Discover the world beneath the waves with this magically illustrated treasury of folklore from the ocean deeps.

Do you know the story of the ghost ship Mary Celeste? Or the myths behind seaquakes and tsunamis? Have you heard of Nanaue, the Hawaiian King of the Sharks?

For millennia, humans have lived on and around the sea, relying on it for food, trade, and exploration. The myths, folktales, and lore that have washed up from that relationship are as mysterious as they are varied--here, they're set down in a diverse and engaging format for readers 6-12 years old. Lore of the Deep takes readers out to sea and onto the tides of time to discover the myriad answers to our most ancient questions.

Divided into six chapters:

• Mythical Seas & Oceans
• Creatures of the Seas & Oceans
• Seafarers
• Stormy Waters
• Ocean Landscapes
• Ominous Oceans

You will uncover the ancient traditions of sailors, shapeshifting underwater spirits, stories that explain the origin of the world's oceans, and the gods and goddesses believed to rule over the deep.

Also in the series:

• Lore of the Wild: Folklore and Wisdom from Nature
• Lore of the Land: Folklore and Wisdom from the Wild Earth
• Lore of the Stars: Folklore and Wisdom from the Skies Above

Unearth the secrets of our natural world with the Lore of the Land, a richly illustrated compendium of folklore and wisdom from the land, skies, and seas.

From thundering rivers to shady groves, flickering marshes to lightless caves, and from snow-capped mountains to the depths of the ocean, discover the folklore of Earth's wildest places. Stories and spirits abound in these land- and seascapes, where traditional wisdom and mysterious magics have intertwined over centuries.

Each of the six chapters covers a different natural landscape, revealing the worldwide folklore surrounding Woodlands, Seas & Oceans, Wetlands, Mountains, Rivers & Streams, and Hills & Caves. Beginning with tales from cultures spanning the globe, each chapter then dives into the legends of how these places were formed, their place in the human imagination, and their natural and otherworldly denizens.

Learn how the forests hold up the sky in Māori tradition; how in Ireland, seaweed was once thought to predict the weather; and that the ancient Greeks believed Mount Etna housed the fiery forge of the gods. All this and more is accompanied by beautiful artwork based on real folklore, uncovering the secrets of our natural world as never before.

A treasury of fascinating tales and ancient wisdom, the Lore of the Land is sure to fire the imaginations of young nature-lovers, and delight anyone who has ever wondered whether there is more to our natural world than meets the eye.

Also in the series:
Lore of the Wild: Folklore and Wisdom from Nature

Look up at the skies in wonder with this mystically illustrated treasury of folklore from above and beyond.
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*2023 American Scientist Holiday Gift Guide Selection*

Did you know that people used to read the future in the flight of birds? That the constellations were thought to be mythological beings set in the sky? And that eclipses were seen as demonic omens?

For millennia, humans have looked to the heavens to explain the world around and above them. The myths, folktales, and lore that have arisen from these wonderings are as mysterious as they are varied--here, they're set down in a beautifully illustrated and engaging format for readers 6-12 years old. Lore of the Stars takes readers deep into space and back through the mists of time to discover the myriad answers to our most ancient questions.

Divided into six chapters:

• The Sky
• The Sun
• The Moon
• The Stars
• Planets, Comets, & Shooting Stars
• The Cosmos

You will uncover the secrets of augury, the meanings of types of weather, stories explaining the birth of the Milky Way, and the beings and deities said to govern the worlds above.

Also in the series:

• Lore of the Wild: Folklore and Wisdom from Nature
• Lore of the Land: Folklore and Wisdom from the Wild Eart h

A fascinating miscellany of the stories behind our weights and measures.

How long is an ell? How big is the largest champagne bottle? How do you measure the heat of a chili pepper? Why is the depth of water measured in fathoms? And what, exactly, is a cubit?

The Curious History of Weights & Measures tells the story of how we have come to quantify the world around us. Looking at everything from carats, pecks, and pennyweights, to firkins, baker's dozens, and modern science-based standards such as kilograms and kilometers, this book considers both what sparked the creation of measures and why there were so many efforts to usher in standardization. Full of handy conversion charts and beautiful illustrations, The Curious History of Weights & Measures is a treasure trove of fun facts and intriguing stories about the calculations we use every day.

In our digital world, we owe much of our ability to communicate to the punctuation marks, mathematical symbols, and other glyphs that hover on the edges of our keyboard. Without these symbols, it would be impossible to convey meaning--our words would run in endless unbroken lines of letters and numbers. These marks, which have their origins in the earliest written communications, have evolved over many hundreds of years. Hyphens & Hashtags presents the histories of these stalwart symbols, revealing the long road many have taken on their way to general usage. In the age of digital communication, some symbols have gained additional meanings. The obscure pound sign has transformed into the hashtag, an essential component of social media. The colon now serves double duty as the eyes of the smiley-face emoticon. Alongside the historical roots of these tools, this book also considers ever-evolving modern usage and uncovers those symbols which have now fallen out of fashion. Hyphens & Hashtags casts a well-deserved spotlight on these deceptively simple marks, whose handy knack for conveying meaning in simple shorthand can marshal our sentences, clarify a calculation, or add some much-needed emotion to our online interactions.

What can be found in the Vatican's Secret Archive? How many books did Charles Darwin's library aboard the Beagle hold? Which library is home to a colony of bats?
Bursting with potted histories, quirky facts, and enlightening lists, this book explores every aspect of the library, celebrating these remarkable institutions as well as the individuals behind their inspiring collections. From the ancient library at Alexandria to the Library of Congress in Washington DC, and from university libraries to those of humble villages, A Library Miscellany explores institutions both old and new. Opening the door to unusual collections such as herbaria, art libraries, magic libraries, and even the library of smells, this book also charts the difficulties of cataloging books deemed to be subversive, heretical, libelous, or obscene.
Packed with unusual facts and statistics, this is the perfect gift for library enthusiasts, bibliophiles, collectors, and readers everywhere.

Which statesman was, by the end, bored with it all? Which world-renowned economist considered on his deathbed whether he ought to have been less abstemious, saying I should have drunk more champagne. Did Admiral Horatio Nelson, one of England's greatest naval heroes, really utter Kiss me, Hardy to his captain just before his death in the Battle of Trafalgar?

Over the years, family and loved ones have recorded an extraordinary number of famous last words, from kings and queens to politicians, philosophers, scientists, writers, and actors. These exit lines can impart keen insights from an extraordinary life, reveal a sense of humor indomitable in even the darkest hours, or tell us something about a celebrated person's last moments of life. Perhaps unavoidably given their provenance, many last words have proven irresistible to embellishment or remain in question. King Charles II, for example, was said to have instructed his brothers to let not Poor Nelly starve, asking that his favorite mistress be provided a pension of 1,500 pounds a year. Although she did indeed receive said pension, some contend that Charles's actual last words, following a long period of illness, were, You must pardon me, gentlemen, for being a most unconscionable time a-dying.

For Famous Last Words, Claire Cock-Starkey has collected the most interesting, insightful, and controversial last words, from deathbed desperation to the fondest of farewells.

Which is the smallest book in the Bodleian Library? How many miles of shelving are there in its Book Storage Facility? What is fasciculing? Who complained when their secret pen name was revealed in the library's catalog? Why did the library refuse to lend a book to King Charles I? The answers to these questions are just a few of the remarkable bits of bibliophile trivia uncovered by Claire Cock-Starkey and Violet Moller in this intriguing collection of curious facts about one of Britain's oldest university library.

With more than twelve million items and many priceless treasures, including the Gutenberg Bible, Shakespeare's First Folio, five thirteenth-century copies of Magna Carta, and Tolkien's original watercolors for The Hobbit, the Bodleian also boasts many strange events and eccentric characters through the ages that contributed to its world-class renown today. From deep within the archives, Cock-Starkey and Moller have compiled a great many lesser-known facts about the Bodleian Library's fascinating history, organizing them into easily browsable lists, factoids, and statistics.

How is ink made? What is the bestselling book of all time? What are the oldest known books in the world? And how does one make sense of the colors found on Penguin paperbacks? The answers to these questions and many more await readers in The Book Lovers' Miscellany.

The Book Lovers' Miscellany is a cornucopia for bibliophiles. With customary wisdom and wit, Claire Cock-Starkey presents a brief illustrated history of paper, binding, printing, and dust jackets, with a wealth of arcane facts that even the most avid book lovers may be hard-pressed to answer: Which natural pigments were used to decorate medieval bibles? Which animal is needed for the making of vellum? Curious facts are drawn from throughout the history of books and publishing, including many more recent examples, such as a short history of the comic and the story behind the massively successful Harlequin romance imprint Mills and Boon. Readers can explore the output of the most prolific writers and marvel at the youth of the youngest published authors--or lament the decisions of the publishers who rejected books that later became colossal bestsellers. The book also includes a collection of lists, including unfinished novels, books that have faced bans, books printed with mistakes, the most influential academic books of all time, and the longest established literary families.

The perfect gift for every bibliophile, The Book Lovers' Miscellany is equally well suited to reading straight through or dipping into here and there.

From diesel to gerrymandering, the English language is rich with eponyms--words that are named after an individual. The many histories behind these words are often mesmerizing--a word named, incidentally, after the German physician Franz Mesmer, who developed the practice of hypnotism as a form of therapy.

Deriving from numerous sources, eponyms are full of intrigue. This book features one hundred and fifty of the most interesting and enlightening specimens, delving into the origins of the words and describing the fascinating people after whom they were named. Some honor a style icon, inventor, or explorer, such as pompadour, Kalashnikov, and Cadillac. Others have roots in Greek or Roman mythology, such as panic and tantalize. Still others are far from celebratory and were created to brand the negative association of their origins--into this category can be filed boycott, Molotov cocktail, and sadist.

Encompassing words from medicine, botany, invention, science, fashion, food, and literature, this book uncovers the curious tales of discovery, mythology, innovation, and infamy behind the eponyms we use every day. The Real McCoy is the perfect addition to any wordsmith's bookshelf.

Which are the oldest museums in the world? What is a cabinet of curiosity? What is on the FBI's list of stolen art?

A Museum Miscellany celebrates the intriguing world of galleries and museums, from national institutions such as the Louvre, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art to niche collections such as the Lawnmower Museum and the Museum of Barbed Wire. Here you will find a cornucopia of museum-related facts, statistics, and lists, covering everything from museum ghosts, dangerous museum objects, and conservation beetles to treasure troves, museum heists and the Museum of London's fatberg.

Bursting with quirky facts, intriguing statistics, and legendary curators, this book is the perfect gift for museum aficionados and collectors alike.

The relationship between England and its gardens might be described as a love affair; gardening is a national passion, rooted in history. The e18th century is often called the Golden Age of English gardening; as the fashion for formal pleasure grounds for the wealthy faded, a new era began, filled with picturesque vistas inspired by nature. Charting the transformation in English landscapes through the 18th and 19th centuries, The Golden Age of the Garden brings the voices of the past alive in newspaper reports, letters, diaries, books, essays and travelogues, offering contemporary gardening advice, principles of design, reflections on nature, landscape and plants, and a unique perspective on the origins of the English fascination with gardens. Exploring the different styles, techniques and innovations, and the creation of many of the stunning spaces that visitors still flock to see today, this is an evocative and rewarding collection for all gardeners and garden-lovers seeking insight, ideas and surprises.

Mythology Land opens the gates to the magical lands of all the characters and creatures of myth.

These expertly retold stories are perfect for bedtime, and each tale is followed by an exquisitely illustrated map of its world. You can drop into Midgard and explore the land of the giants with Thor, run from Baba Yaga in the Deep Dark Forest, and follow the Yangtze river to see which animal will win the great race. What wonderful things will you find along the way?

Beautiful, stylish, and vibrant illustrations adorn each page, as the text transports readers to faraway lands of mystery, fantasy, and magic--and the level of detail in the maps of these lands means this title will be lovingly pored over time and time again.

The stories include:

• Rama & Sita (Hindu)
• The Great Race (Chinese)
• The Trojan Horse (Greek)
• Quetzalcoatl Brings Food to the World (Aztec)
• The Great Maui (Polynesian)
• Thor and the Land of the Giants (Norse)
• The Rainbow Serpent (Aboriginal Australian)
• Baby Yaga (Slavic)
• Anansi and the Sky God (Ghanaian)
• The Story of Isis and Osiris (Egyptian)
• The Grateful Crane (Japanese)
• The Legend of Sedna (Inuit)

If you liked exploring mythical worlds, continue with the previous title in the series: Fairy Tale Land.