Europe

Materials from Europe

Science Fiction Pioneer: A Story About Jules Verne (Creative Minds Biographies)

When Jules Verne was born in 1828, his family had his future planned out for him. They expected him to become a lawyer, but he dreamed of writing. He started out writing more traditional poetry and plays, but then he began to create a new, unconventional kind of fiction. It combined adventure, the modern world of science and invention, and his personal view of the future. With fantastical characters, spaceships to the moon, and deep-sea submarines, his books told of things that would not actually occur for decades.

Behind The Mask: The Life Of Queen Elizabeth I

A biography of Elizabeth I that describes her triumphant reign as well as the childhood that shaped the woman she became. A behind-the-scenes look at Gloriana that discusses her childhood, how she overcame opposition to become queen and her subsequent manipulation of people, the court and foreigners to attain greatness. Elizabeth I (1533-1603) impressed herself more vividly on the memory of the world than any other monarch in the history of England. She successfully established and maintained power while refusing to bow to the wishes of those who believed no woman was fit to occupy the English throne. This biography describes the opulent but cruel childhood that shaped the woman Elizabeth became and details her triumphant reign, as well as the unrelenting forces that opposed her. Exploring the answers to some of history’s most persistent and intriguing questions, Jane Resh Thomas has created a compelling account of Elizabeth’s life that shatters the myths surrounding her and allows readers an unprecedented view of the queen as a human being. Full-color insert, chronology, bibliography, index.

Vaclav Havel and the Velvet Revolution (People in Focus)

Biography of Václav Havel who served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until its dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and as the first President of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003.

The Last Tree

A small boy longed to roll and play in the grass like his father had when he was a child. But the boy lived in a concrete city without any grass or trees. Instead, they had roads, walls and lots of other ugly things. Then one day the boy and his friend discovered a sapling hiding behind a low wall. The boy had never seen a tree before. He was so amazed, he dreamed about the tree.” I imagined it tall. Huge, even. And majestic,” he says. So when they heard that a condominium was being built right on the spot where their tree was growing, the friends knew they had to dig it up and replant it in a safe place. They had to make sure the last tree survived. This poignant picture book with a futuristic feel offers a powerful environmental message about the critical importance of conserving the natural world