Engineering Elephants

Kids learn about everyday projects created by engineers.

Upon completion of the Brooklyn Bridge, P.T. Barnum and his twenty- one elephants parade across to prove to everyone that the bridge is safe.

Have you herd? There's a new volume in First Second's STEM graphic novel series: Science Comics: Elephants! Did you know elephants are the world's largest land animals? Male African elephants can reach ten feet tall and weigh up to 16,500 pounds! These endangered animals are beloved for their massive ears, thick skin, and flexible trunks, as well as their remarkable intelligence and empathy. And despite their size, the more you get to know them, the more you'll realize humans and elephants have a lot in common!

The eminent China scholar delivers a landmark study of Chinese culture’s relationship to the natural environment across thousands of years of history. Spanning the three millennia for which there are written records, The Retreat of the Elephants is the first comprehensive environmental history of China. It is also a treasure trove of literary, political, aesthetic, scientific, and religious sources, which allow the reader direct access to the views and feelings of Chinese people toward their environment and their landscape. China scholar and historian Mark Elvin chronicles the spread of the Chinese style of farming that eliminated elephant habitats; the destruction of most of the forests; the impacts of war on the landscape; and the re-engineering of the countryside through gigantic water-control systems. He documents the histories of three contrasting localities within China to show how ecological dynamics defined the lives of the inhabitants. And he shows that China in the eighteenth century was probably more environmentally degraded than northwestern Europe around this time. Indispensable for its new perspective on long-term Chinese history and its explanation of the roots of China’s present-day environmental crisis, this book opens a door into the Chinese past.

Math + Magic = chaos. A zany book about counting elephants before they disappear! Our poor counter just wants to count her ten elephants, but - POOF! - her magician friend is making it impossible. Ten, nine, eight... each time we get back to counting, one of the elephants has been changed into something unexpected. Puppies, frogs, peanut butter and jelly, and, of course, a rabbit and a hat appear and disappear in this funny, fast-paced story.

In the twenty-first century, because of climate change and other human activities, many animal species have become extinct, and many others are at risk of extinction. Once they are gone, we cannot bring them back—or can we? With techniques such as cloning, scientists want to reverse extinction and return lost species to the wild. Some scientists want to create clones of recently extinct animals, while others want to make new hybrid animals. Many people are opposed to de-extinction. Some critics say that the work diverts attention from efforts to save species that are endangered. Others say that de-extinction amounts to scientists "playing God." Explore the pros and cons of de-extinction and the cutting-edge science that makes it possible.

This book follows an African-American boy "Mason" on a journey with his grandfather meeting engineers. It displays the different types of engineers and what they do for a living. It is a great book to introduce children to the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics). If you love solving problems, wonder how things work, and want to know more about what engineers do. This is the book for you!

The international bestseller about friendship, second chances, and a tiny glow-in-the-dark pink elephant