Karen Bush Gibson

The Vietnam War sparkled one of the most controversial periods in American history. Although Vietnam had been fighting for its independence for thousands of years, the United States didn't enter the picture until the 1950s. Increasing tensions between North and South Vietnam officially brought the U.S. into the war in 1964. At the same time, a military draft was instituted. People struggled to understand the role of the U.S. in Vietnam. Americans...

Welcome to the spooky shores of Door County! Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. Did you know that Door County is the home to a ghost cow and a ghost dog? Or that a ghostly high school basketball team can be heard celebrating on frozen Lake Michigan in the winter? Can you believe that a phantom ship has been sailing around the peninsula- since 1679? Pulled right from...

As America s first politician, Samuel Adams dedicated his life to improving the lives of the colonists. At a young age, he began talking and listening to people to find out what issues mattered the most. Adams proposed new ideas, first in his own newspaper, then in other newspapers throughout the colonies. When Britain began taxing the colonies, Adams encouraged boycotting and peaceful protests. He was an organizer of the Boston Tea Party, one of...

On January 10, 2005, people who lived in the small oceanfront town of La Conchita, California, were horrified to hear a loud rumble. Weakened by heavy rains, the mountain overlooking the town began to crumble. Thousands of tons of mud mowed over trees, houses, and people. When it stopped, a huge hill contained fifteen houses and up to twenty-one people. In the days that followed, rescue workers and townspeople worked together to save as many as possible....

The larger-than-life story of the Lone Star State, encapsulating the 500-year saga of the one-of-a-kind state of Texas, this interactive book takes readers from the founding of the Spanish Missions and the victory at San Jacinto to the Great Storm that destroyed Galveston and the establishment of NASA's Mission Control in Houston while covering everything in between. Texas History for Kids includes 21 informative and fun activities to help readers...

Eli Whitney was an inventor best known for his invention of the cotton gin. But it was his ideas and methods that had the greatest impact on America, bringing the country into the Industrial Revolution. He grew up as a farmer s son, but was often found in his father s workshop. As a boy during the American Revolution, he started his first business as a supplier of nails. Against his family s wishes, he insisted on getting an education from Yale. It...

Does the weather fascinate you? Thunderstorms, tornados, hurricanes, and snowstorms are just some of the weather events that affect people's everyday lives. Since the time of the Ancient Greeks, people have been fascinated with weather phenomena and how they relate to human activities, such as sailing and farming. Meteorology is the science of the atmosphere, particularly the processes and phenomena that are used in forecasting the weather, and how...

Westward ho! If you travel across certain parts of the United States, you can still see wagon wheel ruts where people crossed the west in search of more opportunity and better lives more than 200 years ago! The Oregon Trail: The Journey Across the Country from Lewis and Clark to the Transcontinental Railroad offers readers ages 9 to 12 a fascinating look at the explorers and settlers who traveled this route during the westward expansion of the United...

Why is Earth called the Blue Planet? Because there's so much water on the surface that the planet looks blue from outer space!Marine biology is the study of the plant and animal life in salt water environments, from microscopic plankton to the largest animal on earth, the blue whale. In Marine Biology: Cool Women Who Dive readers ages 9 to 12 explore the careers of three women who work within the science of marine biology-Natalie Arnoldi, Ashanti...