Books with author Jan Adkins

The almost forgotten craft of shifting large weights with brains instead of engines. Beginning with practical rules for moving like Get the Ming vase out of the Room. All the way out, and What goes up comes down heavier. This is a fascinating description of applied physics in the real world. If you move engine blocks, concrete mooring sinkers, or nothing heavier than this book from table to lap, you'll enjoy the encouraging narrative and the precise drawings. Not everyone moves coffins with marbles or sheet steel with baseballs, but you might very well find an idea to help you move Uncle Harry's monstrous bathtub out of the basement, or a reluctant oak stump out of the yard.

This is a basic primer of using line, rope, twine, string and shoelaces. Think of it as an enjoyable course in making line work for you-tying up a hammock, tying down a tarpaulin, cleating down a dockline or lashing on a cartop canoe. As a gift for a line-challenged mate or a ready reference for your own bookshelf, this practical but beguiling how-to is a must-have. It is an essential introduction to the craft of cordage, illustrated in Adkins' stylish but clear detail, written with wit and enthusiasm.

Filled with archival photographs and amazing facts, this groundbreaking series introduces young readers to some of history's most interesting and influential characters. The series now features a refreshed design, taking the series' original look in a more modern direction.DK Biography: Thomas Edison tells the story of the famous inventor, from his childhood as an "addled" student, to his reign as the "Wizard of Menlo Park," where he developed the electric light bulb, the phonograph, and many other inventions still in use today.Supports the Common Core State Standards.

Forget jousts and quests and dragons--a real knight had real work to do, lots of mouths to feed, and trouble could ride over the hill at any moment. Castles were dark, armor was uncomfortable, and jousts and tournaments (not to mention real battles) were dangerous--and expensive. As in the popular and successful What If You Met a Pirate? an informative, entertaining text and energetic illustrations, diagrams, and cross sections combine to explore a subject with loads of kid appeal.

A perennial favorite, reprinted for a new generation. Jan Adkins' young adult novel sends a spunky but alienated teenager back through time in "a storm without rain" to his New England home town in 1904, where he becomes the best friend, shipmate and co-conspirator to his own grandfather at his age. More than a fantasy, the town and times and most of the people the boys meet are factual. The textures, smells, sounds and sights of a vanished era return in this compelling narrative. What a young man learns about family, love and the march of time might just affect you as well.

Jan Adkins' "Wooden Ship" is the chronicle of a ship's birth; from the need and idea of a new vessel we see her abuilding in the mind of her designer, in the timbers of her ribs, in the tools and skills of her workmen. We follow her as she grows, as she disappears out to sea in search of whales and riches, and beyond. "Wooden Ship" reaches back to the year 1868 and brings to us a vision of life and vitality woven around the mythical whaleship "Ulysses." We see the workmen and their work as if caught in amber, demonstrating their crafts, shaping a great world-cruising ship that bears away their arts, New Bedford's hopes and our imaginations.

In this nonfiction joyride, Bertha Benz and her sons drive across Germany in the world's first automobile.It's 1888 and Bertha Benz's husband, Karl, has invented the prototype Benz motorwagen. But the German government declares the vehicle illegal, and the church calls it the devil's work. Unbeknownst to her husband, Bertha steals away with her two sons and drives nearly one hundred miles to prove just how amazing the motorwagen is. Bertha's mechanical savvy gets the boys to Grandma's house safely, and the remarkable mother/son road trip reduces global concern about moving vehicles.

A charming and intricate fable. Its powerful story-line unfolds in the depth of winter, among the islands of the Maine archipelago. A boy and his father-both cut loose from the familiar comforts of city and friends-make a bitter journey in a cold season. They are given a solstice gift of rescue, welcome, warmth and joy. Together, they realize a profound lesson in family love through an odd collection of unforgettable Yankee characters. Solstice will speak to both young adults and parents. It's a gift book that will bring delight and reflection.