Books with author Helaine Becker

This lively book by an award-winning author brings to life the history of human innovation for young readers. What's the Big Idea? focuses on those inventions that help fulfill people's six basic needs: food, sleep, security, shelter, companionship, and good health. Main spreads feature a specific invention such as the wheel and axle, paper, bicycles, or the Internet. Each one starts with a "What’s the Big Idea?" box that explains the problem the inventors were trying to solve. It answers the pertinent questions: Why this invention and why now? "Fast Facts" and "Big Ideas" sidebars give young readers quick blasts of information reference-style. Twelve special spreads scattered throughout the book highlight either a famous inventor or a specific theme. The "Inventor Biography" spreads profile inventors such as da Vinci, Galileo, and Thomas Edison, and summarize their main inventions. Comic strips deliver an added snippet of information and a humorous punch. Helaine Becker's witty, inventive text and Steve Attoe's wonderfully whimsical art make this a book children can enjoy while they learn.

What is a democracy? How does Canada's goverment work? What's the difference between the Senate and the House of Commons? And just what does a Prime Minister do, anyway? Discover the answers to these questions and more in Our Great Prime Ministers. This Level 4 DK Reader will build reading skills and teach vocabulary while telling the story of Canada's government, how it is formed, how it works, and profiling 12 of Canada's Prime Ministers throughout history, including Sir John A. Macdonald, Louis St. Laurent, Lester B. Pearson, Pierre Trudeau, Stephen Harper, and more.Perfect for 9-11 year olds reading independently, reading becomes a fact-discovering adventure with these Level 4 readers. Supporting and encouraging a lifetime love of reading, nonfiction subjects are clearly explained, described vividly, and brought to life with true stories, fascinating statistics, and photographic images. Additional information boxes are full of extra fun facts, and topics are developed with additional maps and charts.

Set in the Rocky Mountain borderlands, Trouble in the Hills is an action-packed adventure that pits an injured teen against the elements as he tries to elude kidnappers and drug runners. After a fight with his father, Cam takes to the hills that surround his small, mountain community where an error in judgment leads to a serious mountain biking accident. As he slowly makes his way back to town over cold, inhospitable terrain, he encounters a trio of kidnappers, the girl who escaped them, his former best friend, and a gang of drug runners.