Every kid knows that pirates talk funny, swing a big sword, and seek buried treasure-don't they? What do we really know about Blackbeard, Madame Cheng, Sir Francis Drake, and other men and women of pirate history? What drove them to sail the high seas? What were their bad habits, favorite foods, and silly quirks? And did they actually talk like that? A lively style, lots of surprises, and solid research have made the Lives of... series of collective...

Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships.

"Unlucky teacher Ms. Linda LaCrosse wins the lottery and shares her winnings with her class. The students fulfill their dreams with their newfound wealth, but they soon learn that winning the lottery is not all that lucky"--

Aware that she should not spy on people, six-year-old Junie B. Jones could not resist her penchant for spying. When she spies on her kindergarten teacher, she finds it hard to keep the revelation to herself. Eventually it leads her to trouble at kindergarten.

Is a painting of a can of soup really art? Born in 1928 to immigrant parents, Andy Warhol became famous for paintings of things once deemed unworthy of "art," like soup cans, celebrities, and dollar bills. As a child, Andy loved to draw. He took classes at the Carnegie Museum of art, where his teacher told the class, "everything you look at has art." In college, many teachers didn't appreciate Andy's understanding of art. He annoyed them by doing...

On the Hill of Dust, in the remote mountains of Mexico, an eleven-year-old Mixtec boy called Teo lives with his family and the animals that he has healed, but one day a Romany caravan rolls into town with a young girl who calls herself Esma, the Gypsy Queen of Lightning--it is the beginning of a life-long friendship that will change both their lives.