Books in The Elements series

Snow -- it crunches when we walk on it, floats down like feathers onto our faces and makes our sleds zoom. But what is snow? And how does it transform the world around us? With a wonderful sense of movement and color, this unique book in the Exploring the Elements series invites children to explore their world with delight and curiosity. Young readers will open the flaps to find the science of snow and related topics clearly explained. Inside, they will discover why snow is white, what snowflakes look like up close, how snow makes the night brighter and much more.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E. B. White - The Classic Writing Style Guide - This book aims to give in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style. It aims to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention (in Chapters II and III) on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated. In accordance with this plan it lays down three rules for the use of the comma, instead of a score or more, and one for the use of the semicolon, in the belief that these four rules provide for all the internal punctuation that is required by nineteen sentences out of twenty. Similarly, it gives in Chapter III only those principles of the paragraph and the sentence which are of the widest application. The book thus covers only a small portion of the field of English style. The experience of its writer has been that once past the essentials, students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work, and that each instructor has his own body of theory, which he may prefer to that offered by any textbook. The Elements of Style is a prescriptive American English writing style guide in numerous editions. The original was composed by William Strunk Jr., in 1918, and published by Harcourt, in 1920, comprising eight "elementary rules of usage", ten "elementary principles of composition", "a few matters of form", a list of 49 "words and expressions commonly misused", and a list of 57 "words often misspelled". E. B. White greatly enlarged and revised the book for publication by Macmillan in 1959. That was the first edition of the so-called "Strunk & White", which Time named in 2011 one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923.

The sun -- it melts icicles, dries grass after a rain and turns grapes into raisins. But what is the sun? And how does it transform the world around us? This informational picture book and flap book in one invites children to explore their world with delight. Each spread poses a question about the sun that is answered under the flap, where young readers will find explanations about the science of the sun and related topics. They will discover how the sun makes shadows, why water sparkles in the sun, how the sun helps make rainbows and much more. Using simple concepts of science, the Exploring the Elements series answers children's questions about wind, sun, rain and snow, and encourages young readers to explore their surroundings anew. Worlds of knowledge are waiting under the flaps!

Defending Everything They Know Could Cost Them Everything They Have. The rebels at the Seam have been defeated thanks to the alleged treachery of one of their own. It won't be long before a manhunt ensues for Jazz’s entire crew, and given what they know about Gaia's secret project, they won't be prosecuted…they'll just disappear. With Liddick still missing and the port-cloud stronger than ever, they haven’t come this far to give in now. When Jazz announces she's going after Liddick herself, she draws a line in the sand she may not be able to erase. Arco has no choice but to let her go, but how does he lead everyone forward with the past holding him back? Outcast. Hunted. Lost. Success will demand a sacrifice. Don't miss the exciting conclusion to this epic adventure!

Rain -- it makes puddles for jumping in, helps birds to clean their feathers and brings out snails and worms. But what is rain? And how does it transform the world around us? With a wonderful sense of movement and color, this unique book in the Exploring the Elements series invites children to explore their world with delight and curiosity. Young readers will open the flaps to find the science of rain and related topics clearly explained. Inside, they will discover why rain falls, what raindrops really look like, why the air smells different after a rain and much more.

Under Pressure, Under Fire…Some Will Rise, and Some Will Fall. Getting out of Gaia Sur was almost as hard as getting in, but there’s no going back now. Jazwyn Ripley and her friends have no choice but to venture into the caves and tunnels underneath the ocean floor as the messages they’ve been receiving get stronger. Tensions rise and loyalties are tested when another of their crew is captured along the way, and one critical choice means following unlikely allies down a path most would never dare—across the seven biomes of “The Rush”—which, if they survive, will either lead to freedom or imprison them forever. It took twelve years of unrelenting dedication and discipline to get into Gaia Sur, where only the best could pursue a legacy beyond the last handful of generations the topside environment would be able to support. The interviews were supposed to tell students who they were…what they were supposed to become, but instead of answers, Jazwyn Ripley only has more questions. How do you start over when all you’ve ever known isn’t what you thought, and the life you’ve been pursuing is no longer possible? The leaders of Gaia Sur must know that Jazz and her crew escaped the elite school on the seafloor. With only hours to grieve the loss of one friend, and even less time to plan the rescue of yet another, the band must press on toward the messages calling them deeper into the earth. But as they trek the ever descending tunnels, sidelining visions become more frequent for both Jazz and Liddick, bringing them closer than ever before until Arco unravels a secret that threatens to divide them for good. Not only their resolve, but identity, loyalty, love, and friendship will also stand trial by fire, especially when new friends show the team the scars of what testing their mettle really means in a world miles below the only one they’ve ever known.