Books in Where Is? series

Explore the most amazing wonders of the ancient world!More than 2,000 years ago, travelers wrote about the incredible sights they saw while on their journeys. They told tales of hanging gardens that were built for a Babylonian queen, and a colossal statue that guided ships through the harbor of Rhodes in Greece. These writers compiled a list of the very best of these sights that are now known as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Author Yona Zeldis McDonough takes the readers on a trip to the Great Pyramids in Egypt (the only Wonder still standing), the Statue of Zeus at Olympia in ancient Greece, and the other spectacles, detailing the creativity and skill that these early civilizations possessed.

Readers will want to grab a telescope and explore the night skies after finishing this overview of our solar system.Our solar system consists of eight planets, as well as numerous moons, comets, asteroids, and meteoroids. For thousands of years, humans believed that Earth was at the center of the Universe, but all of that changed in the 17th century. Astronomers like Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton proposed the unthinkable theory that Earth and the other planets actually revolved around the Sun. This engaging book chronicles the beginning of the modern age of astronomy, then follows later discoveries, including NASA's current missions in space.

Who doesn't love a great mystery? This book presents the eerie accidents and unexplained disappearances that have occurred in the region known as the Bermuda Triangle.Even before it was named, the Bermuda Triangle--roughly bounded by Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico--had gained a mythic reputation. The Bermuda Triangle became famous for making boats and ships vanish, and for snatching planes right out of the sky. But are these stories true? And if they are true, is there a more sensible reason that refutes the bad karma of the region? With so many mystifying events to learn about, readers will love disappearing into this story.

In this Where Is? title, kids can explore the Great Barrier Reef—big enough to be seen from space but made up of billions of tiny living organisms.The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Australia, is the world's largest coral reef system. Stretching more than 1,400 miles, it provides a home to a wide diversity of creatures. Designated a World Heritage Site, the reef is suffering from the effects of climate change but this fascinating book shows this spectacular part of our planet.

What's left of Machu Picchu stands as the most significant link to the marvelous Inca civilization of Peru. Now readers can explore these ruins in this compelling Where Is? title.Built in the fifteenth century and tucked away in the mountains of Peru, Machu Picchu was abandoned after the Spaniards conquered the Incan empire in the sixteenth century. It remained hidden until 1911 when Hiram Bingham uncovered the marvelous complex and shared his discovery with the world. Today, hundreds of thousands of people visit the site to climb the 3,000 stone steps, explore the towering monuments, and see the numerous species that call these famous ruins home.

Without risking life or limb, readers can explore the wonders and beauty of the Amazon in this Where Is...? title.Human beings have inhabited the banks of the Amazon River since 13,000 BC and yet they make up just a small percentage of the "population" of this geographic wonderland. The Amazon River basin teems with life—animal and plant alike. It's a rainforest that is home to an estimated 390 billion individual trees, 2.5 million species of insects, and hundreds of amazing creatures and plants that can either cure diseases, or, like the poison dart frog, kill with a single touch. Where Is the Amazon? reveals the amazing scale of a single rainforest that we are still trying to understand today and that, in many ways, supports our existence on this planet.

The Great Pyramids of Egypt--all kids over the age of five recognize them instantly. These massive tombs were built thousands of years ago, and still no one knows exactly how the ancient Egyptians did it! In this informative account, Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler tell the story of the powerful pharaohs who commissioned the pyramids at Giza and offer a fascinating look at the culture of the afterlife in ancient Egypt, explaining exactly how mummies were made. Easy to read and scrupulously researched, this explores the mysteries that have attracted countless visitors to the pyramids for centuries.

It was world-famous sculptor Gutzon Borglum's dream to carve sixty-foot-high likenesses of four presidents on a granite cliff in South Dakota. Does that sound like a wacky idea? Many at the time thought so. Borglum faced a lot of opposition and problems at every turn; the blasting and carving carried out through the years of the Great Depression when funding for anything was hard to come by. Yet Mount Rushmore now draws almost three million visitors to the Black Hills every year. This is an entertaining chronicle of one man's magnificent obsession, which even today sparks controversy.

You'll find it on a map--but you'll never get anywhere near this top secret military base. What exactly is going on there?Is Area 51 a top secret military base that lies in the middle of the barren Nevada desert? Or could it actually be a facility for examining aliens and their spaceships? People can't drive anywhere close to it; the US government rarely acknowledges its existence; and until recently, the airspace overhead was restricted! Conspiracy theories abound about what goes on at Area 51, especially since 1947 when strange objects were found in the middle of a field in Roswell, New Mexico. Author Paula K. Manzanero explains why Area 51 was established and reveals the mystery behind those unidentified flying objects in the sky. Check out this book and decide what you believe.

A marvel of engineering that proclaimed the might of the Emperor of Ancient Rome.The Emperor Titus opened the enormous Colosseum in AD 80 to host 100 days of games, and it will astound readers to learn what the ancient Romans found entertaining. Over 50,000 screaming fans watched gladiators battling each other to the death, men fighting exotic wild beasts, and even mock sea battles with warships floating on an arena floor flooded with water. By AD 476 the Roman Empire had fallen, and yet the ruins of the Colosseum remain a world-famous landmark of an unforgettable time.

Learn about the Eiffel Tower, beloved and iconic symbol of Paris, France, and one of the most recognizable structures in the world!When the plans for the Eiffel Tower were first announced, many people hated the design of the future landmark, calling it ungainly and out of step with the beautiful stone buildings of the city. But once it went up for the World's Fair in 1889, the people of Paris quickly fell in love with the tower. Today it seems impossible to imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, which greets millions of visitors each year who climb up its wrought-iron stairs, ride its glass elevators, and enjoy the wonderful views of the city spread out below it.This book, part of the New York Times best-selling series, is enhanced by eighty illustrations and a detachable fold-out map complete with four photographs on the back.

More than two thousand years ago, with his land under constant attack from nomads, the First Emperor of China came up with a simple solution: build a wall to keep out enemies. It was a wall that kept growing and growing. But its construction came at a huge cost: it is believed that more than a million Chinese died building it, earning the wall its nickname--the longest cemetery on earth. Through the story of the wall, Patricia Brennan Demuth is able to tell the story of China itself, the rise and fall of dynasties, the greatness of its culture, and its present-day status as a Communist world power.