alive!

Imagine facing a storm so vast you can only see it all from space, or winds that uproot trees and hurl cars in the air. The unleashed power of extreme storms can flatten homes and drown low-lying land in torrential rain, and they come with a steep cost in dollars—and lives. Learn all about the science behind horrifying hurricanes, terrible typhoons, and catastrophic cyclones. See the damage done by the world''s worst tornadoes. Discover the drone and satellite technology for forecasting and tracking powerful storms and the storm chasers who risk their lives to increase our understanding of these devastating disasters.

Just think, every single thing you do is handled by an amazing computer inside your head—your brilliant brain! And it''s helped by your body''s internet—your nervous system. Join the Stickmen to discover how spidery nerve cells send messages to the brain in seconds, how quick reflexes keep you safe, and how different parts of your brain are in charge of different thoughts and actions. Learn how all the parts of your body work together with the brain to help you to see, hear, smell, and make memories. Fun illustrations and fact-filled text reveal the mysteries of your brain and what it is that makes you so smart!

Earthquakes can destroy entire cities in mere minutes and send shock waves rippling around the world. These devastating quakes become even more deadly when followed by monster waves. Tsunamis may travel faster than a jet across thousands of miles of ocean. Once they reach the coast, these huge walls of water can wash away everything in their path in one fatal whoosh. No place on Earth is entirely safe from earthquakes. But the technology to detect these hidden terrors is constantly improving. Discover the most fearsome earthquakes and tsunamis throughout history, as well as the science behind how and where these disasters strike.

In just a few seconds, a spark can turn a forest into a rapidly spreading inferno of intense heat and suffocating smoke. Firefighters try to control the wildfire—a battle that might last for months. Water can be used to fight wildfires, but too much water can cause deadly floods. Floods reduce land to swamp and sweep away houses and bridges. In their wake, they leave food shortages, contaminated drinking water, and diseases like cholera and typhus. Follow the scorched trail of the worst wildfires ever, learn what causes flash floods, and discover the technology that helps predict these devastating disasters.

Muscles help you run, jump, play sports, and even sit still long enough to read this book. Your bony skeleton holds you up and keeps everything in its place. Let the Stickmen give you a tour of your incredible body! Find out why muscles are strong and how they get even stronger, how many bones make up your skeleton, and how your body twists, bends, and moves. Along the way, you''ll discover the world''s oldest skeleton, the longest and strongest muscle, and more. Colorful illustrations and fascinating facts reveal the inner workings of your muscles and bones.

Food is the body''s fuel—but what happens to each yummy mouthful from the moment you take a bite? The Stickmen unravel the long process of digestion carried out by your winding system of guts. Learn about your stomach and its army of acids, the chemical powerhouse in your liver, and your busy kidneys that keep you toxin-free. Find out how you get energy and heat from food and how your body gets rid of the stuff it doesn''t need. Illustrations, diagrams, and text tell all about the mashing, squeezing, pushing, and filtering that happen along your digestive system.

Modern medicine''s understanding of bacteria, germs, and viruses evolved over time. What were some early beliefs about what caused illnesses? And what ground-breaking discoveries advanced medical knowledge? Learn the history behind the science of what makes us sick.

Being sick is horrible. But it used to be worse. Inside this book, you''ll see evidence of the plagues of the past—rotting skin, dissolving lungs, and sinister swelling all over the body. Diseases like the Black Death wiped out whole towns and villages. Tuberculosis consumed young people like a bloodsucking vampire. And Smallpox left its victims scarred for life—if they survived. At the time, no one knew where these killer diseases came from or how to treat them. But eventually doctors discovered how these diseases and others were spread. Being sick isn''t quite as sickening as it was in the past!

People have always needed doctors. But the doctors of the past might not look like the doctors you are used to seeing! Sometimes their healing methods were weird, disgusting, or even dangerous. Doctors in the Middle Ages sniffed patients'' urine to diagnose disease, and barbers might cut off a person''s injured arm or leg. The ancient Chinese fought smallpox by blowing powdered pus up the nose. Many of these old remedies turned out to be dangerous, but others paved the way for modern blood transfusions, vaccines, and anesthetics. If you''re not too squeamish, read this book to learn more about the history of doctors!

It''s easy to take a pill when we aren''t feeling well. But did you know that the art of making medicines goes back thousands of years? Early remedies weren''t always so easy—or effective. Some seemed downright disgusting. Wine infused with a venomous snake was used to cure fatigue and hair loss. Snail slime soothed burns, and a mixture of ear wax and mud treated headaches. Discover more about how medicine was practiced centuries ago and how, eventually, scientists discovered some truly amazing remedies, from the magic bullet that treated syphilis to the insulin used for diabetes.

Meet some of the coolest land animals on Earth, and learn about their amazing abilities—from camouflage and communication to super senses and use of tools. Find out how these clever creatures and others use their smarts and skills to thrive in even the harshest environments.

Meet some of the most interesting birds on Earth, and learn about their remarkable abilities—from elaborate nest-building and singing to logical thinking and language skills. Discover how these fascinating birds and others use their smarts and skills to thrive in diverse environments.

Meet some of the most intriguing sea-dwelling animals on Earth and learn about their superstar abilities—from hunting and hiding to solving puzzles and playing. Discover how these spectacular marine animals and others use their smarts and skills to thrive in oceans all over the world.

Meet some of the most fascinating insects and arachnids on Earth, and learn about their incredible abilities—from building and weight-lifting to long-distance migration and hunting. Find out how these surprising creatures use their instincts and skills to thrive despite their small size.

It''s the year 1492, the height of the Aztec Empire, and Ten Vulture is learning to become a priest—and a deadly warrior. On his adventures, he has to learn a secret language and rituals and make human sacrifices to the gods. Visit the largest city in the Americas and take part in the ultimate bloodletting ceremony alongside Ten Vulture. You''ll need a courageous heart and a strong stomach!