Most Popular Books by Rebecca Stefoff

Presents information about corals, including how both hard and soft corals build colonies, the threats to corals and their reefs, and how people can protect them.

Bridges have helped people cross large bodies of water for millennia. Readers discover the engineering behind bridges.

Provides a brief history of robotics, describes tasks for which robots are useful, and suggests future development.

Discover the life of Redbeard (Heyreddin Barbarossa), the powerful Ottoman Admiral who nearly conquered Africa.

Celebrate the richness and diversity of the United States of America in this exciting series.

Explores the past, present, and future to shed light on complex, high-priority public policy. Offers the pros and cons of each issue with opinions from social policy experts.

This volume describes the diverse peoples who came to the United States from 1820, when records began to be kept, to 1924, when the gates were nearly closed to immigrants. The reactions of Americans to the new arrivals, laws that were passed, and the experiences of those who lived through it are richly presented here.

Presents the history of the New Republic of America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through excerpts from documents, letters, journals, and newspaper articles.

Barking frogs, giant cane toads, six-foot-long Chinese salamanders, and tiny dwarf sirens-all these and many more are amphibians who live in the two worlds of water and land. The Amphibian Class describes the origins and ways of life of the three main kinds of amphibians, with a look at many weird and wonderful species. It covers the amphibian life cycle from tadpole to tree frog, introduces the strange and seldom-seen creatures called caecilians, and even answers the age-old question: What''s the difference between a frog and a toad? The Amphibian Class also explains why many scientists fear that these ancient animals are in serious trouble today and looks at some of the things being done to help them survive into the future. Book jacket.

This series takes readers on a journey through the evolutionary history of humans.

Discusses the territorial expansion of the United States following the Civil War, as well as the country''s increasing role in international affairs and its growing population.

The Erie Canal was mocked as a big ditch when it was started, but by the time it was completed in 1825 it was called an engineering marvel. Readers learn how engineers overcame a rise in elevation of 568 feet between the Hudson River and Lake Erie with locks and aqueducts to create a waterway that changed America.

Examines the 1972 Supreme Court case Furman v. Georgia in regard to the death penalty.

"Explores various perspectives on the Space Race. The reader''s choices reveal the historical details"--

Examines the results of demographic changes and illustrates the threat of overpopulation to man and his environment.

This series takes readers on a journey through the evolutionary history of humans.

Skyscrapers stretch high into a cityu0092s skyline, providing places to work and live for millions of people. Discover the engineering behind skyscrapers.

"A critical exploration of witches and witchcraft"--Provided by publisher.

Soil is something we donu0092t just live on, itu0092s something we live in. Throughout history, mankind has developed ways of using soil to build dwellings. The ancients built cities out of bricks, the Native Americans of the Southwest used soil to build adobe settlements, and the pioneers on the prairies built sod homes to combat heat and cold. This book examines the properties of different kinds of soil and what makes that soil useful for building a structure.

Focuses on the pros and cons of marriage in the United States--including covenant marriages, same-sex unions, and the effect of divorce on kids--through personal stories, opinions, and scholarly studies. Provides a historical look at marriage and includes

Discusses the development of the telephone, from its early days until today.

Forensic Science Investigated takes young readers inside this fast-growing field, showing them how crime scene investigators and forensic specialists gather evidence, solve crimes, and even liberate innocent people who have been mistakenly imprisoned.

Discusses the evolution, biology, life cycle, and social and mating and behavior of chimpanzees.

Describes the evolution, body structure, and behavior of dogs, and discusses their interaction with people.

Forensic Science Investigated takes young readers inside this fast-growing field, showing them how crime scene investigators and forensic specialists gather evidence, solve crimes, and even liberate innocent people who have been mistakenly imprisoned.

Take a step back in time to explore the origin of humans.

A critical exploration of magic, its history, and practitioners.

Explores the folklore and facts connected with vampires, zombies, and shape-shifters such as werewolves.

"An exploration of the origins, history, development, and societal impact of the microscope and the telescope"--Provided by publisher.

On March 23, 1900, Arthur John Evans and his staff began to excavate on Crete, looking for the fabled site of Knossos, where an extraordinary civilization, a precursor to classical Greece, was rumored to have existed. Almost from the first shovel stroke, artifacts began to emerge. Evans realized that here was "an extraordinary phenomenon, nothing Greek, nothing Roman. A wholly unexplored world." The Palace of Minos at Knossos recounts the exciting story of uncovering a remarkable society lost to the world for 3,500 years, from its initial discovery through its excavation to the structure we see today. Sidebars on archaeological techniques, illustrations of the sites, tables, and diagrams throughout provide a wealth of information on the Palace. The use of artifacts and other "documents" recovered from the Palace bring out the voices of the people of the past, offering clues to who they were and how they lived. The Palace of Minos at Knossos concludes with an interview with archaeologist Chris Scarre who talks about the misperceptions about Knossos and what we really know about its culture.

Dams change the landscape, providing reservoirs of freshwater and even producing electricity. Discover the engineering behind dams.

Did you know that half of all the animals in the world that have backbones are fish? There are more kinds of fishes than there are amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals added together. And scientists are discovering more species of fish almost weekly. Brilliantly colored or camouflaged, as big as a whale or smaller than a little fingernail, fishes are found almost everywhere there is water. The Fish Classes explores the origins of the first fishes, with a glimpse of some of the extraordinary varieties that became extinct long ago. The book also examines the five classes of modern fishes, surveys their physical features, habitats, and ways of life, as well as some of the threats they face today. Book jacket.

Monerans, the most numerous life-forms on earth, are better known as bacteria. They are prokaryotes, organisms that consist of a single cell without a nucleus. Invisible to ordinary sight, bacteria were discovered in the seventeenth century, after the invention of the microscope. Then, in the 1970s, scientists using the new tool of DNA sequencing discovered another group of prokaryotes called the archaea. The Moneran Kingdom explains the differences between bacteria and archaea-two of the three domains of life on Earth-and provides an overview of milestones in microbiology. The reader is introduced to the structure and life cycle of the prokaryotes, the role of bacteria in the origins of life on earth, and the many ways monerans influence life for human beings-from disease to digestion to decomposing waste. Bacteria may be "germs," but they are vital to our continued survival. Book jacket.

We say that the sun "rises" in the morning and "sets" at night, but is it really moving? Readers will learn about the long, sometimes dangerous struggle to discover whether the sun revolves around Earth, or Earth around the sun, and find out what scientists now know about our planet''s place in the universe.

"A summary of the life cycle, diet, behavior, anatomy, and conservation status of deer"--Provided by publisher.

Two of every five mammals on Earth are rodents, yet most people know little about this amazingly diverse order of animals. Rats and mice may be all too familiar, but what about gundis and degus? And did you know that porcupines are rodents, but rabbits are not? The Rodent Order explores the world of rodents, from prehistoric guinea pigs the size of horses to the Laotian rock rat, a "living fossil" recently found alive in the forests of Southeast Asia. The Rodent Order also examines the long relationship between people and rodents. For thousands of years, rodents have influenced human life as pests, food, pets, and carriers of disease. Today human activities are threatening the survival of some rodent species, but other rodents are flourishing-sometimes right under our noses. Book jacket.

Take a step back in time to explore modern humans.

Discusses monarchies as a political system, and details the history of monarchies throughout the world.