In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

By: Nathaniel Philbrick

Category: History

This true-life adventure tells the incredible story of the whaleship "Essex"- an event that served as the inspiration of Melville's "Moby Dick."

Ultimate Field Trip 3: Wading Into Marine Biology

By: Susan E. Goodman

Category: Juvenile Nonfiction: Science

The author and illustrator of "Adventures in the Rain Forest" accompany kids on another field trip, this time to the Bay of Fundy in Maine. There, they explore the tidal zone, observing its rapid changes from hot to cold, calm to stormy, and wet to dry as the tides change. They also discover the fascinating way intertidal creatures have adapted to their fluctuating environment.

Stones, Bones, and Petroglyphs: Digging Into Southwest Archaeology

By: Susan E. Goodman

Category: Juvenile Nonfiction: Social Studies

The author and photographer of Bats, Bugs and Biodiversity follow another group of school kids on a very special field trip. This time a group from Hannibal, Missouri, studies and ancient people of the Southwestern desert. These ancient Puebloan people, sometimes known as the Anasazi, built their stone dwellings in the canyon walls of the Four Corners area. The kids learn about Anasazi food, games, hunting skills, and culture and help to excavate a village site in one of the canyons. A visit to mesa Verde, with its 600 cliff dwellings, caps the week of learning how archaeology can help us find out more about Native American culture.