Even grownups enjoy a bedtime story every now and then,especially one that combines, as does this one, the sophisticationof a novel with the whimsy of a fairy tale. Gaarder, the Norwegianformer professor of philosophy who brought us The Solitaire Mystery(1996) and the bestselling Sophie's World (1995), is up to hisusual tricks here, serving up a metaphysical brainteaser thatunfolds into a warm?but not preachy?meditation on God and theChristian doctrines. Set in an unnamed town in present-day Norway,it tells the story of Joachim, a young boy who finds a faded,handmade Advent calendar in a bookstore on the eve of Decemberfirst, and begs his father to let him take it home. The nextmorning, when he opens the calendar's first door, Joachim discoversnot just the expected picture but also a tightly folded piece ofpaper, the first installment of the fantastic tale of a littlegirl's journey through time and space to be present at theNativity. Soon the girl's story is making unexpected intrusionsinto Joachim's o

One day in 1882, Thomas Edison flipped a switch that lit up lower Manhattan with incandescent light and changed the way people live ever after. The electric light bulb was only one of thousands of Edison’s inventions, which include the phonograph and the kinetoscope, an early precursor to the movie camera. As a boy, observing a robin catch a worm and then take flight, he fed a playmate a mixture of worms and water to see if she could fly! Here’s an accessible, appealing biography with 100 black-and-white illustrations.

Amelia Earhart was a woman of many "firsts." In 1932, shebecame the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In1935, she also became the first woman to fly across the Pacific.From her early years to her mysterious 1937 disappearance whileattempting a flight around the world, readers will find AmeliaEarhart's life a fascinating story. Annotation Examines the life ofpioneer aviator Amelia Earhart, who mysteriously disappeared duringan around-the-world flight in 1937.

Ever since Howard Carter uncovered King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the young pharaoh has become a symbol of the wealth and mystery of ancient Egypt. Now, a two-and-a-half-year-long museum exhibit of Tut’s treasures is touring major cities in the U.S., drawing record crowds. This Who Was . . . ? is complete with 100 black-andwhite illustrations and explains the life and times of this ancient Egyptian ruler, covering the story of the tomb’s discovery, as well as myths and so-called mummy curses.

A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the greatphilosophical concepts of Western thought, Sophie’s World has firedthe imagination of readers all over the world, with more thantwenty million copies in print.

When Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Spain in 1519, he believed he could get to the Spice Islands by sailing west through or around the New World. He was right, but what he didn't know was that the treacherous voyage would take him three years and cost him his life. Black-and-white line drawings illustrate Magellan's life and voyage, with sidebars and a time line that enhance readers' understanding of the period

Albert Einstein. His name has become a synonym for genius. His wild case of bedhead and playful sense of humor made him a media superstar—the first, maybe only, scientist-celebrity. He wasn't much for lab work; in fact he had a tendency to blow up experiments. What he liked to do was think, not in words but in "thought experiments". What was the result of all his thinking? Nothing less than the overturning of Newtonian physics. Once again, Kathleen Krull delivers a witty and astute look at one of the true Giants of Science and the turbulent times in which he lived.

BOY,Roald Dahl's bestselling autobiography,is full of hilarious anecdotes about his childhood and school days.With fabulous new line drawings by Quentin Blake. An autobiography is a book a person writes about his own life and it is usually full of all sorts of boring details.This is not an autobiography' - Roald Dahl.This reissue includes 30 delightful new line drawings by the inimitable Quentin Blake. Throughout his young days at school and just afterwards,a number of things happened to Roald Dahl,which made such a tremendous impression he never forgot them.Boy is the remarkable story of Roald Dahl's childhood; tales of exciting and strange things - some funny,some frightening,all true. Roald Dahl,the best-loved of children's writers,was born in Wales of Norwegian parents.His books continue to be bestsellers,despite his death in 1990,and worldwide sales are over 100 million! Quentin Blake is one of the best-known and best-loved children's illustrators and it's impossible now to

When 14-year-old Sophie encounters a mysterious mentor whointroduces her to philosophy, mysteries deepen in her own life. Whydoes she keep getting postcards addressed to another girl? Who isthe other girl? And who, for that matter, is Sophie herself? Tosolve the riddle, she uses her new knowledge of philosophy, but thetruth is far stranger than she could have imagined. A phenomenal worldwide bestseller, SOPHIE'S WORLD sets out to drawteenagers into the world of Socrates, Descartes, Spinoza, Hegel andall the great philosophers. A brilliantly original and fascinatingstory with many twists and turns, it raises profound questionsabout the meaning of life and the origin of theuniverse.

"Going Solo" is the action-packed tale of Roald Dahlas exploitsas a World War II pilot. Learn all about his encounters with theenemy, his worldwide travels, the life-threatening injuries hesustained in a plane accident, and the rest of his sometimesbizarre, often unnerving, and always colorful adventures.

One day Greg Mortenson set out to climb K2 - the world's second highest mountain - in honour of his younger sister, but when another member of his group fell ill, they turned around and Greg became lost in the mountains of Pakistan. He wandered into a poor village, where the chief and his people took him in. Moved by their kindness, Greg promised to return and build a school for the children. This is the remarkable story of how, against all the odds, Greg built not only one but more than sixty schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and how he dedicated his life to establishing literacy and peace, and understanding.

All his life, Charles Darwin hated controversy. Yet he takes his place among the Giants of Science for what remains an immensely controversial subject: the theory of evolution. Darwin began piecing together his explanation for how all living things change or adapt during his five-year voyage on HMS Beagle. But it took him twenty years to go public, for fear of the backlash his theory would cause. Once again, Kathleen Krull delivers a witty and astute picture of one of history's greatest scientists.

《人类的故事》是亨德里克·威廉·房龙的成名作。房龙以平铺直叙的手法、幽默风趣的语言、俏皮睿智的文笔、独具匠心的构思，从人类登上历史舞台、史前人类、早的文字、尼罗河流域、希腊的故事、罗马帝国、十字军东征、文艺复兴，一直到近代的美国革命乃至科学时代，为我们展示了人类历史的浩荡长卷。其中有节奏明快的“大历史”叙述，也不乏真正影响人类文明进程的事件和细节。让我们每个人都可以从这本经典的通俗人类史中获得启发和阅读快感。 《人类的故事》是一部以通俗的手法描写人类文明发展史的巨著，1921年刚一出版，就为房龙赢得了世界性的声誉。该书一度被美国中学选为历史教科书，还曾获得美国著名的儿童文学奖——纽伯瑞奖，在世界上影响很大。从人类的起源，到每一个历史时期的精辟论述，精彩的历史场景重现，扼要的历史人物

Roald DahlAs personal stories together in one edition Where did Roald Dahl get all of his wonderful ideas for stories? From his own life, of course Boy includes tales of sweetshops and chocolate, mean old ladies, and the Great Mouse Plot. And then "Going Solo" tells of how, when he grew up, Roald Dahl left England for Africa and later went flying with the Royal Air Force.