Books with author Laura Hamilton Waxman

Have you ever scrolled through a news feed on Facebook? Ruchi Sanghvi helped design this and other Facebook features. She joined Facebook―then a small Silicon Valley startup company―after moving from India to the United States to study computer engineering. With her help, Facebook quickly became one of the largest social networking sites in the world. Sanghvi was the first female engineer at Facebook, and it wasn't easy blazing a trail for women in her field. But nothing stopped her from following her dreams. Her contributions at Facebook helped connect people from around the globe. Even women from Sanghvi's home country of India used Facebook to speak out for equal rights. Discover how this young female immigrant became a top-notch engineer who changed the tech world forever.

A photo-illustrated book for elementary readers about Olympic snowboarding. Includes descriptions of each of the men's and women's slopestyle, halfpipe, snowboard cross, and parallel slalom events, along with the new big air event. Readers will get a primer to some rules and athletes that may participate in the 2018 PeyongChang, South Korea Winter Olympic Games. Includes Q&A feature, table of contents, glossary, further resources, and index.

See what a California condor has in common with a turkey vulture. Learn what sets them apart from a brown-headed cowbird. Readers will compare key traits of California condors―their appearance, behavior, habitat, and life cycle―to traits of other birds. Charts and sidebars support key ideas and provide details. Through gathering information about similarities and differences, readers will make connections and draw conclusions about what makes this animal a bird and how birds are alike and different from each other.

During World War II, the United States was battling Japan. In 1942 the president of the United States signed an executive order, forcing more than one hundred thousand Japanese Americans to leave their homes. These innocent people—many of them US citizens—would spend the next few years imprisoned behind barbed wire fences, in what the government called internment camps. Life in the camps was difficult. People were homesick. The barracks where they slept were cold and dirty. Most of the country believed they were criminals. But imprisoned Japanese Americans remained brave. Learn more about these courageous heroes, including those who fought for justice and freedom.

Learn about the many intriguing aspects of spiders, including their body parts and structure, their habitat and how it supports them, and how they use webs to catch their next meal. Captions point out key visual details that readers can glean from the book's photographs, and chapter headings assist readers with locating information and main ideas. In addition, readers will find text features such as a labeled photo diagram, glossary, and index in the back of the book.

In June 1692, a jury in Salem, Massachusetts, found Bridget Bishop guilty of performing witchcraft. The only evidence against her was villagers' testimony. As punishment she was publicly hanged. Meanwhile, local girls had been behaving oddly for months. They cried out of being pinched or choked by a witch's spirit. The girls accused neighbors, outcasts, and respected community members of tormenting them. As fear spread through Salem, jails filled with the accused. In the end, nineteen people were hanged for witchcraft in one of the darkest moments in U.S. history. But what led to this terrifying event? Who was likely to be accused? Why did the witchcraft fever finally come to an end? Discover the facts about the Salem Witchcraft Trials and the mark they left on the U.S. justice system.

In 1607 Henry Hudson set sail in search of the Northwest Passage. He turned up empty-handed after two attempts. The following year, the Dutch East India Company hired him to find the Northeast Passage. This journey, too, ended in frustration. In 1610 Hudson made a final attempt—but in 1611 his crew staged a mutiny and left him to die. Hudson did become the first European to sail up the Hudson River, which still bears his name. How can we learn about Hudson's journeys? We can study maps, writings, and artwork created when he lived. Go exploring with Henry Hudson and primary sources to learn more.