Alley Willowood is excited to reach the thirteenth day of the thirteenth month after her thirteenth year. She knows that the day will be special, and she intends to spend it “chasing the white rabbit,” which is how she describes days... Read More

Poets as disparate as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charles Baudelaire, and Thomas Moore have put pen to paper to write about music. Music is accepted as a universal language to which we all respond, and poetry’s oral tradition speaks to... Read More

The fantasy genre has a loyal entourage of followers who seek out strange worlds where reality isn’t defined by accepted standards. The protagonists in these farfetched tales fight for territory, relics, and lovers. This is literature... Read More

Everything you need to know about the manatee (the “sea cow”) can be found in this guide by photojournalist Brian Skerry. Skerry describes the human connection with manatees, as well as their behavior in the wild. Readers learn that... Read More

When Uncle Ernie, an NYPD officer, slips on a doughnut and is rushed to the hospital, Mom flies to New York and Uncle Ted comes over to baby-sit the kids at the last minute. At first, everything goes smoothly, and Clarice says, “Nobody... Read More

After Shirin spots the new moon marking the beginning of Ramadan, she begs her parents to allow her to fast this year. Now that her older brother Ali is twelve, everyone else in the family is old enough to celebrate according to the... Read More

Science and theology are often interpreted as incompatible domains between which reconciliation is impossible. On the branches of academia’s tree sits a peace-loving dove, yet it remains a matter of conjecture in which department this... Read More

Charles Darwin never uttered the phrase “survival of the fittest.” That was, in point of fact, Herbert Spencer, in his 1864 book, Principles of Biology. Spencer was more interested in serving personal philosophical goals than... Read More