Books by Martin Jenkins
Grandma Elephant's in Charge (Read and Wonder)
An entertaining, educational look at the everyday life of a family of elephants - who never forget who’s in charge.
Elephants are the biggest animals on land, and they live in big families, too. So who can possibly keep them in line? Grandma! After all, she’s been around long enough to know where all the best watering holes are, how to gather the tastiest food, and how to sniff out danger. In lively prose interspersed with fun facts (did you know that an adult elephant eats 1,000 pounds of food a day?), Martin Jenkins spins a striking story about this no-nonsense matriarch and her remarkable brood, while Ivan Bates brings the great beasts to rumbling, tumbling, lumbering life.
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The Emperor's Egg with Audio: Read, Listen, & Wonder
Try balancing an egg on your feet for two months in the Antarctic! The story of the world's most devoted dad—now in paperback with CD. (Ages 5-8)
Introducing READ, LISTEN, & WONDER!
This vibrant book-and-CD series brings the best of our Read and Wonder nature stories to life.
Each paperback title in the series includes a CD that features:
* an engaging read-aloud with sound effects
* a read-along opportunity guided by prompts
* a segment focusing on fascinating facts
Can you imagine spending the winter outdoors in Antarctica without anything to eat? That’s just what the male Emperor penguin does. While his mate is off swimming and catching loads of fish, he stands around in the freezing cold with an egg on his feet for two whole months, keeping it warm and waiting for it to hatch. Welcome to the story of the world’s most devoted dad!
Back matter includes an index.
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The Time Book: A Brief History from Lunar Calendars to Atomic Clocks
It’s about time! A fascinating primer explores what it means and how it has been measured, from the waggles of a honeybee to the workings of an atomic clock.
What is time? Why does it fl y when we’re having fun? When did we start keeping track of it — and why do we measure it in such bizarre ways? Explore these and many other timely questions, such as how the first calendars and clocks were invented, why February is such an odd month, and what strange and wonderful things Einstein discovered about the nature of time itself. Martin Jenkins’s clear, conversational narrative on the history of timekeeping combines with Richard Holland’s quirky mixed-media collages for a compelling look at that mysterious thing we call time.
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Chameleons Are Cool: Read and Wonder
The ability to change color, a sharp-shooting tongue, and skin covering your eyes — now that is cool.
Read and Wonder books tell stories, take children on adventures, and reveal how big and WONDER-full the natural world really is. Back matter includes an index.
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Titanic
by Martin Jenkins, Ken Geist, Jim Pipe
TITANIC offers readers fabulous new insight into what it was really like aboard the majestic boat with photographs, letters, journal entries, and tons of novelty features!
This gorgeous volume brings history to life as readers follow a young boy's passage on the Titanic. Through his journals and loads of incredible novelty features, readers will get a unique inside look at the impressive luxury ship and her maiden voyage. Novelty features include: pop-ups, pull tabs, slide mechanisms, fold-out maps, and booklets for additional Titanic information. TITANIC offers readers fabulous new insight into what it was really like aboard the luxury boat with photographs, letters, and journal entries.
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Titanic
by Martin Jenkins, Ken Geist, Jim Pipe
Unfold a spectacular 3-D model of the TITANIC — and read about her fateful rise and fall — in a gorgeous gift set including several novelty features.
On April 14, 1912, the largest and finest ocean liner of the age struck an iceberg and sank to the icy depths. Now you can discover all the glory and tragedy of the TITANTIC in this interactive re-creation of her maiden voyage. Fold out a breathtaking 3-D model of the TITANIC in all her magnificence. Then follow the ship’s history from blueprint to ocean dream in a fascinating book that traces the events that led to her tragic end.
Among TITANIC’s many features:
- A model of the TITANIC — nearly 2 1/2 feet long
- A thirty-two-page book exploring the ship’s history
- Six pop-up scenes of the Titanic’s interior
- A deck plan and personal histories of several who were lost or saved
- A first-class ticket and menu cards from the first- and third-class galleys
- A mini newspaper with actual reports of the day
- A beautifully designed case with magnetic closures
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Titanic
by Martin Jenkins, Ken Geist, Jim Pipe
"The text in the book is quite accessible for the elementary student and yet will appeal to an older audience as well... For use in school and public libraries as well as in personal collections."
-- Resource Links
There is no limit to our appetite for the Titanic. The ship's demise more than 100 years ago still invites curiosity, fascination and conjecture. This is a meticulously reconstructed adventure of the legendary disaster.
Author Jim Pipe assumes the role of one of the many journalists that covered the maiden voyage. He describes the facts: the financiers and builders, the shipyard, the layout and state-of-the-art technology, the passengers, the appointments, staterooms, dining rooms and more, and also the "hidden" spaces used by the lower-class passengers and the crew.... And of course, he conveys the public astonishment at this new "wonder of the world," the biggest ship ever, and unsinkable!
The narrator's imaginary account is combined with period photographs, illustrations, tip-ins, booklets and other ephemera and eyewitness accounts of the sinking, including those by surviving children. He covers the aftermath of the tragedy and includes the reports and inquiries of the official investigation.
The chapters are: Birth of the Titanic - with technical details The Voyage Ahead - with guide to whales and seabirds Boarding the Ship - with gatefold Cabins Fit for a King - with "door" flaps The Height of Luxury - with meal menu Exploring the Ship - with playing cards Full Steam Ahead! - with cutaway diagram The Wireless Room - with secret message in envelope The Iceberg Hits - with passenger diary Abandon Ship! The Rescue - with 1912 newspaper Aftermath - with booklet showing sinking.
From excitement to horror, Titanic is a richly detailed and dramatic experience for readers of all ages.
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Ape
With compelling illustrations and a conservationist slant, this look at four rare great apes — and one very familiar one — is a book to go ape over.
Swing with a hairy orangutan and her baby as they lunge for a smelly, spiky durian fruit. Roam and play with a gang of chimps, then poke out some tasty termites with a blade of grass. Chatter and feast on figs with a bonobo, or chomp on bamboo with a gorilla as he readies for sleep. What could be better than spending time with these rare and wonderful creatures — after all, the fifth great ape on this planet is you!
Back matter includes an index and a map.
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Ape
"White makes an intense emotional connection between subject and reader. . . . The great apes have found their John Singer Sargent." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A Book Sense Children’s Pick
A Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year
A New York Public Library: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection
An ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award Winner
Swing with a hairy orangutan and her baby as they lunge for a smelly, spiky durian fruit. Roam and play with a gang of chimps, then poke out some tasty termites with a blade of grass. Chatter and feast on figs with a bonobo, or chomp on bamboo with a gorilla as he readies for sleep. What could be better than spending time with these rare and wonderful creatures — after all, the fifth great ape on this planet is you!
Back matter includes an index and a map.
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The Emperor's Egg: Read and Wonder
Fabulous facts about nature's most devoted dad, in an utterly charming picture book.
Can you imagine spending the winter outdoors in Antarctica without anything to eat? That’s just what the male Emperor penguin does. While his mate is off swimming and catching loads of fish, he stands around in the freezing cold with an egg on his feet for two whole months, keeping it warm and waiting for it to hatch. Welcome to the story of the world’s most devoted dad!
Back matter includes an index.
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Can We Save the Tiger?
The team behind the award-winning APE returns with an inspiring look at a range of endangered species sure to engage every child who loves animals.
(Ages 5-7)
Tigers are pretty special -- and so are ground iguanas and partula snails and even white-rumped vultures. But these and many other animals are in danger of disappearing altogether, joining the dodo, the marsupial wolf, the great auk, and countless other animals we will never see again. Using the experiences of a few endangered species as examples, Martin Jenkins highlights the ways human behavior can either threaten or conserve the amazing animals that share our planet. Vicky White's stunning portraits of rare creatures offer a glimpse of nature's grace and beauty -- and give us a powerful reason to preserve it.
Back matter includes online resources and an index.
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Fabulous Frogs (Read and Wonder)
“Rich in greens and browns and full of splattery textures, especially the frogs. Most frog books focus on life cycle, this one nicely highlights diversity instead.” — Kirkus Reviews
Huge frogs, tiny frogs, hairy frogs, and flying frogs hop through the pages of this colorful nonfiction book. Discover the Goliath frog, biggest in the world, and the Darwin’s frog, which has a pointy nose and holds its tadpoles in its mouth. Learn why some frogs are brightly colored and which one can bury itself in the desert until rain comes. There are so many kinds of frogs in the world — more than five thousand! — and all of them are fabulous.
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Fabulous Frogs (Read and Wonder)
There are so many kinds of frogs in the world — more than 5,000! — and all of them are fabulous.
Huge frogs, tiny frogs, hairy frogs, and flying frogs hop through the pages of this colorful nonfiction book. Discover the Goliath frog, biggest in the world, and the Darwin’s frog, which has a pointy nose and holds its tadpoles in its mouth until they are big enough to care for themselves. Learn why some frogs are brightly colored, and which one can bury itself in the desert until rain comes. Curious minds will jump at the chance to explore all kinds of frogs, from the most exotic to the greenish-brown specimens in their own backyards.
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Exploring Space: From Galileo to the Mars Rover and Beyond
Launch into a truly out-of-this-world examination of the past, present, and future of humans in space.
For centuries, humans have looked up at the night sky and wondered what it’s like deep in space, far from Earth — and now we’ve begun to find out. We’ve landed on the moon, put robots on Mars, and sent space probes billions of miles to explore the far reaches of our solar system. Told in richly detailed cutaway illustrations by Stephen Biesty and friendly, engaging writing by Martin Jenkins, here is the enthralling story of how we made the great leap into space and what we’ve discovered there. Find out what life is like on the International Space Station, what the chances are that we will ever settle on Mars, where in the solar system we might find alien life, and why visiting other stars will almost certainly remain a dream. Budding astronomers, junior astronauts, and anyone who has ever gazed up at the stars in fascination will pore over this beautifully intricate yet accessible glimpse of the infinite wonders of space.
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The Squirrels' Busy Year: A First Science Storybook (Science Storybooks)
Budding scientists will enjoy a gentle introduction to the seasons as squirrels scamper through the winter, spring, summer, and fall.
It’s winter. It’s cold! The squirrels are digging up acorns to eat. But what will they eat in the spring, when the acorns are gone? As the bushy-tailed creatures weather snowstorms, thunderstorms, and hot summer days, this gentle story uses simple, clear language and beautiful illustrations to introduce very young readers to the seasons and the changing weather they bring. Basic questions at the end help children remember and expand on what they’ve learned, and back matter includes an index.
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Under Threat: An Album of Endangered Animals
Travel the world in a stunning, informative book about animals under threat of extinction.
From the giant panda of China to Fiji’s banded iguana, creatures all over the world are imperiled like never before in human history. Visit all inhabited continents via a series of striking graphic stamps by printmaker Tom Frost, depicting more than thirty species — some familiar, some you may not have known existed — all of which are in danger of not existing for much longer. Fact files from conservation biologist Martin Jenkins introduce readers to some of the threatened fauna around the globe. A timely call to arms for animal lovers young and old, this oversize nonfiction book discusses the reasons that so many species are in danger of dying out and what we can do to help them.
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$19.99
Life: The First Four Billion Years: The Story of Life from the Big Bang to the Evolution of Humans
Award-winning children’s book creators Martin Jenkins and Grahame Baker-Smith team up for a large-scale look at our planet, from the big bang to the dinosaurs and beyond.
Before humans took their first steps, there were billions of years of vibrant and varied life-forms on Earth. Discover the story of our planet during this time, from the formation of the universe to the first mammals and all the incredible life that flourished in between. Covering ice ages and fossils, the first life in the sea and on land, the time of the dinosaurs, and the rise of mammals, Martin Jenkins navigates through millennia of prehistory in a style both enthralling and accessible. With superb illustrations from Kate Greenaway Medal winner Grahame Baker-Smith, this is a captivating journey through the life of our planet before we called it ours.
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Rubber Nanocomposites: Preparation, Properties, and Applications
by Martin Jenkins, Paul Virilio
Tearing aside the veil of hypocrisy in which the USA and its allies shrouded the Kosovo war, Paul Virilio here makes a trenchant denunciation of its perpetration.
Written with his characteristic flair, Virilio’s latest book is a trenchant denunciation of the Kosovo war in which he successfully unites theory with a riveting study of the conflict. Tearing aside the veil of hypocrisy in which the USA and its allies wrapped the war, Virilio demonstrates that the nature of the bombing was set by strategic rather than ethical considerations. Beneath the humanitarian rhetoric, Virilio sees a sinister innovation in the methods of waging war: territorial space is being replaced by orbital space in which a system of global telesurveillance is linked to the destructive power of bombers and missiles. Governments, the military and the media are becoming part of a seamless and self-justifying process linked by new information and arms technologies.
Passionate and political, Strategy of Deception is a vital examination not only of the war in Yugoslavia but also what Virilio calls our ‘fin-de-siecle infantilisation’ in which the reality of battle is reduced to flickering images on a screen.
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Beware of the Crocodile
Explore an informative, playfully illustrated story about one of the world’s most dangerous animals: the crocodile.
You probably know a little about crocodiles already. They’re reptiles, they have an awful lot of teeth, and they’re pretty scary — at least, the big ones are! They’re not very fussy about what they eat, and when it comes to hunting down dinner, crocodiles are very determined . . . and very cunning. But there’s more to crocodiles than just their appetites. They love to nap on warm sandbanks and cool off in calm waters, and crocodile mothers are very gentle with their babies. This fascinating look at one of Earth’s most infamous creatures is full of information for amateur scientists, with back matter that includes an index, notes on species, and suggestions for further reading.
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The Animal Awards: Celebrate NATURE with 50 fabulous creatures from the animal kingdom
Celebrate the most spectacular species in the animal kingdom with this amazing book of animals, illustrated by Tor Freeman.
★★★★★ 'entertaining, engaging and charming illustrations'
★★★★★ 'too adorable to pass up'
★★★★★ 'great for the classrooms, inspiring for teachers and children'
Fifty fantastic creatures are awarded prizes to celebrate their most dazzling talents and some unusual skills. Roll up, roll up! The Animal Awards are about to begin. Who will win the Terrific Teeth Award? Who will claim the title of Most Smelly? Who will win the prize for Best at Pretending To Be A Plant? Celebrate with 50 brilliant animals from around the world who represent nature's rich tapestry.
Featuring: Mound-building termite - great bustard - chimpanzee - peregrine falcon - deep-sea anglerfish - giant octopus - emperor penguin - African elephant - wandering albatross - earthworm - leaf-cutter ant - Cuvier's beaked whale - lion - chameleon - honey bee - naked mole rat - honey badger and honey guide bird - wolf - bat - skunk - tiger - electric ray - giant panda - humpback whale - European eel - Arctic tern - caribou - beaver - orb-web spider - kangaroo - giraffe - mosquito - lyre-bird - pistol shrimp - woodpecker - blacksmith bullfrog - cheetah - dung beetle - vulture - tortoise - ostrich - leaf-tailed gecko - flounder - false coral snake - cuttlefish - lion's mane jellyfish - axolotl - giant clam - polar bear
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Bird Builds a Nest: A First Science Storybook
A gentle, sweetly illustrated concept book takes on physical forces as young children learn about pushing and pulling.
It’s time for Bird to build her nest! Follow her as she pulls a worm out of the ground, lifts some twigs that are just the right size, and pushes the twigs into place. Uh-oh! One of the twigs falls to the ground! But after a day of hard work, Bird’s nest is ready and waiting. Can you guess what it’s waiting for? Using simple, clear language and beautiful illustrations, this engaging story is the perfect introduction to physical forces for very young readers. A final spread with some simple questions promotes discussion with parents, teachers, or caregivers and encourages readers to think about the concepts introduced.
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