Amber J. Keyser

The earliest sneakers debuted in the 1800s and weren't much more than a canvas upper and a flexible sole made of a crazy new material - rubber. For thousands of years, the indigenous peoples of the Amazon Basin of South America had been using latex made from the milky sap of hevea trees to protect their feet from rocks, sticks, and biting insects. Once Charles Goodyear figured out how to make the stuff more durable, sneakers were here to stay.

Sickness is a fact of everyday life. But when sickness spreads from person to person rapidly, a deadly pandemic could result. Find out the causes behind major pandemics of history such as the Spanish flu and the Bubonic plague. Then go behind the scenes to meet the people who are working hard every day to stop pandemics before they start.

Soon after the sexual misconduct allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein became public in late 2017, the #MeToo movement went viral, opening up an explosive conversation about rape culture around the globe. In the US, someone is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds. More than 320,000 Americans over the age of twelve are sexually assaulted each year. Men are victims too. One in thirty-three American men will be sexually assaulted or raped...

For thousands of years, marriage was a business transaction between two families. Fathers chose husbands for their daughters to build power, wealth, and social status. Rules about acceptable spouses were strict. Interfaith and interracial marriages were often forbidden. Over the centuries, laws and traditions governing marriage have changed dramatically. In the United States, interfaith and interracial marriages are common. Same-sex marriages are...

Jessie is killing her body to become a ballerina. Dawn is blacking out and waking in strange places. At every turn, the friends encounter the many ways girls are judged and discarded. Should they play it safe or go feral?

For Ella, winning has always been the goal. But Figure Eight, her horse at Quartz Creek Ranch, won't listen to her. Maybe Figure Eight will help Ella control her ego-and figure out how to be a good friend.

Hanna's terrified of horses. But then she meets Shy Guy, a horse who's equally afraid of people. Shy Guy begins to trust Hanna, but when his mysterious past is revealed, does Hanna have enough self-confidence to save him?

"In graphic novel format, follows the adventures of Max Axiom as he explores the science of chemical reactions"--