Nonfiction Science

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

Years ago, when astronauts needed to leave the spacecraft, they used the manned maneuvering unit (MMU). Even though this piece of equipment is no longer used, it is still very interesting.

At least as far back as the ancient myth of Icarus, humans longed to fly - but it wasn't until December 17, 1903, on the windy dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, that the dream finally came true. And it was all thanks to Orville and Wilbur Wright, two former bicycle mechanics who built their first toy plane - a rubber-band powered rotary - when they were just children.

Pirates have long lived in the realm of romance and fantasy, symbolizing risk, lawlessness, and radical visions of freedom. But at the root of this mythology is a rich history of pirate societies—vibrant, imaginative experiments in self-governance and alternative social formations at the edges of European empire. David Graeber explores how the proto-democratic, even libertarian practices of the Zana-Malata—an ethnic group made up of mixed descendants of pirates who settled on Madagascar at the beginning of the eighteenth century—came to shape the Enlightenment project.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

Learn how birds use feathers for flight, warmth, camouflage, and much more.

Find out what an African elephant has in common with a wildebeest. Learn what sets an African elephant apart from a snow leopard. Listeners will compare and contrast key traits of African elephants - their appearance, behavior, habitat, and life cycle - to traits of other mammals. Through gathering information about similarities and differences, listeners will make connections and draw conclusions about what makes this animal a mammal and how mammals are alike and different from each other.

Set over a 24-hour period, meet speedy ostriches, tiny hummingbirds, and majestic eagles in this kids’ nonfiction audiobook about the coolest birds in the world. Soar through the skies to follow the lives of our feathered friends as they fight, dance, and play their way through their day. Ornithologist Dr. Alex Bond tells the story of the world’s most amazing birds in the style of a nature documentary, including gentle science explanations perfect for future biologists.

Whether they're scrambling up trees or scampering across lawns, squirrels are fun animals to watch! Beginning audiences can learn about these furry backyard visitors through low-level text in this engaging title.

Emerging listeners can race through city streets with a fire truck, plant crops with a tractor, and travel the world with an airplane. This volume includes An Airplane's Day, A Backhoe's Day, A Bulldozer's Day, A Dump Truck's Day, A Fire Truck's Day, and A Tractor's Day

What animal has the biggest eyes? Why do elephants have enormous ears? This series explores different animal parts and demonstrates how and why these parts vary throughout the animal kingdom. Each title introduces listeners to four animals whose distinct body parts are unique and important.

Spend a day on the farm with this fun series! Learn what farmers do, as well as what kinds of crops they grow, animals they care for, and machines they use.

A bear sleeps in a den. A snake might coil around a branch to rest. A crab carries its home on its back! Find out where all kinds of animals live—in the water, up in the trees, or burrowed underground. Accessible and fun K-3 level information reveals the animal world to young listeners and researchers in this Pebble Explore title from the Animal Societies series.

A baby kangaroo lives in its mother’s pouch. A zebra group is called a dazzle. A mother octopus has 50,000 babies! Find out how animal families care for their young, keep one another safe, and share duties. Accessible and fun K–3 level information reveals the animal world to young listeners and researchers in this Pebble Explore title from the Animal Societies series.

Goat is bored with its habitat! Follow Goat as it tries out different places to live. Which habitat will make the best home for Goat?

Auto racing is all about aerodynamics. Racecars use two different forces, lift and drag, to fly around the track. Find out how the cars use these forces, and then “fly” your own racecar with a fun experiment!

In conversations with drivers ranging from veterans of foreign wars to Indigenous women protecting one another, Di Cintio explores the borderland of the North American taxi.

If a classmate sends threatening emails to you, do you know what to do? Don’t worry if you don’t. This book is here to help! Learn tech-savvy ways to keep bullies out of your technology - without taking away all the fun!

Learn what a mountain gorilla has in common with a hippopotamus. Find out what sets a mountain gorilla apart from a raccoon or a mountain lion. Listeners will compare key traits of mountain gorillas - their appearance, behavior, habitat, and life cycle - to traits of other mammals. Through gathering information about similarities and differences, listeners will make connections and draw conclusions about what makes this animal a mammal and how mammals are alike and different from each other.

A thrilling new adventure series for children: what would the world look like if dinosaurs had never died out? Imagine a world where dinosaurs have survived and evolved as...supersaurs! This is the world that Bea Kingsley lives in, a world where humans live side by side with supersaurs, sometimes in peace but often in conflict. Bea is the daughter of explorer parents who went missing when she was just a baby.