Books published by publisher Twenty First Century Books

Anyone who texts recognizes LOL, 2G2BT, and PRW as shorthand for laughing out loud, too good to be true, and parents are watching. But did you know that in the 1800s--when your great-great-great-grandparents were alive telegraph operators used similar abbreviations in telegrams? For example, GM, SFD, and GA meant good morning, stop for dinner, and go ahead. At the time, telegrams were a new and superfast way for people to network with others. Social networking isn't a new idea. People have been connecting in different versions of circles and lists and groups for centuries. The broad range of social media includes wampum belts, printed broadsides (early newspapers), ring shouts (secret slave gatherings with singing and dancing), calling cards, telegrams, and telephones. The invention of the Internet and e-mail, text messaging, and social utilities such as Facebook and Google+--is just the latest way in which humans network for fun, work, romance, spiritual bonding, and many other reasons. Friend Me! takes readers through the amazing history of social networking in the United States, from early Native American councils to California's Allen Telescope Array (ATA), where researchers are hoping to interact with extraterrestrial beings. Learn how Americans have been connecting in imaginative ways throughout history, and you'll see social networking in a whole new light.

Scientists are on the verge of a revolution in biomedical engineering that will forever change the way we think about medicine, even life itself. Cutting-edge researchers are working to build body organs and tissue in the lab. They are developing ways to encourage the body to regenerate damaged or diseased bone and muscle tissue. Scientists are striving to re-route visual stimuli to the brain to help blind people see. They may soon discover methods to enlist the trillions of microbes living in our bodies to help us fight disease. Learn about four strands of bioengineering—tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, neuroengineering, microbial science, and genetic engineering and synthetic biology—and meet scientists working in these fields.

- Bank Street College Best Children's Books of the Year - 2015 "Alone, the tip to mimic a superhero's stance to build confidence makes the title a worthwhile investment. . . . gift a copy to your child or child's teacher; help this extraordinary resource make the rounds." - VOYA, starred review Are you nervous about your presentation tomorrow? Or about going onstage for the school play? What about trying out for the baseball team? Try standing like a superhero for a few seconds before you start. Research shows that standing like a hero makes you feel--and act--like one! Humans use words to communicate, but we also use our bodies to send messages. We may shrug our shoulders to show we don't care, or open our eyes wide in surprise, or give the thumbs up to show we approve of something. But did you know that giving the thumbs up in Greece is pretty rude? Or that nodding your head--which means "yes" in the United States and Canada--actually means "no" in the European countries of Albania and Bulgaria? Every Body's Talking explores the complexities of body language. Discover what is really being expressed when people stand, sit, or move in certain ways and learn how you can use your body and facial expressions to communicate more effectively in a variety of situations.

While most people say they believe in equal rights, the word feminism―America's new F-word―makes people uncomfortable. Explore the history of US feminism through pioneers such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, and Gloria Steinem. Meet modern leaders such as Rebecca Walker and Julie Zeilinger, who are striving to empower women at work, in government, at home―and in cultural and personal arenas. Learn from interviews with movement leaders, scholars, pop stars, and average women, what it means to be a feminist―or to reject it altogether. After reading this book, readers will be able to respond to "Am I a feminist?" with a confident, informed voice.

Did you know that about 40 percent of the world's population lives without toilets? That's more than two billion people, most of whom live in rural areas or crowded urban slums. And according to the World Health Organization, diseases spread by the lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. In particular, diarrheal diseases kill more than two million people each year, most of them children. Everyone needs to go to the bathroom, and from the citizens of the world's earliest human settlements to astronauts living on the International Space Station, the challenge has been the same: how to safely and effectively dispose of human body wastes. Toilet history includes everything from the hunt for the causes of infectious disease to twenty-first-century marvels of engineering. In Remaking the John, you'll explore the many ways people across the globe and through the ages have invented―and reinvented―the toilet. You will learn about everything from ancient Roman sewers to the world's first flush toilets. You'll also find out about the twenty-first-century Reinvent the Toilet Challenge―an engineering contest designed to spur creation of an ecologically friendly, water-saving, inexpensive, and sanitary toilet. And while you're at it, mark World Toilet Day on your calendar. Observed every November 19, this international day of action works to raise awareness about the modern world's many sanitation challenges.

Teen sex. STIs. Sexting. Rape. Sexual harassment. #MeToo and #YesAllWomen. Today's teens launch into their sexual lives facing challenging issues but with little if any formalized learning about sex and human reproduction. Many of them get their sex ed from online porn. Through this authoritative, inclusive, and teen-friendly overview, readers learn the basics about sex, sexuality, human reproduction and development, birth control, gender identity, healthy communication, dating, relationships and break ups, the importance of consent, safety, body positivity and healthy lifestyles, media myths, and more. Advice-column-style Q&As and real-life stories add human drama and authenticity.