JUVENILE NONFICTION / Curiosities & Wonders
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This Is Orange: A Field Trip Through Color
Price: $18.99
Pub Date: October 7, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Prepare your senses for a delicious shock of orange in all its glory and variety—in a playful color tribute destined to wow art and design enthusiasts of all ages.
Look closely. The color orange is all around you, not only in the natural world—from fruit and foxes to minerals and mushrooms—but in the human-engineered world, too, from works of art to religious ceremonies to astronaut survival suits. Ranging through time and circumnavigating the globe, witty stream-of-consciousness text and jaunty illustrations explore color through surprising social, historical, cultural, and artistic lenses. With more than thirty vivid examples and a gentle introduction to color theory, this eye-opening voyage into the heart of orange is a clever appeal to experience other colors—and the world at large—with an open and expansive mind.
Wise Up! Wise Down!: A Poetic Conversation
Price: $18.99
Pub Date: March 4, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Funny, thought-provoking, and bursting with curiosity, Wise Up! Wise Down! is a lively conversation between two internationally known poets, illustrated by acclaimed artist Satoshi Kitamura.
How can laughter be more powerful than a sword? Why do days have names but not weeks? And do pigeons ever get a craving for cake? Two friends, esteemed poets John Agard and JonArno Lawson, take us on an inspiring, hilarious, and wondrous journey through poetry, asking questions and attempting answers as they discover that life really is forever and ever an adventure. Comprising more than seventy-five poems written in a call-and-response format, with each poem having a reply from the other poet, Wise Up! Wise Down! is sure to inspire all readers to find humor in every day.
Isabel and the Invisible World
Price: $8.99
Pub Date: August 20, 2024
Format: Paperback
“Emphasizes the wonders that science can reveal. . . . Invisibly and effectively instructive.” —Kirkus Reviews
There’s only one gift Isabel wants for her sixth birthday: a way to see invisible things. She can hardly think of anything else! Finally, the day of her party arrives. Unwrapping a big box, Isabel finds a surprise inside—a glass prism—and a dazzling world of previously invisible color emerges, lighting up the room around her. What else could be out there, waiting for her eyes to discover? In simple, engaging language, complemented by luminous artwork from best-selling illustrator Ramona Kaulitzki, author and physicist Alan Lightman unveils the hidden world of light waves—the ones you can see and the ones you can’t. Back matter delves briefly into the subject of wavelengths, radio waves, and X-rays for readers curious to know more.
The Stardust That Made Us
A Visual Exploration of Chemistry, Atoms, Elements, and the Universe
Price: $24.99
Pub Date: March 22, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Designed to present chemistry in a new, approachable way, this book explores the history and application of chemistry in the natural world. With incredible artwork from Ximo Abadía, the reader can visualize the 118 known elements and explore the chemical makeup of the universe. With engaging, easy-to-understand text by acclaimed science writer Colin Stuart, this title will truly captivate and inspire.
We Are One: How the World Adds Up
Price: $17.99
Pub Date: November 2, 2021
Format: Hardcover
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts—and unity and connection are most important of all—in a beautifully illustrated counting book with a timely message.
One can be one thing all on its own—one star, one stream, one stick, one stone. But those on their toes, those using their smarts, know one can be more than the sum of its parts.
Consider the two slices of bread that make up one sandwich, or the three lines of poetry that form one haiku, or even the ten years that form one decade. From one to ten, from sandwiches to centuries, every part is necessary to the whole. In this fascinating concept book, a simple rhyming narration aimed at younger children is complemented by informational panels about subjects like the four compass points, the five acts in Shakespeare, the seven colors of a rainbow, or the nine innings in baseball. Award-winning author Susan Hood and debut children’s book illustrator Linda Yan offer a mind-expanding look at early math concepts such as part/whole relationships, fractions, and addition—while underlying themes of cooperation, peace, and kindness make this beautiful volume one to be enjoyed by anyone at any age.
The Language of the Universe
A Visual Exploration of Mathematics
Price: $24.99
Pub Date: October 20, 2020
Format: Hardcover
Designed to present mathematics in a new, approachable way, this book explores the history and application of math in the natural world. With incredible artwork from Ximo Abadía, the reader can visualize atoms, explore the geometric complexity of beehives, and wonder at the movement of the planets. With engaging, easy-to-understand text by acclaimed science writer Colin Stuart, this title will truly captivate and inspire.
Alphamaniacs
Builders of 26 Wonders of the Word
Price: $19.99
Pub Date: April 14, 2020
Format: Hardcover
Are you a word person? A curiosity seeker? An explorer? Take a look at these twenty-six extraordinary individuals for whom love of language is an extreme sport.
Step right up and read the genuine stories of writers so intoxicated by the shapes and sound of language that they collected, dissected, and constructed verbal wonders of the most extraordinary kind. Jean-Dominique Bauby wrote his memoirs by blinking his left eyelid, unable to move the rest of his body. Frederic Cassidy was obsessed with the language of place, and after posing hundreds of questions to folks all over the United States, amassed (among other things) 176 words for dust bunnies. Georges Perec wrote a novel without using the letter e (so well that at least one reviewer didn’t notice its absence), then followed with a novella in which e was the only vowel. A love letter to all those who love words, language, writing, writers, and stories, Alphamaniacs is a stunningly illustrated collection of mini-biographies about the most daring and peculiar of writers and their audacious, courageous, temerarious way with words.
Inside Outside
Price: $18.99
Pub Date: April 9, 2019
Format: Hardcover
From the creators of Before After comes another striking book of opposites, this time exploring the concepts of within and without with bright, bold graphics.
Safe inside its shell, a baby bird prepares to brave the world. A spelunker descends into a wide and glittering cavern while fellow explorers cluster around a crack in the earth. Fire-red ants march busily around their anthill, oblivious of a hungry anteater waiting above. Smart and stylish, this oversize art book takes a unique approach to the concept of inside and outside, offering clever and unexpected examples that will delight readers and spark conversations about context and perspective. Inside Outside is sure to find a place in collections, on coffee tables, in classrooms, and anywhere curious minds can be found.
Books! Books! Books! Explore the Amazing Collection of the British Library
Price: $17.99
Pub Date: September 5, 2017
Format: Hardcover
Calling all young bibliophiles! Peek inside the world’s greatest library and get the inside story on some of the rarest, oddest, most valuable, and best-loved books in its vaunted collection.
A tiny prayer book carried by a queen to her execution. An atlas so huge that it takes six people to lift it. A handmade gospel hidden in a saint’s coffin, and Shakespearean folios so precious they are kept in a bombproof storeroom. From stories of man-eating monsters, brave knights, and wicked witches to tales of lost children, magical creatures, haunted moors, and flying machines, award-winning duo Mick Manning and Brita Granström bring to life the extraordinary history of the book through the treasures of one of the greatest libraries in the world: the British Library.
The Museum Book
A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections
Price: $8.99
Pub Date: August 5, 2014
Format: Paperback
“A leisurely and edifying journey of discovery.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Why do people collect things? With vivid examples from all around the world, this wonderful book puts museums — and the many artifacts lovingly stored there — on display in a whole new light. Jan Mark’s humorous and conversational insights take readers through museums’ multifaceted history, while Richard Holland’s eye-catching mixed-media illustrations lend their own quirky flair. This ode to museums mighty and minuscule will draw curious viewers of all ages — and is worthy of collection itself.

This Is Orange: A Field Trip Through Color
Price: $18.99
Pub Date: October 7, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Prepare your senses for a delicious shock of orange in all its glory and variety—in a playful color tribute destined to wow art and design enthusiasts of all ages.
Look closely. The color orange is all around you, not only in the natural world—from fruit and foxes to minerals and mushrooms—but in the human-engineered world, too, from works of art to religious ceremonies to astronaut survival suits. Ranging through time and circumnavigating the globe, witty stream-of-consciousness text and jaunty illustrations explore color through surprising social, historical, cultural, and artistic lenses. With more than thirty vivid examples and a gentle introduction to color theory, this eye-opening voyage into the heart of orange is a clever appeal to experience other colors—and the world at large—with an open and expansive mind.
Wise Up! Wise Down!: A Poetic Conversation
Price: $18.99
Pub Date: March 4, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Funny, thought-provoking, and bursting with curiosity, Wise Up! Wise Down! is a lively conversation between two internationally known poets, illustrated by acclaimed artist Satoshi Kitamura.
How can laughter be more powerful than a sword? Why do days have names but not weeks? And do pigeons ever get a craving for cake? Two friends, esteemed poets John Agard and JonArno Lawson, take us on an inspiring, hilarious, and wondrous journey through poetry, asking questions and attempting answers as they discover that life really is forever and ever an adventure. Comprising more than seventy-five poems written in a call-and-response format, with each poem having a reply from the other poet, Wise Up! Wise Down! is sure to inspire all readers to find humor in every day.
Isabel and the Invisible World
Price: $8.99
Pub Date: August 20, 2024
Format: Paperback
“Emphasizes the wonders that science can reveal. . . . Invisibly and effectively instructive.” —Kirkus Reviews
There’s only one gift Isabel wants for her sixth birthday: a way to see invisible things. She can hardly think of anything else! Finally, the day of her party arrives. Unwrapping a big box, Isabel finds a surprise inside—a glass prism—and a dazzling world of previously invisible color emerges, lighting up the room around her. What else could be out there, waiting for her eyes to discover? In simple, engaging language, complemented by luminous artwork from best-selling illustrator Ramona Kaulitzki, author and physicist Alan Lightman unveils the hidden world of light waves—the ones you can see and the ones you can’t. Back matter delves briefly into the subject of wavelengths, radio waves, and X-rays for readers curious to know more.
The Stardust That Made Us
A Visual Exploration of Chemistry, Atoms, Elements, and the Universe
Price: $24.99
Pub Date: March 22, 2022
Format: Hardcover
We Are One: How the World Adds Up
Price: $17.99
Pub Date: November 2, 2021
Format: Hardcover
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts—and unity and connection are most important of all—in a beautifully illustrated counting book with a timely message.
One can be one thing all on its own—one star, one stream, one stick, one stone. But those on their toes, those using their smarts, know one can be more than the sum of its parts.
Consider the two slices of bread that make up one sandwich, or the three lines of poetry that form one haiku, or even the ten years that form one decade. From one to ten, from sandwiches to centuries, every part is necessary to the whole. In this fascinating concept book, a simple rhyming narration aimed at younger children is complemented by informational panels about subjects like the four compass points, the five acts in Shakespeare, the seven colors of a rainbow, or the nine innings in baseball. Award-winning author Susan Hood and debut children’s book illustrator Linda Yan offer a mind-expanding look at early math concepts such as part/whole relationships, fractions, and addition—while underlying themes of cooperation, peace, and kindness make this beautiful volume one to be enjoyed by anyone at any age.
The Language of the Universe
A Visual Exploration of Mathematics
Price: $24.99
Pub Date: October 20, 2020
Format: Hardcover
Alphamaniacs
Builders of 26 Wonders of the Word
Price: $19.99
Pub Date: April 14, 2020
Format: Hardcover
Are you a word person? A curiosity seeker? An explorer? Take a look at these twenty-six extraordinary individuals for whom love of language is an extreme sport.
Step right up and read the genuine stories of writers so intoxicated by the shapes and sound of language that they collected, dissected, and constructed verbal wonders of the most extraordinary kind. Jean-Dominique Bauby wrote his memoirs by blinking his left eyelid, unable to move the rest of his body. Frederic Cassidy was obsessed with the language of place, and after posing hundreds of questions to folks all over the United States, amassed (among other things) 176 words for dust bunnies. Georges Perec wrote a novel without using the letter e (so well that at least one reviewer didn’t notice its absence), then followed with a novella in which e was the only vowel. A love letter to all those who love words, language, writing, writers, and stories, Alphamaniacs is a stunningly illustrated collection of mini-biographies about the most daring and peculiar of writers and their audacious, courageous, temerarious way with words.
Inside Outside
Price: $18.99
Pub Date: April 9, 2019
Format: Hardcover
From the creators of Before After comes another striking book of opposites, this time exploring the concepts of within and without with bright, bold graphics.
Safe inside its shell, a baby bird prepares to brave the world. A spelunker descends into a wide and glittering cavern while fellow explorers cluster around a crack in the earth. Fire-red ants march busily around their anthill, oblivious of a hungry anteater waiting above. Smart and stylish, this oversize art book takes a unique approach to the concept of inside and outside, offering clever and unexpected examples that will delight readers and spark conversations about context and perspective. Inside Outside is sure to find a place in collections, on coffee tables, in classrooms, and anywhere curious minds can be found.
Books! Books! Books! Explore the Amazing Collection of the British Library
Price: $17.99
Pub Date: September 5, 2017
Format: Hardcover
Calling all young bibliophiles! Peek inside the world’s greatest library and get the inside story on some of the rarest, oddest, most valuable, and best-loved books in its vaunted collection.
A tiny prayer book carried by a queen to her execution. An atlas so huge that it takes six people to lift it. A handmade gospel hidden in a saint’s coffin, and Shakespearean folios so precious they are kept in a bombproof storeroom. From stories of man-eating monsters, brave knights, and wicked witches to tales of lost children, magical creatures, haunted moors, and flying machines, award-winning duo Mick Manning and Brita Granström bring to life the extraordinary history of the book through the treasures of one of the greatest libraries in the world: the British Library.
The Museum Book
A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections
Price: $8.99
Pub Date: August 5, 2014
Format: Paperback
“A leisurely and edifying journey of discovery.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Why do people collect things? With vivid examples from all around the world, this wonderful book puts museums — and the many artifacts lovingly stored there — on display in a whole new light. Jan Mark’s humorous and conversational insights take readers through museums’ multifaceted history, while Richard Holland’s eye-catching mixed-media illustrations lend their own quirky flair. This ode to museums mighty and minuscule will draw curious viewers of all ages — and is worthy of collection itself.