Most Popular Books by Ruth Owen

Huddled in tense silence, a team of scientists watches a bank of flickering screens. Years of design and engineering work, tests, failures, redesigns, and successes are bound up in this moment. Finally, a grainy picture appears on the screens. Cheers erupt as the men and women realize their robot has landed safely on Mars! Get to Work with Science and Technology is a fascinating new series that introduces readers to the real-life applications of STEM subjects. In Exploring Distant Worlds as a Space Robot Engineer, readers will meet the scientists who design and build robots, send them into space, and even drive the rovers that are exploring Mars today. Told in a lively narrative style, this book includes firsthand accounts of life as a space scientist and robotics engineer, dramatic anecdotes, and behind-the-scenes photos. Readers will also get the chance to try out their robot designing skills with activities that are perfect for science fair projects.

Ruth Owen takes Regency romance for a walk on the wild side as a desperate woman’s dangerous charade compels a tormented nobleman to raise the stakes on love. Sabrina Murphy has spent years trying to live down the reputation of her gambler father. But after being accused of a murder she didn’t commit, Sabrina decides to wager her life on the success of an audacious scheme. She will assume the identity of an heiress who disappeared as a child, duping the wealthy and powerful Trevelyan line long enough to lift the family jewels and flee the country. The hitch? She must convince the dark, handsome, and mysterious widower Lord Edward that she’s not bluffing. When the young beauty claiming to be his long-lost cousin arrives at the Trevelyan estate, Lord Edward is justly skeptical. Her very existence jeopardizes his inheritance. And yet even he must admit there is a striking resemblance—and that her gentle presence works magic on the tattered remains of his family. But when a series of suspicious accidents threatens her life, she and Edward are drawn together by a need to expose the truth—and by a desire neither can resist. Praise for Gambler’s Daughter “Ruth Owen writes with a wonderfully original voice. Gambler’s Daughter is a feast for the senses from beginning to end!”―New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston

From weather and day length, to plants and animals, in this title, readers will investigate how the world around them changes as the seasons change. With activities such as recording temperatures and going on seasonal scavenger hunts, students will be challenged to observe and analyze the changing of the seasons.

In this book, readers will get the chance to learn about their senses as if they were scientists! They will discover how their senses work and learn lots of fascinating facts about their eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and skin. In this age-appropriate introduction to the topic, readers will get to investigate and challenge their own senses!

If a tree is a living thing, does that mean a wooden table is alive? If a cat is alive because it can run and chase a toy, does that mean a robot is a living thing because it can move? In this title packed with fun challenges, readers will consolidate their understanding of living, non-living, and things that used to be alive.

Millions of miles from Earth, a very unusual scientist is hard at work exploring the freezing, dusty surface of the planet Mars. Curiosity, the robot geologist, is one in a long line of robots that have visited some of our solar system''s most inhospitable places. In this fascinating title, we look at space robots from the past and those at work today. What are their missions? What tasks can they do? And how does it feel to be the human here on Earth who controls a high-tech robot on a faraway planet?

"In the middle of the big city, there was a tired, ugly place that made Mr. Green feel very sad." So begins this uplifting and charming story of the magic that can happen when young people, older people, and plants come together. Mo has lost his father. But as he helps his neighbor Mr. Green create a beautiful garden in an abandoned, forlorn space in the city, a smiley feeling grows inside Mo and he learns that a garden can be a very good place to remember people we''ve lost. As the two friends grow their garden, readers will also discover: • How being in nature is good for our mental health • How intergenerational friendships are important • The importance of rebuilding ecosystems and making places for wildlife • How plants grow, including vegetables • The importance of planting trees • How soil is a living thing that needs to be nurtured The story is told with beautiful artwork created from collage and pencil drawings.

In this title, readers will investigate materials (wood, metal, plastic, glass, rock, and wool) and everyday objects using science. What are sneakers, soccer balls, coins, soda cans, and even skyscrapers made of? What properties make different materials suitable for different jobs? And how are paper, steel, glass, and rubber made?

Two heavily armed fighters face each other in the Colosseum of ancient Rome. They are about to take part in the deadliest sport the world has ever known. Only one man will leave the arena alive. This is the brutal world of the Roman gladiator.

Specially created to support early years teaching, this beautiful new words and pictures book is perfect for children learning to read. As young readers turn the pages, they will have lots of opportunities to: practice counting 1 to 20; understand more or less; practice adding and subtracting; solve problems including doubling, halving, and sharing.

Readers will wow their friends and family with mind-boggling magic tricks! This book holds all the tips and secrets behind amazing magic tricks from disappearing coins to floating ketchup. No special equipment is needed—only close reading of the instructions and lots of practice. The directions are clear and easily accessible for beginner magicians, while pictures of each step allow readers to visualize the process. This book is perfect for creative illusionists who want to add a bit of magic to their day!

Enter the fascinating world of the Samurai and discover how these highly skilled warriors lived and served their masters, the nobility of medieval Japan. Understand the way of the warrior, the Samurai''s code of conduct, find out how a Samurai learned his skills, and see the weapons and armor that Samurai used in battle.

Inside this book, meet 12 insects that take “home sweet home” to a whole new level. From maggots that wriggle and crawl through blocks of cheese to the tiny bloodsuckers that set up home on our pets, every page is packed with truly unbelievable facts. Perfect for reluctant readers, these books deliver life sciences in the creepiest, yuckiest way possible!

Into Dusk is the powerful story of long-lost siblings Jean, Barry and Audrey. The main character, Jean, is a middle-aged woman who takes on a dramatic life of role play by assuming multiple identities. She envisages the kind of person she once hoped to be and acts this out through her fantasy world of ideal characters. Always immaculate in appearance, she is highly critical of the apparent lack of care and moral shortcomings of others – and yet fails to see the irony in her own questionable behaviour... In an attempt to drive away her shame at not having fulfilled, as she sees it, her reproductive purpose in life, Jean becomes despondent. Since the death of her rational and kind husband, Tom, and her unrelenting anger at not having had children, Jean aches with loneliness. She spends her days occupied by menial tasks to keep her from thinking about her distant younger brother, Barry. Jean’s life had changed when she regretfully became estranged from him, despite them being inseparable during their childhood. Barry lives in a halfway house as a chef but when he goes to the hospital to work, he is challenged by the tempting opportunity to revert back to a life of criminality, drugs and alcoholism. Their mutual friend, Brenda, is keen to reunite Jean and Barry, but has lost touch with them both. Will she be able to find them and reunite them – or will time run out before they are reconciled? Shame, failure and disappointment are prominent motifs that are used throughout the text to engage with the reader whilst taking them on an emotional journey. As the characters’ flaws are slowly revealed, the reader is challenged to decide who to support in this moral predicament.

Could a river in Thailand really be home to giant stingrays powerful enough to pull boats through the water? Do man-eating catfish truly lurk in murky waters waiting for a chance to swallow an unsuspecting swimmer or angler? In this book, look deep beneath the surface of rivers, lakes, and oceans worldwide and discover some truly bizarre, dangerous, and enormous fish. If you think sharks are the scariest members of the fish family, you''ve obviously never encountered an alligator gar or a giant tiger fish!

The North Pole is home to few mammals—it is far too cold for most to survive. Luckily, polar bears have a thick layer of fat and a heavy fur to keep them warm in this climate. In this unforgiving world, the bears dig dens in the snow to survive each winter. Inside, where they stay until spring, the mother bear’s cubs are born. When the weather has warmed up enough for the bears to come outside, the mother takes her cubs along as she hunts for food. Readers will see how the cubs learn to wait by holes in the ice for seals to pop up, or swim through the icy water to find their prey—and eventually learn to live and hunt on their own. Combining colorful photos and clear, simple text, this coming-of-age introduction to polar bear cubs is sure to delight emergent readers.

New plants poke through the soil. Birds build nests and lay eggs. Kids play outdoors longer after school. What does it all mean? It must be spring! From changes in the growth cycles of plants to the signs of spring that can be found in backyards, parks, woodlands, wetlands, cities, and farms all across North America, this colorful book will give kids an exciting opportunity to explore nature in action. Activities, such as recording relative changes in temperature, precipitation, and the length of days in weather notebooks, give readers a chance to gain insights beyond the facts and figures. Expertly crafted to meet early elementary reading and science curriculum standards, How Do You Know It''s Spring? introduces young readers to basic science concepts and the two fundamental components of scientific inquiry--making observations, and drawing inferences from those observations.

Let’s craft with beads! This book introduces readers to the creative crafts they can make with beads. Projects include bead holiday decorations and a bowl made of multicolored beads. Readers will also learn how to make their very own unique bead jewelry. Each project includes a list of materials needed to complete the project, while step-by-step directions provide clear and helpful guidance. Pictures and illustrations allow readers to visualize each step in the bead project process. All readers need are beads and an imagination to bring these creative crafts to life!

Designer dogs are the latest trend in the pet world. Readers will become experts on goldadors after reading this book that goes into all the essentials on this specialized mix. With colorful photos and interesting facts on the care, upkeep and origins of this unique dog, readers are sure to be engrossed.

Plastic pollution is one of the most damaging environmental issues we face today. And no one is more passionate about solving this problem and protecting our world than kids! This new title in the Get Started With STEM series gives young science enthusiasts all the information they need to investigate and do their part to help solve this problem now and for the future. Packed with facts, discussion topics, imaginative ideas for activities, experiments, and investigations, this book will have students eager to use their science skills and knowledge to tackle plastic pollution head on.

Thereu0092s more to making St. Patricku0092s Day crafts than the color green! Of course, this craft book with a St. Patricku0092s Day theme features plenty of green, but readers are also led through making shamrock necklaces and bracelets, leprechaun hats filled with candy gold coins, and a u0093reach the rainbowu0094 marble maze game made from Q-tips! Each project includes detailed step-by-step instructions and lots of opportunities for readers to use their own creativity to make designs that are special and individual.

These masked beauties of the woods, who also often choose to live in towns, are natives of the Americas. While they may well build their dens in tree holes, they may also choose a spot less desirable to humans—such as someone’s attic! Mother raccoon takes good care of her cute little babies, which are born blind and deaf. She nurses them and quite soon teaches them to climb trees (or houses) and how to search for food. Readers will see how the cubs learn to choose their meals—from fish and bugs to Fido’s food and the seeds in a bird feeder—and how they eventually learn to live on their own. The gorgeous pictures of adorable raccoon cubs are sure to delight emergent readers.

Welcome to the world of designer dogs: new types of dogs that get their nickname from combining the names of their parents’ breeds. From appearance to temperament to the care of these special pets, readers will learn about the characteristics that make chugs the coveted designer mix that they are. Easy-to-follow text and full-color photographs will keep readers engaged from beginning to end.

The schnoodle is a combination of a schnauzer and a poodle. This intelligent breed is easy to train and enjoys structure. Readers will learn many traits of this dog through accessible and informative text.

Readers will learn how to transform everyday, discarded items into some beautiful jewelry crafts. Clear, concise text accompanied by step-by-step instructions with photographic examples will have readers achieving spectacular results that they will then be able to wear themselves.

Everything a boy needs to make his Halloween the scariest ever is compiled right here. Blood, torn flesh, masks, slime, and more! Readers will unleash their inner mad scientist as they master their comprehension of procedural language. Photographs accompany step-by-step instructions that will guide even the most reluctant readers into creating their own Halloween horrors.

It’s party time! This book is a step-by-step guide to throwing a party for every occasion. From cooking a meal to crafting decorations to dressing up in costumes, this book is packed with ideas to help readers create their own themed parties. Each party theme—from Halloween to superheroes and villains—includes ideas and instructions for easy-to-prepare food, and entertaining games and activities. Using accessible directions and materials, readers can use their creativity to throw a big bash for their friends and family!

Ghosts, pumpkins, spiders, and witches are great subjects for Halloween craft projects. Through the step-by-step directions in this book, readers can take on a plethora of fun crafts to celebrate the spookiest holiday, including a witchu0092s hat piñata, a spider bracelet made from duct tape, and a pumpkin candy dispenser made from recycled cardboard boxes. Whether Halloween is soon or itu0092s simply a rainy day, these crafts engage readers of all ages with their simplicity and the ability of each crafter to make the project uniquely theirs.

Halloween is the perfect time to great creative! Young readers are encouraged to embrace the spirit of this holiday through a series of exciting DIY projects guaranteed to gross out their friends. This high-interest topic is presented through clear text that sets the scene and breaks down each project into simple steps. By following the helpful instructions, readers are able to practice following written directions as they independently create impressive Halloween horrors. Safety tips and eye-catching materials lists ensure a safe and successful DIY experience, and colorful photographs enhance the creepy fun.

Describes the physical characteristics, life cycle, and natural environment of beluga whales, and the ways in which they have adapted to their frigid environment.

Readers explore a backyard habitat and discover how garden animals and plants form an ecosystem and rely on each other for survival. This title cleverly takes young readers on a mini safari through a backyard making connections between the living things that call it home. For example: As aphids suck nectar from the stems of plants, a ladybird leaves its winter hiding place to start munching on aphids. As worms wriggle through the soil helping to bring nutrients and rainwater to the roots of the garden’s trees, a robin hunts for worms to feed to its chicks. • Packed with curriculum science information • See how backyard animals make their homes and what they eat. • Learn about the life cycles of some common mammals and birds • Discover how insects pollinate plants • Controlled vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure • Beautiful, labelled photographs throughout • Close photo/text match • Includes a backyard food web diagram Filled with facts about the natural world, this title is perfect for students studying habitats, animal and plant life cycles, and ecosystems.

Describes some of the signs of autumn, including changes in light and temperature, leaves changing color and falling, the apple harvest, acorns and other seeds, animals preparing for winter, and other differences, and suggests related activities.

Decorating for Halloween can be just as fun as dressing up and going trick-or-treating—especially if it involves origami! Readers of this captivating guide follow step-by-step instructions to create their own special Halloween crafts. The paper projects can be displayed as decorations, given as gifts, or just held onto as keepsakes. Colorful photographs are shown alongside the text, giving readers an idea of what the origami model should look like at various stages and ensuring that readers of many ages and levels can follow along.

Magical castles, hideaway caves, secret clubhouses, rainy-day escapes � forts can be just about anything! This guide to ultimate fort building lets readers put their engineering creativity to the test. They�ll construct their own unique hideouts through easy, step-by-step activities. Helpful photographs serve as springboards for original ideas. Readers can gain independence by constructing forts solo, or learn about teamwork by building with friends. In either case, they�ll feel empowered to take on individual projects and personalize their fortresses. With amazing ideas and easy instructions, this valuable exercise in independence is accessible and fun.

Introduction to squirrel kits, from what they eat to how they learn to live on their own.

"The first trick to baking successful St. Patrick''s Day treats is to make them green. The second way to make excellent treats for this March holiday is to make enough to feed everyone at the party. Readers can find excellent St. Patrick''s Day baking inspiration by paging through this book''s many themed recipes. Step-by-step instructions guide both new and experienced bakers through the recipe, and a full-color photograph of each finished product shows what they have to look forward to sharing with friends and family."

Solar and lunar eclipses have both frightened and fascinated humans for thousands of years. Perhaps itu0092s because they are one of the few events in the universe that can be seen so dramatically from Earth. This exciting and informative book describes what happens during an eclipse and why. Readers will delight in the clear, easy-to-understand text and vibrant photographs.

Instead of wood or plastic, imagine a woven Easter basket made of duct tape! Using materials from around the house, including recycled items, the crafts in this book are sure to make preparing for Easter even more fun. Readers are guided by detailed step-by-step instructions to create table centerpieces for Easter dinner, try great twists on traditional painted eggs, and more. Spring can be a rainy time of year, but these Easter crafts can help readers pass afternoons inside with creativity, imagination, and practice reading and following directions.

"In many cultures, making food for those you love is common practice. Since we celebrate those special people on Valentine''s Day, it''s the perfect holiday to make some amazing baked treats. Each themed recipe is written especially for young bakers, including safety tips, ingredients and equipment lists, and step-by-step instructions. A full-color photograph accompanies each recipe so readers can page through the book to find just the treat they want to make. Whether it''s sweet for a sweetheart or has the traditional red in it, whatever recipe readers choose will stand up to the inclusion of an extra ingredient, love."