Here: The Dot We Call Home


Book Description

Here: The Dot We Call Home is a simple and enchanting book that invites children to see themselves as both descendants and ancestors, and caretakers of our beautiful planet. This is my home. I live here. But I am not the first… When a child finds clues that others have lived in her house before her, she begins to wonder about them, and about those who will come after her. The more she wonders, the more her sense of home expands, stretching to include an entire planet. With her thoughtful approach and her unique ability to make big concepts engaging and personal to children, Laura Alary invites readers along for the ride, zooming through time and space to the outer reaches of our solar system for a new perspective on the planet we share. The child marvels: How can something so big seem so small? But also: How can something so small seem so big? Overwhelmed by the mess that humans have left behind, in the end she realizes that there is only one thing to do: start where she is. In spare and simple words, Here: The Dot We Call Home helps children begin to think of themselves as both descendants and ancestors, and to comprehend that people of every place and time share one home, and the task of looking after it. Here: The Dot We Call Home is: An engaging story about one curious and thoughtful child An imaginative way to enlarge a child’s perspective on our homes and neighborhoods, and how we’re all connected A great conversation-starter about the environment and our responsibility to protect it Filled with enchanting and whimsical illustrations that encourage a child’s natural sense of wonder Ideal for boys and girls ages 5-10 years old Add it to the shelf with books like If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall and Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers.




Mira and the Big Story


Book Description

Curiosity leads Mira across the river, to an "enemy" village where people have beliefs that are strange to her. But when one of these strangers helps her get home, Mira has big questions about what's true and asks a wise elder for help. From the story he tells her, she discovers miraculous things about herself, about belief, and about all life on Earth. This inspiring story is perfect for readers aged 8 and up.




Pale Blue Dot


Book Description

“Fascinating . . . memorable . . . revealing . . . perhaps the best of Carl Sagan’s books.”—The Washington Post Book World (front page review) In Cosmos, the late astronomer Carl Sagan cast his gaze over the magnificent mystery of the Universe and made it accessible to millions of people around the world. Now in this stunning sequel, Carl Sagan completes his revolutionary journey through space and time. Future generations will look back on our epoch as the time when the human race finally broke into a radically new frontier—space. In Pale Blue Dot, Sagan traces the spellbinding history of our launch into the cosmos and assesses the future that looms before us as we move out into our own solar system and on to distant galaxies beyond. The exploration and eventual settlement of other worlds is neither a fantasy nor luxury, insists Sagan, but rather a necessary condition for the survival of the human race. “Takes readers far beyond Cosmos . . . Sagan sees humanity’s future in the stars.”—Chicago Tribune




The Dot


Book Description

Vashti believes that she cannot draw, but her art teacher's encouragement leads her to change her mind and she goes on to encourage another student who feels the same as she had.




Love Where You Live


Book Description

Despite being part of one of the most mobile societies in history, it's easy for us to feel stuck where we are. Whether because of a recent move or because we're still in the exact same place we've been for years, many of us just aren't where we thought we'd be or doing what we thought we'd be doing. Sometimes we may wonder if God knows what he's doing. How can this be part of his plan? With enthusiasm and contagious joy, Shauna Pilgreen assures readers that, yes, God does have a plan and a purpose for them--right where they are. In fact, he sent them there. She invites readers to "live sent," showing them how to see their surroundings with fresh eyes and renewed energy. Weaving her own remarkable story with biblical habits readers can incorporate into their daily routines, Pilgreen equips us to reach out into our communities with God's love, knowing that our efforts are never in vain.




Why Are We Here?


Book Description

From the big bang, to the origin and evolution of intelligent life in a search for the meaning of human existence, Why are We Here?, by author Bruce Brodie, offers a look at evolution and the future of life on the planet. Through many years of research and study, Brodie addresses a host of questions: • How did chemistry come to life? • How did the release of oxygen by cyanobacteria change the natural history of life? • How did mass extinctions reset the clock and reshape the course of biological evolution? • Why are homo sapiens so dominant? • Why do humans build vast civilizations, while chimps, with whom we share more than 98 percent of our DNA, are confined to forests and experimental laboratories and zoos? • How will cultural and technological evolution, which have transcended the slow pace of biological evolution, shape the future of life on the planet? • Can we escape the many existential threats that hover over us? Why are We Here? offers a new perspective on how we think about the world, and our place and our purpose in the universe and the future of humanity. It presents a lasting sense of the amazing wonder and mystery of life.




Names We Call Home


Book Description

Names We Call Home is a ground-breaking collection of essays which articulate the dynamics of racial identity in contemporary society. The first volume of its kind, Names We Call Home offers autobiographical essays, poetry, and interviews to highlight the historical, social, and cultural influences that inform racial identity and make possible resistance to myriad forms of injustice.




Main Batata Hoon


Book Description

How do you close a plastic bottle? Just turn the lid until you feel a slight resistance, right? But what if you are really angry when doing it? Or you are someone who is horrified of germs? You might twist the lid too much, expanding or cracking it, which defeats the purpose of the lid. Simply because of your mood or mindset. Now if you extend that example to our interactions with the world, you might start noticing how our views and beliefs, and our moods and behaviours, unravel a cascade of counterintuitive consequences, shaping the world in profound and perplexing ways, with impacts far beyond the immediate moment. "Main Batata Hoon" explores such intricate webs of human views, mindsets and behaviours through a fictional collection of everyday stories in conversational form. From the mundane to the extraordinary, these conversations unravel odd outlooks and curious ways in which we individuals navigate the intricate dance of social dynamics and life. The title is a Hindi line I sometimes use to get a laugh out of people. Because depending on how you say it, it could either mean, ‘I will tell you’, or that, ‘I am a potato’ - highlighting the greys that shape our world. Through a behavioral lens, ‘Main Batata Hoon’ delves into the amusing, thought-provoking, and sometimes bizarre facets of our human nature. Brace yourself for a journey into the unexpected, where our counterintuitiveness reveals the intricate tapestry of the human experience.




The Case for Nature


Book Description

Our planet is facing not one but two crises. In a world where carbon emissions and climate financing are rightly rising up the agenda, there exists another catastrophe that is often overlooked but just as dire-the global collapse of our ecosystems. Siddarth Shrikanth's The Case for Nature presents a compelling vision for tackling this other crisis by rethinking our relationship with nature in economic, social and even personal terms. Shrikanth argues that we can create flourishing economies and societies by preserving and restoring our planet's 'natural capital' and introduces the pioneers of this nature-positive revolution with vivid examples from across the world. But he also calls on readers to reflect on the roots of this crisis, drawing upon indigenous world views to show that nature must be woven into our modern societies, not set apart. By offering a hopeful yet deeply pragmatic perspective on how we can exist in harmony with our living planet, The Case for Nature is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand how nature can help us forge a more sustainable future and what they can do to contribute to this vision.




Creation


Book Description

What is life? Humans have been asking this question for thou­sands of years. But as technology has advanced and our understanding of biology has deepened, the answer has evolved. For decades, scientists have been exploring the limits of nature by modifying and manipulating DNA, cells and whole organisms to create new ones that could never have existed on their own. In Creation, science writer Adam Rutherford explains how we are now radically exceeding the boundaries of evolution and engineering entirely novel creatures—from goats that produce spider silk in their milk to bacteria that excrete diesel to genetic circuits that identify and destroy cancer cells. As strange as some of these creations may sound, this new, synthetic biology is helping scientists develop radical solutions to some of the world’s most pressing crises—from food shortages to pandemic disease to climate change—and is paving the way for inventions once relegated to science fiction. Meanwhile, these advances are shedding new light on the biggest mystery of all—how did life begin? We know that every creature on Earth came from a single cell, sparked into existence four billion years ago. And as we come closer and closer to understanding the ancient root that connects all living things, we may finally be able to achieve a second genesis—the creation of new life where none existed before. Creation takes us on a journey four billion years in the making—from the very first cell to the ground-breaking biological inventions that will shape the future of our planet.




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