★ Rae provides all the information readers want to know [and] skillfully broaches the topic of anti-vaccination...An engaging and informative nonfiction text with all the facts about vaccinations. A must-have for middle school libraries. -- School Library Journal (SLJ), starred review
Vaccination is one of humanity's most effective and greatest discoveries.
Infections like the plague, smallpox and other deadly diseases have affected and killed people for thousands of years, but the invention of vaccines forever changed our relationship with these diseases. More recently the urgency of developing an effective vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic brought vaccination to the public's attention. Simmering tensions around vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and mistrust of science came to the forefront.
Although an earlier form of protection against infectious diseases has been practiced for a long time, vaccines have only been around for 200 years. Why We Need Vaccines explores the history of vaccine discovery, the science of how vaccines work and the public-health achievements that vaccines have made possible. It also discusses vaccine mandates and inequality in access to vaccines on local and global scales. It challenges young readers to take responsibility for themselves, their families and their communities so we can all be part of the solution to take down infectious diseases.
The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Do you know your watershed address?
We all have one, whether we live high up in a mountain, on an inland prairie or near the coast. A watershed is an area of land that channels rain and snowmelt into streams, rivers and oceans. Our lives are deeply intertwined with land and water and all the connections between them. Day-to-day activities--like brushing our teeth, eating a meal, getting a ride in a car or even using an electronic device--have consequences for our own or someone else's watershed.
Over the centuries we've changed the land by farming it, cutting down the trees on it, digging into it and building on it. We've also learned how to control water--where it goes and how much flows. Upstream, Downstream explores the consequences of the pressures people place on watersheds and highlights some of the heroes making a difference for watersheds around world.
The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Despite people using both natural and synthetic chemicals with (mainly) good intentions, some chemicals have had unintended negative consequences.
Chemical residues have contaminated ecosystems the world over and are compromising the health of many ecosystems, animals and humans. The goal of Chemical World: Science in our Daily Lives is to introduce readers to basic chemistry and chemical history, and to show how chemicals are used for particular reasons but sometimes turn out to be harmful to environmental and human health. It invites readers to take a look at the world around them and ask questions about what's in their environment and how the things they use and eat every day can affect their own health and the planet's health.
Chemical World: Science in Our Daily Lives explores some of the materials--all of which are made of basic chemical elements--that humans use or come into contact with in their day-to-day lives. Some of these chemicals are naturally occurring--clay, mercury, lead. Others have been synthesized by chemists during the past 150 years and used in a bewildering array of products ranging from roof shingles to toothpaste. Many chemical inventions, as well as naturally produced chemicals, have had profound effects on food supply, developing medicines and creating hosts of useful items for modern life.
Salmon: Swimming for Survival introduces us to the dramatic life story of salmon.
These fish hatch in streams, swim extreme distances out to sea, and then migrate home to where they were born to produce the next generation. But today their habitats and very survival are threatened by human activity. This book looks at the unique biology of salmon, their importance to many Indigenous communities, their cultural and economic impact and the vital role they play in ecosystems. With profiles from scientists, educators, fishers and more, learn about the people who are working hard to change the uncertain future of salmon and improve the chance that these iconic fish can survive for generations to come.
The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.