Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain science.At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely recover from his accident. He could walk, talk, work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage "was no longer Gage," said his Vermont doct...

In 1848 Vermont, railroad foreman Phineas Gage sat above a hole, preparing to blast through some granite. A 13-pound iron rod fell from his hands into the hole, triggering the explosion and sending the rod straight through Phineas' head. Thirty minutes after this terrible accident, Phineas sat on the steps of a hotel, patiently waiting for the town doctor to arrive. He chatted with his amazed coworkers as if nothing had happened. But something terrible had happened. The rod that shot throu...

This collection of short poems from Newbery Award-winning author Paul Fleischman delightfully celebrates the essence of birds. The companion to Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, its poems feature two voices speaking sometimes together and sometimes in turn. Experience the magic and magnificence of the immortal phoenix. Enjoy the fluttering elation of finches at dawn and the swiftness of swallows at dusk. And empathize with the loneliness of the last passenger pigeon in the Cincinnati Zoo...

Grasshoppers, waterstriders, and fireflies light up the pages of this rib-tickling book of poetry for two voices. Written as spirited duets, the poems ring with the love songs of book lice, the serenades of moths, and a choir of cicadas. Each one is a treat, filled with busy insect life. In addition to the voices of these frisky critters, there are also fascinating tidbits about their lives and habits. The digger wasp lays eggs underground, musing that it will never see their generation. J...

Joyful NoiseWritten to be read aloud by two voices, sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous -- here is a recording of irresistible poems that celebrate the insect world, from the short life of the mayfly to the love song of the book louse. Funny, sad, loud and quiet, each of these poems resounds with a booming, boisterous, joyful noise. Winner of the 1989 Newbery Medal.I Am PheonixI Am Phoenix is an exultant celebration of the sounds and essence of the bird wo...

Welcome to Humbug Mountain. Little did Wiley, the son of a traveling newspaperman, imagine that the search for his grandfather would lead him into the hands of those nasty villains of the West—Shagnasty John and the Fool Killer. Using their newspaper, The Humbug Mountain Hoorah, Wiley and his sister and mother go about outwitting the outlaws in their scheme to ambush Grandfather's new boat and its cargo of gold.

A mysterious island.An abandoned orphanage.A strange collection of very curious photographs.It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that makes for a thrilling listening experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As J...

DON’T MISS BRIDGE OF CLAY, MARKUS ZUSAK’S FIRST NOVEL SINCE THE BOOK THIEF.The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller that is now a major motion picture, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul.Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.When Death has a story to tell, you listen.It...

This classic novel by George Orwell follows a cast of disgruntled farm animals who bravely rebel against the cruel farmer who owns them.What begins as an idyllic new society built for the freedom and equality of all who walk on four legs quickly becomes a nightmare. The cleverest animals take on more and more control while the hard working common animals are manipulated into doing all the work. Best intentions are twisted by the lure of power, and no animal is immune to the terribl...

NEWBERY HONOR BOOK • The beloved tale of a boy on a daring quest to rescue a dragon, featuring the original black-and-white illustrations“Irresistible . . . a real delight.”—The New YorkerNow a Netflix animated film featuring the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Gaten Matarazzo, Whoopi Goldberg, Alan Cumming, and more!When Elmer Elevator hears about the baby dragon being held captive on Wild Island, he knows just ...

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren DeStefano comes a delightful tale of a girl who can talk to ghosts that's perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Holly Black.Pram Bellamy is special--she can talk to ghosts. She doesn't have too many friends amongst the living, but that's all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix.Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and...

Get ready for gross, amazing, totally true scientific facts about the human body!Itching to know what bugs live in your eyelashes, why you get goose bumps, or how ants can be used to heal a wound? Use this delightfully disgusting collection of kid-tastic facts to gross out friends and relatives.In this abridged edition of the adult bestseller, readers will laugh, cringe and squirm over tons of bizarre facts about the human body. The science is in: You would...