In Greek mythology, the Hesperides were the daughters of Atlas, who guarded a golden-apple-producing tree of life. Zeus and Hera received the tree as a wedding present and planted it in a beautiful garden protected by a dragon.... Read More

I start with a V and end with a Y. / The more you know of me, the higher you’ll fly. / I’m the words that you use in any subject you choose. / Study me for a quiz, and you’ll be a whiz. / You’ll do great on your test and score... Read More

Beginning with a long flexible tail grasping a fruit on its cover, here’s a book where “ends” come first. Originally published in Japan under the title How Animal Tails Work, this vividly illustrated book challenges the reader to... Read More

In the United States, thirty-one percent of nine-year-old girls are afraid of getting fat. Eighty-one percent of ten-year-old girls report the same fear. Ninety percent of female adolescents diet regularly. Why are our young women so... Read More

Rain forests once covered twelve percent of the earth’s surface; now they cover only two percent. Every day, an area the size of New York City is destroyed. Experts predict that this ancient ecosystem will have disappeared by 2025,... Read More

Humans usually narrate memoirs, and furthermore, humans usually author them. Memoirs of a Papillon deviates from this norm: Genevieve, a pure bred Papillon, narrates her puppyhood, her life with Katrina and Denny, and the advantages and... Read More

In the lead story of McFerrin’s balanced and eloquent collection of short stories, a woman receives a curious fruit, called a Buddha’s hand, in the mail from a friend in Asia. The two sides of the fruit resemble hands in prayer, and... Read More

Walking a tightrope, placing one foot carefully in front of the other, cradling the rope with the insole of each foot, arms extended for balance, each step accompanied by an impending, yet fleeting vertigo, the tightrope walker moves... Read More