Big Book of

Knowledge
 FIRST EDITION 1994 THIS EDITION 2019
General Editor Sarah Phillips Produced for DK by
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This American Edition, 2019 Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Photographers: Peter Anderson, Steve Bartholomew, Peter Chadwick, Tina Chambers, Andy Crawford, Colour Company, Geoff Dann, John Downes,
Michael Dunning, John Edwards, Lynton Gardiner, Steve Gorton, Colin Keates, Tim Kelly, Gary Kevin, Chris King, Dave King, Cyril Laubscher,
Kevin Mallett, Ray Moller, David Murray, Tim Ridley, David Rudkin, Karl Shone, James Stevenson, John Swift, Harry Taylor, Andreas von Einsiedel,
Jerry Young. Illustrators: Graham Allen, Norman Barber, David Bergen, Roby Braun, Peter Bull, Joanna Cameron, Jim Channell, Bob Corley,
Sandra Doyle, David Fathers, Roy Flooks, Tony Gibbons, Mike Gillah, Tony Graham, Peter Griffiths, Terry Hadler, Edwina Hannah, Charlotter Hard,
Kaye Hodges, Keith Hume, Ray Hutchins, Aziz Khan, Pavel Kostal, Norman Lacey, Stuart Lafford, Kenneth Lilly, Linden Artists, Steve Lings, Mike
Loates, Chris Lyon, Alan Male, Richard Manning, Janos Marffy, Josephine Martin, Annabel Milne, Sean Milne, Patrick Mulray, Richard Orr, Alex Pang,
Darren Pattenden, Liz Pepperell, Jane Pickering, Gill Platt, Maurice Pledger, Sebastian Quigley, Christine Robins, Eric Rome, Michelle Ross, Simon
Roulstone, Colin Salmon, John Searl, Pete Serjeant, Rob Shone, Clive Spong, Roger Stewart, John Temperton Grose Thurston, Graham Turner, Brian
Watson, Phil Weare, Sonia Whillock, John Woodcock, Michael Woods. Models: Celia Allen, Roby Braun, Atlas Models, Cheltenham Cutaway Exhibits
Ltd, Crystal Palace Park, London, Arril Johnson, Donks Models, Centaur Studios, Norrie Carr Model Agency, Peter Giffiths, John Holmes, Scallywags
Model Agency, Truly Scrumptious Child Model Agency.
Big Book of
Knowledge
Contents
Insects and
Chapter 1
earth and SpaCe 8 Spiders 108

Earth 10
Dinosaurs 132
Space 34

Chapter 2
the natural World 56 Birds 152

Mammals
186
Plant Life 58

The
Human
Sea Life Body
84 218
Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Our WOrld 248 SCienCe and teChnOlOgy 392

People
in the Science
Past 250 and
Machines
394

Arts and
Entertainment
294

Food and Energy and Industry 428

Farming 320
Transportation 452

People and Places 348 Index 474

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
It’s easy to use the Big Book of Knowledge. Start by looking at the contents
page. There you will see that the book has four chapters, which are divided
into different subject areas. Find a subject or a picture that interests you,
and turn to that page. If you can’t find what you want on the contents page,
look it up in the index at the back. This is an alphabetical list of everything
covered in the book. After each entry, there is a list of all the pages on
which that topic is mentioned.
See how the index works by looking up
“butterflies.” Turn to all the pages listed after UTTERFLIES
Butterf lies are perhaps the most beautiful of all
B
the entry until you find the main page for insects. It is amazing to think that a fat, leaf-eating
caterpillar can become a brightly colored, f luttering
Butterflies shown here. creature of the air. The change happens in the
butterf ly chrysalis. The caterpillar’s body is broken

This page uses a picture of that section to down and completely changed. After about four
weeks, a fully formed butterf ly emerges.

tell you about some of the regular features Time to wake up

The butterfly comes
1. No longer a caterpillar,
a beautiful butterfly

you will find in the Big Book of Knowledge. out of the chrysalis in
three stages. During
this time it is very
comes out of the
chrysalis with
its wings
open to attack crumpled up.
by hungry
birds or
spiders.

Title and Introduction

Each double page deals
with a different subject.
BUTTERFLIES
Butterf lies are perhaps the most beautiful of all
Happy landings
A clouded yellow butterfly comes
in to land on a thistle. Butterfly
flight is more controlled than it
looks. The insect is able to
In the background
Some butterflies make a tasty meal fo
birds. But if they are able to blend in
their background, they may avoid bei
eaten. The open wings of the Indian l
The title tells you exactly insects. It is amazing to think that a fat, leaf-eating
caterpillar can become a brightly colored, f luttering
change course instantly and
make sudden landings.
butterfly have a strikin
orange pattern. But

what the subject is, and creature of the air. The change happens in the Monarchs on the move
Butterflies feed through a tube
when its wings are clos
the butterfly looks exac
butterf ly chrysalis. The caterpillar’s body is broken Most butterflies are born, like an old, dry leaf.
the introduction gives down and completely changed. After about four
called a proboscis. This is
live, and die in one place.
coiled up when not in use.
But when winter comes
you some basic weeks, a fully formed butterf ly emerges. Butterflies
to the eastern
coasts ofhave
North
and western
clubbed
America, Wings closed,

information about it. Time to wake up

The butterfly comes
1. No longer a caterpillar,
a beautiful butterfly
thousandsantennae.
of monarchs
fly south to the warmth of Wings open.
California and Mexico. When
resting on leaf.

out of the chrysalis in comes out of the 2. The butterfly must stay 3.When its wings have
warm weather returns to their

BUTTERFLIES
three stages. During chrysalis with still for many hours, as blood hardened, the butterfly
first home, they fly north again.
this time it is very its wings is pumped into the wing veins is ready to fly off to find
Happy landings
crumpled up. In the background
open to attack to stretch the wings. Later it its first meal of nectar.
A clouded yellow butterfly comes Some butterflies make a tasty meal for
by hungry in to land on a thistle. Butterfly birds. But if they are able to blend in with holds its wings apart to
birds or 116
flight is more controlled than it their background, they may avoid being let them harden.
Butterf lies are perhaps the most beautiful of all spiders. looks. The insect is able to eaten. The open wings of the Indian leaf W
insects. It is amazing to think that a fat, leaf-eating change course instantly and butterfly have a striking
caterpillar can become a brightly colored, f luttering make sudden landings. orange pattern. But
when its wings are closed,
creature of the air. The change happens in the the butterfly looks exactly
butterf ly chrysalis. The caterpillar’s body is broken
down and completely changed. After about four
Butterflies feed through a tube
called a proboscis. This is
coiled up when not in use.
like an old, dry leaf.
Captions
weeks, a fully formed butterf ly emerges. Butterflies
have clubbed Wings closed,
Most double pages
Brilliant
Time to wake up
The butterfly comes
1. No longer a caterpillar,
a beautiful butterfly
antennae.
Wings open.
resting on leaf.
feature one large, exciting
butterflies
G

picture. All around it,

out of the chrysalis in comes out of the 2. The butterfly must stay 3.When its wings have
three stages. During chrysalis with still for many hours, as blood hardened, the butterfly
this time it is very its wings is pumped into the wing veins is ready to fly off to find
open to attack
by hungry
birds or
crumpled up.
Monarchs ontothe
stretch
holds its
Most butterflies
the wings. Later it
move
arewings
born,apart to
its first meal of nectar.
captions point out
let them harden.
spiders. live, and die in one place.
But when winter comes important details. They
Wallace’s golden birdwing
Scaly wings
to the eastern and western The wings of both butterflies
coasts of North America,
thousands of monarchs
will help you to look tiny
and moths are covered with
scales, which overlap like
fly south to the warmth of
California and Mexico. When carefully at the picturethe tiles on a roof. Bright
colors can either be used to
warm weather returns to their
first home, they fly north again. and understand it. predators that the butterfly,
attract a mate, or to warn
Glass swallowtail butterfly

or moth, is not good to eat. Cram

116 117
Monarchs on the move
Most butterflies are born, 88 butterfly
live, and die in one place.
But when winter comes Scaly wings
to the eastern and western The wings of both butterflies
coasts of North America, and moths are covered with
thousands of monarchs tiny scales, which overlap like
fly south to the warmth of the tiles on a roof. Bright
 Measurements

BUTTERFLIES
In most cases, units of measurement are spelled
out, but in some places you will come across the
following
s are perhaps abbreviations.
the most beautiful of all
Happy landings
A clouded yellow butterfly comes
in to land on a thistle. Butterfly
flight is more controlled than it
looks. The insect is able to
In the background
Some butterflies make a tasty meal for
birds. But if they are able to blend in with
their background, they may avoid being
eaten. The open wings of the Indian leaf
is amazing to think that a fat, leaf-eating change course instantly and butterfly have a striking
r can become cm a = centimeters
brightly colored, f luttering make sudden landings. orange pattern. But
when its wings are closed,
of the air. The change happens in the
m caterpillar’s
chrysalis. The = body meters
is broken
Butterflies feed through a tube
the butterfly looks exactly
like an old, dry leaf.
called a proboscis. This is
completelykm = about
changed. After kilometers
four coiled up when not in use.
ully formed butterf ly emerges.
km/h = kilometers per hour Butterflies
have clubbed Wings closed, Brilliant
e up l 1. No longer=a caterpillar,
liters antennae.
Wings open.
resting on leaf. butterflies
comes a beautiful butterfly
ysalis in comes out of the 2. The butterfly must stay Stories3.When inits wings
a Box have
During chrysalis with
very its wings Amazing
still for many hours, as blood
is pumped into the wing veins facts or stories appear in a box.
hardened, the butterfly
is ready to fly off to find
k crumpled up.
Sometimes
to stretch the wings. Later it
holds its wings apart to boxes
its first meal of nectar.
suggest experiments
Happy landings In the background
let them harden.
to try, or things to do that willgolden
Wallace’s help you
birdwing
A clouded yellow butterfly comes
in to land on a thistle. Butterfly
Some butterflies make a tasty meal for
birds. But if they are able to blend in with
understand the subject better.
flight is more controlled than it their background, they may avoid being
looks. The insect is able to eaten. The open wings of the Indian leaf
Happy landings
change course instantly and In the background
butterfly have a striking
A cloudedmake
yellow butterfly
sudden landings. comes Some butterflies make
orange pattern. But a tasty meal for
when its wings are closed,
in to land on a thistle. Butterfly birds. But the if they looks
are exactly
able to blend in with

ERFLIES Picture Catalogs

butterfly
Butterflies feed through a tube
flight is more
calledcontrolled than
a proboscis. This is it their background,
like an old, drythey
leaf. may avoid being
Happy landings In the background Glass swallowtail butterfly
looks. The coiled
insect is able
up when not into
change course instantly Butterflies
use.
and
eaten. The open wings of theA Indian cloudedleaf
butterfly haveinatostriking
yellow butterfly comes
land on a thistle. Butterfly
On some pages, you
Some butterflies make a tasty meal for
birds. But if they are able to blend in with
make sudden landings. antennae. have clubbed Wings closed,orange pattern. Butis more controlled than it
flight
Brilliant will find a row of small
their background, they may avoid being
most beautiful of all resting on leaf.
when its wingsbutterflies
are closed,
looks. The insect is able to eaten. The open wings of the Indian leaf
Monarchs on the move
k thatButterflies
a fat,Mostleaf-eating
butterflies are born,
Wings open.
the butterfly looks
changeexactly
course instantly and pictures that are similar
butterfly have a striking
feed
2. Thethrough
butterfly a tube
must stay 3.When its wings have 88 butterfly
ightlycalled
colored,live, andstill
But when
dieforin
isfpumped
a proboscis. onehours,
luttering
many
This
winterintocomes
place.
is
as blood
the wing veins
hardened, the butterfly like an old, dry
is ready to fly off to find
makeleaf.
sudden landings. to the large one. Try to
orange pattern. But
Scaly wingswhen its wings are closed,
coiled to
nge happens upthe
when
in
easternnotand
the
to stretch in wings.
the use.
western
holds its wings apart to
coasts ofletNorth America,
Later it its first meal of nectar.
Butterflies feed through a tube
The wings ofthe
and moths are
both figure out the differences
butterflies
butterfly
covered with
looks exactly
erpillar’s thousands
body isofthem
broken
Butterflies
harden. like an old, dry leaf.
ged. After about
fly south to thefour
monarchs
have
warmth of clubbed
Wallace’scalled
golden a
Wings closed, coiled up when not
proboscis. This is
birdwing
in use. the tiles on a roof. Bright
between them.
tiny scales, which overlap like
Brilliant
California and Mexico.antennae. When resting on leaf. colors can either be used to
ly emerges.
warm weather returns to their butterflies
Butterflies attract a mate, or to warn
Wings open.
first home, they fly north again. have clubbed predators that
Wingstheclosed,
butterfly,
antennae. or moth, isresting
not good Brilliant
2. The butterfly must stay
o longer a caterpillar, 3.When its wings have on to eat.
leaf. Cramer’s blue morpho butterfly
butterflies
still for
a beautiful butterfly many hours, as blood hardened, the butterfly Wings open.
116 Glass swallowtail butterfly 117
comes is outpumped
of the into the wing veins is ready to fly off to find 2. The butterfly must stay 3.When its wings have
to stretch
chrysalis with the wings. Later it its first meal of nectar. still for many hours, as blood hardened, the butterfly
holds its wings apart to
its wings is pumped into the wing veins is ready to fly off to find
crumpled
let them up.harden. to stretch the wings. Later it its first meal of nectar.
88 butterfly Wallace’s golden birdwing
holds its wings apart to
Scaly wings let them harden.
The wings of both butterflies Wallace’s golden birdwing
and moths are covered with
tiny scales, which overlap like
the tiles on a roof. Bright
colors can either be used to
attract a mate, or to warn
predators that the butterfly,
or moth, is not good to eat. Cramer’s blue morpho butterfly
117 Glass swallowtail butterfly
Glass swallowtail butterfly

88 butterfly
on the move
erflies are born,
Close-ups
88 butterfly
die in one place. Scaly wings
The wings of both butterflies
Occasionally, you will find
winter comes Scaly wings
tern and western and moths are covered with an image that showsTheyou wings of both butterflies
tiny scales, which overlap like
North America,
of monarchs the tiles on a roof. Bright something in more and detail.
moths are covered with
tiny scales, which overlap like
e warmth of
Mexico. When
colors can either be used to
attract a mate, or to warn
This picture, for instance, the tiles on a roof. Bright
colors can either be used to
turns to their predators that the butterfly, shows you what a butterfly’sattract a mate, or to warn
fly north again. or moth, is not good to eat. predators that the butterfly,
wing
Cramer’slooks likebutterfly
blue morpho up close!
or moth, is not good to eat. Cramer’s blue morpho butterfly
117
116 117

7
 chapter 1

EARTH
AND SPACE
To us, our planet Earth seems enormous, but if we
were able to gaze at it across the vastness of space,
it would look like a tiny speck. It is one of the eight
planets that are constantly hurtling around a star—
our sun—along individual elliptical paths called orbits.
Together, the sun and its planets are known as
the solar system. This, in turn, is part of a cluster
of millions of stars and planets, called a galaxy.
Our galaxy, which is shaped like a spiral, is called
the Milky Way. It is so huge that a jet would take
more than 100 billion years to fly across it.
Scientists think that there are at least 200 billion
different galaxies in our universe.
Stars are made from layers of burning gas around
a dense core. Some planets are also mostly gas,
but other planets and moons are rocky, like Earth.

Earth
Space
EARTH Imagine you are an astronaut
looking at Earth from your
spacecraft. What you see is
a big blue ball covered with
swirling clouds that hide
features such as continents and
mountains. The ball looks so blue
because more than two-thirds of it
is covered with water in the form of
oceans, seas, lakes and rivers.
The surface of Earth, called the
crust, moves all the time, but this
movement is so slow that we are not
aware of it. Eventually, however,
pressure builds up and causes
earthquakes. Changes also happen
when the crust is worn away by water
or huge blocks of moving ice called
glaciers, or when volcanoes erupt.
Our planet can support life only
because it gets light and heat from
the sun. Without it, the Earth would
be a cold, dark and dead place.

The Himalaya mountains in Nepal look

very different from far out in space.

10
Stalactites
form in
caves.

Green
Sandstone Pumice marble

Uluru in Australia is made of sandstone.

Earth photographed
from a satellite
EARTH’S The crust is a thin
layer of rock between

CRUST
3.7 and 43.5 miles
(6 and 70 kilometers) thick.
The mantle is the layer
below the crust. Parts
of it are molten where
volcanoes form.
Just like you, Earth has a very
thin skin. It is so thin that if
you compare it to the whole
Earth, it is thinner than the
skin of an apple.
  Earth’s skin, or crust, The outer core
is made up of rock, built is made of iron
and nickel that
up in layers over millions have melted to
of years. The layers look form a liquid.
like blankets on a bed,
with lots of lumps The inner core is a ball of
and bumps in them. iron and nickel. It is hotter
here than at the outer core,
but the ball stays solid.

How mountains are made

Many mountains are made when
the Earth’s crust is pushed up Overfold
in big folds or forced up or
down in blocks. The different
shapes made are given Downfold
different names.

Upfold
The sea lies on top of the The land is made out of
oceanic crust. Some of it is the continental crust. It is
found underneath the edge thickest where mountains
of the continental crust. are found.

Under the oceans the crust The mantle

is as little as 3.7 miles (six
kilometers) thick, but under Going down
the continents it is up to This is a rift valley. It was made
43.5 miles (70 kilometers) thick. when a block of land sank down
between two long breaks, called
Block faults, in the Earth’s crust.
mountain

Fault
Rift valley

A long way to go Going up

Did you know that the deepest hole ever Here the land has been pushed into
drilled into Earth’s crust is only 7.5 miles giant folds by movements in the Earth’s
(12 kilometers) deep? To reach the center of the crust. You can see how the crust is
Earth, you would have to drill 500 times deeper. made up of lots and lots of layers
of rock.

13
MOVING
All scrunched up
Sometimes, two plates
push against each other
and then crumple the

P LATES
land to make huge
mountain ranges.

Going down
Sometimes, one plate
The Earth’s surface is not slides under another.
one unbroken piece. It is It is pushed down into
the mantle and melts.
made up of many pieces that
fit together like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
Doing the splits
These pieces, called plates, move as Sometimes, two plates
the mantle slowly moves beneath them. split apart and lava
The movement of the plates can cause bubbles up to fill the
gap. It hardens and
spectacular effects—earthquakes split makes new land.
the crust, volcanoes form, new land is
made, and huge mountain ranges are Slip sliding away
pushed skyward. Sometimes, two plates
slip past each other.
This is another kind
of movement that
causes earthquakes.
The red dots show
On the move you the places where
The plates are never earthquakes happen. Continent
still, they are always
moving. In one year
they can move about
1 inch (2.5 centimeters),
about as much as your
fingernails grow in the
same amount of time.
 ION YEAR
ILL S
Past, present, future 0
M Changing places

AG
Have you ever wondered what

30
The land is coming together

O
Earth looked like in the past? to make one gigantic continent.
These pictures show you how the
continents have moved over the N
ILLIO YEARS
last 300 million years, and how 0M AG
25
the world may look 50 million

O
A All together
years from now.

E
The supercontinent

GA
PAN
has come together.
It is called Pangaea.

ON YEAR
ILLI SA
0M GO
20

Worlds apart LAURASIA

The land is
drifting apart
again. Pangaea
is splitting into
two, Laurasia and GONDWANALAND
Gondwanaland.

TODAY
The restless Earth
This spot in Iceland is where two plates are
moving apart, forming new land in the gap.
Familiar ground
These lines show Today, the world
where two plates meet. looks like this, but
the continents are
still moving.

IO N YEARS’
M ILL TIM
50 E
Looking Ahead
This is how the
world may look
in 50 million years.
Can you spot how
the land has
changed its shape?
To start you off,
find Africa on the
globe and see how
it has joined up
with Europe.

15
VOLCANOES
When you shake up a can of soda pop and open
it, the contents shoot out with a great whoosh! Some Volcanoes can be
volcanoes act a bit like this. With tremendous force, quiet and not erupt
molten (melted) rock bursts through weak parts in the for a long time.
Earth’s crust and is hurled high into the sky. This
molten rock is called magma when still inside
Hot springs are
the Earth, and lava after it has erupted. often found near
volcanoes.

Nature’s
The spotter’s guide to volcano shapes
fireworks
This volcano is
putting on its
own spectacular
fireworks
display. The
explosions of
red-hot lava and
ash from the Spreading out Short and plump Going up
crater look like The lava from shallow Cinder cones are a bit Composite volcanoes
gigantic “Roman shield volcanoes is bigger. They are made have pointed cones.
Candles.” runny, so it spreads of ash, which is lava Their lava is thick
out in a thin sheet. that has turned to dust. and sticky.

16
 River of fire
The red-hot molten
rock that is streaming
down the sides of this
volcano is beautiful but
deadly. It is so hot that
it can melt steel.

Clouds of ash Molten rock, called

and gas pour out magma, rises up the
from the crater. main pipe and any
branch pipes.

A volcano builds Mixed bunch

up from layers of When lava cools and hardens,
ash and lava. it can make rocks with different
shapes. Here are three types:

Branch pipe

Aa lava

Pahoehoe
lava

Magma collects in a
chamber found deep
underground. It is forced
up through cracks and A volcanic
holes in the ground. ‘bomb’

17
 EARTHQUAKES
Our planet is a restless place. Several hundred
times a day, the ground suddenly rumbles and
trembles. Most of the movements are so slight Fires are started
by broken gas
that they are not felt. Others bring disaster. pipes and broken
Big cracks appear in the land, streets buckle, and buildings electrical cables.
crumble. Whole towns and cities can be destroyed.
Then everything settles down but is totally changed.
Earth has shaken and an earthquake has happened.
Telephone lines
brought down

Cars are
smashed and
they settle at
crazy angles.

Unsafe ground
This is the San Andreas Fault
in California. Earthquakes
regularly happen here.

Terror from the sea On this side of the fault the

Earthquakes under the sea can land has moved toward you.
cause long, giant, destructive
waves called tsunamis.

An earthquake occurs along Tsunamis can travel many

a fault in the seabed. miles across the ocean.
18
Why earthquakes happen
You may think that your feet Shaken up
are firmly on the ground, but The Mercalli Scale
Earth’s crust is moving all the measures how much the
time. It is made of moving parts surface of the Earth shakes
called plates. When the plates during an earthquake. There
slide past or into each other, are 12 intensities, or grades.
the rocks jolt and send At intensity 1, the effects
out shock waves. are not felt, but by intensity
12, the shock waves can be
seen and there is
total destruction.

What to do in an
earthquake
Indoors, lie down
under a bed or heavy
table, or stand in a
doorway or a corner
of a room. After a
minute, when the
tremors will usually
have finished, go
outside, away from
buildings, to a
wide-open space.

Earthquake words
The place within the Earth where
an earthquake starts is called the focus.
The earthquake is usually strongest
at the epicenter. This is the point on the
Earth’s surface directly above the focus.
The study of earthquakes and the shock
waves they send out is called seismology.

Destructive force
On this side A tsunami piles up and gets very tall
Fault line of the fault the before it crashes onto the shore. It is so
land has moved powerful that it can smash harbors
away from you. and towns and sweep ships inland.
A tsunami jet.
can b
e more than s fast as a
98 feet (30 me travel a
ters) high and can

19
 ROCKS Movements in the Earth’s
crust are slowly changing the
rocks that make up the surface
of our planet. Mountains are
pushed up and weathered
away, and the fragments moved and
made into other rocks. These rocks Sedimentary rocks
These are made from bits
may be dragged down into the of rock and plant and
mantle and melted by its fierce heat. animal remains. They
When a volcano erupts, the are broken into fine
pieces and carried by
melted rock is thrown to the Limestone rivers into the sea. They
surface as lava, which cools pile up in layers and
and hardens as rock. This is press together to
make solid rock.
broken down by weathering, The Painted Desert,
and so the cycle starts again. in Arizona, is made
of sedimentary rocks.
Conglomerate
Red sandstone
In the beginning
Rocks belong to three basic types. Igneous Rock fragments called
rocks are made from magma or lava. The word In time, material moved sediments are carried
igneous means “fiery.” Sedimentary rocks are by rivers and piled up by rivers, glaciers,
made in layers from broken rocks. Metamorphic in the sea will become the wind, and the sea.
rocks can start off as any type. They are sedimentary rocks.
changed by heat and weight and the word
metamorphic means “changed.”

Recently formed sedimentary rocks

20
 Igneous rocks
These are made from
magma or lava. It cools
and hardens inside the
Earth’s crust or on
the surface when it
erupts from a volcano.
Sugarloaf Mountain in
Brazil was once igneous
rock under the crust. The Marble
rocks above and around Metamorphic rocks
it have been worn away. These are igneous
or sedimentary rocks
that are changed by
underground heat,
underground weight,
or both. This marble
was once limestone,
a sedimentary rock.
It was changed into
marble by intense heat. Slate

Granite Some rocks are thrust

Obsidian up as mountain ranges Volcano
when the crust moves
Surface rocks are broken and makes giant folds.
down by the weather and by Glacier
the scraping effect of tiny pieces
of rock carried in the wind
or in the ice of glaciers.

Magma that erupts

from a volcano
becomes lava, and
Molten rock that forms extrusive
cools and hardens igneous rock.
inside the Earth is
called intrusive
igneous rock. Metamorphic rocks Folded rocks Magma

21
 CAVES
Going down
Water dripping from the
ceiling of a cave leaves
behind a mineral called
calcite. Very slowly, this
Caves are hollows beneath the surface of grows downward in an
icicle shape that is called
the Earth. The biggest ones are all found a stalactite.
in rock called limestone and some are
huge. The world’s biggest cave, in Sarawak, is
so large that you could fit 800 tennis courts in
it. Yet these caves began simply as cracks or The stream disappears
holes in the rock that, over thousands of underground into a pothole.
years, were made bigger by rainwater trickling This pothole, or tunnel,
into them and dissolving the surrounding rock. leads straight down
through the rock. It was
Limestone is a very common made by a stream wearing
rock. It is made from the away the rock.
skeletons and shells of tiny
sea creatures that
died millions of
years ago.
Drip . . .
The rainwater that seeps into the
ground is very slightly acidic and
begins to dissolve the limestone.

Drip . . .
The rainwater continues to dissolve
the rock. It widens the cracks into
pits, passages and caves.

Drip
Over thousands of years, the
passages and caves may join up to
make a huge underground system.
Tunnel of lava
Caves are found in rocks other than limestone. This
one is made of lava and is inside a volcano in Hawaii.

Cracks in the rock are

widened when rainwater Limestone pavements are
seeps along them. made when the rock
dissolves along joint lines.

Caving in
Sometimes a cave turns into a gorge.
This happens when the roof falls in to
reveal underground caverns and, far
below, the river that carved them.

Cliff

Gallery

Cave
mouth

Stream
Going up
Where water drips onto
the cave floor, columns of
calcite, called stalagmites,
grow upward.
OCEANS
With oceans and seas making up
Sun

71 percent of the Earth’s surface,

more than two-thirds of our planet Earth
is covered with water. Beneath the
waves lies a fascinating landscape.
Much of the ocean floor is a vast Moon
plain, but there are also trenches,
Ebbing and flowing
cliffs, and mountains, all larger Tides are made by the
than any found on dry land. sun and moon pulling on
the oceans. When the sun,
Earth, and moon are in
Ocean currents a line, there are large
These show the directions spring tides.
in which water flows.

Cold currents

Warm currents
Trenches can be
These underwater deeper than the highest
Underwater canyons are cut islands are mountains on land.
by currents flowing over the called guyots.
seabed like rivers.
 Surface

Lighted zone,
up to 660 feet
(200 meters)

Dark zone, up
to 13,000 feet
(4,000 meters)
Going . . . Going . . . Gone
The water inside a Near the shore, the The top of the wave
Deepest zone,
wave moves around and circular shape of the becomes unstable. a trench of
around in a circle. It is wave is changed and When it hits the beach, 36,200 feet
the wind that drives the it becomes squashed. it topples and spills over. (11,034 meters)
wave forward.
Wind direction
The dark depths
Even in clear water,
Ocean currents
sunlight cannot reach
The direction in which currents
very far. The oceans
move depends on winds and the
become darker and
Earth’s spin. Winds blow the top
darker the farther down
of the oceans forward, but the
you go, until everything
Earth’s spin makes the water
turns inky black.
below go in a spiral. Main
current

This island is a volcano

that has erupted from A long, wide
the ocean floor. ocean ridge

Water, heated by
hot rocks, shoots
back into the sea.
Molten rock rises
up, cools, and
forms new
seabed.
Frozen worlds
In Antarctica and the
Arctic, the oceans freeze.
Icebergs break away from
glaciers flowing into the
water. Only a tiny part of
an iceberg is seen above
the surface of the ocean.
 COASTLINES
Have you ever built a sand castle and then watched
Some waves carry sand
and pebbles from one part
the sea come in, knock it down, and flatten it? of the coast and leave
them at another. This
This is what happens to the coastline, the place makes a new beach.
where the land and the sea meet. The coastline
Headland
changes all the time because, every few
seconds of every day, waves hit the land
and either wear it away or build
it up into different shapes.

Going, going, gone

When caves made on An arch
both sides of a headland
meet, an arch is formed.
If the top of
the arch falls
down, a pillar
of rock, called
a stack, is left.

A cave is made when seawater

gets into cracks and holes in a
A stack cliff and makes them bigger.
Some beaches are made in
bays between headlands
where the water is shallow
and the waves are weak.

Pounding away
Waves pound the coastline
like a giant hammer until
huge chunks of rock are
broken off. The chunks are
then carried away by the sea
and flung against the
coastline somewhere else.

26
 From rocks to sand
Waves roll rocks and
boulders backward and
forward on the shore.
The boulders break into
pebbles and then into
tiny grains of sand. This
change takes hundreds
or thousands of years.

Shifting sands
Dunes are made of sand
blown into low hills by
the wind.

An estuary is the place

where a river flows Sea cliffs are one of
into the sea. the best places to see the
different layers of rock.

Living rock
Coral is found in
warm, sunny, shallow
seas. It is made by
tiny sea creatures that
Mud flats look like flowers. Over
and marshes thousands of years,
their skeletons build
up into huge coral
reefs and islands.
Waves can build sand, mud, and
pebbles into a long strip of new
land. It is called a spit.

27
GLACIERS
Glaciers begin as
Mountains huge snowfields.

A glacier is like a huge river of

ice that starts its life as a
tiny snowflake. As more
and more snow falls and
builds up, in time it gets
squashed under its own
weight and turns to ice.
A glacier moves very slowly
downhill. Because it is very heavy, it
can push rock along like a bulldozer.
It can wear away the sides of
mountains, smooth off the jagged The snow collects in
hollows and turns to
bits from rocks, and move giant ice under its own weight.
boulders over dozens of miles.
Glaciers usually move
downhill very slowly,
no more than a few
inches each day.

The ice begins to move and rub

away the sides and bottom of the
hollow. Little by little, it changes
the shape of the land and makes
it into a U-shaped valley.

Ice power
When the water
in this bottle
freezes and turns
to ice, it takes up
more room and
breaks the bottle.
When the water
that makes up
the ice of a
glacier freezes, it
Close-up view takes up more
The pilot in this plane is watching a wall room and pushes
of ice break away from a glacier and away the rock.
begin to crash into the water below.

28
 Rubble is
carried along
by the glacier.

Shaping the land

When you see a valley like this, you can tell
from its U shape that it was once filled with
the ice of a glacier.

Melted ice
flows as streams
and rivers beneath
most glaciers.
Bumps in the rock
can be smoothed Out of place
out by the ice This giant boulder of hard
moving downhill. rock was moved by a
glacier and left on soft
limestone. Then, most
of the limestone was
weathered away,
leaving a small block
under the boulder.
Where a glacier flows
into water, chunks
of ice break off and
float away.
Rocks carried along by
the glacier pile up when the
glacier starts to melt and
stops pushing them. When the glacier
The lower end of the glacier melts, it makes
is called the “snout.” new rivers.

29
 RIVERS
Rivers are very powerful, so powerful that
A river usually begins
in mountains or hills.
Its water comes from Where the rock is
the force of the moving water is able to rain or melted snow. hard, the river
makes rapids or
change the shape of the land. As they flow waterfalls.
through mountains and over plains, rivers
Glacier
carry away huge amounts of rock, sand,
and mud. They then dump it somewhere
else, usually on riverbanks or in the
sea, to make new land.

Over the top

When a river tumbles over the edge
of a steep cliff or over a hard, rocky
ledge, it is called a waterfall. This
one is in Brazil, South America.

As the river flows quickly down steep Oxbow lake

slopes, it wears away the rock to
make a V-shaped valley.

Sand, mud, and gravel

is left by the water
as sediment.
30
 Round the bend
When a river reaches
flat land, it slows down
and begins to flow in
large loops. It leaves
behind sand, gravel, and
mud, called deposits.
This changes the river’s
shape and course.

The river leaves

River deep deposits on the inside
A gorge is a deep, narrow valley carved by a river. bend and eats away
The Colorado River has made the largest gorge in the outer bend.
the world—the Grand Canyon. It is 1 mile (1.6 km)
deep and 227 miles (446 km) long.

The deposits change

the shape of the bend.
In time, the neck of
the bend narrows
and the ends of the
neck join up.
River’s end
This swampy land is part of the
Yukon Delta in Alaska.

A wide bend
or meander goes The river leaves behind
across flat country. a loop. It is called an
oxbow lake because
As it reaches the sea,
of its shape.
the river divides into
small streams, leaving
Record rivers
a mass of sand,
The Nile, in Africa, is the longest
mud, and rock
river in the world. It is 4,130 miles
fragments,
(6,650 km) long. The largest
called a
delta covers 40,500 square miles
delta.
(105,000 sq km). It is made by the
Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers,
in Bangladesh and India.

31
 DESERTS
Did you know that deserts come in many
different forms? They can be a sea of rolling
sand, a huge area of flat and stony ground, or
mountainous areas of shattered rock. There
are hot deserts and cold deserts. So what do
these very different areas have in common?
Tail dunes The answer is that they are all
Wind very dry and they all get less
than 10 inches (25 cm) of
rain each year. This rain
may not fall regularly. Sea of sand
Crescent dunes Instead, it may all come A desert may be hard to live in,
but it can be stunning to look at.
in a single day and cause These dunes are in Saudi Arabia.
a dramatic flash flood. A cuesta is a step of hard rock.
A large, steep-sided area
Natural with a flat top is called
rock arch a mesa.
Linear dunes A butte
is a small,
flat-topped
hill.

Star dunes

Wind power
Wind blows the sand Dunes
into hills which are
called dunes. These Hard rock
have different shapes that has been
and names. worn into a
pinnacle is called a
chimney or pipe rock.

32
 On the move
Imagine the hairdryer is the wind. It blows the
sand up the gentle slope of the dune. When the
sand gets to the top, it tumbles down the steep
slope. As more and more sand
is moved from one slope to
another, the whole dune
moves forward.

Heavy rain makes

flash floods. These rush
over the land, loaded with Broken rocks slide Water power
sand and stones, and cut downhill and collect The tremendous power of water has made
deep channels in the surface in gullies. this deep ravine near an oasis in Tunisia.
of the desert.

Where the rock is hard,

ridges will stand out
in the landscape.

Shaping the land

Wind-borne sand blows against
the rocks and wears them into
beautiful and surprising shapes.

Hot and cold

This is one of the
Devil’s Marbles in the
Northern Territory,
Australia. The rock’s
outer layers have
started to peel off
Steep slopes because of the desert’s
of broken rock very hot and very
cold temperatures.
Outwash fan

33
SPACE
The universe is made up of galaxies,
stars, planets, moons, and other
bodies scattered throughout space.
A galaxy is a group of billions of
stars: our galaxy, which is shaped like
a spiral, is called the Milky Way.
On a clear night, it is possible to
see thousands of stars, which appear
as twinkling points of light. The Earth’s
moon is usually clear, and
sometimes you can also see
five of the planets: Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and
Saturn. These do not
twinkle, but look like small
steady discs of light. Earth is
the third planet from the sun,
which is about 93 million miles
(150 million kilometers) away
from us. People have always
been curious about the things
Space they could see in the sky. It is
shuttle
only quite recently, though, that
science has developed the advanced
technology needed to send people
into space.
Milky Way

US
EPTUNE N
N
A
UR

S
A
T
UR
N

34
 MERCURY

SUN
VENUS

EARTH

MARS

Asteroid belt

R
ITE
JUP

Rings

35
ROCKETS
Rockets were invented in China a long
time ago. They looked a bit like arrows
and worked by burning gunpowder, which
burns up very quickly, so the rockets did
not travel very far. Since then, people have V-2 Rocket Gemini
tried many ways of sending rockets up 1945 Titan 1964
into space. Modern rockets usually use The Fly!
two liquid fuels. They In 1931 Johannes Winkler
mix together and burn. launched his HW-1 rocket.
It went 6.5 feet (two meters)
Then the hot gas shoots into the air, turned over,
out of the tail, pushing and fell back to the ground. A
the rocket up and away. month later he tried again and
this time it climbed to 300 feet
(90 meters) and landed 650 feet
(200 meters) away.
3, 2, 1, fire!
A hundred years ago,
soldiers used rockets like
this. They were called
Congreve rockets.

Saturn power
Saturn V is one of the
biggest rockets ever built. It is as
tall as a 30-story building! It
was used in the Apollo program,
which carried the first American Fuel tank
astronauts to the moon.
See it go! The
If you blow up a balloon stabilizing
and let it go without tying a fins keep
knot in the neck, the air will the rocket Up, up . . .
rush out very quickly. When on course. How far can you throw a ball?
the air goes out one way, it About 50 or 60 feet? It doesn’t
pushes the balloon the other Five rocket go on forever because the
way—just like a rocket! engines Earth’s gravity pulls it back
down again.

36
 Quest for power Launch
As rockets have Escape
become more Service System
powerful their Module
shapes have
changed. The Command Module
latest ones carry
shuttles into space.

Soyuz
1967
Space Shuttle
1981 Lunar
Module

Rocket
engine

Overpowering
See just how enormous Saturn V’s
engines are compared to these people!
Five rocket
engines

. . . and away Safe landing

To escape from Earth by The Falcon 9 rocket
rocket you have to travel at can leave Earth and
25,000 miles (40,000 soar into outer space
kilometers) per hour— before returning safely
more than 40 times to Earth afterward and
faster than a jet. doing it all over again.

37
 MOON
MISSION
The second stage The Command and Service
drops off when its Modules turn, join onto the
five engines run Lunar Module, and pull it
out of fuel. out of the third stage.

The moon is the Earth’s nearest Astronauts who are going

to the moon crawl
neighbor in space, but it still takes three through a tunnel from
days to get there by rocket. It would take the Command Module
200 days by car! When astronauts first to the Lunar Module.
went to the moon no one could be sure
it would be safe to land there.
Second
But now American astronauts
stage have been to the moon
on Apollo missions
six times and they all
returned safely to Earth.
The first moon trip was in
1969 and the last in 1972.
This air recycling
We have liftoff!
unit keeps the air
The first stage of the
fresh in the cabin.
Saturn V rocket has Lunar Module
five huge engines.
When these run rt h
CSM = Command and Ea
out of fuel they Service Modules ck
to
fall back to Earth.
ba

LM = Lunar Module
wn off
do Lift
M

Then the second CM = Command Module

CS

has

stage takes over.

Spl

docks with LM Earth

own
CSM
LM sd
b
he
it

las

sp
ac
rb

k to CSM
in o

CM
Moon
CSM

Moon trail
The Apollo missions
to the moon followed
a path in the shape
n
oo

m of a figure eight.
s to
LM descend

38
 The top part of the
Lunar Module returns
The Lunar Module drops down to the Command Module.
to the moon with two astronauts
inside. The Command Module
stays in orbit around the moon.

There is not much The Command Module

room in the cabin falls to Earth, using
for three astronauts. parachutes to make
d
an a safe landing in the sea.
m le
m u
Co od Engine nozzle
M

Service Module
Parachute

Fuel tanks

Splashdown!
This Command Module fell through
the Earth’s atmosphere so quickly
that the bottom got burned. It splashed
down in the sea and was picked
up by a helicopter. The balls on
the roof are air balloons which
helped it to float upright if it
turned over in the water.
LUNAR
LANDING A lunar landing is a moon landing.
Mission patch
If you went to the moon you would find
nothing living at all, no air, and no water.
If you stayed for a lunar The Apollo 11 crew
Neil Armstrong and Edwin
“day”—about 28 Earth “Buzz” Aldrin were the
days—you would have first men to walk on the
two weeks of baking sun moon. Michael Collins
stayed in orbit in the
followed by two weeks of Commmand Module.
freezing night. The first
men on the moon went
down in the Lunar Module,
named “Eagle.”
Hanging out the laundry?
No, just setting up a panel to collect
Antenna dust! The moon is covered in dusty
soil and scattered rocks.
Control
panel

Television Hand control

camera
Sample
collection
bags

Seats
Moon buggy
This buggy was
taken to the moon for Space Wire-mesh
the first time in Apollo for storing wheel
15. Its proper name is equipment
the lunar roving vehicle.

40
 Weather or not? Escape
With no wind or rain, tower
the footprints made by
the astronauts will
remain on the moon
forever. The American Command
flag, left on the moon module
by the astronauts, is
held out by a metal bar
because there is no Service
wind to make it fly. module

Third stage
These
engines Lunar
help the module
astronauts
to control the
Lunar Module.
Forward
hatch door

The astronauts carry

radio packs. Sound
cannot travel
without air, so

Second stage
the astronauts
use radios to
talk to each
other.

Ladder

Foot with rounded

pad to stop the leg
from sinking into
the ground.
First stage

Super Saturn
The Saturn V
Earthrise has three stages.
The Lunar Module One of the four fold-up When one stage
is just leaving the “spider” legs. The first runs out of fuel
moon. Behind it you Lunar Module was called it falls off and
can see what Earth “Spider,” but that mission another part
looks like from didn’t land on the moon. takes over.
the moon.

41
MERCURY AND
VENUS
Between the Earth and the sun ME
Crust

R
Magellan
are two planets called C
Mercury and Venus. Iron core

U
R
They are very hot

Y
Hard center
because they are If you could slice
the sun’s nearest Mercury like a
neighbors. Venus peach, you would
find it had a core
is the brightest
made of iron.
object in the night Mariner 10
sky. Mercury is the
smallest planet in the solar system.
Photographs from space probes Antenna
tell us more about these planets.
Hello, goodbye! The solar detector
Mariner 10, intended to made sure that
explore Mercury and Venus, the solar panels Solar panel
was the first probe to visit two were always
planets in a row. It worked for facing the sun. Television cameras
17 months before breaking sent pictures back
down. Launched in 1973, it is to Earth.
now in orbit around the sun.
Dish antenna
rbit ner or
bit
Star
th o Mar i
Ear Earth
Venus orbit detector
ry
M ercu
sun
Mercur y
Ven
u s orb
it

The Journey
of Mariner 10 Happy new year
Mercury travels fast through space
and is the closest planet to the sun.
The Earth orbits the sun every 365 days—
one Earth year. Mercury’s year is 88 days.

42
 Venera 9
Venus
The space probe landing
was in a capsule on
the Venera spacecraft.

The capsule fell

through the
atmosphere
of Venus.
Wish you were here? The brake is
The Magellan probe used shaped like a disk
radar cameras to take pictures to help slow down The heat shield
through the thick fog around the space probe. covers separated
Venus. Computers made this and fell off.
3-D image of the volcanoes.

Venus Venera The probe

Several Russian missions was slowed
went to Venus between down by
1961 and 1984 in Instrument a small
a program called Venera. container parachute.
The spacecraft sent pictures
back to Earth. This is The landing ring
the part of Venera 9 helped to make the
that went down to landing soft.
Venus by parachute.

S
NU Three larger
VE
Hot orange parachutes
Venus has a dense were used
atmosphere that traps heat for the
from the sun. It is the final stage.
hottest planet of all—so
hot it could melt lead!
It has a bright orange
sky with flashes of After a safe
lightning. Earth landing, the
spins around once television cameras
every 24 hours, but and instruments
Venus spins very slowly were switched on.
—once every 244 days!

43
THE RED The Viking lander is
folded into a capsule
on the spacecraft.

PLANET
Mars is called the Red Planet because its soil and
Viking spacecraft
It leaves the
orbiter and begins
its journey down
rocks are red. Light winds blow dust around, to Mars.
which makes the sky look pink. People once
thought there was life on Mars, but nothing
living has been found so far. The television camera
The Viking spacecraft were sent to Mars to takes a series of pictures
find out what it is like. Two missions, Viking 1 as it moves around.
and Viking 2, made the journey.
Perhaps one day It moves so fast
people may go to that it gets
very hot.
live on Mars
because it is the
A parachute is
planet most like used to slow it
our own. down, and then
the heat shield
drops off.
This remote control
arm is used to collect
samples of Mars soil.

Tight fit
The Viking lander
fits into a capsule
on the spacecraft.
With its legs folded
up, it looks a bit
like a tortoise
inside its shell. The legs unfold,
and rockets are
used as brakes for
a soft landing.

The Viking lander

44
Antenna

Satellite dish
Surface of Mars
Other spacecraft have
The color test card been to Mars since the
checks that the camera Viking missions. This
shows the correct colors. image of a huge crater
was taken in 2015 by
the Mars Reconnaissance
This container Orbiter.
is for soil
samples. Red desert
Mars is very cold. It has lots of dead
volcanoes, craters and dried-up
rivers. It looks like a rusty,
rocky desert.

Weather
instruments

Landing
shock
absorber
Leggy landers
The Viking
spacecraft took
about a year to
reach Mars. The
landers tested soil
and sent pictures
back to Earth.

The landing feet have rounded pads to stop

the legs from digging into the soft soil.

45
JUPITER AND
SATURN
These two giants are the largest planets in
the solar system. Jupiter is made of gas and
liquid so it is not solid enough to land on, but
if you could drive a car around its equator it
would take six months of nonstop traveling. Spinning Saturn
A similar journey around Saturn is a giant spinning ball of gas
and liquid held together by gravity.
Earth’s equator would This photograph shows a storm
take only two weeks. rotating over the north pole.
Saturn is a beautiful planet
with shining rings around its
middle. Both planets spin
around very fast, pulling
the clouds into stripes. Radio
antenna
A power supply is carried on
the probe. It does not use solar
power because it is working
so far from the sun.
S

A
T
U
R N

This disk Seven cold rings

has pictures of Saturn’s rings are
Earth and sounds, made up of glittering
such as a baby pieces of ice like
Dish
crying and music. trillions of snowballs.
antenna
If aliens find the
disk it will tell
them about Voyager voyages
Earth. The probes sent to explore
Jupiter and Saturn were called
Television Voyager. Voyager 1 did its job so
cameras well that Voyager 2 was rerouted
to go on to Uranus and Neptune.

46
 Pioneer picture Power supply
The program for sending
unmanned spacecraft to
Jupiter was called Pioneer. Asteroid and
Pioneer 10 succeeded, so meteor detector
11 went on to Saturn. Both
sent back lots of pictures.

Pioneer

Mega moons Dish

Jupiter has 79 moons circling antenna
around it. The largest is
called Ganymede. It is
bigger than Mercury. Sun
sensor
10
ee r
on
Pi

Earth
Jupiter
Jupiter orbit
Saturn orbit
Saturn
Pio
ne
Voyager 1

er
1 1

Uranus Uranus orbit

Vo
yag
er
2

R
One-way ticket

E
The journeys of Pioneer 10
and 11 and of Voyager 1 T
I
Neptune P
and 2 passed several of U
J
the planets. These
spacecraft are now
heading for the stars.

Red storm
Jupiter, like Saturn, has a
small, rocky core surrounded
by liquid. It has icy clouds
and a giant red spot which
is the center of a huge storm.

Swirling winds blow

Jupiter’s clouds into a
hurricanelike storm.
47
THE OUTER
Sideways spinner
Uranus looks as if
it is spinning on its

PLANETS
side. It is covered
in dense fog.
US
N
A

R
U
Uranus and Neptune are the farthest
planets from the sun so they are called the
outer planets. They are very cold. Uranus
was the first planet to be discovered using
a telescope because you cannot see it from
Earth just with your eyes. Pluto orbits
outside Neptune and used to be
classed as the ninth planet of the The rings of Uranus
are made of rocks.
solar system until 2006, when it The widest ring
was reclassified as a dwarf planet. is 62 miles (100
There are many other dwarf kilometers) across. Outer solar system
planets in the solar system,
including Cerea, Eris,
Haumea, and Makemake.

Ellipses
The planets move around
the sun in squashed circles
called ellipses.This girl is
drawing ellipses.

Order of orbits
The word planet means wanderer.
The planets travel around the sun in
paths, called orbits. The ones nearer
the sun have shorter orbits than
the ones farther away. One way of
remembering the order of the planets
in the solar system is to remember the This diagram shows the
sentence “My Very Educated Mother orbits of the planets and their
Just Served Us Noodles.” places in the solar system.
It does not show their sizes.

48
 UT O
NE
PT U N E PL

Cold dwarf!
Blue Neptune The dwarf planet Pluto is
The Voyager 2 smaller than our moon.
spacecraft took At night it is 10 times
photographs of colder than a freezer!
Neptune’s clouds
and its storm, called
Light from the sun takes
Inner solar three minutes to reach
the Great Dark Spot.
system Mercury, eight minutes
to reach Earth, but
more than four hours
to reach Neptune!

The sun
Orbit of
Mercur y

us
Orbit of Ven
Orbit of Ear th

a rs
Orbit of M

Pluto is sometimes
nearer to the sun
than Neptune,
but three other
dwarf planets
are always
farther away.
Orbit of Jupiter

urn
Orbit of Sat

nu s
f Ura
Orbit o

e
un
ept
r bit of N
O
SKY WANDERERS
Between Mars and Jupiter there is a belt of rocks in orbit
Path of Halley’s
Comet

called the asteroid belt. The chunks of rock are called

asteroids. Sometimes these pieces crash into each
other and pieces fall down toward Earth. Wind from the
sun blows the dust
  Also in orbit around the sun and gas around Halley’s
are lumps of rock and Comet into an enormous tail.
ice, called comets. Comets’ tails always
point away from
When comets get the sun and can
near the sun they be millions of
shine like ‘hairy stars’ miles long.
Solar system Halley’s comet
which is what people
used to call them long ago.
The most famous comet is
Halley’s Comet, named after
the man who first studied it.
Earth comets
Because they are made of rock and
ice, comets are often called “dirty
snowballs.” Make your own comet
next time it snows! Regular visitor
We see Halley’s Comet from Earth once every 76
The comet’s center is years because it takes that long to orbit the sun.
made of ice. As it It was shown on a picture, called the Bayeux
gets near the sun Tapestry, over 900 years ago!
some of the ice melts.

Comet head
A belt you cannot wear This is a photograph
There are thousands of asteroids of the head of Halley’s
in the asteroid belt. Some are tiny Comet. Computer colors
specks of dust, and others are nearly show the bright center
620 miles (1,000 kilometers) across. and the layers round it.
 Crash! Bang!
A large meteor
that does not
burn up as it
plunges through
the Earth’s
atmosphere is
called a meteorite.

It travels so fast
it shatters into
Meteor shower pieces as it hits
If a lump of rock or metal burns up the ground.
before it reaches the ground, it is
called a meteor or shooting star. It causes shock
This photograph shows lots of them waves as it lands.
falling together in a meteor shower.

The explosion
leaves a big hole,
called a crater.

Philae lander module

This huge
meteorite crater
is in Arizona.

67P/Churyumov–
Gerasimenko

Comet quest
The Rosetta mission launched in 2004
and finished in 2016, when the Philae
lander module successfully landed on
comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
Landing site
SKY WATCHING If you look up at the sky on a clear night you
can see hundreds of stars and, sometimes,
the moon. But if you use binoculars or
a telescope you can see even more—for example,
the planets and the craters on the moon.
When astronomers study the universe they use huge
radio telescopes, some with dishes, to help them to see
far, far away, and to gather information from space. The
Hubble Space Telescope is the largest telescope to be put
into space. It can take clear pictures of stars and galaxies because
it orbits 340 miles (547 kilometers) above the Earth’s atmosphere.

Clearly Venus
This photograph of Venus
was taken by the Pioneer
Venus Orbiter. It used
radar to get a clear picture
through the thick clouds
around Venus. The signals
were sent back to Earth to
a radio telescope where this Solar panel
picture was produced.

Whirligig
This radio map of
the Whirlpool galaxy Radio telescope
was taken by a radio
telescope. The added
colors show the spiral
arms of the galaxy.

52
 Head in the stars
A nebula is a cloud of
dust and gas lit from
inside by newly born
stars. This picture
of the Horsehead
nebula was taken
by the Hubble
Space Telescope.

Star belt
This photograph shows part
of the constellation of Orion Flap door
—also called “The Hunter.”
Star cluster
This photograph
was taken by the
Hubble Space
Small mirror Telescope and
it shows star
clusters colliding.

Main
mirror

Star light
This picture
of the Orion
nebula was
taken by the
Spitzer Space
Telescope.

Double Hubble
The Hubble has
Antenna Look out
two mirrors—
the largest is 8 feet Observatories
(2.4 meters) wide are places where
and 12 inches (30 astronomers work.
centimeters) thick. These are usually
away from big
cities where there
are no street lights
and the air is clear.

53
STARS AND
GALAXIES
Stars look like tiny points of light from
Earth but really they are huge, hot balls
of burning gas deep in space. They are
forming, changing, and dying all the time. Starry, starry night
There are big stars called giants, even On a clear night do not forget to look
up at the sky! You will see hundreds
bigger ones called supergiants, and small of twinkling stars, like tiny sparkling
ones called dwarf stars. Our sun is just diamonds, far above you.
one of about a hundred thousand million The gas and dust
stars that all belong to a galaxy called pack tightly together,
the Milky Way. A galaxy is a group of getting smaller
and very hot.
millions of stars, held together by a
strong force called gravity.

A new star
is very bright.
It shines
steadily for
A group of growing many years.
stars is called a cluster.

As it cools, the star

gets bigger and
forms a red giant.
A star is born inside
a large cloud of dust
and gas, called a nebula.
The word nebula means mist. Near the end of its life
the core of a red giant
may cave in and give
off layers of gas.
Sky lights
There are many new
stars in the gas and
dust of this pink nebula.
A new young star on
its own shines blue.

54
 Sometimes a giant A supernova explosion sometimes
star explodes and results in a pulsar. A pulsar
is blown to is a rapidly spinning
pieces. This star that gives off
is called a pulses of radio
supernova. waves.

A black hole is
not really a hole but
a very tightly packed object
with gravity so strong that
not even light can escape.

Some dying stars grow into Galaxies

huge red supergiants.

Star spinner
Massive stars shine Our galaxy, called the Milky Way, is a
very brightly, but do barred spiral galaxy. Our solar system is
not live as long as about two-thirds of the way out from the
smaller stars. center, in one of the spiral arms. There
A spiral galaxy
are lots of galaxies in the universe and
they have different shapes.
If seen through
a telescope the star,
with its gas shell,
now looks like a
planet, so it is called
a planetary nebula.
An elliptical galaxy
Some stars
gradually get
smaller and whiter,
until they become
white dwarf stars.

Our solar system is here. A barred spiral galaxy

55
 chapter 2

THE NATURAL
WORLD
When the Earth was brand-new, more than 4,500 million
years ago, there were violent storms, lightning bolts,
and fiery volcanoes on its surface, but there was no life.
In time, oceans formed, and it was here that the first life
appeared in the form of simple organisms called bacteria
and algae. Soon, more complex life-forms developed and,
by about 600 million years ago, the seas were alive with
soft-bodied animals. Later, other animals developed hard shells
and skeletons, and small plants began to grow on the shores.
Insects and similar creatures were the first animals on land,
followed by amphibians (which live in water and on land),
then reptiles, birds, and mammals. It was not until quite
recently—about four million years ago—that the first
upright-walking ancestors of humans appeared.

Plant Life
Sea Life
Insects and Spiders
Dinosaurs
Birds
Mammals
The Human Body
PLANT LIFE
Plants grow everywhere, from the
icy Arctic to the tropics—any place
where there is air, light, and water.
In deserts, where it rarely rains,
plants have to save moisture. Some,
like cacti, have pleated stems that
expand to store water when there is a
shower. Where the climate is hot and
humid, plants grow very quickly all
year round to make lush rainforests.
In temperate places—where it is not
too hot and not too cold, with a
medium amount of rain—most plants
flower and fruit in summer, but may
lose their leaves or stop
growing in winter. Plants
usually grow in soil,
but some absorb what
they need directly from
the water. Without plants,
our world would be very
different; from plants we get
Water food, clothes, paper, and lots of
hyacinth
other things. Most important
of all, they provide oxygen, which all
living creatures need to breathe.

Stag’s horn
The growth of a blackberry from flower to fruit sumach

58
 Cobra
lily

Larch cones

Tropical rainforest

Acorns

Oak leaf Oak tree in winter and in summer

59
 WHAT IS A The leaves
are used for

PLANT?
making food.

An apple tree and a cactus do not

look much like each other. But they
have more in common than you might
think. They are both plants. Like all
other plants they make their own food,
and during the course of their lifetime,
they can produce many new plants. To do
these things they use their roots, stems,
leaves, and flowers. You will find that
no matter how different one plant may
Look, no hands look from another, each one is using
Some plants do not need these parts in much the same
soil—they prefer to perch way, in order to live and grow.
in trees. A stag’s horn
fern gets a good grip by Apples and Hitching a lift
wrapping its large fronds other fruit Some plants use other
around a branch. contain seeds. plants for support. This
passion flower can
Trees have a main climb very high by
stem and many winding itself around the trunks
branches. and branches of trees.
The flowers make
seeds for new plants.
The flexible stems
can bend and
twine.
Fresh fruit
Apple trees are
not best known
for their flowers.
But if they did
not have flowers first,
we would not have
apples to eat.
 Good fronds
Fern leaves are called
fronds. They often
grow straight out of
the ground, from
stems under the soil. Feather duster
Pampas grass has long, sharp
leaves, and those feathery
plumes are its flowers.
This bud
will open Eye-catching
into a flower. You can’t miss
these blooms. Like
other plants that
flower, orchids
want to make
sure that insects
visit them. So
Don’t touch! they advertise
This cactus has a stem with themselves with
branches but where are its leaves? colors and scents
The prickles are really special leaves. that are attractive
to insects.

Nonflowering plants Fern

Most plants flower, but not all. Ferns, mosses, and
liverworts don’t. The earliest plants to colonize the Earth—
over 400 million years ago—were
Liverwort nonflowering. These plants
are their descendants. Instead
of seeds, they produce tiny
spores which become
new plants.
The curling Moss
tendrils hang
on tight.

61
 L EAVES
Leaves work very hard for plants.
Weatherproof
Scots pine trees need to be
tough to survive long, cold
winters. They have thousands
They make food, and they also of tiny, needlelike leaves. The
needles have a waterproof
help plants to cope with coating to protect them from
serious problems like how to rain and snow.
survive the cold or get enough
water. Leaves come in all sorts of
shapes and sizes—large and small,
thick and thin. In fact, you can tell
quite a lot about a plant and
where it grows just by looking
at its leaves.
Water store
Agave plants grow in hot places
where it may not rain for weeks on
end. They are able to store water
in their large,
Wind blows
thick leaves.
through the
needles without
damaging them.

Their leaves can

grow up to 6.6 feet (two
meters) long.

Open sesame
Leaves have tiny holes called stomata,
which the plant can open and close.
When the stomata are open, they let
air in and out, and water out. When
they are closed, water can’t escape
from the leaves.

62
Shapes and sizes

Japanese maple Himalayan birch Fig Acacia Horse chestnut

Drip-dry Prickly customers

Life in a tropical forest is hot and Plants can’t run away from hungry
damp and there is no shortage animals, so they have to protect
of water. Monstera leaves themselves. Prickly holly gets left alone!
have a special waxy surface,
so the water can run off. Tough, glossy
leaves are a
Monstera plants grow good defense
in the shade of trees that against wind
constantly drip moisture. and weather.

Shady character
The maidenhair fern
lives in damp, shady
places, where its fragile
leaves won’t dry out
in the sun.

Water signals
Leaves can’t talk, but they can sometimes Do plants sweat?
send a message. The leaves of this cyclamen Plants are constantly
are limp and drooping as losing water through their
if the plant is unhappy. leaves as part of a process
The soil in the pot is called transpiration. Most
dry, and the message of the time you can’t see it
is, “Water me.” happening. But if you put a
plant inside a plastic bag and
tie it, after a while you will
see waterdrops on the inside of
the bag. The moisture you can
see is coming from the leaves
of the plant.

63
 HOW PLANTS
MAKE FOOD
Hungry animals can go out hunting
for their food—but plants cannot. Instead, they make
their own food in their leaves by using light from the sun,
water from the soil, and carbon dioxide from the air.
A plant’s way of making food is called photosynthesis.
It takes place during the day when the leaves are
absorbing sunlight.

The leaves of all plants

contain a special pigment
that gives them their
Reach for the sun green color. It is called
These palms grow in the shade of tall trees. Their leaves are chlorophyll, and it is
arranged like fans to help them catch all the light they can. essential for photosynthesis.

Colorful cover-up
All leaves contain green chlorophyll.
But in some leaves the green is
hidden from sight by other, The roots take up
stronger colors. water from the soil.
It is drawn up the
stem to the leaves.

64
 Rest time
The leaves take Without sunlight, plants
in light from cannot make food. When it
the sun. is dark they shut down for the
night by closing their stomata.

Plants store Photosynthesis

some of their Chlorophyll in the leaves absorbs sunlight.
sugary food in sunlight provides the plant with energy to
their leaves. turn water and carbon dioxide into food.

Some food Sunlight

is sent to enters the leaf.
other parts
of the plant.

Carbon dioxide
from the air
enters the leaves.
Oxygen comes
Carbon dioxide out through
Water enters enters through the stomata.
from the stem. the stomata.
When plants make food
they release oxygen into
the atmosphere. Bare tree in winter

Tree in summer leaf

Some food becomes sap. It flows

around the plant from the leaves
to the roots, and provides
energy for growing.

Slowing down
In winter there is less light and the
water often freezes in the ground.
It is difficult to make food, so plants
grow very little. Many plants shed
their leaves or even die back
at this time of year.

65
CARNIVOROUS
PLANTS
The lid can Watch out! These plants are
close to keep
rainwater out.
meat-eaters and they have Water jugs
some very cunning devices A pitcher plant has several
pitchers, so it can catch a
Gruesome gruel for trapping their victims. lot of flies.
Flies lose their
footing on the
Unlucky insects, attracted by
slippery rim of the plant’s scent and color,
the hanging pitcher discover too late that they Venus flytrap
plant and tumble into
the water below.
have been tricked. It is The instant an
They gradually a nasty end for an insect, unsuspecting insect
lands, the venus flytrap
dissolve into a kind but a ready-made, nutritious snaps into action.
of fly broth.
meal for the plant.
To a fly, this pad
Rim with looks like a safe
nectar landing place.

Swamped
Most carnivorous plants, such as these
Pitcher for cobra lilies, grow in boggy places where
collecting the minerals they need are in short supply.
water The insects they catch are a vital addition
to their diet, because they are rich in the
missing minerals.

Remains
of flies

66
 1. A passing 2. It touches the
damselfly lands sensitive hairs that
on a pad. trigger the hinge.

The middle of
the leaf forms 3. In less than a
a hinge. second, the sides
of the trap begin
to close.
An open trap Sensitive
waiting for hairs
a visitor.

The trap is
closed—there is
something inside.

Pointed teeth
lock together 4. There is no escape.
to make The teeth close and the
a cage. damselfly is firmly locked
in. It takes two weeks for
the venus flytrap to digest
its meal.

Glued to the spot

The glistening,
golden leaves of the
butterwort are a
deadly glue trap. Flies
Hair-raising story get stuck when they
Any fly that lands land. But no matter
on the hairy leaves how hard they struggle,
of the sticky sundew the leaf edges keep
is in for a nasty curling inward and
surprise. In no time the butterwort begins
at all it finds its its lunch.
legs are hopelessly
entangled in the
glue produced by
the hairs.

67
 STEMS Roots, shoots, leaves, and flowers are
all connected to the plant’s stem.
Although it may not always stand
as straight, the stem is kind of like
your backbone, holding all the
different parts together. Being in the
center of everything means it is in the
Clever creature perfect position to carry water and
This aphid knows just food to every part of the plant.
where to go for food
supplies! It takes less than This young
a second to pierce the soft tree is two
part of the stem, which is years old.
full of nutritious sap.
Sun worshippers
The stems of
sunflowers turn Branches grow
so their flowers from the stem and
can always face hold the leaves out
the sun. to the light.

As the tree gets older

and taller, the main
stem will thicken to
form a trunk.

Clinging on
In its rush toward the The widest
light, the sweet pea has spread on Earth
no time to grow strong Just one banyan tree
stems. Instead it uses can make a forest!
twirling tendrils to wrap Their branches throw
around other plants. down special aerial
They will support roots. These grow
its fast climb into the ground and Water and
to the top. expand into trunks. minerals
A single tree in travel up the
Kolkata, India, has stem from
more than 2,600 of the roots.
these trunk look-alikes.

68
 Supporting role
The strong, hard stems of bamboo
are called canes. In some parts of
the world they make great thickets
23 feet (seven meters) high.

Weak at the knees

Gourd stems don’t even
attempt to stand up to
support their fruit, which
may weigh several pounds.
They just trail gracefully
over the ground.

The branches are The inside of

slender and not a bamboo cane
yet very strong. is hollow.

Keep off!
It is very difficult to get
near a prickly thistle,
Food is made but most animals that
in the leaves do won’t be back for
and travels a second bite.
down to
the roots. Close-up
of thistle
stem

Section
through cactus
Conservation
Desert cacti hold
water reserves in
Water diet their thick stems.
African baobab trees have a special way of Thirsty animals
surviving. During the rainy season their trunks know that. But the
store so much water that they visibly swell up. barricade of fierce
These reserves get them through the hot, dry spines means no
times, when their slimmer shape slowly returns. free drinks.

69
 ROOTS Roots are not pretty or colorful like leaves and
There are little
pockets of air
in the soil.
flowers, but plants couldn’t do without them! Without air,
Anchored in the soil, they hold plants upright roots would
wither and die.
against wind and weather. They also grow out
and down in search of water and minerals which are
drawn all the way up to the leaves. Think how tall a tree
can grow, and you can see it needs strong roots
to keep it supported.
When earthworms
Roots can fit burrow they help to
themselves into add air to the soil.
tiny spaces.
The roots of the tree grow
outward to balance the
spread of the branches above.

Knobbly knees
Avicennia has roots that grow
above ground. Also known as
black mangrove, they grow in
boggy ground, where there is
not enough air. The roots are
called pneumatophores, and
supply the plants with air.

Strong intent
Roots don’t let much
stand in their way.
These roots are
growing toward the
drain in the road,
where there is a useful
supply of water.

70
 Rootless wonder
Draped like strange beards
over the branches of trees,
the extraordinary Spanish
moss plant survives with no
roots at all. Spanish moss
grows in subtropical
climates where the air is
very wet. It absorbs all the
moisture it needs through
its fine, threadlike leaves.

Rock climbers
Alpine plants grow against rock
faces, to protect themselves from
high winds and icy squalls. Their
tiny roots wriggle into cracks
in the rock.

Most roots grow in the top

12 inches (30 centimeters)
of soil. This part contains
most of the important
minerals the tree needs.

Water crops
Plants need water,
minerals, and some
support for their roots.
But they do not
necessarily need soil.
Today many food
crops are grown
entirely in water with
special pebbles. They
Every root grows a mass of are given liquid
tiny hairs near its tip to minerals to replace
absorb water from the soil. those in the soil.

71
INSIDE A New beginnings

FLOWER
The process of making new
seeds is called reproduction.
The male and female parts
in the center of this lily are
its reproductive parts.
When you look at flowers you
notice many colors, shapes, and
sizes. Some plants have a single
Hibiscus
flower, others have so many it is
impossible to keep count. But stop and take
a closer look—this time inside. However
different they may look, flowers
all have the same basic parts.
This is because all plants produce
flowers for the same purpose:
to make seeds so another
plant can grow. The male
part of a
flower is
called the anther.
Each one of these
produces masses of
tiny pollen grains.

Insects leave pollen on

the female part, which
is called the stigma.
Lily

Grand finale
Not all plants flower every
Mistaken identity year, but there is no other
You could be confused plant that is as slow as
by this poinsettia. What the Puya raimondii from
look like bright red petals South America. It takes
are actually a kind of 150 years to produce a
leaf, called a bract. The massive flower spike, up
real flowers are the tiny to 33 feet (10 meters) tall.
green dots in the center. Exhausted, it then dies,
but luckily, not before it
has produced a few seeds.

72
 Is this a flower?
Tropical orchids like this
one often look more like
strange insects than flowers.

Hundreds of
small flowers
grow in a
single spike.
Mighty magnolias
Giant dinosaurs may have munched The flowers of the
on magnolias like these. Magnolia trees spider orchid can be
are among the oldest flowering plants— up to 24 inches
they have been around for more than (60 centimeters) long.
130 million years.

The petals are

brightly colored,
with special markings
to attract insects.

Daisy petals are

arranged like the
Flower arrangement rays of the sun.
All of these flowers have the
same basic parts, but they
are arranged on the stem
in different ways.
Each of these
These bell- tightly packed
shaped flowers flowers is called
hang down. a floret.

Poppy petals
open out
to the light.

This flower
resembles a
pom pom.

Snake’s head Echinops Mullein Transvaal Poppy Yarrow

fritillary daisy
73
 FLOWERS AND THEIR
POLLINATORS Most plants cannot make seeds without some outside
help. The first job is to move pollen from the anther
of one flower to the stigma of another. This is called
pollination. Plants cannot travel, but their flowers produce
sweet nectar, which animals love. As the animal feeds on the
nectar, some pollen rubs onto its body. Each time it moves on
to another flower, it leaves some pollen
behind and picks up a new supply.

Honey hunters Pollen stop

As it feasts on nectar, the Bees flit from flower to
Australian honey possum flower all day, feeding
gets pollen on its fur. on nectar. Each time
they stop, they pick
up some pollen.
A flower, not a fly!
This bee is having Clever tricks
a good pollen bath. Fly orchids look and
smell like the real thing.
Pollen from Male flies looking for a
the anthers mate are easily tricked.
of the flower They buzz off in disgust,
sticks to the taking the orchid’s
butterfly’s pollen with them.
body.
Pollen galore
Some plants rely
on the wind to
carry pollen between flowers.
These catkins, for example,
produce masses of pollen
Nectar gatherers to make sure some will end up
Brightly colored reaching the tiny stigmas of
flowers attract its female counterparts.
butterflies looking for nectar.

74
 Special collection Inside story
When a hummingbird pushes its long beak Not many insects would ever find the flowers
deep inside the flower to collect the nectar, of the fig tree. They actually grow inside the
some pollen brushes off onto its body. figs! They are pollinated by special fig wasps
that live inside the fig. When the flowers are
producing pollen, some of the wasps leave
home. They move into another fig, carrying
pollen with them on their bodies.

Pollen is brushed
onto the bat’s fur
as it moves
from flower
to flower.

The bat’s long tongue

is perfect for whisking
out the nectar.

Tropical favorite
The bird of paradise
flower grows in the
tropics. It is pollinated
by bats as well as by birds.
On its nightly nectar
hunt, one bat can
pollinate several flowers.

Bats find it easy to pick out the

spiky shape of the bird of paradise
flower at night.

75
 FLOWERS BECOME
FRUITS
After they have been pollinated, flowers produce
From rose to hip
Bees are attracted to this
rose by its sweet smell and
the promise of nectar.

seeds and fruits. The fruits protect the seeds

and keep them safe until the time comes
for them to grow. Like flowers, fruits
come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Horse chestnuts make chestnuts, dandelions
make parachutes, and plum trees make
plums. Every fruit has its own kind
of seed. Some are light enough to be
blown away on the wind, others are
armor-plated so they can be swallowed
by animals and pass out in their droppings
without being damaged!
1. The swelling beneath
Stigma Pollen grain tube the flower is called the
receptacle, and it will
become the fruit.
Petal

Leaving home Poppy seeds are

Seeds need space and spread by the
light to grow. If they wind.
Ovary fall straight off the
Egg parent plant, they have
to struggle to grow in
Fertilization its shadow. So plants
When an insect leaves some pollen use all sorts of clever
on the stigma of a flower, fertilization devices for making sure
can take place. Each tiny pollen grain their seeds are carried
grows a long tube. The tube grows away from them by Vetch
down until it reaches the ovary where wind or animals. Some pods
eggs are produced. Now a male have exploding pods explode when
gamete from the pollen tube joins that catapult the seeds they are
with an egg from the ovary, and into the air. dry.
a seed is born.

76
 3. The receptacle is
gradually swelling
and changing color.
Inside, the seeds
2. The flower has been are growing.
fertilized and the petals drop,
because they are no longer
needed to attract other bees. 4. The receptacle
has become a fruit
containing the ripe
Locked up seeds. It is called a hip.
Pine cones keep their seeds
tightly locked inside until
the time is right for them 5. The bright red of
to be released. It takes the rose hip attracts
two or more years for the birds looking
seeds to grow inside the for food.
cone. But one warm day
the cone opens up, and
the seeds are blown away
on the wind.

6.When a bird eats a

rose hip, these small
Prickly burrs hook
seeds pass through its
onto the coats of
gut and out, in
animals.
its droppings.

Thanks for the meal

Strawberries are This resplendent quetzel bird
eaten by mice eats a lot of wild avocados in the
Seeds and birds. tropical forest where it lives. In
exchange for the meal, it repays the
avocado tree by depositing the seed
in its droppings. A new avocado
tree will spring up in a
different part of the forest.

77
 SEEDS BECOME
PLANTS Below ground, a seed is waiting to start
life. But until it gets the right signals, a
seed will remain just a seed. As soon as the
soil becomes warm and damp, the seed can begin
to absorb moisture. This makes it swell and the
Wall flowers seedcase splits open. Germination has begun—and
Some seeds land in the seedling starts to grow toward the light.
odd places—and
there they grow! The leaves
unfold into
a fan shape.

Coffee
Peanuts
bush
Peanut
bush

Seed and plant

You may recognize
these seeds, but do
you know what
they grow into?

Coffee beans

Lemon seeds
Oak tree
Roots grow down
Lemon through the husk
Acorns tree of the coconut.

78
 Eggshells

Fast food Seeds Damp cotton balls

Mustard and watercress seeds
are quick and easy to grow.
Put some damp cotton
On the balls in clean egg shells and
beach sprinkle a few seeds on top.
A coconut Look at the seeds each day
can travel and keep the cotton balls
long distances damp. In about 10 days
by sea, until it you will have your own
is washed home-grown salad!
up onto the
shore. In the
Some like it hot
warm sand,
Some seeds must literally go
it sprouts
through fire and water before
and starts
they can germinate. In the arid
to grow.
Australian outback, fierce fires
can rip across the land. They
awaken the dormant seeds of
these acacia trees.
As the shoot
The stem is formed gets longer
from the stalks of and thicker,
the leaves. the first
A first sign of
leaves open.
life—the root
Inside the bean, you pushes through the
The coconut can see the part that skin of the bean.
contains liquid, The shoot
is the future root. appears above
so the seedling
has its own ground. This
water supply is the stem.
for a while.

Roots and shoots

When the soil gets warm
in spring, this broad
bean germinates and
begins to grow.

79
GROWING WITHOUT
SEEDS
PiggybackMost flowering plants use their seeds
plant
to make new plants—but not all.
Some plants can turn part of themselves into new plants,
using their stems, their roots, or their leaves. This is useful
because it means that they can
spread themselves without any
outside help from birds or insects.
Some of these plants also use
this method of reproduction
to cover a lot of ground.
Leaf
Protective parent
As the urn plant is flowering, new
plants start to grow from the base One potato, two potatoes
of the plant. Gradually the parent If we did not dig up sweet
plant withers away, but the young potatoes to eat, they would
plants remain attached. By the time sprout and become new Stem
the parent plant has died, the plants with leaves and flowers.
young plants are A sweet potato is a kind of
ready to take swollen underground root
its place. called a tuber.

Tuber

Roots
New shoot

Move along
Ginger has a
knobby underground
stem called a rhizome.
The stem grows
New growth sideways, sending up
starts here new shoots as it grows along.

80
 Growing family
Sempervivum plants grow in
clusters like spiky cushions.
The parent plant produces
plantlets all around
itself. These in their
turn produce more
plantlets, and
on and on!

Upside-down plants
Papyrus plants grow in damp soil
near water. They spread in an
unusual way. The stems gradually
arch over until their tips are head-
down in the damp soil. Then, they
take root. The old stems wither
away, and new stems grow up.
Clever arithmetic
A daffodil bulb multiplies
below the ground by
producing small new bulbs
around itself. Once the
new bulbs are large enough
to flower, there will be
several where once
there was only one! Turning over a new leaf
Crassulas grow in dry places,
and their leaves contain water.
When leaves drop off, they take
root. Their private water
supply keeps them alive while
new roots are growing.

Long-distance runners
Strawberry plants can travel a long Leaf bud
way by sprouting side shoots called
runners. Wherever a runner touches
the ground, it produces roots and Hats of f !
a new plant grows up. It is like a large Small leaf buds grow all
family all holding hands! around the edges of the
Mexican hat plant’s fleshy
leaves. These drop off onto
the ground and take root
to make little hats!

Runner New plant

81
 TREES
Trees are the longest living of all plants. They grow
The heartwood is the oldest
part of the tree. It is no
longer living, but it is
very strong.

strong, woody trunks so that they can tower above

other plants and get plenty of light. There are
trees that lose all their leaves in one shot
Monkey
puzzle tree when the weather gets cold. They are
known as deciduous trees. Others are
evergreen and shed a few leaves at a time
throughout the year.

Bark is very
important. It protects
all the living, working
parts of the trunk.

This part of the trunk is

Fiery finale still alive and busy, carrying water
Before they fall, the leaves and food to the rest of the tree.
of many deciduous trees
change color. The green Silver birch
chlorophyll disappears,
revealing other colors that Bark
were hidden. Chemicals in As trees grow, their
the leaves deepen these colors trunks expand. The
to fiery golds and reds. bark cracks to make
Paperbark
lots of different
maple
patterns.
Holding on
Over the years, wind has shaped and Tibetan cherry
battered the branches of this tree. But its
trunk and strong roots keep it standing.

Deciduous trees

Spanish oak American Weeping willow

mountain ash

82
 Cross section
Every year a tree adds a new layer of
growth to its trunk and branches. Look at
this slice from a tree’s trunk, and you
will see lots of rings. Each ring
shows the growth made by the
tree in one year. By counting
the rings you can tell how
old a tree is.

A wide ring
shows that the tree
grew a lot in this year.

A bad year for growth!

Thin rings show how trees
sometimes grow very slowly. Shagbark hickory

Snakebark maple
Cork oak

Evergreen trees The incredible hulk

What size waist do you have?
The trunk of this giant redwood
in California measures 103 feet
(31 meters) all the way around, and
stands nearly 275 feet (84 meters)
high. It is so famous it has even been
given a name—General Sherman!
Deodar Mountain gum Black spruce

83
SEA LIFE
Nearly three-quarters of the Earth is
covered by oceans and seas. These
billions of gallons of salty water are
home to silent sharks, playful
dolphins, enormous whales, huge
marine turtles, fascinating
octopuses with their eight
long arms, masses of
shellfish, and fish of all
shapes and sizes. Beautiful
underwater gardens of
brightly colored coral provide
Leatherback
a home for stinging sea turtle
anemones, showy sea slugs,
giant clams, and spiny sea urchins.
Many parts of the world’s seas and
oceans are too deep, dark, and cold
to support a lot of life, although the
animals that live there are among the
strangest on the planet. We are just
beginning to explore this mysterious,
watery world using special deep-sea
submersibles. Almost ever y visit
reveals forms of life that scientists
have never seen
before.
Coral reef

Blue whale Tropical

sundial shells
 Flounder with
camouflage
coloring

Female angler fish with males underneath

Common
Edible crab Harbor seal pup starfish

85
 PLANKTON
Seawater is full of billions of very tiny living things called This curved feeler is
plankton. Most are less than 0.04 inches (one millimeter) covered in fine sensory
long, but without them, very little else could live in the sea! hairs which help the
copepod find food.
Clouds of microscopic algae called phytoplankton drift
around at the mercy of tides and currents. Zooplankton are tiny
They are eaten by swarms of tiny animals animals, but they are
called zooplankton, and these are then eaten much bigger than
most phytoplankton.
by fish, whales, and even seabirds.

Bucket full!
Phytoplankton...eaten by...zooplankton...eaten by...fish...eaten by...seabirds
Copepods are a type
of zooplankton. Food for everyone
They are so small Seabirds, turtles, and seals all
that more than eat other animals, such as fish
one million could and shellfish, that eat plankton.
fit into a bucket They would all starve if there
of seawater. were no plankton in the sea.

Part-time plankton
Some animals begin their lives as Microscopic phytoplankton
tiny plankton, but then they grow absorb the energy of the sun
much, much bigger. as they float along.

Crab
Sun lovers
Like land plants, phytoplankton
use sunlight to make their food.
Starfish

There are many different

sorts, or species, of copepods.
Octopus This male is flashing bright
blue to attract a female.

86
By waving these bristles, the
copepod pushes water over its tiny
gills and also traps phytoplankton.

Countless copepods
Copepods are the most
common animals in the sea.
Soupy seas!
Phytoplankton live near the surface of seas and
oceans where there is lots of light. They also prefer
cooler water because it has more minerals in it.
Zooplankton eat phytoplankton, so they are found in
the same places. This map of the world shows where
Eye they both live. The red, yellow, and green areas have
more plankton than the blue, purple, and pink areas.
Plankton have not been counted in the gray parts.

At night, copepods drift nearer Copepods can’t swim against the

to the surface and hunt for food. sea, but they can move around
During the day, they sink deeper down by using their feelers as oars.
to hide from hungry birds and fish.
Zooplankton—Animals

Tail

Sea
gooseberry

Krill

Arrow
worm

Phytoplankton

Lots of phytoplankton have joined

together to make this chain. The chain
is too big to be eaten by many zooplankton.

87
SHELLFISH
The shells that you find on a beach are
Eggs Larva

the empty homes of small animals called

shellfish. These soft-bodied creatures need hard shells Growing up
to protect them from starfish, crabs, fish, and birds. Unlike crabs, shellfish
The most common types of shellfish are gastropods and never shed their shells.
Each baby, or larva,
bivalves. Gastropods are underwater has a tiny shell that gets
snails. They grow coiled shells bigger as it grows.
and slide around on a slimy foot.
Bivalves have two, flatter Because their shells are so
light, bubble shells can use
shells that cover their mantles as flippers
their whole body. to help them swim.
The animal inside
Bivalves, gastropods, Mantle
and all other shellfish These feelers help
have soft bodies and Worm the animal find food.
no backbones. Most,
such as this scallop,
have shells. Water in

Water out
Swimming scallops
By taking in water and
then shooting it out of its
Eye back end, a scallop is able
to jump through the sea.

Buried alive
Tusk shells and many bivalves spend
most of their life buried in sand. Bivalves dig a hole with their
foot, then poke tubes, or siphons, into the sea. The siphons
take water into the bivalve’s gills and catch food.

Siphon
Foot
Tusk shell Tellin

Sand gaper Razor shell

Eye
on a stalk

88
 Giant clam
The biggest shellfish in Types of shellfish
the world is the giant clam.
This huge bivalve lives in
Big foot warm waters and is more
Gastropod
than three feet (one meter)
wide. You could easily fit
inside its two big shells, but
you wouldn’t get trapped.
Giant clams can only close
their shells very slowly,
giving you plenty of
Chiton
time to escape.

The soft, brightly colored

skin on this fingerprint
flamingo tongue shellfish
is called a mantle. It can
wrap right around the
shell. As it slides over the Bivalve
shell, it smoothes away
scratches on the surface.

White shell Tentacles feeling Tusk shell

for plankton

Coral suckers
These two bellybutton cowries are Spotted foot
using their rough tongues to pull out
tiny coral animals. Other shellfish
eat seaweed and even fish!

When it is frightened, This cowrie’s mantle is

this shellfish will hide spotted like the coral it is
inside its shell. Some shellfish sitting on. This helps hide
do not need to hide—cone shells it from hungry starfish.
can kill people by injecting
them with poison!

Coral
CRABS What lives in the sea or on land, can be any
Antennae
Crabby face

Eye

color, has its eyes on stalks, swims and walks

sideways, and carries its own house? Would
you have guessed a crab? Crabs live in all parts Mouth
of the sea, from
the very deepest oceans
to wave-swept shores.

Crabs use their The crab uses its strong

back four pairs claws to crush and tear up
of legs to scuttle food, such as hard-shelled
sideways. shellfish and fish.

Under this spine, there are

two feelers, called antennae.
The crab uses tiny hairs
along the antennae to
touch, smell, and taste.

The shell is often

called the carapace.

When crabs get too

big for their shells they
split them open and shed Crabs can grow new
them. Underneath the old legs if they are
suit of armor there is a torn off.
new, soft shell. It can take
up to three days to harden.

This spiny spider crab is protected

from most of its enemies by its shell.
Crabs breathe through five pairs
Crab eaters of gills. These are inside
Crabs make a tasty meal the shell, near the
for fish, birds, octopuses, top of each leg.
seals, and people! Joint

90
 Shore crab

Stony-
shelled
crab

This crab is
so ugly that it is The claws of the
called the horrid crab! common lobster
are strong enough
to snap off your finger!

Crusty crustaceans
Crabs are crustaceans. This means that
they have a crust, or a shell, and at least
five pairs of legs. There are thousands of
species of crustaceans. Here are a few
Anemone common ones:
Hermit crab
Feeler
Best of friends
The hermit crab has a softer body than other
types of crabs, so it stays safe by living in an Sea slater
old snail shell. A sea anemone has also made Prawn
its home on this shell. It eats food that the
crab drops and, in return, protects the crab
by stinging its enemies. Goose
barnacle
Lobster

Pea crab, actual size

Little and large

Japanese Most crabs are about six inches (15 cm)
spider crab wide, but a few are much bigger or
claw, half much smaller. Japanese spider crabs Edible crab
actual size grow to nearly 13 feet (four meters), Squat lobster
while pea crabs are the size of a pea!

91
STARFISH
Starfish are star-shaped, but they are not
This crimson-knobbed
starfish, like most starfish,
measures less than eight inches
(20 cm) from tip to tip.
But some species are as wide
fish—they are echinoderms. This means as a small car!
that they have spiny skin. They cannot
swim, but they are very good at crawling!
They can walk up strands of seaweed and
climb down the sides of rocks. Even in the
deepest, darkest parts of the sea, there are
starfish creeping around.

Starfish don’t have

any eyes. Instead, they
have eyespots on the
tips of their arms. These
special cells cannot see
shapes, but they can tell These bumps are
whether it is light or dark. actually spines.

Burrowing Central disk

starfish Starfish’s arms are
very bendy because their
skeleton is made up of lots
of tiny spines that can
move in any direction.
Starfish breathe through
Cushion star their feet and also through
tiny tubes that are found
all over their body.

Common starfish Stomach this

Starfish eat clams and
mussels. When it finds one,
it pulls open the shell with
its tiny tube feet, pushes its
whole stomach inside
and slowly digests the
animal’s soft body.

92
Common Slate-pencil
sea sea urchin
urchin

Sea hedgehogs Goosefoot

Sea urchins are close starfish
relatives of starfish.
Their long spines, which
are sometimes poisonous,
make them look like hedgehogs. Some starfish have
more than five arms.
Armless This spiny sun star has twelve!
This starfish is growing two
new arms. The old ones
were bitten off by a fish!
As long as the central Spiny species
disk and one arm is left, There are more than 7,000
the starfish will survive. different species of echinoderms,
but only five main groups.

New arm Starfish

Each of these feet has a Brittle stars

Tube foot sucker on the end which
helps the starfish stick to
rocks and catch food.

Sea urchin
Flip side
Most starfish It is easy to tell which way
have five arms. up a starfish or a sea
urchin is—its mouth is
always underneath.
Sea cucumber

Sea lily
If a starfish flips
over, it pulls itself Mouth
the right way up
with its arms.
93
 OCTOPUSES
Did you know that octopuses are related to
Bunch of eggs
Inside each of these
soft-shelled eggs there
is a baby octopus.
snails? But unlike most other mollusks, they
don’t have shells to protect them. Instead,
these eight-armed animals squeeze their soft
bodies into small cracks or holes in rocks.
Once they are
safely hidden, it
is very hard for conger eels,
sharks, seals, and people to
find and eat them.
With their large eyes,
octopuses can see shapes
and colors very well.

Web
Gone fishing
Octopuses hunt for their Tentacle
food. They pounce on fish,
starfish, and crabs. Some
have webs between
their arms which
help them net This common
even more octopus measures An octopus can shoot
animals. only four inches ink, called sepia, out of its
(10 centimeters) from tip siphon. This black cloud
to tip. The largest octopus hangs in the water and hides
ever found was more than the octopus from its enemies.
30 feet (nine meters) wide!
Jet-propelled
Siphon  If an octopus is
frightened, it does
not crawl away
slowly—it jets off!
By forcing water
out through its
siphon, it can shoot
through the sea.

94
 Suckers The cephalopod family
Rows of super-strong Octopuses and their relatives
suckers help octopuses are known as cephalopods; they
hang on to rocks, touch are mollusks that live in the sea
things, grab food, and and have tentacles.
pull themselves along
the seabed.

Cuttlefish

An octopus can change

color in less than Vampire squid
a second!

The soft body of an octopus

is like a big bag of skin.Water
flows into this stretchy bag, passes
over the gills, and then escapes
through a special funnel, Squid
Sucker called a siphon.

Battle of the giants

There are stories of huge octopuses
swallowing people whole, but this
doesn’t actually happen. These myths
Nautilus
may be based on giant squid, which can be
43 feet (13 meters) long and are close relatives
of octopuses. In the dark depths of the ocean,
giant squid battle against sperm whales.
Sperm whale

Giant squid

Octopus
95
Almost all living things need a gas called oxygen
FISH Fish eggs
to survive. You cannot see it, but it is found in air Most fish lay jellylike
and water. You use your lungs to take in oxygen eggs. Some guard their
eggs until they hatch.
by breathing in air. If you swim under water, you Others, like cod, just
either have to hold your breath or use a snorkel. squirt millions of tiny
Fish don’t have to do this. They can take their eggs into the sea. This
is called spawning.
oxygen straight out of the water.
Dorsal fin

Fish do not need eyelids—

seawater keeps their eyes
wet and free of dirt.

Water in

Water out Gills Pectoral fin

Breathing under water

Water flows into the fish’s mouth,
over red flaps called gills, and out
through the gill openings. The gills
take the oxygen out of the water. There are four sets of
gills behind this flap.
Bony fish have a “balloon” The pectoral and
inside them called a swim pelvic fins help
bladder. It can be filled the fish move up,
with air to help them float. down, left, or right. Pelvic fin

Backbone,
Muscle or spine

Inside story
Most of the important parts
of a bony fish are in the
lower half of its body. The
Gills top half is full of muscles,
Stomach which move the tail.
Heart

96
 Backbone Rib Types of fish
There are three types of fish—those
with hard skeletons made of bone,
those with skeletons made of rubbery
tissue called cartilage, and those that
do not have jaws.

Mouth Bony fish

Anal fin
A bony back
The bones inside an animal are
known as a skeleton. Fish were the
Mackerel
first animals to develop a backbone.

The body of this sea bream is

covered in thin scales which Sea horse
overlap like the tiles on a roof. Fin ray

Fish move their tail, or caudal

fin, from side to side to power
themselves through the sea.

Plaice

Cartilaginous fish

Anal fin

The dorsal and anal fins

stop fish from rolling over Spotted leopard shark
in the water.

Fish have a long, thin tube just under Jawless fish

the surface of their skin, called a lateral
line. It has little lumps of jelly next to
it that wobble when the water moves. Lamprey
Fish can feel this—so they know if
something is moving near them.
A lamprey has a sucker
instead of a mouth.

97
 SHARKS
Sharks are the best hunters in the sea. With
Teeth as sharp as knives
Shark teeth can cut through skin
and crunch up bones, but they soon
get dull. Each tooth only lasts for
their terrible teeth and huge jaws, they can a few weeks, then it falls out and
is replaced by a new one. Basking
tear up seals, turtles, fish, and even sharks eat plankton so they don’t
wooden boats! Tiger sharks and need any teeth!
great white sharks sometimes
Dorsal fin
bite people, but most sharks
are more scared of us and
soon swim away.

See how big Sharks are like a swimming

this jaw is! nose. They can smell injured
animals and other food that
is hundreds of yards away.

All living animals produce

a small amount of electricity.
You cannot sense it, but
sharks can. Little dimples
on their head work like Five gill slits on each
television aerials to tell them side of the head let water
where animals are hiding. pass through the shark’s gills. Pectoral fin

Super swimmer
A typical shark swims by bending from
side to side. First it moves its head,
then its body, and last of all its long
tail. This wave travels down its body,
pushing the shark through the sea.
Shark attack!
Just before they bite, sharks bend
their noses up and move their
teeth forward.
Great white shark

Sand tiger shark

Blue shark
 Shark shapes
Not all sharks look
like the ones you
see in films; some are
tiny and others are
Close-up of shark skin quite odd shapes.
Watch your hands
Shark skin feels like rough
sandpaper—it is covered Cookiecutter shark
in tiny teeth.
Tail, or
caudal fin

Anal fin The top of a shark’s tail Hammerhead shark

is larger than the bottom.
Like most sharks, This odd shape helps
this school shark has to lift the shark up in
a second dorsal fin. the water when it is
swimming.
Prickly dogfish

Pelvic fin Wobbegong

Great white
shark
Sink or swim
Sharks, like many fish, are heavier than
water, so they should sink to the bottom
of the sea. Bony fish have inflatable swim
bladders to stop this from happening, but
sharks have oily livers instead. The oil helps
them float because it is lighter than
water. There is
enough oil inside a
basking shark’s liver Some great
Liver to fill five big buckets! white sharks are
26 feet (eight meters) long.
Porbeagle shark Graceful shark

Oceanic whitetip shark

Pelagic thresher shark
 RAYS
Rays are cartilaginous fish closely related to sharks
These sharp spines
protect the ray. Stingrays
also have one very large
poisonous spine which
they use to stab
their enemies.
but with flattened, diamond-shaped bodies. Some of
these shy, gentle animals can be glimpsed using their
winglike fins to glide gracefully through open water,
but others spend most of their time feeding
on the seabed. Thornback
ray
Like sharks, rays
have skeletons made Gill slit
of cartilage.

Mouth

Upside down
On the underside of
a ray, there are ten
gill slits and a mouth Small
that is full of flat teeth. pelvic fin

When a ray is lying on the sea

Mighty manta bottom, its mouth is blocked, so it
Most rays are less than 6.5 feet (two meters) sucks in water through a tiny hole,
wide, but a manta ray can grow to more than called a spiracle, behind each eye.
30 feet (nine meters) in width. Luckily for
divers, it only eats plankton and small fish.

By flapping their fins, rays

disturb the sand and uncover
crabs—a tasty snack for a ray.

Underwater flying
A ray is one of the most
graceful swimmers in the
sea. Flapping its broad
fins, it “flies” like an
underwater bird.

100
 Ray shapes
Shocking ray There are more than 500
Electric rays have different types of rays.
special muscles in Half of these are skates.
their bodies that act
like batteries. Once they
have pounced on a fish, they
kill it by using these muscles to
produce more than 200 volts of
electricity. The shocks are
powerful enough to stun people
who accidentally step on these rays. Sawfish

These swirly patterns help

to hide the ray when it
lies on sand.
Guitarfish

Like all rays, this

undulate ray’s large
pectoral fins are
joined to its head.

Spiracle
Skate
Eye

Rays have a very

good sense of smell.

Eagle ray

Peek-a-boo
When rays hide in the sand,
their large, bulging eyes
stick out. They have to keep
a lookout for food and also Stingray
for sharks that like to eat rays.

101
WH A L E S
Millions of years ago whales used to walk. Since then,
Krill for supper
they have changed a lot. They have grown bigger and
Baleen whales eat krill,
bigger, their back legs have disappeared, and their a kind of plankton. A
front legs have turned into flippers. They can’t live on large whale can eat two
land anymore, but they are still tons a day—half the
weight of an elephant!
mammals. This means that they
breathe air and feed their babies milk.
There are two sorts of whales: those
that have teeth and those that do not.
Whales that have no teeth are
called baleen whales.
The whale moves its tail up and down
to push itself through the sea.The fastest
whale is the sei. It can reach speeds of
40 miles (64 kilometers) an hour, 10 times
faster than a person can swim.

No animal has longer

flippers than a humpback
There she blows!
whale—they are about
When a whale surfaces to fill its lungs
16 feet (five meters) long,
with fresh air, warm air escapes from
almost the height of a giraffe.
its blowhole. This escaping air mists
up, just like your breath on a cold day,
and forms a tall spout called a blow.
Deep throat grooves let a
baleen whale’s mouth stretch Whales have thick
so that it can hold vast fat, called blubber.
amounts of water and krill.

Jumping for joy

Humpback whales love to leap
right out of the water. This is called
breaching. When they crash back into
the sea, they make a huge splash!

102
 Baleen whales

Gray whale

Open wide
Strips of baleen, or whalebone, hang from the
Eye top of a baleen whale’s mouth. Water escapes
Minke whale
through this thick fringe, but krill are trapped.

Baby whale, or calf

A whale’s nostril is called a

blowhole. When a whale sleeps it
bobs on the surface to keep Bowhead whale
its blowhole above water.

Toothed whales

Beluga, or white whale

Humpback whales moan, groan,

sigh, squeak, and roar. Whales’
strange songs are very loud— Narwhal
Mouth no animal can make more noise.

Big and beautiful

At 100 feet (30 meters)
long, blue whales are
the largest animals ever
to live on Earth—even
Tyrannosaurus bigger than dinosaurs!
Sperm whale

Blue whale

103
DOLPHINS
Dolphins are small, toothed whales. Some people think that Large, curved
these slim, smooth-skinned mammals are as intelligent as we dorsal fin
are. They learn quickly and seem to talk to one another with
whistles and clicks. Since ancient times, there has been
a special friendship between humans and these
playful animals. There are many stories
of dolphins saving drowning sailors.

Brain Melon Dolphins do not need

to drink. They get all
Built-in sonar the water they need
A dolphin uses sound to find its food from the fish and
and to work out where it is. The melon, squid they eat.
a fatty organ in its head, concentrates a
stream of clicks which bounce back
when they hit something. These echoes
tell dolphins where an object is.

Sonar clicks

The shape of a dolphin’s

mouth makes it look
as if it is always smiling.
Hitching a ride
Just in front of a speeding ship there is a
wave. Dolphins love to swim in this spot.
Toothy grin Like surfers, if they catch the wave in the
This bottlenose dolphin has right way, it will push them through the sea.
more than 100 pointed teeth,
which are about 0.3 inches Blowhole
(eight millimeters) long.

Most dolphins have a

long snout, called a beak.
104
 Family life Types of dolphins
Dolphins live in family
groups called pods. Baby
dolphins often stay with
their mothers for many
years. They learn how to Harbor
catch fish, signal to each porpoise
other, and escape from
sharks by copying other
members of their pod.
Bottlenose
dolphin

Dolphins, like all toothed

whales, have only one blowhole.
Baleen whales have two.
Striped
Bottlenose dolphins are dolphin
very playful. They love
to leap out of the water.

Common dolphin
Tail fluke

Just as you have your

own personal name and voice,
every dolphin has its own whistle,
which other dolphins recognize.
Risso’s dolphin

Killer whale
(male)

The biggest dolphin

Killer whales are fierce dolphins which
can grow to be 30 feet (nine meters) long.
This one is trying to grab a sea lion to eat.
105
SEALS
Seals are warm-blooded mammals, which
means that they can make their own heat.
Because they often swim in very cold water,
they need to be able to keep this heat inside
Ball of fluff
their bodies. Seals can’t put on a winter coat like Baby seals, or pups, are
you to keep warm. Instead, they are covered in born on land. For a few
short hair or fur and have a layer of fat, called weeks, many of them
have white, fluffy fur.
blubber. Sometimes, when seals swim in warmer
water, they get too hot and have to fan their
flippers in the air to cool down!
All seals have good hearing, but only When a seal dives under water,
sea lions and fur seals have ear flaps. it closes its nose, mouth, and ears.
All that can be seen of this
harbor seal’s ears
are two tiny holes.

These whiskers, which are

40 times thicker than your
hair, can sense movement
in the water. This helps
the seal find fish, clams,
squid, and octopus to eat.

Pile up!
When walruses climb up onto
beaches, they often lie right on
top of each other to keep warm.
 Types of seals
Flip flop There are three different
Sea lions, fur seals, and groups of seals.
walruses use their front
flippers to sit up straight.
Their back flippers can
turn forward. This
means that they can
walk, and even run, on Gray seal
dry land. True seals can
only slide around on True seals
their bellies when they
leave the sea. Elephant seal

Its smooth, streamlined Eared seals

body helps the seal speed
away from killer whales Northern
and polar bears. fur seal

Blubber is
between three to four Seal-eating seals
inches (seven and Leopard seals are fierce. They leap California
10 centimeters) thick. out of the sea and thump onto the sea lion
ice to grab penguins and other seals.

This seal is less than 6.5 feet (two

meters) long from nose to back flippers.
An elephant seal can measure
more than three times that!
Walrus
Male walruses fight
each other with
their big tusks.

Hair seals, like this harbor or common

seal, speed through the sea by moving
their back flippers up and down.

107
INSECTS
AND SPIDERS
Hundreds of millions of years ago,
long before dinosaurs arrived, there
were insects on Earth. Today there are
more than a million known types of
insects, and scientists think there are
many more waiting to be found.
All insects start as eggs and most
go through a lar val stage. Their
bodies are divided into three parts—
head, thorax, and abdomen. Adults
have six legs, and most have wings.
Spiders are not insects—they are
arachnids. In fact, spiders
love to eat insects. Unlike
an insect, a spider has
eight legs, and its head
and thorax are joined.
All insects and spiders
Garden are small animals that creep
spider through undergrowth and
live in gardens and forests. But
occasionally, they come to stay
in our homes.

Dragonfly Honeybee

108
 Peacock butterfly

Peacock butterfly caterpillar

Cactus longhorn beetles

Common
Red ants Grasshopper housefly

109
 FLIES
You have probably seen
a housefly zooming around
your kitchen. Most people
think of flies as pests— A hoverfly taking off
annoying little creatures that
buzz around us, bite us, walk on our food, and
spread disease. But in other ways, flies are a
necessary and useful part of our world. They
help to pollinate plants and are a source of Sensitive flies
food for a variety of other animals. Flies have surprisingly strong
senses. This means they have
very good eyesight, and a keen
sense of taste and smell.

Flies have two large

compound eyes which see
colors and shapes.
Many flies, like
the housefly, have
small antennae.

When the fly finds

liquid food, it simply
sucks it up. If it finds
solid food, the fly
Nice to see you! first dissolves it with
Our eyes have just special juices.
one rounded lens.
A housefly has
thousands of six-
sided lenses. Each
lens sees a part of
a bigger picture. This
creates an image of
colored dots, like
a pixelated picture At the end of a fly’s
from a digital camera. mouth are two pads
that look like lips.

110
 Flittering flies

Then it grabs hold

When landing, a fly of the surface and
will put its front legs flips its body
up over its head. upside down.
Special feet
Flies can walk on the ceiling because
they have two sharp claws on each foot. South American mydas fly
These are used to grip the surface.
They also have cup-shaped suction pads
that stick to smooth surfaces.

True flies don’t have back wings.

Instead they have little bumps which
Hoverfly
look like drumsticks. These are
called halteres. They help the fly Robber fly
to balance as it flies.

Stalk-eyed fly

Horsefly

A housefly makes a
buzzing sound. The buzz
is caused by the fly’s wings
beating amazingly fast—
about 200 times
per second!

Flies have hairy,

jointed legs. The Crane fly
hairs sense movement
and this helps There are about 15,000
the fly stay out known types of crane fly
Claws in the world. In the UK,
of danger.
they are sometimes called
Suction pads
daddy-longlegs.

111
 BEETLES
There are more species of beetles in the world than
any other kind of animal. It is thought there are at least
300,000. Most are plant-eaters, but some battling beetles
attack and eat other insects and are quite ferocious.
Beetles can be pests because they eat valuable crops.
But mostly they are helpful to us because they eat
dead plants and animals and return them to
the Earth as important nutrients.

Ready for battle

A beetle’s hard outer casing
acts like a protective armor.
Wing case
Take that!
These fighting beetles are
stag beetles. They get their
name because male stag beetles
have large “horns.” These are
really large jaws that are used for
fighting like the antlers of a real
stag. Males fight to defend
their territory.

The forewings are turned into

tough wing cases that
protect the delicate
hind wings.
Hind wing

The beetle’s
Garden visitor claws help
Ladybugs are beetles, too. it to grip.
Not all beetles can fly but
ladybugs can. They use
their hind wings to fly.
 Little and large
The smallest known beetle in
the world is the feather-winged
beetle. It is so small it can sit on
a pinhead. The Hercules beetle is
thought to be the longest beetle
in the world. It can grow up to
seven inches (17 centimeters) long!

Valiant beetles

Rove beetle
Fighting males
lift each other off
the ground. They do
this by grabbing their
opponent around Tortoise beetle
the middle.

Night lights
Fireflies are not really flies, they are beetles. At night,
the females put on a light show as they flash their Giraffe beetle
tails to attract a mate. They are able to do this
because they have a special chemical in their body.

If it’s attacked, it fires

Hard, antlerlike jaws.
off a mixture of
burning chemicals. Bombardier beetle

Roll over
Dung beetles go to a lot of trouble
to find a safe and nutritious home
for their young. They collect animal
dung and roll it into large balls.
They roll the dung balls all the
Beetles have
way to their underground homes.
palps to
There they lay their eggs in
help them
the dung. When the beetle
sense food.
larvae hatch, they
discover a tasty meal
in front of them!
Beetle storing dung
CATERPILLARS Caterpillars are like tiny eating A new skin
machines. They spend most Caterpillar skin
of their time chomping on cannot stretch.
So as it gets larger,
leaves. Caterpillars are actually the young of the caterpillar
butterflies and moths. They hatch from the eggs breaks out of its skin.
the adult female has laid on plants. With constant Underneath is a new,
larger skin which will
eating they get bigger and bigger, until they are last until the caterpillar
ready to change into adult butterflies and moths. needs to molt again.

The front three pairs

Caterpillars produce silk of legs are called
from special glands and thoracic legs, and
force it out through a are used for walking
spinneret under the head. and clasping.

Caterpillars have
twelve tiny, simple
Hatching out eyes, called ocelli,
The butterfly’s on their head.
eggs are laid on
the underside
of a leaf.

The caterpillar
uses its jaws to
bite its way out
of the egg.

The caterpillar’s The body is

The caterpillar pulls head is armed with divided into
itself free of the eggshell a pair of stout jaws 13 segments.
and takes its first walk. called mandibles.
Caterpillars test food and
guide it to their mouth
with mouthparts called
maxillary palps.
The caterpillar’s first
meal is the eggshell itself,
which is full of good food.

114
 Wonderful caterpillars Silkworms
Caterpillars can be hairy or spiny, Silk is produced by most moth caterpillars.
and have unusual shapes. But the finest silk is produced by the silkmoth
caterpillar, often known as a silkworm.
After the caterpillars have spun themselves
Tiger moth caterpillar into a silken cocoon, they are put into
boiling water. The silk
is removed and spun
into threads to create
Cabbage white caterpillar material for clothes.

Emperor moth
caterpillar

Puss moth caterpillar

The five pairs of stumpy,
Like most insects, suckerlike legs are called
caterpillars breathe prolegs. The caterpillar
through openings uses them for holding
called spiracles. onto plant stalks.

Excuse me, I’m changing

Masters of disguise To become adult moths, most
To avoid being eaten, some moth caterpillars spin themselves
caterpillars have developed a cocoon using silk, which comes
crafty disguises. The sphinx out of their spinnerets. Inside, they
hawk moth caterpillar looks Sphinx
undergo astonishing
like a deadly snake, the lobster hawk moth physical changes.
moth looks like a raised lobster’s
claw, and the common sailer Lobster
looks like a shriveled leaf. moth

Common sailer

115
 BUTTERFLIES
Butterf lies are perhaps the most beautiful of all
insects. It is amazing to think that a fat, leaf-eating
caterpillar can become a brightly colored, f luttering
creature of the air. The change happens in the
butterf ly chrysalis. The caterpillar’s body is broken
down and completely changed. After about four
weeks, a fully formed butterf ly emerges.

Time to wake up 1. No longer a caterpillar,

The butterfly comes a beautiful butterfly
out of the chrysalis in comes out of the
three stages. During chrysalis with
this time it is very its wings
open to attack crumpled up.
by hungry
birds or
spiders.

Monarchs on the move

Most butterflies are born,
live, and die in one place.
But when winter comes
to the eastern and western
coasts of North America,
thousands of monarchs
fly south to the warmth of
California and Mexico. When
warm weather returns to their
first home, they fly north again.

116
Happy landings In the background
A clouded yellow butterfly comes Some butterflies make a tasty meal for
in to land on a thistle. Butterfly birds. But if they are able to blend in with
flight is more controlled than it their background, they may avoid being
looks. The insect is able to eaten. The open wings of the Indian leaf
change course instantly and butterfly have a striking
make sudden landings. orange pattern. But
when its wings are closed,
the butterfly looks exactly
Butterflies feed through a tube
like an old, dry leaf.
called a proboscis. This is
coiled up when not in use.
Butterflies
have clubbed Wings closed,
antennae. Brilliant
resting on leaf. butterflies
Wings open.
2. The butterfly must stay 3.When its wings have
still for many hours, as blood hardened, the butterfly
is pumped into the wing veins is ready to fly off to find
to stretch the wings. Later it its first meal of nectar.
holds its wings apart to
let them harden.
Wallace’s golden birdwing

Glass swallowtail butterfly

88 butterfly
Scaly wings
The wings of both butterflies
and moths are covered with
tiny scales, which overlap like
the tiles on a roof. Bright
colors can either be used to
attract a mate, or to warn
predators that the butterfly,
or moth, is not good to eat. Cramer’s blue morpho butterfly
117
 MOTHS
Moths’ antennae are straight
or fernlike. They are used for
smelling out nectar or other
moths at night.

Most moths are night-fliers, and their strong

senses of smell and hearing make them well
suited to a nighttime existence. They can easily
find their way through darkness and although
attracted to light, they are dazed by it. Moths
rest by day, and many are colored to look like
tree bark or leaves so that they cannot be spotted
by natural enemies such as birds and lizards.
The South American ghost
moth has one of the biggest
wingspans of any moth. Wings at rest
Wingtip to wingtip, it can One way to tell a moth from a butterfly is to
measure up to 12 inches see how the insect folds its wings. Most moths
(30 centimeters). rest with their wings folded over their backs.
But butterflies close their wings upright.

Nymphalid butterfly

White ermine moth

A moth’s body is
thick and strong. A moth’s wings are
joined together.
Whooosss whooo? Day-flying moths
To scare off enemies, like birds, the wing patterns of some moths
mimic the appearance of fierce animals. The great peacock moth
has big eyespots on its wings which look like an owl’s eyes. With
these staring back at them, birds think twice before attacking!

Colombian blue
wing moth

Madagascan
red-tailed moth

A real eyeful!
Pyraustinae moths
have strange feeding
habits. With their
Verdant hawk moth
long proboscises,
they drink the tears
of animals such as
cows and buffaloes.
They are so gentle,
that the animal’s
eye does not
become irritated.
Sloan’s urania moth
The veins of the
moth’s wings help Spot the moth!
to warm or cool This geometrid moth from the jungles
the insect. of Borneo looks like lichen on a tree
trunk. The secret of its camouflage is
not just color, but also ragged outlines
and broken patterns.

119
 ANTS Ants live together in nests that are
Some ants will spray
a nasty chemical from
their rear end if they
sense danger!

like underground towns. There may be

millions of ants living in one nest. Most
of these are female and are called workers.
Some workers build and repair the nest,
while some are “soldiers” and guard the
entrance. Others gather food for the larvae
and the huge queen. Her life is spent
laying millions of eggs, and the
Weaving away
Weaver ants make
survival of the nest depends
their nests in trees. upon her well-being.
They sew leaves
together using
a sticky silk thread
produced by
their larvae. The Ants have powerful
queen lives inside jaws, or mandibles, for
the leaf envelope. chopping food. Their
mouth is just below
the mandibles.

When ants meet they “tap”

antennae. The antennae
contain chemical “messages”
which can be passed on
by touching.

Ants can run very

fast because they
Farming fungus have long legs.
Leafcutter ants are the farmers of
the ant world. They cut up bits of
leaf and take them back to the nest.
Fungus grows on the rotting leaf—
and then the ants feed on the fungus!

120
 Left, right! Bustling ants
Army ants from South
America are very fierce
insects.They are nomadic,
which means they are always
Red ant
on the move. They march in
columns through the forest,
killing and eating
everything in their
path. Here they Black ant
are raiding a
wasp’s nest.

Harvester ant
Living pantries
Some honeypot ant
workers spend their
whole lives feeding
on nectar. Their Wood ant
abdomens swell and
when food is hard to
find, other workers
use them as a
food supply.

Dinoponera—
the largest ant

Inside an ant’s nest

A network of tunnels
The success of an ant’s nest relies on the
joins the chambers in
Workers take care the ant’s nest.
hardworking and organized inhabitants.
of the ant larvae.
The queen lays her eggs in
the royal chamber.

Soldier ant
guarding
the entrance.
GRASSHOPPERS Grasshoppers are known for the “ticking” sounds they make
and for their ability to leap high into the air. There are
more than 20,000 different kinds of grasshoppers in the
world. Grasshoppers are plant-eaters, feeding on leaves
and stems. Normally, they live alone. But under special
conditions, some species undergo a series of physical changes.
They increase in size, become more brightly colored, and
gather in the millions to become a swarm of hungry locusts.
Its legs and feet have spikes Grasshoppers have
The long back legs which it uses to defend itself good eyesight
are good for leaping. against enemies. and hearing.
A grasshopper can
jump over three feet
(one meter).

Grasshoppers’ colors
help them to blend in with
their background.
Name that tune Cricket
Grasshoppers are good fiddle players.
They make music the same way a violin
produces sound. The grasshopper’s
leg is its bow and the tough wing
vein is the string. Crickets are also
known for their musical ability.
They use their wings to make
sounds. One wing has a thick vein Chirping cousins
Grasshopper Crickets belong to the
with bumps on it. This is called
the file. The cricket rubs the file same insect group as
over a rough ridge on the other grasshoppers, but crickets
wing to make cricket music. have longer antennae and
like eating other insects.

122
Growing up
Female locusts lay their Nymph crawling
eggs in the sand. The out of nest
babies, called nymphs,
hatch and dig their way
Adult Adult
out. When they appear,
pulling itself resting
they are tiny versions of
free of skin while its wings
their parents. In order to
harden
become fully grown adults,
the nymphs molt between
three and five times. After
each molt the nymphs are
bigger than before. When
they molt for the final
time, they emerge with
full-sized wings.

Locust-infested areas
The trouble with locusts
When heavy rains fall in hot,
dry regions, lush plant life
begins to grow. With lots
of food, large numbers of
grasshoppers get together
to mate. After mating, they
eat all the plant life around
them and grow much larger.
In search of more food, they
take to the air in huge
swarms, devouring fields
of valuable crops.

Extended family
All of these insects are related to
grasshoppers but they have quite different
features—and very clever disguises.

Leaf insect Stick insect Praying mantis

123
 BEES You have probably heard the
Bumblebee

buzz of a honeybee as it flies

from flower to flower. During the
spring and summer months,
bees spend their time collecting Nest-making
food. There are thousands of Wild honeybees
different types of bees and often build Working hives
their nests in Man-made hives
many of them live alone. But trees, hanging are specifically made
social bees, such as honeybees, the waxy to house thousands
live in large nests or hives. They gather nectar honeycomb of bees. Farmers
from branches. place these hives in
to be stored in the hive and turned into honey. their orchards so the
bees will pollinate
As the honeybee moves from flower to the trees.
flower, bright yellow pollen sticks to its
body. The bee combs the pollen into pollen This honeybee is feeding
baskets on its back legs and carries it back on nectar, a sweet liquid
to the hive, where it is turned into food. found in flowers. It sucks
out the nectar with its long,
tubelike mouthparts.

Bees help to pollinate

flowers by carrying
pollen from flower
to flower.

The bee’s sting

is in its tail.

124
 Buzzy bees

African killer bee

Orchid bee

Sweet drink
Worker honeybees look A large hive Inside the hive, the bees store
after the young and turn can hold up honey in a comb, which is
nectar into another sweet to 50,000 bees. made up of thousands of little
liquid we call honey. six-sided cells. The bees feed
on the honey during the cold Parasitic bee
winter months.
Shall we dance?
Worker bees scout for food.
When they find a good supply
they do a dance—in a figure-eight
pattern—to tell the other bees where
the food is. The bees in the hive then
know where the food is by the angle
of the “figure eight” and the Asian carpenter bee
position of the sun in the sky.

A feast fit for a queen

Royal jelly is actually bees’ milk. Royal jelly
It is filled with good things like products
Queen bee sugar, protein, and vitamins. The
Every hive needs a queen. The worker bee larvae do not get to
queen bee mates with the male, called eat the royal food—they are fed
a drone. She then lays all the eggs. on pollen and honey. Only the
New hives are formed in summer honeybee larvae that are destined
when a young queen leads to become queens eat royal jelly.
lots of workers out of Because it is so rich in vitamins
the old hive to and proteins, people now use
a new one. it to make face creams, soap,
and vitamins.

125
 DRAGONFLIES
Many insects are good fliers, but dragonflies are
truly the champions of flight. Millions of years ago,
enormous dragonflies patrolled the skies. Even today’s
Wing power
finger-length dragonflies are quite large compared to Dragonflies have strong
other insects. Once dragonflies have emerged from their muscles which control
water-based nymph stage, they take to the air, flying at the base of the wings.
In flight, the wings look
speeds of up to 34 miles (54 kilometers) per hour. like a rapidly changing
X shape.

Mating dragonflies
Brightly colored male Each pair
dragonflies cling to the of clear,
necks of females with veined wings
their tails. can beat
separately.
This means
that dragonflies
can hover.
Dragonflies have
excellent eyesight.
Laying eggs They have two huge
When the female is ready to compound eyes. Each
lay her eggs, she dips her eye can have up to
abdomen into the water. The 30,000 lenses.
eggs sink below the surface
where they hatch as wingless
nymphs that live underwater The bristles on
for up to four years. the dragonfly’s
front legs help it to
Breaking out trap prey in the air.
When the nymph is
fully developed, it
climbs out of the water
and clings to a plant
stem where it undergoes
a spectacular change.
The nymph’s skin
cracks open at the back
and an adult dragonfly
slowly pulls itself free.

126
 Beautiful friends Mighty
The delicately beautiful damselfly dragonflies
and mayfly are related to the powerful
dragonfly. They also spend most of their
lives under water, as nymphs. When
they become adults, they have a short
time to live. In that time they must
quickly mate and lay eggs so that the Broad-bodied
next generation can develop. chaser dragonfly
Mayfly

Emperor dragonfly

Damselfly

When dragonflies are

at rest, their wings are
fully open.

Clubtail dragonfly

Common darter
dragonfly

Dragonflies are usually very

brightly colored. Their bodies
are long and slender.

127
 WEB SPIDERS Spiders are afraid of us, so the
only signs we tend to see of them
are the silken webs they spin to
I’ll eat you later
catch their prey. Not all spiders If a spider catches
make webs, but the ones that do, a tasty insect, but is not
like this funnel-web spider, are good at recycling. hungry, it poisons it but
does not kill it. Then it
When its web gets damaged, the spider eats it, wraps it in silk and
digests the silk, then uses it to spin another one. keeps it for later.

Up, up and away

When baby spiders—called
spiderlings—want to travel long
distances they take to the air. They
do not have wings but they are still
able to fly. They produce a piece
of silk and use it like a balloon.
Spiders do not
have bones. Their
head and thorax
are covered by a
hardened shield.

The spiderling It makes a loop, which When it’s ready to

suspends itself is slowly drawn up take off, it cuts
from a long line. by the breeze. itself free.

Silk is produced
through the spinnerets
on the end of the spider’s
abdomen. Spiders use
their legs to pull out The saclike abdomen
the silk. contains the heart,
Fatal fascination lungs, silk glands, and
Scientists think that insects are attracted the reproductive parts.
to spiderwebs because patterns in the
webs reflect ultraviolet light. Unlike us, insects
see ultraviolet light and use it to find food.

128
Ready to attack Spiders and webs
This Australian funnel-web
spider is one of the world’s
deadliest. Here it is poised, The net-casting
ready to attack! When spider lives in trees,
spiders catch their prey, mostly in jungle
usually insects, they use areas. To catch
their fangs to poison and prey, it spins a
kill them. The funnel-web sticky net and
spider, like most spiders, throws it over
uses its strong digestive passing insects.
juices to dissolve the insect’s
insides so the spider can
suck it dry.

Making a web
Most web spiders have
Making a web takes time and
eight simple eyes, called
special care. Spiders only spin
ocelli. But even so, they
new webs when the old ones
cannot see very well.
become messy or damaged.
The water spider spins a web
in the shape of a bell under
the water. It fills the bell with
a bubble of air and moves in.

Spiders have a pair of small,

leglike appendages, called
palps, on each side of their The web of
mouthparts. They help an orb-web
spiders smell, taste, and spider looks
detect prey. like a target. It
takes about an
hour to spin a
complete web.
Spiders have
eight legs.

Even though spiders do not

have ears, they can “listen” to The female purse web spider
the world around them through lives in a silken pouch. When
their webs. The webs are very an unsuspecting insect lands
sensitive to vibrations in the air. on top, the spider bites through
the pouch and grabs it.

129
 HUNTING SPIDERS
Many spiders catch their prey without the
use of silk. They are called hunting spiders.
Some patrol their territory looking for insects
to pounce on. Others crouch in burrows and
wait for prey to wander by. Unlike web
spiders, many hunting spiders
have strong jumping
legs and sharp eyesight so that they
can easily spot their victims.

This jumping spider

is an active hunter,
so it doesn’t need
a web to catch its
prey. Instead,
these spiders
go out to find
their prey and
pounce on it. All spiders have eight eyes on
the front of their heads, but they
can come in different sizes and
The hairs on the arrangements depending on the
spider’s body are very type of spider. The eyes of this
sensitive to vibrations spider are in rows with two big
made by moving prey. eyes in the middle of the front
row which help them to hunt.

Hide and seek

Some spiders ambush prey instead of
trapping or chasing after it. Tree-bark
trapdoor spiders, for example, use their
powerful jaws to make a burrow with
a trapdoor at the entrance. Unseen,
they lie in wait behind the trapdoor,
ready to leap upon any unsuspecting
insects that might crawl by.

130
 Happy hunters

Brazilian wandering spider

Long jumpers
Hunting spiders need good eyesight because they
have to see and chase after their next meal. Many
can measure exactly the leap they must make onto Crab spider
their victim, as they run along after it.

Full speed ahead

Wolf spiders hunt
during the day.
This Australian
wolf spider lurks at Raft spider
the entrance of its
silk-lined tunnel,
ready to race full-
speed after prey.

These spiders live Ready, aim, fire! Woodlouse spider

anywhere from Spitting spiders spit when they are hungry.
deserts to forests, When they spot an insect, they spit streams
or even swamps. of sticky gum from each fang. This glues
the insect to the ground until the spider can
arrive to eat it.

131
DINOSAURS
Few animals hold such fascination
as dinosaurs. The last of these
incredible creatures died about
66 million years ago, long before
the first humans appeared. Fossilized
skeletons and lifelike models can help
us imagine what they were
like. We know that
dinosaurs hatched out of
eggs and grew up in just
a few years. Scientists
believe that some lived like
we do, in families where the
Tyrannosaurus adults took care of their
rex head young. Most dinosaurs
had tiny brains, but some may have
been smart enough to hunt in packs.
Dinosaurs were the most successful
big land animals of all time, and some
of their relatives live around us today.
We call them birds!

Maiasaura
growing up Camarasaurus skull

132
 Maiasaura family Barosaurus

Triceratops

Deinonychus’s
foot bones

133
DIFFERENT
DINOSAURS
First and last
Herrerasaurus was
one of the first
dinosaurs. It lived
about 251 million years
ago. Tyrannosaurus was
The word “dinosaur” was first used nearly one of the last dinosaurs
200 years ago. There has been an explosion of and became extinct about
67 million years ago.
excitement about them ever since. The huge Today, we are closer in
number of different dinosaur species makes time to Tyrannosaurus
the study of dinosaurs fascinating for everyone. than Tyrannosaurus was
to Herrerasaurus!
Thousands of bones belonging to hundreds of
different dinosaurs have now been discovered.
Today, dinosaurs are big business, with millions
of dinosaur books and toys on sale in stores.

Dinosaur ancestor
Scientists think that over millions of
years, the dinosaurs may have
developed from small, agile Classic Jurassic
reptiles like Marasuchus. The middle part of the dinosaur age
The hips and long legs is called the Jurassic period. It started
of this primitive reptile about 200 million years ago
are similar to those of and lasted 55 million years.
the earliest dinosaurs.

Plateosaurus
The age of the dinosaurs
Dinosaurs didn’t all live at the same time.
When one species died out, another came Dilophosaurus
along to take its place. The dinosaur age is
split into the Triassic, Jurassic, and
Cretaceous periods. The first
dinosaurs appeared
during the Triassic Heterodontosaurus
period, about Ornitholestes
251 million
years ago.

134
 Tyrannosaurus rex

Theropod
This group of dinosaurs walked on Triceratops
two legs and had three-toed limbs.
They were almost always meateaters, and
some were huge and powerful hunters. Marginocephalian
Leaellynasaura Their name means “fringed
Ornithopod heads.” This group included
These beaked dinosaurs were the horned and herbivorous
plant-eaters; Iguanodon Triceratops, as well as
was one of the largest to Pachycephalosaurus.
be identified.
Vulcanodon
Euoplocephalus

Sauropod
These huge, long-necked Thyreophoran
plant-eaters walked on This group of armored
four legs and included herbivores included
the Diplodocus. Euoplocephalus.

Cretaceous creatures
Tyrannosaurus rex
The last part of the dinosaur age is
Stegosaurus
called the Cretaceous period. This
stage lasted for about 79 million
years. The fiercest ever meat-eaters
lived during this time, alongside
their heavily armored prey. Saltasaurus

Ceratosaurus

Torosaurus

Compsognathus Euoplocephalus

135
DIGGING UP
A DINOSAUR
Dinosaur fossils are very rare, because they are only
found buried in certain types of rocks. Dinosaurs became
extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, so any rock that
formed after this time does not contain any dinosaur fossils.
Rocks at the bottom of the sea are usually free of dinosaur
fossils, because dinosaurs lived on land. The best places
to hunt for dinosaur bones are in rock layers This skeleton has been very
that formed at the bottom of swamps, well preserved. Most of the
lakes, or rivers. skeleton is still buried under
the ground.
The rock around the fossil
has been slowly and
Drawing fossils is
carefully chipped away.
an important job
on a dinosaur dig.

This Tyrannosaurus
rex skeleton is 39 feet
(12 meters) long. It is
lying curled up on its
left side.
 Old bones, new technology
Modern technology, like this Dinosaur trap
ground-penetrating radar, The Dinosaur National
can be used to find bones Monument in America is one
below the rock surface. In of the world’s richest dinosaur
the 1980s, a dinosaur named treasure troves. It was once a
Seismosaurus was found in sandy riverbed, which trapped
this way, in New Mexico. many dying dinosaurs and
preserved their bones.

Handle with care

Although dinosaurs were strong when they
were alive, their fossils are very fragile now.
Digging up a dinosaur is a slow and very
delicate process.

1. The thick layers of rock

above the dinosaur are
often cleared away
with mechanical diggers,
and sometimes blasted
away with explosives. Fossil collection
Dinosaur bones are not the only kind
2. The last 8 inches of fossils found at dinosaur sites.
(20 centimeters) or
so of rock above the
dinosaur are removed
very carefully with tools.

Stomach
Footprints Skin stones
3. The exact
positions of the
bones are then
mapped out and
recorded with
drawings and
photographs. Eggs Droppings Teeth

4. The fragile
bones must be 5. Finally the
covered with strengthened
plaster for bones are loaded
protection, up in a van and
before they can driven to a
be moved away laboratory for
from the site. further study.

137
REBUILDING A
DINOSAUR
Thick bones in the
neck held up the
heavy weight of the
Tyrannosaurus’s
head.

Jigsaw puzzles can be tricky, especially if some pieces are

missing and pieces from different puzzles are mixed in.
People who rebuild dinosaur skeletons are faced with a similar
puzzle. Fossil bones must be put together in the right order to
form a skeleton. Bones belonging to different dinosaurs may have
found their way into the collection by mistake. Missing bones are
modeled by looking at the bones of similar dinosaurs. Broken bones
must be cleaned and repaired before they can be assembled.

Back at the lab Bellyache

Dinosaur bones are taken from the fossil Early last century, scientists argued
site to a laboratory. Experts clean and repair over how to rebuild the skeleton
them before they are rebuilt into a skeleton. of a Diplodocus. Some believed
Sometimes, fossils may be prepared for Diplodocus was built like a lizard,
study, but are never displayed in museums. with long legs sprawling out
from its body. This was an
impossible pose. Diplodocus
1. First, the would have needed to drag its
hard, protective belly through a ditch to walk!
plaster must
be removed
from the
bone with
special tools.

2. Next, the
bones must
be carefully
cleaned.
This stage 3. The bones are then 4. Finally, copies are made of
can take treated with resin to the bones using a light material,
a very make them stronger. like fiberglass. The copies, called
long time. They must also be casts, can be put together to
repaired, if necessary. make a museum display.

138
 Model making
This model of a Maiasaura
Super skull nest was sculpted by
Some fossils are almost a scientific artist.
perfectly preserved.
After millions of years
buried under rock,
this Tyrannosaurus
skull did not need
much patching up in
the fossil laboratory!

1. The basic Maiasaura

shapes are made with
Building Tyrannosaurus rex wood and wire.
This skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex
has been on display in an American
museum since 1915. Today,
scientists think that a big
mistake was made in the
way the skeleton was
put together. They now
think the Tyrannosaurus
held its tail up high 2. The nest site is built
above the ground. around the models. The
wire skeletons are covered
A strong ribcage with paper and clay.
Massive leg bones
protected its heart, liver, supported the
stomach and lungs. dinosaur’s weight.

Strips of steel
run underneath
each bone, fitting 3. The clay models
snugly into the are carefully painted
bone’s shape. a sandy color. In life,
Maiasaura was probably
well camouflaged.
A strong metal
The metal pillar holds up
framework the metal strips,
supporting the supporting the
skeleton is called full weight of
an armature. the skeleton.
The tail bones were
an extension of the
Tyrannosaurus’s spine.

139
 LOOKING CLOSER
Staring up at the towering skeletons of dinosaurs can
make you feel tiny. But bones alone do not give the whole
picture of a living, breathing dinosaur. What color was
the dinosaur when it was alive? How strong were its muscles,
and how big were its heart and lungs? Looking closely at
animals alive today gives us useful clues about features,
such as the skin color of dinosaurs. We can even
imagine what their insides may have looked like!
Brachiosaurus’s heart
nestled underneath its lungs.
It must have had very high
blood pressure for the heart
Heavyweight or lightweight? to be able to pump blood all
Barosaurus was a very heavy around its body.
sauropod, like Brachiosaurus.
Sauropod means “reptile
foot .” Both dinosaurs
had hollow bones in their
spines. This was a useful
weight-saving device.

Two massive
Brachiosaurus started lungs fit
absorbing nutrients from snugly inside
its food in its long, its ribcage.
coiled, small intestine.

Tough food was

Bacteria in the
broken down inside
large intestine
the thick walls of
helped this big
Powerful tail the stomach.
plant-eater to
muscles made it digest tough
possible to swing plant fiber.
this bulky tail.

140
Strong neck Skin deep
muscles held up Some dinosaurs left
its long neck. behind perfect skin prints.
Dinosaur skin was usually
Cunning colors covered with small scales
We can’t tell the color of that did not overlap each
a dinosaur by looking at other. But some were
fossils. But we can follow protected by bony
clues given by the colors of plates set in the skin.
modern animals.

Chameleons hide from

their enemies among the leaves.
Hypsilophodon may have been brown,
to blend in with its dry surroundings.
Hadrosaur skin
This brightly colored cockatoo
can recognize others of its own
kind. Corythosaurus may have
had a striking crest for
the same reason.

Scolosaurus skin
In recent years it has been
discovered that some dinosaurs
had feathers and were more
closely related to birds than
once thought. One of these
is the Velociraptor.

Sauropod skin

Skin and bones

The big model of Brachiosaurus was
made by building muscles onto
the skeleton. Then, a layer
of skin was wrapped
over the model
to it give a lifelike
appearance.

141
BIG HERBIVORES
Plant-eating dinosaurs were some of the biggest animals that
ever roamed the Earth. Imagine stepping into the footprint
of a Barosaurus—it would be big enough to have a bath in!
The big vegetarian dinosaurs called sauropods were
peaceful creatures. They grew to their huge sizes on
a diet of plants alone.

Gentle giants
Sauropods had small
heads, bulky bodies, and
long necks and tails.

A long tail could Teeth

come in handy for Weedy teeth
Brachiosaurus whacking an enemy, Many big vegetarian sauropods had
but most of the time weak teeth. This meant they did not chew
it was used to help plants, but often swallowed them whole.
Barosaurus balance.

Camarasaurus

Mamenchisaurus

Its feet were flat

and padded, just
like an elephant’s.

Apatosaurus

142
So Long?
The reason why
sauropods had
such long necks
isn’t certain. There
Plant binge
are two theories.
No plant was safe from
a sauropod unless it
was more than 50 feet
(15 meters) above ground!
1. While
Barosaurus stayed Conifers are plants with
in one spot, its neck stretched out cones. Barosaurus and
for food on land or in the water. many other vegetarian
dinosaurs ate conifers.
2. Did Barosaurus use its
neck as an underwater Ferns varied in height,
snorkel, breathing through from small to tree-sized
the nostrils on top of its plants. No fern was too
head? Probably not, as tall for Barosaurus!
water pressure on its body
would have meant it
couldn’t breathe at all.

Barosaurus ate
cycads. These
plants still grow
in hot climates.
Huge legs supported
the crushing weight
of the Barosaurus.

143
 FEEDING ON PLANTS
The huge, treetop-munching dinosaurs were not the only plant-eaters
of their time. There were many smaller, beaked dinosaurs that also
fed on plants, relying more on their teeth to mash the leaves to
a pulp and make them easier to digest. Iguanodon was well adapted to
chewing and chomping. Its jaws were packed with rows of ridged
teeth. These grinders pounded away at leaves the Iguanodon nipped
off with a sharp, beaky snout.
Chewy chops Big, fleshy cheeks kept
Your cheeks keep food food in the Iguanodon’s
inside your mouth as mouth as it ate. A sharp beak nipped off
you chew. Unlike the the leaves, and strong teeth
big sauropods, at the back of its mouth
Iguanodon had cheeks to chewed them into a pulp.
hold in plant food while
it chewed with its teeth.

Iguanodon ate plants,

but no meat, like all the
beaked dinosaurs.

Snatch a snack
Iguanodon’s bendy finger
grasped plants tightly. Its
sharp thumb claw was a
defensive weapon.

Iguanodon
browsed on
ferns and
horsetails.
Mouth shapes
The mouths of these dinosaurs
were well adapted for eating plants.
Heterodontosaurus ate meat and
plants, and had three types of teeth,
for cutting, puncturing, and
grinding. Edmontosaurus had
a broad snout for big mouthfuls.
Hypsilophodon had a bony beak,
with short teeth farther back in its
mouth for chopping up its food.
Heterodontosaurus Edmontosaurus Hypsilophodon

Rows of teeth for

grinding down plants

Jaw bone of Edmontosaurus

Edmontosaurus Chomp
The jaws of Edmontosaurus had hundreds of
teeth that were constantly renewed by new
teeth replacing the old. The teeth were tightly
packed together for grinding and pulping
plants. Scientists think they are some of the
most efficient chewing teeth ever.

Fighting back
Dinosaurs were the biggest plant-eaters of
all time. Plants had to find ways of fighting
back to survive. Some were so successful, they
outlived the dinosaurs, and are still around.

The spikes of a
monkey puzzle
tree put off most
dinosaurs. Today,
Battle of the flowers no animal will
The first flowering plants bloomed touch them.
about 100 million years ago. They
were successful because they could
spread their seeds and reproduce
more quickly than the plant-eaters Waxy pine needles taste as bad today
could gobble them up. as they did in the dinosaur age.

145
HUNTING IN PACKS
Not all dinosaurs were plant-eaters. Packs of hungry meat-eating
dinosaurs roamed around, looking for their next meal. Deinonychus
was a small dinosaur that might have hunted in a pack. It could
outrun its prey and pounce to kill with frightening accuracy.
Dinosaurs much bigger than Deinonychus probably lived in
fear of this speedy hunter. Deinonychus was named after
its most deadly weapon—its name
means “terrible claw.”

Running reptiles
Deinonychus was in
a family of feathered
meat-eating dinosaurs called
the dromaeosaurids, which
means “running reptiles.” Compsognathus

Compsognathus fossil
Lizard lunch
Many pack-hunting dinosaurs chased other Sharp eyesight
dinosaurs, but the smaller hunters enjoyed was very
a diet of lizards or shrewlike mammals. This useful for
Sinornithosaurus
fossil of the hen-sized Compsognathus has spotting prey.
the bones of its last meal inside its stomach.
It was a Bavarisaurus lizard.

Velociraptor The claw was five

Deadly claw
Deinonychus had inches (13 cm) long.
a claw on the tip of
each of its toes, but
one claw was much
bigger than the rest.
Utahraptor This huge, sharp talon
could swipe around in
a semicircle, slashing
a deadly wound into the
flesh of the dinosaur’s prey.

146
 Savage hunter
Despite their large skulls,
Deinonychus probably weren’t smart Why hunt in packs?
enough to communicate with each One wolf cannot attack a deer on its own,
other to use complicated hunting but a pack of wolves can easily pull one down,
tactics when attacking their prey. just as small, meat-eating dinosaurs joined
It’s likely that the pack hunt was together to overpower much bigger dinosaurs.
more of a free-for-all, with each However, wolves are more intelligent than
dino fighting for its own meal. Deinonychus were, and use more complicated
hunting techniques.

The body of Deinonychus was light and

fast. This was ideal for chasing after
prey. Often just a quarter of the size of
its prey, Deinonychus was about 10 feet
(3 meters) long and 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall.
Sharp, jagged teeth
pointed backward for
a strong, tearing bite.

This plant-eating
Tenontosaurus bled
to death from the
gashes made by the
Deinonychus pack.
ENORMOUS
CARNIVORES
Like tigers today, Tyrannosaurus rex may have
Hunters need good
eyesight and a strong
sense of smell. Large
hunted alone, terrorizing its prey with surprise attacks. parts of Tyrannosaurus’s
This fierce dinosaur was a carnivore, which means it brain controlled its senses
lived on a diet of meat. The biggest of sight and smell.
meat-eater ever to walk on this
planet, Tyrannosaurus rex
was heavier than an Tyrannosaurus had a
massive skull. It took the
elephant and as tall as shock of crashing into prey
a two-story building. at speeds of up to 12
Its name means “king miles (19 km) per hour.
of the tyrant reptiles.”
Tyrannosaurus may
have charged with open
jaws, ready to sink its
deadly teeth into its prey.
Big chunks of flesh were
swallowed whole.

Its short “arms”

weren’t long
enough to reach
its mouth, but they Duck-billed dinner
may have been Tyrannosaurus probably hunted
used to grip and duck-billed dinosaurs, called
kill prey. hadrosaurs. It may have hidden
among the trees, waiting for the
right moment to charge at a
peaceful herd of grazing duckbills.

148
 Life-sized tooth Stretch those legs
A Tyrannosaurus Tyrannosaurus’s short “arms” may also have
tooth grew up to been used to help the dinosaur up after
seven inches (18 a rest on the ground.
centimeters) long.

1. Small front arms hold its

body steady, as Tyrannosaurus
begins to move.

A Tyrannosaurus 2. Tyrannosaurus
tooth was covered then lifts its head
with tough enamel. and body backward,
stretching out its
long back legs.

The teeth of a
Tyrannosaurus
were massive—
built for biting
straight though 3.Tyrannosaurus
the bones of stands up straight.
its victims. The weight of its tail
balances its big head.

Not a cannibal
When this Coelophysis skeleton
was found, scientists thought that
there were tiny bones of a baby
Coelophysis inside its stomach.
It’s now thought that
Look how small this baby’s bones were
a human tooth is! just underneath the
Meet the family adult’s, and were
These big, meat-eating dinosaurs shown never actually inside
below are all theropods like Tyrannosaurus its stomach at all.
rex. Theropod means “beast-footed.”

Albertosaurus Tarbosaurus Dilophosaurus Ceratosaurus

Allosaurus

149
DEATH OF THE
DINOSAURS We can tell how old dinosaur fossils are by looking
at the age of the rock they were found in. From
this, we know that the last of the giant dinosaurs
died out about 66 million years ago. Perhaps
a huge disaster wiped them all out in one shot.

Rock-solid proof
Many rocks on the
Earth’s surface are From outer space
formed in layers. The An enormous asteroid crashed into Earth
deeper the layer, the 66 million years ago. It hit what is now
older the rock. No fossil North America
part of Mexico, and the huge impact of
of a big dinosaur has the asteroid could have caused
been found above the catastrophic climate change South America
layer that formed 66 that made life impossible
million years ago. This for the giant dinosaurs. Yucatán
proves they died out this
long ago.

The asteroid may have hurtled toward

Earth at about 40,000 miles (64,000
kilometers) per hour.
 The survivors
Despite the disaster,
a few animals survived.
They included birds,
Wild guesses mammals, reptiles,
Many theories try to explain the and amphibians that
death of the dinosaurs. Some of the became the ancestors
most unlikely include the idea that of animals that live
hungry mammals ate their eggs. around us today.
Slow change
The big, spectacular dinosaurs may
not have disappeared overnight.
The world’s climate could have
cooled over millions of years, slowly
killing them off. New plants grew
in this colder climate. The warm
jungles that covered most of the Or that dinosaurs were poisoned Bird
dinosaurs’ world slowly turned by new, nasty plants. But no
into cooler forests. single theory can explain what
really happened.

What a hole
The asteroid impact Mammal
formed a gigantic crater Shocked
115 miles (185 kilometers) quartz
wide in Yucatán, Central Iridium
Finding proof
America. This photo shows
The asteroid crushed rock in the
a similar crater in Arizona
Earth’s surface as it hit Yucatán.
that was made by a more Reptile
Shocked quartz has been found at
recent asteroid impact.
the crater site. Iridium is a rare metal,
found in asteroids. There are high
levels of iridium in the rock that
contains dinosaur fossils.

Amphibian

The disaster would have set off a chain

reaction. 440 trillion tons of rock and
dust blocked out the sun’s light and the
temperature dropped to -14ºF (-10ºC).
Acid rain fell on the dinosaurs.

151
BIRDS
Any animal that grows feathers is
a bird. Some are bigger than people;
others are almost as small
as bees. Birds hatch out
of eggs, which are kept
in a nest. All birds have
feathers and wings, even
the ones that do not fly.
Blue-tit Because they have no teeth,
nest birds cannot chew. Instead,
they grind food in a gizzard. Some
food stays in a storage bag called
a crop so it can be coughed
up later for chicks to eat!
Birds are like us in the way
they breathe oxygen into
their lungs. However, they
appeared long before humans.
Birds are descended from small,
feathered, meat-eating dinosaurs
with long arms that could be used as
wings. This means that all
10,000 different types of
birds that live here with
us on Earth are actually
living dinosaurs!

Parrot Owl Green-winged

feathers Budgerigar feathers feather parrot skeleton

152
 Wood duck

Kestrel

Gizzard

Crop

Flock of starlings in flight

Senegal
parrot

Blue-tit Magpie American

egg egg robin egg Guillemot egg

153
 FEATHERS
Feathers are
made of keratin,
like your hair

AND FLYING
and nails!

Three types of animals can fly—birds, bats, and

insects. Birds are excellent fliers thanks to their
coats of feathers. Long, light feathers or small, soft
feathers cover almost every part of a bird’s body. Usually,
only a bird’s beak, eyes, legs, and feet are bare. Feathers
do much more than cover a bird’s naked body: they keep
birds warm and dry, and enable them to stay up in the air.

Flight patterns
Flying can be hard work.
Not all birds flap their
wings all the time.
Ducks fly in a straight line. Some birds save
energy by resting
between short
bursts of
flapping.
Flapping Resting Scarlet tanagers bob up
and down as they flap,
then rest, then flap again.

Wind power
If you blow hard across the top of
a piece of paper, the air on top
moves faster than the air
underneath. This
difference in air
speed creates
lift and the
paper rises. In
a similar way,
the air moving
over the top of a
bird’s wing moves faster than
the air going underneath it.
This lifts the bird up in the sky.

154
Waterproof body
feathers keep the
bird dry.

Underneath its body Flapping flight

feathers, the bird As this pigeon flaps its wings down, its feathers
wears a warm vest of close so that they can push against the air. On the
fluffy down feathers. way up, the feathers open to let the air slip through.

This rosella has

about 4,000 feathers. Adult birds lose old feathers
and grow new ones. This is
called molting.

Primary feathers can

twist like propellers
to power the bird
through the air.

Barbule
Vane
These secondary flight
feathers help lift the
bird up in the air.

Hooked up
Each flight feather
has thousands of
fine strands, called
barbules. These Barb
hook around each
other and hold the Strong shaft
feather in shape,
Wash and brush
even in very
Birds keep their feathers clean
windy weather.
and tidy by preening. They
nibble each feather to zip the
barbules back together and to
get rid of insects. Most birds
Tail feathers are used for
also waterproof their feathers
steering and stopping.
by rubbing oil into them. This
oil comes from a preen gland
Quill which is just above their tail.

155
SETTING
UP HOME
A nest is a cradle in which eggs and baby
birds are kept safe from enemies such as Courting
snakes and rats. Nests can be holes in Before starting a family, male
trees, mounds of earth, or piles of branches. birds have to attract a mate.
Peacocks do this by
Greenfinches tuck their cup-shaped nests into showing off!
bushes where they cannot be seen, whereas eagles’
lofty nests are easy to see but Nesting material
hard to reach. Each species Birds, just like
tries to give its chicks the people, build their
homes out of all
best chance of survival. sorts of things. Most
Cattle hair nests are made with
twigs and leaves,
but a few use much
stranger ingredients,
such as string.

Seeds
Many songbirds glue
their nest together
with sticky cobwebs!
String Birds may make
thousands of trips
to collect all their
nesting material.
Tinfoil

Spot the eggs

Building a nursery Ringed plovers
In many species of birds, both don’t build a
parents build the nest. These nest. They lay
long-legged great blue herons are their pebblelike
trampling on twigs to make eggs on the beach.
a huge, cup-shaped nest.

156
 No teacher needed
Weavers are brilliant builders, Knitted nest
but they don’t have lessons or copy
other birds. They just know how The weaver
to weave their nest. This “knowing uses his beak
without learning” is called instinct. and feet to
tie the grass
into knots!
Cup-shaped nests have
walls to stop eggs from
rolling out.
Baby birds don’t need Grass is
pillows—they have sewn into
soft feathers to lie on. the nest to
form a ring.

After weaving
the walls, roof,
and door, he
hangs upside
down from
his home
Nests in trees and bushes and invites
are kept dry by the leaves— a female
they form little umbrellas! to move in.

Lichen is used
to camouflage
the nest.
Burrowing bee-eater
Dried moss helps Carmine bee-eaters nest underground! The
This cup-nest was built by to keep the eggs male chooses a sandy riverbank and pecks at
squashing! The greenfinch warm. the earth. When the dent is big enough to cling
pressed the material into to, he starts to dig with his beak and feet. The
place with its breast as it female moves in when all the work is done!
spun round in a circle.
157
 FAMILY LIFE
Family life for most birds is brief, but busy. After
the female bird has mated, she lays her eggs,
usually in a nest. The baby birds, or chicks,
Baby sitting
do not grow inside her because this would Eggs must be incubated,
make her too heavy to fly. When they or kept warm, otherwise
hatch, the chicks eat a lot, grow bigger the baby birds inside will
die. The parents do this
and bigger, and then, as soon as they by sitting on them.
can fly, they leave home forever.

What’s inside an egg? Yolk Strong

All bird eggs have the Air space shell
same things inside them:
a growing baby bird
which feeds on a yellow
yolk, and a watery egg
white that cushions the
chick from knocks.
Woodpeckers and warblers
are ready to hatch in 11
days, but Royal albatrosses
take more than 11 weeks!
Egg
Ostrich eggs Hummingbird eggs Eye white
are the largest. are the smallest. Developing chick

Peck, peck, peck . . . The blunt end of the egg is

Getting out of an egg is called hatching. pecked off by the chick with a
The chick taps at the tough shell until it horny spike called an egg tooth.
is free. This can take hours or even days!

First crack

The chick
cheeps to tell
its parents it Empty shell
is hatching.
158
 Nearly grown up
After baby birds have left home
they are called fledglings. Many
are eaten by cats and hawks,
but some from each nest survive
and have families of their own.

Fast food
Feed me! Blue tits bring back
Most nestlings are helpless when more than 1,000 juicy
they hatch; they are blind and naked. caterpillars and aphids
All they can do is eat and grow. to the nest each day
for their hungry chicks.

The parents push

food into their chicks’
bright, begging beaks.
Caterpillar
Ducks’ eyes are
open when they
are born.

The wet, sticky After the chick has Follow the leader
fluff, or down, pushed itself head- Baby ducks follow
soon dries out. first out of the egg, the first big, moving
it is very tired. thing that they see—
usually one of their
parents. This instinct
is called imprinting.

Like most waterbirds,

just one hour after
hatching this duckling
This egg tooth falls can walk, see, swim,
off after a few days. and feed itself.

159
THE FROZEN
NORTH The North Pole lies in the middle of a frozen
ocean, which is surrounded by a cold, flat, The big melt
During the summer,
treeless, snowy wasteland, called the tundra. Few birds the ice melts. But this
can survive the long, dark winters of the tundra. But in water can’t sink into
the frozen ground, so
the summer, when the sun never sets, millions of birds it forms lots of lakes—
arrive to raise their families. Flowers bloom and the air ideal for ducks!
is full of buzzing insects, but in just a few short weeks
the summer vacation is over, and they all fly south again.

Bird’s-eye view
Hunting birds have eyes on the front of their head, Blind area
so that the sight from both eyes overlaps and they
can see exactly how far away their victims are.
Birds which are eaten by other animals have
eyes on the sides of their head, so they can
look around for danger.

Snowy owl Ptarmigan

Both eyes can see this dark area. Only one eye can see this light area.

Tundra residents

Gyr falcon
Snowy owl

Snow bunting
Raven

160
 Tough ptarmigans
survive the winter Causing a stir
by eating dwarf Red phalaropes reach
willow twigs. the insects that live at
the bottom of lakes by
Birds have a third eyelid swimming in circles!
that is see-through and This stirs up the water
helps keep their eyes moist. and makes the insects
float upward. You can
try this too—put
Ptarmigans shiver some buttons in a
to keep warm. bowl of water, stir
it up, and watch!
Snow-colored feathers
camouflage ptarmigans.

Duck down
Eider ducks pluck soft feathers, called
down, from their breast to line their
nest. People collect this down to make
soft pillows.
Eider down

Summer coat
Willow ptarmigans don’t need thick,
white coats in the warm summer, so Willow ptarmigans
they molt and grow dark red feathers. are about 17 inches
(43 centimeters)
Just like big, woolly in length and
live in the Arctic.
socks, these feathers keep
the ptarmigan’s legs, feet,
and toes warm.

Summer visitors Red-breasted goose King eider

Red phalarope

Ruff

161
COLD FORESTS One-tenth of the land on Earth,
especially in the cold north,
is covered in conifers. These
tall trees, such as pines and
firs, have needles instead of
broad leaves and woody cones
instead of flowers. They form
forests that are home to many
birds, from seed-eating siskins
to big birds of prey.

The siskin’s tail

spreads out and
acts as a brake.
This Japanese
waxwing has These feathers are
a bunch of called the alula—
little feathers, they are joined to
called a crest, the bird’s thumb.
on its head.

The feet are

stretched out to
grab the branch.

Ant antics
A Steller’s jay gets rid of mites or
feather lice by making ants crawl
Sleeping safely all over its body. The ants get
When birds bend annoyed and squirt out formic
their legs to sit down, acid, which kills the tiny pests!
or perch, muscles in their
legs make their toes curl. Angry ants
Now the bird can’t fall
off its perch, even if
it falls asleep!
Waxwings are named after
these red dots—which look
like drops of wax.
 Cone-opener
Crossbills’ beaks can snip
open cones a bit like a
can opener. Red crossbills
eat spruce seeds, but
bigger species can open
up large pine cones.

Crossed beak

Larch cone

This greenish-
brown bird is a
female red crossbill—
only the males are red!
Spruce cone
Starved out Inside a cone
Every few years, winter is even colder
than usual. When this happens, the
crossbills and waxwings leave the cold Woody scale
forest to feed in warmer woods.

By opening up Pine cone Tasty seed

its feathers, the
siskin can reduce
its speed.

Up and over
Like a little feathered mouse, the
Touchdown treecreeper creeps up tree trunks
Birds have to slow down to land, but, looking for spiders and earwigs to
eat. It starts at the bottom of the
just like planes, if they go too slowly
tree, spirals its way up the trunk,
they can stall and fall out of the sky.
walks along the first big branch,
By sticking out their alula, they can
and then drops down to the
change the flow of the wind over
bottom of the next tree.
their body and avoid crash-landings!

163
IN THE WOODS Large parts of America and Europe were once covered
by trees. Most of these maple, beech, and oak woods
have been cut down to make room for farms and cities.
But if you go into the woods that are left, you may still
find some of the beautiful birds that live there. Even if
you cannot spot them through all the leaves, you will
hear them. Male songbirds, such as nightingales, sing
flutelike songs to defend their territory.
First-class flier
Woodland birds, such Woodpeckers’ feet have
as this sassy blue tit, two toes that point Pied flycatcher
have short wings. This forward and two that chasing flies
allows them to twist and point backward to get
turn between the trees. a good grip on tree bark.

Tough beak

Tawny owls sleep

during the day. This
one is being woken
up by birds who
think it is roosting
too near their nests.

This greater spotted

woodpecker has a “shock
absorber” around its
brain to stop it from
getting hurt when
the bird hammers.
Who’s there?
Knock, knock—this is the
sound a woodpecker makes
when it hammers its beak onto
a tree to dig out insects!
Song thrushes open
By placing their long, stiff up snails by hitting Robins sing to claim
tail feathers against the tree them against rocks. their territory.
trunk, woodpeckers are able
to stay steady while they feed.
164
 All fall down
Big baby
Most woodland trees are
Cuckoos are lazy. They lay their
deciduous—they lose all their
eggs in other birds’ nests, and let
leaves in winter. Before they
them do all the hard work.
drop their leaves, a few, like this
rowan, grow juicy berries that
many woodland birds love to eat. A cuckoo has laid
its big egg in this
dunnock’s nest.
Crow’s nest Chaffinch eating
a caterpillar

As soon as the
baby cuckoo
hatches, it pushes
all the other eggs
out of the nest.

The tiny dunnock

keeps feeding the
cuckoo chick, even
when it grows
very big!

This hungry, crafty magpie

is waiting for a chance to
steal the wood pigeon’s eggs.

Wood pigeon

This sparrow hawk

is plucking feathers
from a hawfinch it
has just caught.
Hawfinch
Nuthatch Woodcock eating seeds

165
SWAMPS AND Pied avocet

MARSHES Half water, half land, swamps and marshes

are strange places to live. But to thousands of
birds, the shallow water and soggy soil is an
ideal home—it is full of food. Birds that live in
these tree-filled swamps or murky marshes can
either walk through the water or swim. Those
that walk are called waders. Wading birds have long,
thin legs, sometimes thinner than a pencil!
Young scarlet ibises
To keep their have gray feathers.
eggs and chicks They only grow red
dry, reed warblers feathers when they
build their nests are several years old.
high up in the
reeds, well above
the water.

Black tip to the

long, red wing

This is not a knee,

Highly strung but an ankle!
Foxes and other egg-
thieves can’t walk on
Scarlet ibises
marshy ground. So, to are about 18 inches
keep their family safe, (46 centimeters) tall
reed warblers build and live in swamps
in South America.
their homes in tall
marsh plants, called
reeds. The nest is tied
tightly onto the reeds
and won’t fall down,
even on a windy day.

166
 Up in the air Fitting the bill
Walking on stilts makes Storks stab, shoebills dig, flamingos
your legs longer. Now you sieve, and spoonbills trap—these
can splash through amazing beaks, or bills, are all
puddles and your clothes shaped to catch food.
still won’t get wet. A little
wading bird, called the
black-winged stilt, likes to Spoonbill
keep its feathers dry, so it
has very, very long legs,
which work like stilts.

Nostril

Saddle-billed
stork

This long, curved

All birds’ legs are beak can poke deep Shoebill
covered in small scales. down into the
sticky mud and
water at the bottom
of the swamp to
These big feet stop the ibis find frogs and fish.
from sinking into the mud by Greater
spreading its weight over flamingo
a larger area.

A shady bird
Sunlight shining on
water makes it hard
to see the fish below.
Black herons solve this
problem by shading
the water with
their wings.

167
 LAKES AND
RIVERS Still lakes and flowing rivers provide a Flipper feet
Waterbirds have
well-stocked pantry for flocks of ducks, geese, webbed feet. They
swans, and many more unusual birds. Wherever use these webs of skin
you live in the world, you can spot these like flippers, to push
through the water.
wonderful waterbirds bobbing around on
the surface or paddling in the shallows, for they are not
shy of people and live on lakes and rivers in cities, too.

Splash!
The brilliant blue
kingfisher plunges
into rivers to catch
minnows that are Treading water
half the length of These western grebes
its body. With its are dancing. When the
wings folded and birds have paired up,
its eyes and nostrils they dance across the
tightly shut, the lake together. Often,
kingfisher flies into the water. It has a male bird will try to
to struggle to free itself from the pull steal another’s partner!
of the water, but it soon succeeds
and flies away with its fish.
Water skiing Gathering speed Liftoff Water-runways
Heavy waterbirds can’t
Touchdown land or take off on the
spot. Like airplanes,
they need runways!

168
 Waterbirds
Finding food
Different ducks feed in different ways. Some dabble—they
dip their beaks into the water to sieve out tiny plants and
animals. Others dive several yards under water to reach
weeds, mussels, and insects on the bottom of the lake.
Broad beaks are Dabbling ducks never put Some diving ducks
best for dabbling. their whole body under water. have notched beaks Black swan
to hold onto fish.

Shoveler
Teal Slavonian
Smew grebe

Mallards are about It is easy to tell male and female

16 inches (40 cm) tall
and live all over
mallards apart—males have
the world. green heads.
Jacana

Water drips off a duck’s

back because its feathers
are waterproof. Ruddy
duck
Male
mallard
Ducks molt their flight feathers
all at once, so for a few weeks
each year they can’t fly.

Female
mallards can
quack louder
than males.
Female
mallard

Air is trapped These wild mallards

between the may live for up to 29
mallard duck’s years, but most only
12,000 tightly survive for 5-10 years.
packed feathers
to help it float. Webbed foot

169
 SEABIRDS
Playful puffins and graceful gannets, like most seabirds,
feed, preen, and sleep out on the sea for most of the
year. But each summer they come ashore to lay their
eggs. Most nest in huge groups, called colonies.
Their families are safer with thousands of pairs
of eyes watching for danger. Some seabirds
choose to crowd onto steep cliffs, well
out of the reach of many egg thieves.
Herring gull chicks peck at
this red spot to make their
These long wings parents cough up food.
catch the breeze and
lift the herring gull up
in the air like a kite.

Some seabirds spend

most of their lives in
the air, so they don’t
often use their legs. Waterproof
feathers
Webbed feet

Dive, dive, dive!

When a gannet spots a shoal of fish, it folds up its wings Seabirds do not get
and hurtles into the water. Less than 10 seconds later, tired on long trips
having swallowed the fish under water, it is flying again. because they can
Gannets A bony flap covers glide for hours on
dive from up each nostril. end without flapping
to 150 feet their wings.
(45 meters)
into the sea
and reach
speeds of This spear-shaped
60 mph The hard skull protects the bill is ideal for
(100 km/h). gannet like a crash helmet! catching fish.

170
 Puffin

Herring gull
Beaky bird
A puffin’s big, bright
Floating on air beak is hinged so
When the wind hits a cliff, that it can snap up
it shoots up toward the sky. fish and still keep
By stretching out their wings, a grip on those it
seabirds, such as puffins, can has already caught.
use this breeze to lift them up
to their lofty nests.

Gannet
Guillemot

Spinning eggs
Guillemots do not build
nests. Their eggs are pointed
at one end, so if they are Going up!
moved, they just roll in a A cliff is like a high-rise
circle and not off the cliff. apartment building.
Shags nest on the ground
floor, in caves near to
the bottom of the cliff.

Pebbles that move

Ringed plovers live on the beach.
They are camouflaged so well
that they are hard to see.

Shag
 TROPICAL
FORESTS
Giant trees, which seem to stretch
to the sky, form a huge umbrella over
the top of a tropical forest. In the shade
beneath this green canopy live thousands
of weird and wonderful birds. The hot, wet
jungles are home to over half of the world’s
10,000 species of birds. Noisy parrots gather fruit and When a toucan goes
nuts, colorful sunbirds sip the juice out of flowers, to sleep, it rests its
and harpy eagles swoop down big, brightly colored
beak on its back.
on chattering monkeys.

Toco toucans
are about 14 inches
(35 cm) tall and live
in South America.

This beak is not as The toucan uses the jagged

heavy as it looks. It is edge of its beak like a saw
hollow, and has thin to cut through large fruit.
rods of bone inside for
strength and support.

Big stretch
With its long, clumsy-looking beak, the toucan
can reach fruit and berries that are farther away.
It picks them up and tosses them into its throat.

172
 Parrots come in all colors.
With their strong, But even bright green ones
hooked beaks, are hard to spot among
parrots can crack tropical fruit and
open tough nuts. flowers.

Parrots hold their food

Red-fronted parrots with their claws. Some
are about 10 inches
(25 cm) tall and live use their right foot and
in Africa. others their left!

This hummingbird’s
beak is just the right
shape to reach to the
bottom of the flower.

Fancy feathers

King of
Saxony bird
of paradise
Hummingbirds are
the only birds that
can fly backward!
Hovering hummingbird
By flapping their wings very
fast, hummingbirds can hover
near a flower. They then suck
out the flower’s juice, or nectar.
Magnificent
Cock-a-doodle-doo! bird of paradise
Chickens have been bred from
tropical birds, called jungle
fowl. These wild birds look
and sound a lot like chickens,
but they don’t lay as many eggs.

King
bird of
paradise
White-plumed
bird of paradise

173
GRASSLANDS
Grass grows in the vast spaces between wet forests Crowned
and dry deserts. These rolling seas of grass have crane
several names: the tropical African plains are known
as savanna, while the colder grasslands are called
prairies, pampas, or steppes. These green lands
are important to people because they make Two for dinner
good farmland. To birds, they Honeyguides love beeswax but
they can’t open a bees’ nest. They
are a perfect place to live. have to find a big-clawed badger
There are tall grasses to hide to rip open the nest for them.
in, and seeds, grasshoppers,
beetles, and worms just The honeyguide The badger leaves plenty
leads the way. for the patient bird.
waiting to be eaten.

Bees

If an oxpecker sees a
lion, it calls very loudly
and warns the buffalo
of danger.

Oxpeckers have strong,

sharp claws for clinging
to thick skin.

Oxpeckers
Doctor oxpecker! are about
Oxpeckers peck bloodsucking 5 inches
(12 cm) tall
The buffalo ignores pests, called ticks, out of the skin and live
the oxpecker, unless it of buffalo and zebras. This “surgery” in Africa.
pecks inside its ears! helps to keep the animals healthy.

174
Grassland birds Budgerigar

Vulturine
guinea fowl

Gouldian finch
Western
meadowlark

Save the chicken!

Every year there are fewer and fewer prairie
chickens living on the American prairies. This
is because the grass is being plowed up and
turned into gigantic fields of corn.

Grassland parrots
Budgerigars are small, green Australian White throat
parrots. In rainy years, there are more “budgies”
in Australia than any other species of bird.

Bee-watching bird
Hitching a ride Dainty, white-throated
Kori bustards kick up thousands of insects as bee-eaters eat most
they stride through tall grass. Bee-eaters use the insects but like bees
bustard as a perch to catch these swarming flies. best. When they
spot one, they
The bustard’s back is
used as a takeoff and Kori bustards weigh grab it, kill it,
landing strip! about 42 pounds and swallow
(19 kilograms)! it up!

After killing the bee

by thumping it against
a branch, the bee-eater
closes its beak around
the bee and squeezes
out the stinger.
 DRY LANDS
At midday, hot, dusty, dry lands are quiet
and appear to be empty. Only at sunrise
and sunset, when the air and ground are
cooler, do birds come out of the shade to Sandgrouse suck
feed and find water. Elf owls are lucky— Most birds have to tip their
they eat juicy meat and do not need to drink. heads back to make water trickle
down their throats. Sandgrouse are
Sandgrouse eat dry seeds and have to fly up unusual—like you, they can suck.
to 75 miles (120 kilometers) every day to get
a drink of water. Shaggy crest

Roadrunners
run, but they In cartoons, roadrunners
can also fly. say “beep beep!” In real
life, they rattle their beak
to make a “clack.”
Takeout water
Male sandgrouse sit in puddles! Their belly feathers
soak up water like sponges. When they return to
their nests, the chicks drink from the soggy coat.

After the cold desert night,

roadrunners warm up by
standing with their backs
to the sun and sunbathing. Roadrunners are about 12 inches
(30 cm) tall and live in Mexico
and North America.

Roadrunners swallow rattlesnakes

that are up to 24 inches
(60 centimeters) long.
Roadrunners can Like most ground-feeding
run as fast as an birds, roadrunners have
Roadrunners use Olympic sprinter! long legs and toes.
their tail to balance
as they zigzag across
the desert.

176
 Building a sand castle! This little elf owl is
A mallee bird doesn’t build a nest, it makes taking shelter from
a massive mound. It piles leaves into a pit and the scorching sun in
covers them with sand. The rotting leaves give a hole made by a
off heat and incubate the eggs. gila woodpecker.
The chicks Sand is scraped away
will dig their if the eggs overheat.
way out.
Tiny verdin hang upside
down from cactus branches
to look for insects.

Cactus wrens have

scaly legs and tough
feathers to protect
them from the
cactus spines.

Sandy birds
Pale-colored feathers reflect the sun’s
heat and are good desert camouflage.

Gila woodpeckers peck away dead

bits of cactus as they hunt for insects.

This Western Gambel’s quail

bluebird is search under
keeping cool in stones for seeds
a shady bush. and scorpions.

177
THE FROZEN
SOUTH
Australia Antarctica

Antarctica, the land that

surrounds the South Pole, is
almost empty. The layer of ice
1.2 miles (two kilometers) thick,
Chinstrap penguin
howling winds, and freezing
South Africa South America temperatures stop plants and land-living animals
from surviving. Yet the ocean around this frozen land
is full of fish and krill, so the coasts are home to millions of birds.
Penguins are the best-known residents of the snowy south, but
there are also seabirds such as skuas, petrels, and terns.
Belly flop
The quickest way to get around on slippery
ice is to slide. Penguins can’t use a sled like
you, so they scoot along on their big bellies!

Egg thief
Skuas rarely go hungry because there are plenty of
They push themselves along with penguin eggs and chicks for them to steal. While one skua
their strong feet and wings. distracts the parent penguins, the other one grabs a meal.

They can’t fly, but penguins

are excellent swimmers.
These Adélie penguins may have to slip and
slide up to 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Adélies eat small
their nesting colonies to the sea. animals called krill.

178
 On ice
Female emperor penguins lay
The longest night an egg at the start of winter. For
Once the Antarctic winter the next 62-67 cold, dark days
sun sets, it is dark for and nights, the male incubates
more than six months. this egg by standing still and
Male and female penguins balancing it on his feet.
cough up food from their
stomachs to feed their chicks.

This feathery
coat keeps
warm air
Emperor penguins in and cold Safety in numbers
are the biggest
birds in Antarctica. water out. When their parents are fishing,
They can be 4 feet the fat, fluffy chicks form groups
(1.2 meters) tall. called crèches. This helps keep them
warm and protects them from skuas.
Baby penguins keep
warm by sitting on
their parents’ feet! Thick fat, called blubber,
keeps penguins warm.
Penguins come to Adélie penguins By building up speed,
the surface to gulp can swim at they can shoot themselves
down air about up to 20 miles out of the sea.
every 2-3 minutes. (32 km) per hour.

Leopard seals
eat penguins.
179
BIRDS OF PREY Eagles, hawks, and falcons are birds of prey,
or raptors. These strong, fast, fearless birds
kill and eat other birds and animals—their
prey. Whether they are the Dressed for dinner
Vultures poke their heads
size of a sparrow or have into dead animals to eat.
a wingspan of 10 feet (three Their heads are bare—
feathers would get messy!
Steep stoop
meters), like the condor,
Peregrines have they all have three things in common:
been timed diving hooked beaks, sharp claws, and “eagle”
at speeds of more than
185 miles (300 kilometers)
eyes that can spot rabbits more than
per hour. At the last moment, three miles (five kilometers) away!
they thrust out their feet and stab
their victim with their claws.
Wings are swept The wings are strong
back, and the tail enough to lift the falcon
closes like a fan. into the air even if it is
carrying a dead duck.

Its pointed
wings help the
peregrine falcon
fly faster than
any other bird.

The pigeon dies and

falls to the ground

The tail is used

for steering.

The biggest nest in the world

Golden eagles’ nests, often called aeries, can be
over 13 feet (four meters) wide—bigger than
some cars! They do not build a new nest every Peregrine falcons
year but fly back to an old nest and just add new are about 13 inches
(32 centimeters) tall
twigs. Some nests are hundreds of years old. and live all over the world.

180
 Bendy legs!
African harrier Working together
hawks have long Raptors do not hurt
legs which they humans, and for many
use to reach eggs, hundreds of years, they
chicks, and bats have been trained to
inside holes in trees. hunt with people. In
To make it easier the Middle Ages, this
to snatch a meal, lanner falcon would
they can bend their have been flown by
legs backward, a squire, a boy who
forward, and worked for a knight.
even sideways.
The glove stops the bird’s
claws from scratching you.

Meat-eating birds
Birds of prey have
excellent color vision.

Nostril American
kestrel
This powerful, hooked
beak is used to pull apart
animals that are too big
to be swallowed whole.

Like all birds of prey, peregrines

spend most of the day resting or Goshawk
preening, not hunting.

Many birds of prey

have bare legs, but
others wear feathered
“pants.”

This needle-sharp
claw, or talon, is
used to grab prey.
All-American eagle
This US army badge has
a bald eagle on it because
it is the national bird of
the United States. Harpy eagle
FLIGHTLESS Emu

BIRDS
Kagu

Flying is hard work—it takes a lot of energy to flap

wings and lift off the ground. For most birds it is worth
Eye-to-eye
the effort because it helps them escape from danger or
Ostriches’ round eyes search for things to eat. But some birds, such as kiwis
are nearly as big as and kagus, live on islands where there are no enemies,
tennis balls!
and others run or swim after food instead of flying.
Over millions of years, birds such as ostriches, emus,
and penguins have gradually lost the ability to fly.

Its tiny wings are

hidden under brown,
furlike feathers.

The kiwi’s
nostrils are
on the tip
of its long
beak.
Sniff sniff
The shell is about The national bird of New Zealand, the kiwi, is
0.08 inches (two one of only a few birds to have a good sense of
millimeters) thick. smell. It sniffs out worms that are in the soil.
Super egg
Ostriches lay bigger eggs than any other bird:
they are 24 times bigger than a chicken’s egg!
The shell is incredibly strong.

Ready, set, go!

Ostriches live on the
African grasslands. They
cannot fly away from
lions and hyenas, but
they can run very fast.
They sprint at speeds of
45 miles (70 kilometers)
per hour—much faster
than a galloping horse.

182
 Cassowary
King penguin Rhea

Brown kiwi
Kakapo
Takahe

Rheas peck the ground

with their big, flat These frilly feathers By spreading its wings out like
beaks to snap up grass, keep the rhea warm a sail, the rhea can catch the
seeds, and leaves. at night. wind and run even faster.

Rheas are five feet Males wave their

(1.5 meters) tall, weigh skinny, bare necks
more than 45 pounds
(20 kilograms), and live from side to side to
in South America. attract a female.

Come to daddy
Rheas are unusual. The males, not the
females, incubate the eggs and look after Running birds
their big babies for up to five months. have massive,
muscular legs.
Cassowary Ostrich Rheas look shaggy
foot foot because the barbules
The bones inside their legs are
on their feathers do
solid. Rheas don’t fly, so they
not “zip together.”
do not need lightweight bones.
Flightless birds do
not need neat feathers.
Three front-facing toes.
Running “shoes”
The ostrich is the only bird to have
two toes; most birds have four.

183
NIGHT BIRDS
As the sun sets, most birds settle down to sleep, but some
are just waking up. Owls and other birds that feed and
fly in the dark are called nocturnal birds. They come out
at night to find animals to eat and also
because many of their enemies
are asleep! Owls
hoot loudly to one
another in the
dead of night— Night fishing
they are often Waders, like this black-
crowned night heron,
heard but feed in shallow water.
Owls can fly without making rarely seen. So if the tide is out in
a noise because special fringed the middle of the night,
feathers slow down the air that is when they fish.
as it rushes over their wings.

Slow, silent swoop

In the dark, barn owls use their
ears, not their eyes, to find food.
They can even hear a tiny mouse
munching on a seed.

Did you spot

this nightjar?

Short tail

Spot the bird

During the day, nightjars sleep on
the ground. Their feathers are the
color of leaves, so if they don’t move,
foxes and falcons won’t find them.
184
Wooden actor Face to face
If a frogmouth sees you, it will
point its head up at the sky and
pretend to be a broken branch. It
leaves one eye slightly open though,
just in case you’re not fooled.

Owls cannot move Owls see 35-100

Long-eared owl
their eyes, but they times better than
can turn their necks all you in the dark!
the way around to
look backward.

Elf owl

Like all birds, the ears

are small slits hidden
under the feathers.

Boobook owls are Barn owl

often called
“morepork” owls—
this is what
they shout!
Boobook owls are
about eight inches
(20 centimeters) tall
and live in Australia
and New Zealand. Eagle owl

Cough it up
Owls don’t have teeth,
so they can’t chew their Vole rib
food—mice and birds
are swallowed whole!
Soft Mouse
Bones, feathers, and fur
feathers leg bone
cannot be digested, so
they are made into
pellets and coughed up. Vole fur

This curved
claw kills rats,
mice, lizards,
and spiders. Skull Hip bones Jaw Leg bones Shoulder blades

185
MAMMALS
Mammals are amazing animals.
Pale kangaroo mouse

Some climb trees, others race across

the ground, burrow, or even fly. Seals
and otters are examples of mammals
that live in the water. Mammals
come in many shapes and sizes—
a giraffe is tall, a mouse is small,
and a platypus looks like an otter
with a duck’s beak. So what makes
them all mammals? They are
hairy, they breathe air into
lungs, and they feed their babies milk.
Mammals are warm-blooded,
which means their temperature
is controlled by their bodies. Most
are born live, not hatched from
eggs, although platypuses lay eggs.
Marsupials are a special kind of
mammal because they give birth
to babies that are only half formed.
These tiny creatures grow into adults
nestled in a warm safe pouch on their
mother’s body. Many mammals eat
only plants, while others eat meat
or insects. You are a mammal, too.

Black-tailed Giant
jack rabbit panda

Golden
mice

Platypus
Gelada
186
 Snow leopard cub Giraffe

Little brown bats

Asian elephant

Tiger

Koala

Giant otter Royal antelope Desert hedgehog

 MARSUPIALSA marsupial is an animal that has a pocket, called
a pouch, on its tummy for carrying its babies. Inside
this nursery the baby is safe and has milk to drink.
Today, the widest variety of marsupials live in
Australia, but 50 million years ago many more lived
in the Americas and the Antarctic. Most of the
Australia
American ones died out when more
modern mammals, such as horses, cats, Like deer, kangaroos
and rats, developed. Marsupials survived have long faces to make
room for their big, flat,
in Australia because the “new” mammals grass-grinding teeth.
could not reach this island. Kangaroos
are the most famous marsupials, but there
are also marsupial “mice” and “dogs.”
Kangaroos can’t
Female red kangaroos
are three feet (one meter)
walk backward!
tall. Males are twice as
Female red kangaroos are
big. They live in Australia. called blue fliers because they
have blue-gray fur and bounce
faster than the red males.

The tail helps Kangaroos lick a bald spot on

it to balance their arms to cool down! As the
as it bounds saliva dries it takes heat away.
along.
Only females have
pouches—males don’t
need them because they
don’t have babies!
The baby, or joey,
hops into the pouch if
it sees an eagle or dingo.

Jump to it!
A kangaroo’s back legs are so big that
it would fall over if it ran. But they are
good for jumping—a red kangaroo
can bounce along at 30 miles
Huge (50 kilometers) per hour.
leg muscles
188
 Missing marsupial Jumping bean?
The last Tasmanian tiger is A newborn wallaby
thought to have died in a zoo looks like a red bean!
in 1936. It was striped like It is less than one inch
a tiger and had a thick tail (two cm) long and has
like a kangaroo. Farmers Birth no legs, hair, or eyes. Like
shot them all because all marsupials, it continues to grow in
they ate sheep. a pouch, not inside the mother’s body.
The “bean” squirms through the
forest of hair by waving
Acting star its stumpy arms.
Opossums Three minutes later
are the only it reaches the pouch.
living American
marsupials. When It hooks onto a nipple
a Virginia opossum and starts to suck milk.
is attacked, it sticks
out its tongue, lies very
still, and pretends to be
dead—it plays possum!

Hold on tight
This baby koala is too big to fit
inside its mother’s pouch, so it clings
to her fur as she climbs through the
eucalyptus leaves!

Mammals with pouches

Tasmanian devil

Honey possum Numbat Ring-tailed

rock wallaby

189
 INSECTIVORES
Insectivores are sharp-toothed, long-nosed animals
that eat insects and juicy worms, slugs, and snails!
Their busy little bodies lose heat easily, so they need
to eat frequently. The food they eat produces
the energy needed to keep them warm. But
how do insectivores survive winters,
when there are fewer insects to eat?
Shrews search through rotting leaves
and most manage to find enough
food. Moles stay underground, and
hedgehogs spend cold winters in
a deep sleep, called hibernation.
A bite for lunch
How hungry? The tiny eyes are The water shrew is one
Imagine having to eat a covered by fur. A of the few venomous
pile of food that weighs mole can barely tell Little bumps on its mammals. Its saliva can
twice as much you— the difference between tail and its nose help kill frogs, but not people!
shrews have to do this light and dark. this European mole
every day! sense where it is going.
The grass nest is
A mole’s wide front feet the size of a football.
are shaped like spades— Molehill
ideal for digging.
Worms burrow
into the tunnel
and are caught
by the mole.

Moles turn
around by doing
forward rolls.
If the tunnel is
too narrow, they
run backward.
Moles eat more
Moles live alone. than 50 worms
This worm thief a day! Live
will soon be ones are stored
chased away. in a pantry.

190
Greedy guts
Shrews often eat animals that are bigger
than themselves. This long, juicy worm
will fill its tummy for two or three hours!

Worms in a week
Streaked tenrecs grow up faster than any other
mammals. They stop drinking milk and start to
eat worms when they are only six days old.

Insect eaters

A hedgehog can stay

rolled up for hours.
Golden mole
Roll up, roll up!
Fearless hedgehogs don’t run away
from danger—they stick out their
spines and roll into a ball. No one
wants to eat a mouthful of needles! Head

Some foxes and badgers Desman

have learned to push
hedgehogs into puddles
to make them unroll!

Star-nosed mole

The hedgehog’s skin is

larger than its body.When
it curls up, it can pull its
prickly skin over its head!

Spines are just One-week-old baby shrews Solenodon

stiff, hollow hairs. hold onto one another so
Adult European
that they don’t get lost. White-tailed shrews
hedgehogs have more than
5,000 needle-sharp spines.

191
 CATS
Cats are carnivores. Most creep up on their prey by
A cheetah can accelerate
as quickly as a Ferrari car.

sneaking slowly and silently through the undergrowth.

Then, suddenly, they will hurl themselves onto their
surprised victim. The sharp canine teeth
quickly deal the deadly blow. The biggest cat
of all, the striped tiger, can eat 55 pounds
(25 kilograms) of meat in a meal! Its
appetite is almost matched by the
majestic lion, the biggest cat and
most powerful hunter in Africa.
Tigers

Bright eyes
When light shines on a cat’s eyes, they glow like
the reflectors on the back of a bike. This happens
because the light bounces back off a special layer
in the cat’s eyes. This layer collects
light. It helps cats see six times
better than you in dim light.

Aerial ambush
All cats climb trees. Grassland queens
This spotted jaguar Lions are the odd-cats-out
is waiting to drop because they live in groups,
down on a passing called prides. Male lions
peccary or tapir. It are often called the “Kings
will even tackle of the Jungle,” but they
alligators. do not live in jungles, and
the females, or lionesses,
do most of the hunting.

192
 Speedy cat
Cheetahs are
the only cats that
Bendy run down their meals.
A cheetah can only
backbone They can sprint at 60 miles
sprint for 20 seconds
(100 km) per hour and
because it gets tired.
are the fastest mammals.

Play fight Sensitive

Baby cats, or kittens, are whiskers
playful. They chase one
another, jump into the
air, and chew twitching
tails! This is the way
they learn to hunt. Really wild cat
The rough tongue can There are more than 300 million
rub meat off bones! pet cats in the world. They are
Leopards are believed to have been bred from
about 24 inches
(60 cm) tall. wildcats over 12,000 years ago.
They live in This Scottish wildcat is much
Africa and
southern Asia.
fiercer than a tame tabby!

Leopards sleep 16
hours a day, usually
Big cats Black leopards,
in short “cat naps.”
roar; they or panthers,
can’t purr. can be born to
“yellow” parents.

Panthers are spotted, but

their spots are hard to see!

Leopards live and

hunt on their own.
Groups of lions often
gang up on them and
steal their food.

Put your claws in!

Cats comb Little muscles pull most
and clean cats’ daggerlike claws
their fur coat into special pockets,
with their Soft pads let to stop them from
tongue. cats creep quietly. becoming dull.

193
 DOGS
On its own, a dog can only trap animals that are
smaller than itself, but 20 African hunting dogs
working together can easily catch and kill a zebra.
Many dogs have learned this lesson and prefer to live
and hunt in family groups, called packs. The 39 types
of wild dogs have often been treated
as enemies, not loved like pet dogs.
Wolves have been wiped out in many
All pet dogs have
places. Foxes only survive because been bred from gray,
they are smaller and more cunning. or timber, wolves.
The first dogs were
A wolf can hear a tamed more than
Hooooowl! watch ticking more 12,000 years ago!
In the dead of night, the than 30 feet (10
wolves in a pack get together, meters) away.
throw back their heads, and
howl. This warns other wolves
to keep out of their territory.
Gray wolves are Dogs cool down
about three feet by panting.
(one meter) tall.
They live in
Canada, the US,
Europe, and
northern Asia.
Pointed canine teeth stab
the prey. Cheek teeth slice
the meat into pieces that
are small enough to swallow.

Gray wolves trot more than

40 miles (60 kilometers)
each day when they are
hunting a moose or an ox.

Team effort This pup is eight

Female African hunting dogs can weeks old. It already
have as many as 16 puppies. They eats meat but will
are looked after by the whole pack, not go hunting with
not just the mother. They are even the pack until it is
suckled by other females. six months old.

194
 New neighbor
Red foxes used to live in
the woods, but many have
moved into cities. They roam
the streets at night, searching
for fruit and mice or garbage
cans to raid!

Cleaning up
The African dogs called jackals love
leftover lion food—lions hardly ever finish
their dinners! Meat eaters that do not kill
their own food are called scavengers.

Dog “talk”
Every dog has to know
its place in the pack—
they can’t all be the
A fox’s tail is leader! Dogs can’t
called a brush. talk, so they use
A gray wolf’s body language
thick coat can be instead to let
any color, from one another
white to black! know whether
Win by a nose they make
When you smell a flower, you or take orders.
can often tell what sort of flower
Bushy it is without opening your eyes.
tail Dogs can do even better than Dogs wag
this—they can smell who touched their tails
the flower the day before! when they
are happy.
Dogs are marathon
runners, not sprinters. The pack leader holds
A wolf can only run its tail upright and snarls.
28 miles (45 kilometers)
per hour—much slower
than a lion.

This Indian wild dog,

Ankle called a dhole, does
not want to fight, so
it rolls on its back.
The claws
Dogs walk stay out all
on their toes. the time.
BEARS Bears are big and usually have
thick, shaggy coats. Brown bears
are the most common, but
giant pandas are more famous.
People have argued for years
about whether giant pandas The big sleep
are bears or not. Scientists Bears that live in cold places spend
the winter inside warm caves. The
now think, as any child can see, females give birth to their tiny cubs,
that they are black-and-white bears! Bears usually twins, while they are asleep.
look cuddly, but they are fierce. People have Polar bear pawprint
shot so many of these big beasts that today
bears only survive in hilly hideaways.
Honey and nuts for dinner?
Most bears eat all sorts of things—
they are omnivores. These are
a few of their favorite foods.

Berries
Honey

Hazelnuts

Masters of disguise Open wide!

Polar bears live in the icy A grizzly bear has a simple way of
Arctic and are the only fishing. It stands in a river and waits
completely carnivorous for fish to jump right into its mouth.
bears. Seal skin is their The polar bear
favorite food. hides its black nose It sneaks up on the
with its white paw. seal by pretending The cunning bear springs
to be an iceberg! out of the icy water to kill
the surprised seal with one
Half-webbed toes swipe of its huge paw.

Ringed seal pup

196
Pawprints
Unlike cats and dogs, bears A special pad on
have flat feet. Their heels a panda’s paw is
touch the ground when used as a sort of
they walk. thumb—useful
for grabbing
bamboo shoots.

All bears have

This big brown small, round ears.
bear is more than
twice the size of a tiger!

A bear’ s face always

looks the same—you
can’t tell whether it is
angry or happy!
Save the giant panda!
There are less than 2,000 giant pandas
left. It is not going to be easy to save
them—females are only fertile for
three days a year. They also need to
eat 30 pounds (14 kilograms) of
one special type of bamboo a day.

Grizzly bears are a type

of brown bear. They are
called grizzly bears because
the tips of their brown
hairs are gray, or grizzled.

With their big, strong arms,

bears can hug a person to death!

Grizzly bears stand

up to 10 feet (3 meters)
tall. They live in Canada
and the US.

The front paws can

be used as clubs to hit
other large animals.
 APES
There are four sorts of apes: chimpanzees,
orangutans, gibbons, and gorillas. They all live Playful Begging for food
for many years, have big brains and no tails, and can
walk upright. Apes are the closest relatives of people.
Gorillas are the biggest and
strongest apes, but they are gentle
giants. Chattering chimps are
sassy and cute, but much more
dangerous—they even kill deer
and monkeys to eat! Family
life is important to all of these
intelligent animals; chimps cuddle
and shake hands when they meet.
Orangutan (male)
Playtime
Baby chimps take a long time to
grow up. Their mothers feed them
milk for five or six years—so they
have plenty of time to play.

Brainy beast
Chimps are one of the few
animals to use tools. They use
leaves as sponges! First they
soften handfuls of leaves
by chewing them, and Go
then they use them bananas
to soak up water. Gorillas really
do eat bananas.
They also like
nettles, giant celery,
and banana leaves.

Apes walk on
Walk like an ape their knuckles.
All apes can stand on
just two feet, but they
usually walk on all
fours like this.
198
 Holding hands
Not a word You can pick up things
The chimp is one because you are able
of the few mammals to fold your thumb
that can make faces to across your hand.
Like you, Apes and monkeys
show its feelings.
Frightened Angry apes have have these useful,
sensitive “opposable”
hands. thumbs, too.

Male gorillas stand

up to 6.5 feet (two
meters) tall. They
live in Africa.

An orangutan’s big
toes can grip things, too!
Gorillas have about the
same number of hairs as
you. They look hairier Big
because their hair is long brain
and thick.
Gorillas can climb trees,
Is it a bird? but they spend most of the
Every night, orangs build a cozy day relaxing on the ground.
nest to sleep in. It takes just five Apes see things
minutes to build a mattress of in color—just
branches and a blanket of leaves. like you.
Baby gorillas learn All apes
to crawl at nine weeks, can sit
climb at six or seven and stand
months, and walk up straight.
at eight months.
They may live
to be forty.
 MONKEYS
Monkeys are primates. It is easy to tell them
apart from the smarter primates, people, and apes,
because they have tails. Some, such as mandrills,
live on the ground, but most monkeys are light
enough to jump or swing through the trees.
Squirrel They always look before they leap, though,
monkey
because there is danger all around. Large
eagles may swoop down from above and leopards lurk Built to balance
below. If they miss their footing, monkeys may plunge If you start to lose
your balance, you
up to 200 feet (60 meters) to the ground! can use your arms
to steady yourself.
Monkeys use their tails
Keep it clean! instead—leaving their
These rhesus monkeys arms free for climbing.
are lining up to have
insects and dirt picked Groups of
out of their fur. They monkeys are
even pick one another’s called troops.
teeth clean! This
grooming helps to
keep them tidy and Face to face
also good friends.

Telltale tail
Ring-tailed lemurs are primitive primates
and live in troops like monkeys. They
keep together in tall grass by
pointing their tails upward.
This lemur is looking
for a tail to follow! Mandrill (male) Proboscis monkey (male)

Bald uakari Cotton-top tamarin

200
 A gripping tail
Many South American
Both eyes face
monkeys have three “arms”—
forward to spot safe
their tails are prehensile, so
landing places!
they can hold on to things. A
spider monkey can hang by its
strong tail, leaving both hands
free for feeding.
All primates,
including you,
see in color.

Narrow
chest
Mane
of soft,
silky hair.

Monkeys are
not fussy eaters.
They eat fruit,
flowers, lizards,
Monkeys’ legs butterflies, and
are shorter than even frogs’ legs!
their arms.

This tamarin weighs only

21 ounces (600 grams),
so it is light enough to
scamper across small
branches without
breaking them.

People have chopped

down so many of the trees
that golden lion tamarins
live in that there are
only about 1,000 of these
monkeys left in the wild. Bath time
Hairy These Japanese snow monkeys
Golden lion tamarins tail relax and warm up in winter
are 13–15 inches by sitting in pools of hot
(32–37 centimeters)
tall. They live in Brazil.
water that bubble up from
beneath the icy ground.
 BATS
Bats are furry, flying mammals. Their wings
are made of thin, leathery skin, which is The ears of this long-eared
bat are almost as big as its
stretched across their fingers like material body. It tucks them under
over the spokes of an umbrella. Bats live its wings when it sleeps.
all over the world, but you will not often
see them flying. Most bats hang upside Bats hear
better than
down and sleep during the day. They all other
hunt at night. Most small bats eat mammals.
moths and flies. Larger, vegetarian
bats, often called flying foxes because they have
foxlike faces, feed on bananas and nectar.
Mouselike, furry body
Acrobatic bats swoop through
Wrist
the sky at up to 40 miles (64
kilometers) per hour—fast
enough to escape from owls.

Moth
This bat has caught
a night-flying moth,
which it found by
listening for it
in the dark.

Fruity bat
Jungles might not
exist without bats!
Fruit-eating bats The bat cave
pollinate plants, and Nearly all bats are awake
the seeds they spit at night—they are nocturnal. Sleepy
out or leave in days are spent inside caves or holes in
their droppings trees. As the sun sets, millions of bats
can grow into trees. stream out of their caves to go hunting.
202
 Camping bats
Imagine having to build
a new house every night—
tent bats do! These small,
white bats nibble through
the middle rib of a palm
leaf until it droops down
to form a tiny tent. The
bats hang underneath,
out of the wind and rain.

This is a thumb. Bats use their The wing can be

thumbs as combs to groom their fur used as a scoop to The smallest mammal
and as hooks to hold onto things. catch flying insects. The bumblebee bat can fit
in the palm of your hand.
Its body is one inch (three
cm) long and its wingspan is
just 5 inches (13 cm). It
weighs less than a grape.

Long finger

Fangs for dinner!

Vampire bats love
the taste of blood.
This one has sliced
Long-eared bats
have a wingspan of open the foot of a
9–10 inches (22–25 sleeping chicken
centimeters). They with its sharp teeth.
live in northern Europe. It will lap up about
one tablespoonful
of blood.

Sounds tasty
Many bats can’t see well enough to fly in the dark, so they use
their voice and ears instead! American fishing bats make clicking
noises as they fly over ponds. When these sounds bounce back
off ripples, they know that a fish is near to the surface.

The bat hears the tiny

echo and swiftly swoops
down to grab the fish.

203
SMALL These newborn,

RODENTS
rubbery, wriggling
mice can only
squeak, sleep,
and suckle.

A rodent is an animal that gnaws with sharp,

chisel-shaped teeth. Most are mouselike and Moving house
vegetarian: they nibble plant stems, seeds, Every three or four years,
thousands of lemmings run
and roots. Forty percent of all mammals from their overcrowded homes.
are rodents. They live all over the world, Many die in the frantic search
from African jungles where for new places to live and feed.
crested rats clamber up trees,
to scorching deserts where
jerboas hop across the sand.
House mice have even hitched rides
Dormouse
on ships to reach huts in Antarctica.

A plague of rats
Every year, millions
of nibbling rats
wreck one fifth of
the world’s crops!
The greasy fur leaves dirty
marks on things it touches.
Many brown rats live
in sewers. They use their
feet as paddles when
they swim and can Flat teeth in the
tread water for back of a rat’s
three days! mouth grind up
grass and grains.

Scaly
tail After walking through
dirt, rats may walk over
food and spread diseases.

204
 They are 18 days
old and ready
to leave home. The most
common mammal
House mice are small
Straw and cannot defend
nest themselves. The species
Their eyes begin to open survives by having lots of
and fur appears when babies. A female can give birth
they are 10 days old. when she is six weeks old and have 10 litters
a year. If all her babies survived, she could have
a million descendants when she was one year old!

Out on a limb
Harvest mice climb up
small plants, like monkeys
in a tall tree! They hold on
tightly with their tails.

Nonstop teeth
Your adult teeth grow in the spaces left
behind by your baby teeth. When they
have filled the gap, they stop growing.
Rodents’ front teeth are different—they
never stop growing!
They get
worn down
by the tough
food that the
rodents eat.
Harvest mice weigh less
than a fifth of an ounce Rodents even
(five grams) so they rarely chew soap. Growing
break a “branch.” tooth

Tiny nibblers Indian Fat dormouse Crested

Great gerbil rat
Pale jerboa
kangaroo mouse
Sagebrush vole

205
 L ARGE
RODENTS
Most rodents are small and look like Size of a sheep!
mice, but some are much bigger. The capybara is the
largest rodent in the
There are two sorts of large world. It is a relative
rodents—those that of the guinea pig.
Chipmunks look like squirrels and
those, such as porcupines, that look like pigs.
Rodents’ teeth get worn down by gnawing, and
all rodents have front teeth that keep growing The lion lost
A porcupine will
throughout their lives. run backward
and stick its
A porcupine can quills into an
hear fruit drop to attacker’s face!
the ground several
yards away.
Hollow,
striped quill

The nest,
or drey, is about
Porcupines chew the size of a football.
old bones to keep
their teeth sharp. Angry African porcupines stamp
their back feet to rattle their quills.
This tells other animals to go away.
Busy nibblers The sharp quills only stick up
when the porcupine is attacked.
European Springhare
red squirrel Chinchilla Rock cavy Woodchuck

206
 Digging “dogs”
Prairie dogs live in underground towns! These towns usually
have a population of about 1,000, but one in Texas had
more than 400 million prairie dogs in it.
A squirrel’s
Planting trees strong jaws The “garden” Watch Prairie dogs touch teeth
Squirrels bury nuts can crack is weeded. “dog” when they meet.
to eat later. Those that open acorns.
they can’t find again
may grow into trees.
Warm,
leafy lining

Tufted squirrel
European red squirrels don’t
When it sleeps, the scamper through gardens and
squirrel wraps its parks like their gray American
bushy tail around cousins. They are shy and
itself like a blanket. hide from people in forests.

Grey squirrels race

through trees at up to
24 km (15 miles)
per hour.

A gray squirrel can leap

more than six meters
(20 feet) from one tree
to another.

Squirrels can walk up and A hole in the

down the sides of trees to roof lets in air.
reach their nests. The house, or
lodge, is the size
The underwater of a large tent.
Timber! entrance keeps
Beavers are excellent builders. They bite out enemies.
through trees with their teeth and then Food
pile up the logs in a river. Behind this storage
dam, a pond soon forms where they
can build their home.

Dam
 THE HORSE
FAMILY
Almost all the horses in the world are tame.
The only wild species left is the Przewalski’s
horse. It survives in zoos. The most common Desert “donkeys”
wild member of the horse family today is not Wild asses are shy and
rare. They live in the dry
Przewalski’s a horse, but a zebra. A zebra’s North African deserts.
horse Fast, striped zebras mane stands
up straight.
are herbivores—they chew
grass with their flat back teeth.
Horses, zebras, and asses walk
on the tips of their toes, which
are hidden inside hard “shoes,”
called hooves.

The ears twist around

to listen for danger.

Plains zebras are up

to 5 feet (1.5 meters)
tall at the shoulder.
They live in Africa.

Best friends
Zebras and wildebeest
like to live together.
The zebras keep
watch, while wildebeest
sniff the air for lions.
Wildebeest eat the
short grass left by The hoof is
the zebras. just a large Foals can
toenail! walk when
they are a few
minutes old.
208
 Quick, run! All four hooves
Asses, zebras, and horses leave the ground Long legs are best
can run at speeds of up to when it gallops. for taking big steps
40 miles (65 kilometers) and running fast.
per hour.

Plains zebras
are plump.

Spot the zebra!

Nobody knows why zebras
are striped. Maybe their crazy
Trespassers will be kicked
pattern confuses lions, making it
Mountain zebras don’t live in
hard for them to pick their prey.
herds. Each male, or stallion,
“owns” a patch of land, called
a territory. He will chase off any
A zebra scratches male zebra that enters his home.
its back by rolling
on the ground.

Big thigh The swishing tail swats

muscles annoying, buzzing flies.
power plains
zebras across
the African Females, foals, and stallions
grasslands. live together in the same herd.

Make your mark

Your fingerprints are
different from everyone
else’s. So are a zebra’s Born free
stripes—each zebra has a Some of the 75 million tame horses
different-patterned coat! have escaped and learned to live in
There is only one toe Some even have thin, white the wild. The ancestors of these
inside this hard hoof. stripes on a black background. American “wild” horses, called
mustangs, belonged to cowboys.
209
 HIPPOS, PIGS,
AND PECCARIES
Hippo is short for hippopotamus, which
means “river horse.” They are called river
horses because they live in rivers and lakes,
and eat grass. Pigs and peccaries do not
live in rivers, but they enjoy wallowing in mud
as much as their huge relatives. Although these Very important pig
water-loving mammals are not carnivores, they Farmyard pigs have all
are all able to protect themselves. Wild pigs can been bred from wild boars.
stab and kill tigers with their tusks, peccaries
fight jaguars, and a heavy hippo will tussle
with a crocodile or smash into a boat!
Built-in suntan lotion
Hippo skin oozes tiny blobs of
pink liquid. This oil stops their
skin from drying out and also
protects them from sunburn.
Open wide
You yawn when you are tired or bored,
but male hippos yawn when they are The eyes and nostrils are high
angry! Smaller males are frightened up on a hippo’s head. This
off by the big teeth and swim means it can stick just the top
away without starting a fight. of its head out of the water
and still see and breathe.
Smooth, almost
hairless, skin.

The 1.5 feet-long

(half meter) tusks are
sometimes used to
stab crocodiles.
This big male hippo
Hippos are 5 feet (1.5
meters) tall. They live weighs as much as 120
in Africa. eight-year-old children!
 Lumbering lawn mowers
Every night, hippos leave the
water and spend five or six hours
grazing. They march back into
the water, down well-worn
paths, long before the
scorching sun rises.

Plucky peccary
If a mountain lion attacks a group of peccaries, one
brave animal may charge the lion with its sharp tusks
while the others escape, but it will be lucky to survive.

Pigs on parade

Bush pig

Collared peccary
Underwater ballet
To keep cool and Hippos can hold their breath for more than five
moist, hippos spend minutes. This is plenty of time to dive down and
16 hours a day up to tiptoe gracefully across the bottom of the lake.
their necks in water.
The hippo shuts its
ears and nostrils when
it is under water.
There are four Hippo
toes on each foot.
Thick skin protects
the hippo from
snapping crocodiles.

Hippos do eat water

lilies, but prefer grass. Pygmy hippo
THE CAMEL
FAMILY
The fat inside
a camel’s humps
is an energy store,
so it can survive
a long time
Camels and their smaller South without food.
American relatives, vicuñas
and guanacos, are found on sandy
deserts, rocky plains, and bare
mountains. They survive in some
of the harshest places on Earth.
Vicuñas can breathe thin mountain air and camels can cope
with freezing nights and scorching desert days. People
have made good use of these animals’ amazing survival
skills—most are domesticated and work for a living.
There are few wild members of the camel family left.

Domestic dromedary
Desert people could not
survive without their
one-humped camels.
They are ridden, milked,
and eaten. Camel skin
is made into shoes, hair
is woven into clothes, Food is brought
and dry droppings are back up from
used as fuel! the rumen to
be rechewed.
The rumen is the
large part of the
Swallow that! stomach where
Camels can go for chewed food
goes first to
months without be partly
water, then drink digested.
up to 29 gallons Second
(130 liters) of Third stomach
water in stomach
13 minutes.
Twice as tasty
To get all the goodness out of grass,
some mammals, such as camels,
deer, and cattle, have more than one
stomach and chew their food twice!

212
 Two rows of eyelashes How many
keep out sand and stop A camel doesn’t waste water. humps?
The ears and their eyes from freezing Liquid from its runny nose drips
nostrils can be on cold desert nights. down the split lip into its mouth!
pressed flat to
keep out sand.
Bactrian camels are
7 feet (2.2 meters) tall.
They live in the Gobi
desert in Asia.

Dromedary
Camels spit at things
that annoy them.

Tough lips can grip

thorny desert plants.

Camels hardly
ever sweat. This
saves water.

Bactrian camel
King of the castle
While the females graze, the male
vicuña stands on a rock. If it spots
a mountain lion, it whistles and
the fleecy females flee.

Guanaco

Camels roll
from side to
side when they walk
because they lift both legs
on one side at the same time. Vicuña
Hardworking mammals
Llamas and alpacas have Alpaca
been bred by people from
The two toes spread wild guanacos. Llamas are
out to stop the milked and used to carry
camel from sinking heavy loads. Alpacas are Llama
into soft sand. kept for their fine wool.

213
 CATTLE AND Roundup

ANTELOPES
Musk oxen form a ring
around their babies to
protect them from hungry
wolves—who can’t get
through the circle of horns.

Cattle, antelopes, and their relatives goats

and sheep, are all bovids. This means
that they have horns attached to
the tops of their heads. Horns have
a bony core and an outer layer made
of the same stuff as your fingernails.
Gerenuk antelopes eat leaves, but
Gerenuk bison prefer to graze on grass. Like
(male)
all bovids, they make the most of their
poor-quality food by coughing up partly
digested food and chewing it a second time.
This is called chewing the cud. All cattle have
four stomachs!

These horns are about

half as tall as you!

This rare Arabian

oryx antelope chews
the cud as it walks
across the desert.
Arabian
oryx

On the march
At the beginning of the dry season, huge herds
of wildebeest walk more than 990 miles
(1,600 km) to wetter, greener pastures. When Like all
the wet season begins, they come back. These cattle, bison
long, yearly journeys are called migrations. have split
hooves.
It sniffs the air for rain and then
walks to where the grass is growing.

214
 Built-in radiator
The Tibetan yak lives Heads with horns
near the top of the
world in the Himalayan
mountains. It does not
get cold because it has
its own central heating
system—the moss being
digested in its stomach is
hot and keeps it warm.
African buffalo (male)

This thick, winter coat

falls off in big clumps
during the spring. A dark coat soaks up the sun’s
heat. This helps to keep the
bison warm in cold weather.

Male bison fight for females by

putting their heads together and
pushing. The winner is the one
who pushes the other backward. Blackbuck (male)

Horns are different

than antlers. They never
form branches or stop
growing, and they are
not replaced each year.

Male bison weigh

more than a small car!
Wild goat (male)

American bison
are 6.5 feet
(two meters)
tall. They live
in Canada
and the US.

Herds of bison spend most

of the day eating grass and Bighorn sheep (male)
most of the night chewing!
ELEPHANTS Elephants have enormous ears,
Matriarch

A family of females
The leader of a herd of
long noses, tusks—and weigh elephants is an old female,
called a matriarch. She is
more than six cars. They are the followed by all her female
biggest land mammals. Herds of relatives and their babies.
elephants shape the land they live
in by treading paths that are wide enough
to stop bush fires, by digging wells in
dry riverbeds, by fertilizing the ground with
dung, and by trampling grass for zebras to eat.
They also open up forests by pushing over trees!

Wrinkles trap water to

help to keep them cool.

Ivory towers
Many elephants are killed
for their valuable ivory tusks. Elephants
People have burned huge piles never stop
of old tusks to show that they growing.
want this cruelty to stop.

It’s all relative

The elephant’s closest relative,
the hyrax, looks like a guinea pig!
Millions of years ago they were Tusks are teeth.
huge. All that elephants and They grow about
hyraxes have in common now are 7 inches (17
tusks and nails instead of hooves. centimeters) a
Who’s who? year and can be
There are two sorts of elephants. as long as a car!
Humped Smaller Bigger,
back ears rounder ears
Longer
tusks
Elephants eat grass, bark, and
Taller leaves for up to 16 hours a day.

This toenail is bigger

than your whole hand!
Asian African

216
 Males leave their families
when they are about fourteen.
Young females
Stay cool
act as nannies.
Elephants have lots of
ways of cooling their big
An African bodies. They can wallow
elephant’s ears in mud or throw water
are almost as and dust over their skin.
big as sheets for Sometimes they flap their
a single bed! ears like giant fans!

The elephant spreads

out its ears to make
itself look bigger and
more dangerous.

The sixth, and

This is one of last, set of teeth are
Elephants keep in bigger than bricks!
the first four teeth.
touch by making
deep, rumbling noises
in their tummies!

The bendy trunk is formed

from the nose and the upper
lip. It is used for breathing,
smelling, touching, and
picking up things.

What’s inside?
Elephants may
Toe look like they have Always teething!
flat feet, but they Other than tusks, elephants have only four
really walk on teeth. These molars are replaced every few
their tiptoes! years. Bigger teeth appear at the back of
the mouth and push out the old, worn
The heel rests on teeth—like a conveyor belt of teeth!
a fatty cushion.

217
THE
HUMAN BODY
Your body is one of the most amazing
machines in the world. It is made up of
thousands of parts all working together.
Each group of parts is called a system.
The body is so complicated that it is
easier to imagine the different systems
separately. But your digestive system,
nervous system, skeleton, blood or
circulatory system, and muscles all
work together. You need all of them
to stay alive.
When you are born, all you can do
is sleep, eat, and cry. It takes time to
discover how the parts of your body
move and how to get them to work
together. As you grow, you learn to
do more difficult things, like crawling,
walking, and riding a bicycle.

There are over 100

muscles in your face.

Digestive
Human skull system
218
 Walking
(about 15 months)
Hopping Skipping
(about (about
Crawling 4 years) 5 years)
(about 10 months)

Riding a
two-wheeled bicycle
(about 5 years)

Nervous Circulatory
system Skeleton system Muscles
219
“Canaphone”
HEARING
A piece of string Hearing is one of your five senses. Your
threaded through ears are important and delicate: they pick
two empty cans
works kind of like up sounds and send messages to your
a telephone. If you brain. Sounds travel through the air in
speak into one can, waves. Your outer ears, the shell-shaped
the vibrations
travel along the flaps on the side of your head, catch sound
string to the other waves and funnel them inside. These waves
can—allowing hit the eardrum and make it vibrate. The
your voice to
be heard. middle ear and the inner ear change the
vibrations into electrical signals, which are
sorted out and recognized by your brain.
The outer ear collects the
sounds and funnels them
along the ear canal.

Crash!
The loudness of sound
is measured in decibels.
Quiet whispering is less
than 25 decibels, the clash
of cymbals about 90, and a
jet plane taking off can measure
Kneel more than 130 decibels. Noises
over 120 decibels can cause pain
and may damage
your ears.

Talking in signs
Hunger
If deaf people have never heard speech,
they may not have learned to talk. To
help them to communicate, many learn
a special language called signing. There
are many different forms of sign language
used in different countries and regions.
Deaf people also learn to spell using their
hands, and to read lips by watching the
Hope shape of people’s mouths as they speak.

220
 Hello . . . hello!
If you shout in a large, empty space, the sound
Three tiny, connected bones in the waves from your voice bounce off the nearest
middle ear—the hammer, anvil, surface, back to your ears. This is called an echo.
and stirrup—pass sound vibrations The farther a sound has to travel before it is
from the eardrum to the cochlea. reflected, the longer you must wait for the echo.

The semicircular
canals help you
balance.

Nerves

Nerve cells in the cochlea

send messages about
sounds to the brain.

The inner ear is made up of the

cochlea and the semicircular canals.
It is filled with liquid.

Visible and invisible ears

The eardrum is
Not all animals hear the
a thin sheet of skin Elephants
same way you do. Some do
that vibrates when have huge
not have any ears on the
sound waves hit ear flaps and
outside of their body.
it— just like the good hearing.
skin on a drum.

Birds and lizards have good

hearing but no ear flaps on
the sides of their heads.
A rabbit can turn its
ears to hear sounds
all around it.

221
 SEEING Sight is perhaps the most important of your five senses.
Your eyes work together with your brain to help you
Tear-full to see. The cornea, at the front of your eye, bends light.
Tears help to keep your This light is then focused by the lens, to form an image
eyes moist and clean. of what you are looking at on the retina at the back of
When too many are
made, they cannot all your eye. But the image is upside down! Nerve cells in
drain away down your the retina send messages to your brain, which sorts out
nose, so tears come the messages so that you see things the right way.
out of your eyes.

Tricky eyes
Sometimes your eyes
play tricks on you,
called optical illusions.
Try these:
Which of these two
girls is the taller?

Double vision?
Because they are set apart,
each of your eyes sees a slightly
different picture. Your brain
Which red circle is puts the two pictures together.
bigger: the left one This is called stereoscopic or
or the right one? Which line is longer? binocular vision, and it means
you can judge depth and
distances. Try this: close one
eye, point to something, and
Eye spy
keep your finger still. Now look
You can have your eyes tested by
through the other eye. Are you
an optician to make sure they are
still pointing to the same place?
working properly. Glasses or contact
lenses will help if you cannot see
clearly. Your eyes are very important,
so have them checked regularly!
 Eyebrow hairs stop
drops of sweat from
getting into your eyes. The retina is at the
back of the eye. Cells
The eyelids are lowered like a on the retina, called
protective cover if danger approaches rods and cones, help
the eye. They also wash your eyes you to make sense of
every time you blink. light and colors.

The white part of the eye is called

the sclera. At the front it becomes
transparent and is called the cornea.
The conjunctiva The cornea bends the light.
is transparent,
like a window. The optic nerve
It protects the sends messages
front of your eye. from your eye
to your brain.

Light enters
the eye through
the pupil.
Iris
The lens helps
your eye to focus.
Eyelashes protect your
eyes, and stop dirt and Six muscles control each eye and let you
grit from getting in. move your eyes in almost any direction.
But both eyes work together.

Muscles around
the eye allow you
to blink every two to
ten seconds. So even
when you are awake
you have your eyes
shut for at least half
an hour each day!
Black hole
The black part of your eye is a hole,
called the pupil. A colored muscle,
the iris, makes this hole get smaller in
bright light to let in less light, and bigger
in dim light to let in more.

223
BRAIN Inside your head, protected by a bony
skull, is your brain. It looks crinkled
like a walnut and is the control center
for your entire body. Your heart
pumps oxygen-filled blood into it Brain protection
To stop you from injuring
through a mass of tubes, called arteries. your brain, you should
After only four minutes without oxygen, brain wear a helmet whenever
you take part in a sport
cells will die and they cannot be replaced. Your that might make you hit
brain is very complex and is divided into many your head.
parts that have different functions. The largest
and uppermost part in the human brain is
called the cerebrum. It has two halves, called
hemispheres. The outermost layer of the
cerebrum also contains sections known as
lobes, which control different activities
and make sense of the information
from your five senses.
The frontal lobe is the part of the brain where
you do your big thinking.You use it when you
make a decision or solve a problem. It also
allows you to communicate with other people
and express your own unique personality.

Brain control
Your brain is the most
important part of
your body. It is your
control center, but
is only a little bigger
than your two fists! The brain stem
controls many
Each part of your brain has of your automatic
a different job to do. Some actions, such as
parts send out signals to your your heartbeat
body and some parts make and breathing.
sense of signals that come in.

224
 Different brains
Kim’s game Animals have brains
When we are learning, we of various shapes
depend on our memory to and sizes, suited
help us. Test your memory to the things
with this game. Set out they do.
a number of objects and
look at them for a few
moments. Ask a friend
to remove an object, then
try to tell what is missing. Fish

The parietal lobe has many

functions, such as processing
signals associated with taste
and touch. Bird

The temporal lobe is connected

with your sense of hearing.
It helps you to understand
sounds, including people talking.

Cat

The occipital lobe is connected

with your sense of sight. It
helps control eye movement,
makes sense of what you see,
and allows you to remember
things that you’ve seen before.
Human

Brain relay
When you want to touch something,
a signal is passed from your brain
to other parts of your body like
a baton in a relay race. It goes first
The cerebellum is a to the spinal nerves then to the motor
structure at the base of nerves, which tell muscles to move.
your brain. It controls Brain Spinal Motor
many of your voluntary nerves nerves

muscle movements, such

as balancing, walking,
writing, and speaking.

225
 NERVES Nerves are like telephone wires carrying
Speedy reflex
information between the brain and all parts If someone claps their
of the body. One set of nerves—the sensory hands by your face, your
nerves—carries signals to your brain from brain thinks something
is flying toward your
your senses, telling your brain what is eyes and they blink.
happening around you. When your brain This blink is a reflex
action to protect them.
has decided what to do, it sends signals
along another set of nerves—the motor With your
nerves—to make your muscles work. eyes covered,
can you tell it
What’s on the “feely table?” is a teddy bear?
Nerve network The sense of touch is very important.
It is one of your five senses. Receptor
cells under your skin send messages,
through sensory nerves,
to your brain about
what your fingers
are feeling.

A bottle feels
hard and
smooth.

Reading by touch
Blind people cannot see to read, so they
learn a special alphabet of raised dots,
called braille. They feel these dots with
their fingertips.

Get the message?

Messages about how objects feel are sent
through the sensory nerves and the spinal
nerves to the brain to be understood.
Sensory nerves Spinal nerves Brain

If you touch Ice is cold and

some honey, your slippery.When
fingers will feel it starts to melt
that it is sticky. it feels wet.
226
 Skin sense
Find out which part of your
skin is most sensitive with this
test. Close your eyes and ask
a friend to touch different
parts of your body with the
points of two pencils. Try
this test on your fingertips
Blindfold and on your knee to see
which parts feel two points
and which feel only one.

Your fingers can tell if something

is soft. It feels good to use towels
made of soft material.

Hot things are good to feel when you

are cold—but if something is too hot
your nerves will send messages to
make your hand move away quickly.

The wood
feels hard
and rough. Even when you are
blindfolded, you can
feel that this smooth,
round object is a ball.

The bristles on
this brush are
sharp and prickly.

Feathers are very Your eyes tell your brain that something may
light and soft.They be heavy.Your muscles are then prepared to
can sometimes tickle, especially if lift a heavy weight. If you cannot see the weight,
you stroke your face gently with them. you may be surprised when you try to lift it!
227
SKIN
If you could unwrap your skin, you might be surprised
New skin grows all
the time to replace
at how much you have—enough to cover a large towel. old skin that rubs off.
It goes over all your bumps and curves, and into every Most house dust is
really old, dead skin!
crease of your body. Your skin grows with you, so that
when you are an adult it will cover an area of about
The thinnest
5.6 square feet (1.7 square meters). It is waterproof skin is on
and protective, and can heal itself if it gets damaged. your eyelids.

Personal prints
Fingerprints are patterns of lines and Hairs grow on every part of
swirls on your fingers. Try printing yours your skin except for your lips,
using paint or ink! Everyone has different the palms of your hands,
fingerprints, so they are used to identify and the soles of
people. There are three basic patterns. your feet.

Arch Loop Whorl

A fingernail takes about six months to

grow from base to tip. It grows about
0.02 inches (half a millimeter) a week.

Nails are made of dead

cells which contain a
protein called keratin.

The cuticle is the fold of skin

overlapping the nail bed from
where the nail grows.

The half moon at the base of

your nail looks white because
this part is not firmly attached
to the skin below.
228
 Shades
All skin contains a coloring substance
called melanin. Dark skin contains
more melanin than fair skin. As a
protection from burning by the sun,
the skin produces more melanin,
which tans the skin a darker color.

The roots of your hair are alive

and grow about 0.08 inches (two
millimeters) a week.When the hairs
reach the surface of your skin they die—
so having your hair cut does not hurt!

Growing old
Your skin is elastic. If you
pinch the back of your hand
and then release it, the skin
goes back to its original
place. As people get older
their skin becomes less
elastic and often gets
wrinkled. Some people’s
hair turns gray because
it stops making melanin.

Dead or alive?
Your skin has two layers. The dead,
outer layer, called the epidermis,
protects the living dermis underneath.
Hair

A pore is the opening

of a sweat gland.
Epidermis Hair styles
How straight or curly
Nerve ending a hair is depends upon
the shape of the pocket,
Dermis or follicle, it grows from.
Oil glands The color of your hair
stop skin from depends upon the
drying out. amount of black or
red melanin there is
Sweat glands Hair follicle inside these pockets.
open to let
moisture out of your Blood vessels bring food
skin to help keep you cool. and oxygen to the skin.

229
 BLOOD
Blood is pumped all around your body
Arteriole
Artery
Aorta
(largest artery)

There . . .
by your heart. It travels in long tubes Blood vessels that
take blood away
called blood vessels. Before it begins this from your heart
journey, it is pushed to your lungs to are called arteries.
collect oxygen. Then it returns to your
heart to be pumped around your body.
Blood also carries nutrients
from your food to the cells.

Power pump
Your heart is made of strong
muscle. In just one minute,
it can pump a drop of blood
all the way down to your toes
and back to your heart again.
Flaps, called
The heart is divided into four spaces
valves, stop blood
called chambers, two at the top and
from flowing the
two at the bottom. There is a wall
wrong way. It is the
of muscle down the middle.
Aorta “lub-dub” sound of
Blood enters the top right chamber these doors closing
through the vena cava. It passes down that you hear when
to the bottom right chamber. Then your heart beats.
it is pushed out to your lungs.

Blood, filled with oxygen

from the lungs, comes into
the top left chamber. It
passes down to the bottom
left chamber. Then it is
pumped around your body.

After going around your

body, the blood returns
to the right side of your
heart, to start the
journey again.
230
 Feeling the pressure
Venule
Vein You can feel the beat of your
Vena cava heart as it pumps blood, at high
(largest vein) pressure, through your arteries.
. . . and back This beat is called the pulse.
Those that take blood Put the fingers of one hand on the inside
back to your heart are of your other wrist, in line with your thumb.
called veins. You can feel your pulse beating there.
You can only hear
a heartbeat by using
a stethoscope or
by putting your ear
to a friend’s chest.

Heart work
When you skip, or do any
kind of exercise, your muscles
need extra oxygen and food
from your blood. To provide this,
your heart has to pump faster.
Side view of a
You have nearly one gallon (about four red blood cell
liters) of blood in your body. An adult has
more and a baby has less.

A drop of blood goes around your body

more than a thousand times a day.
Every five minutes all your blood passes
through your kidneys to be cleaned.

Super cells
In one tiny drop of blood Red cells carry oxygen
there are red cells, white around the body. They are
cells, and platelets, all floating made in the bone marrow.
in a liquid called plasma.
The blood in your arteries is
carrying more oxygen, which
makes it a brighter red color
than the blood
in your veins. White blood
cells defend the
body against germs.
If you cut yourself, platelets
rush to the broken blood
vessel and stick themselves
together to plug the cut.
 BREATHING
You must breathe all the time to stay alive. If you
try to hold your breath for more than about a minute,
Lung capacity your body will force you to start breathing again. The
Breathe in deeply. air that you breathe is made up of many different gases
Blow into a balloon
until you run out of
mixed together, but your body only needs one of them,
breath. Tie a knot oxygen, to keep you alive. If you ran out of oxygen,
in the balloon. Now even for a very short time, you would die. The air you
you can see just how
much air your lungs
breathe goes into two soft, moist sponges, called lungs.
are able to hold. You have one on each side of your chest.
Bronchus
Right lung

Heart
Bad breath!
The air that you breathe can contain things
that are bad for you. This woman is wearing
a mask to protect herself from car fumes.

Blood vessels
surround the alveoli.

Alveoli are stretchy,

so they can blow up
like balloons. Gases can
pass right through the
alveoli’s stretched skin.

Oxygen seeps from the alveoli Some air is always

into the blood. A waste gas, called left in your lungs
carbon dioxide, seeps from the because they would
blood back into the alveoli collapse if they were
to be breathed out. completely empty.

232
 You breathe air in
Hot air
through a tube called
The air that you breathe out
the windpipe, or trachea.
is warm and has water in it.
You can see this if you breathe
onto a mirror. The water in
your breath cools down and
forms a mist as it hits the cold
mirror. If you touch the mirror
you can feel the moisture. You
can also see the water misting up
when you breathe out on a cold day.

Air enters the

lungs through two
large tubes called
the bronchi. Each
bronchus divides into
smaller and smaller
tubes ending in tiny Breathe in Breathe out
sacs called alveoli. A powerful muscle When your
called the diaphragm diaphragm relaxes,
helps you breathe air it moves back up
Your ribs form a
into both your lungs. again and squashes
cage. They protect
When this muscle is your lungs. There
your lungs.
pulled tight, it moves is no longer enough
downward, leaving space in your lungs
more space for the for all the air, so
lungs. As the lungs it is squeezed up
spread out to fill your windpipe
this larger space, and out of your
they suck in air. nose or mouth.
Mucus
Sneezing Coughing Laughing
Dirt A sudden rush of Dust or germs in The diaphragm
built-up air blows the tubes of your jerks, forcing air up
dust or germs lungs are forced through your voice
Tiny “hairs” from your nose. out quickly. box and windpipe.
trap dirt.

Special cells
Little “brushes”
help to push dirt Wall of
out of your body. the bronchus

233
TASTE AND SMELL
Your senses of taste and smell are very closely linked. They
depend on each other. Tiny dimples on your tongue, and hairs
at the top of the inside of your nose, detect chemicals that cause
tastes and smells. Special sensory cells then send messages through
to your brain to be recognized. Your sense of smell is twenty thousand
times stronger than your sense of
taste! Often what you think you are
tasting you are really just smelling.
When you want to smell
something, you have to suck
air right up to the top of The smell of tasty food
your nose to reach your automatically makes
smell sense cells. you produce saliva.

Nice and not so nice

You are able to distinguish
several thousand different
smells. The clean smell
of the countryside can be
lovely, but the smell of
milk that has spoiled
is horrible. Bad smells
can warn you not to
drink or eat things
that are not fresh.

The roof of your mouth, the back of your

throat, and your tongue are covered in
small dimples called taste buds.

As the food is pushed around your

mouth by your tongue, your taste
buds pick up its taste.

Taste buds can only detect

the flavors of food that has
been dissolved in saliva.
 Trick your taste buds
When you eat something, your
sense of smell helps you to get
the flavor. Block your nose and
taste carrot and cucumber. It is
hard to tell the difference between
them. If you hold a piece of
onion under someone’s nose
and give them mashed apple
to eat, they think they are
eating onion. This is why
you cannot taste your food
properly when you have a cold.

Coffee grains Still hungry?

are bitter. The look of food
is important as
well as its taste and
smell—pink sweetcorn
still tastes like sweetcorn,
but would you want to eat it?

Lemon
is sour.

Kippers
Honey are salty.
is sweet.

Busy buds
Five tastes If you look at a tongue through a strong
You have around 20,000 magnifying glass you can see lots of bumps.
taste buds on your tongue, which pick up Around the base of these bumps there are
five different types of taste: salty, sweet, taste buds. Inside them there are special
bitter, sour, and umami (savory). cells that sense taste.

235
TEETH You use your teeth to break food into pieces that
are small enough to swallow. Some teeth are shaped
for biting and others for chewing. You have
two sets of teeth. The first set are called
baby teeth, and there are 20 of
them. At the age of about
Gappy grin
six, you start to lose your baby
Children are left with teeth. One by one, the second
gaps where their baby set, the 32 adult teeth, grow
teeth have fallen out
and they are waiting in their place. Teeth are strong
for their adult teeth and keep working for many years.
to come through.
Cases for braces
Sometimes teeth grow crookedly
or become overcrowded in Healthy gums are just
the mouth. Often this can be as important as healthy
corrected by wearing braces. teeth—they help to hold
your teeth in place.

Still rooted
This skull shows how
teeth are rooted firmly in
the strong bone of the
upper and lower jaws.

Complete set
A full set of adult teeth has eight incisors, Jawbone
four canines, eight premolars, and twelve molars.
Four of the molars are called wisdom teeth.

Incisors Canine Premolar Molars

236
Inside story Enamel is the hardest
Your teeth are alive. substance your body
The part that sticks out makes. A thin layer of
from your gum is the it covers all your teeth.
crown. The part under
the gum is the root.

Nerve Gum

Under the
enamel there
is a layer of hard, Jawbone Brushing up
bonelike material If you don’t keep your teeth clean,
called dentine. bacteria build up to form a layer called
plaque. If plaque builds up on your
teeth, it can cause them to decay and
The soft, middle part even fall out. Brushing your teeth and
of the tooth is called gums after meals and before going to
the pulp. It contains bed helps to remove the sugary
nerves and blood vessels. foods that the bacteria use to grow.
Your bumpy back teeth
are called molars. They
crush and grind food
when you chew. The sharp, chisel-shaped
teeth at the front of your
mouth are incisors.
They can cut and
bite tough food.
Sometimes
people have
extra teeth. At about the
age of eighteen,
wisdom teeth may
come through at
the back of your
mouth—but
they don’t make
you wise!

There are Premolars have two

molars on the edges, or cusps. They
bottom, too. tear and grind up
Canine teeth are your food.
sharp and pointed.
They are used for
tearing food.
 EATING
Food is the fuel that provides
1. Food starts being
digested in your mouth.
energy for your body. The Your spit, or saliva, has
a digestive juice
In and out energy is measured in units which starts to
The inside wall of called calories. Before break down
the small intestine has your body can use the the food.
a very bumpy surface.
food you eat, it has to
be broken down into tiny bits that are
small enough to pass into your blood. Your liver is
a “chemical
This digestion takes about 24 hours, factory.” It
as the food flows through a long also stores
tube winding all the way from vitamins.
your mouth to your bottom.
Windpipe
2. The food travels down
a food pipe called the gullet.

3. Your stomach is a thick bag.

Food is churned up inside it Large
and mixed with strong stomach intestine
juices to make a kind of soup.
4. After leaving your stomach, your Small
food flows down your small intestine. intestine
Goodness from the food seeps through
the thin walls into your blood.

Fats

Vitamins
Get into groups! and minerals
Proteins
Foods can be put into groups. Fats
and carbohydrates provide you with 5. Your large intestine takes 6. Your bladder stores
energy. Vitamins and minerals keep you back the water from digested urine.When it fills up
healthy. Proteins build cells and help food. Later it is passed out of you need to go to the
your body to grow and repair itself. your body through your anus. bathroom to empty it.

238
 A lump in the throat
You can swallow even if you are
standing on your head! This is
because your food does not slide
down through you—it is squeezed
along by muscles in your digestive
tube. This is called peristalsis and
it happens all the time, without
you having to think about it.
The muscles of a snake can
squeeze an egg through its
body in the same way.

Walking
uses about
240 calories
an hour

Sleeping uses about

65 calories an hour
Basketball and
other vigorous
Drawing uses sports use about
about 85 calories 550 calories an hour
an hour
Fuel burning
If a car travels very fast, it uses
You have two kidneys. up more fuel than if it goes slowly.
Each one is about the The same is true of your body.
size of your clenched fist. When you exercise you use up more
calories than when you are asleep.

Narrow tubes, called ureters,

take urine from the kidneys
to the bladder.

How long?
Carbohydrates If you could stretch your
whole digestive system
Any water your body out in a straight line, it
does not need is turned would be about 33 feet
into urine by your kidneys. (10 meters) long!

239
 MUSCLES Try to sit as still as you can. Is anything moving?
Even when you think you are completely still,
many parts of your body are moving.
Your heart is beating and your
intestines and lungs
are working. All these
movements are made by
Your brain sends
muscles. You have more than messages to your
600 muscles spread throughout muscles and makes
your body. Every bend, stretch, them move.
twist, and turn you make depends
on them. You use about 200 muscles
each time you take a step, and many
more when you jump.

The largest muscle

in your body is the
Muscle food gluteus maximus
To keep your muscles working muscle in your
properly you need a diet that thigh and bottom.
includes protein. Foods that are full
of protein include meat, eggs, cheese,
and dried beans. If you stand on
tiptoe, you can see
your calf muscles in
the back of your leg.
Biceps Arm bend
contracts Muscles are attached to bones and
make them move. But they can only Before you begin to
pull; they cannot push—which is why make any strenuous
Up they always work in pairs. In your arm, movements, you
Triceps the biceps and triceps muscles work should always warm
relaxes together to move it up and down. up your muscles by doing
Biceps When the biceps pulls, or contracts,
relaxes gentle warm-up and
it gets shorter and fatter stretching exercises.
Down and bends the arm.
As the biceps pulls, the
triceps muscle relaxes.
Triceps contracts

240
 Cheeky!
Holding hands Your tongue is
The muscles in your hands allow a group of strong
you to make delicate, accurate, or muscles which help you
powerful movements. Your flexible to eat and speak—and
fingers are attached to many small also to lick your lips . . .
muscles which are useful for precise
jobs. Your fingers and thumb work
together to let you
hold things tightly.
Your hands are
strong enough to
support your
entire body
if you hang or your chin . . .
from a bar.

The longest muscle in your

body is the sartorius muscle
in the upper leg.
Some of your arm muscles are
attached to bones in your back. or your nose . . .
This strong anchor enables you
to pick up heavier things.

It takes about 15
muscles to smile!

You learned how

to control your
bladder muscles or your cheek!
as you grew older.

The muscles in
your intestines are
Tendons are the tough pushing food along
cords that join the muscle all the time.
firmly to the bone. You can
feel one of them, called the
Achilles tendon, in the
back of your ankle.

241
 SKELETON
Yes and no bones
The bones of your spine are
called vertebrae. The top two
vertebrae, the atlas and axis,
fit together to allow
Without a frame to support your head to nod
your body you would collapse, and to move from
side to side.
lose your shape, and be unable
Atlas
to move. Your body’s frame is
called a skeleton. It gives your
body strength and it protects the Axis
soft parts inside. Your skeleton
is made up of more than 200
bones. They are light enough to Your nose is not
allow you to move around easily, made of bone but of
and they have joints so that you can bend rubbery material
called cartilage.
your body to do many things. If you look at
a skeleton, you
You have twelve pairs of ribs. They will not see a
are all joined to a row of bones in nose bone, only
your back called your spine. a nose hole.

From the side, your spine looks Radius

curved, like the letter S. It helps
you to stand up straight.
Ulna
Fibula
Femur

A tall order Tibia

Your bones keep growing until
you are in your early 20s.
You cannot change your
height—it is decided in Your ankle is a
your genes and passed joint. It is made
on from your parents. up of bones in
But you are about half the foot and the
an inch (one centimeter) ends of the leg
shorter in the evening than bones, the tibia
you are in the morning! This and fibula.
is because the pads of cartilage
in your spine get squashed
as you walk around all day.

242
Soft center Inside information
Some animals, such as this crab, Your bones are all hidden
do not have a skeleton inside inside your body. So if
them. Instead, they have a hard doctors want to look at
outer covering, called them, they have to take
an exoskeleton. special photographs, called
X-rays. The X-ray camera
can see straight through your
skin and show what the bones
look like. On this X-ray of
a hand, you can see that
the bone connected to the
little finger is broken.

Bones give muscles a place to hang on

to, but without these muscles, the bones
Your hip joint is where the end of the would not be able to move. Muscle power
thigh bone, or femur, fits into a socket is transferred to the bones along strong
in your pelvis. This joint helps you to bands called tendons.
bend your body almost in half.

Your basin-shaped pelvis supports

the upper half of your body and
also protects soft parts, such
as your bladder.

Your spine can only curve gently. If it bent

any further it would damage your spinal
cord—the nerve cable that carries
messages to and from your brain.

Skull

The muscles that control the

thumb and fingers begin here.
They are attached to two
arm bones called the
Your arm can radius and the ulna.
only bend at
the elbow.

243
BONES
Your bones are hard and strong. They are not solid though, so they
are not as heavy as you would think. In fact, they only make up
14 percent of your total body weight—they are lighter than your
muscles. Bones are not dead and dry. They are living, and can
repair themselves if they break. Your body
is made up of lots of bones all working
together and linked by joints. If you had
no knee joints, you would have to walk
with stiff legs.

What’s inside a bone? Crisscross

The outer part of all your bones struts
is hard and tough, but the inside
of many of them is spongy.
These lightweight, soft centers
are crisscrossed by small struts
which make your bones strong,
but not too heavy. This idea
of strength without weight
is copied in buildings such Some bones are Your two feet
as the Eiffel Tower. filled with jellylike contain one quarter
marrow. Platelets of the bones in your
The spongy inner bone and red and white whole body!
looks like a honeycomb. blood cells are
made in the bone
Blood vessels take oxygen marrow.
and food to bone cells.

Your neck is much

shorter than a giraffe’s,
but it has the same
number of vertebrae!

The tiny tailbones at the end

of your spine, called the coccyx,
help to support your body
when you sit down.

244
 Baby bones
Newborn babies have soft bones. Their bones are
mostly made of cartilage, a tough, rubbery material
that gradually becomes hard. In this X-ray
The bones in your of a child’s hand, you can see the areas of
hand are all linked cartilage where, later, bones will grow.
together by muscles,
tendons, and Cartilage
ligaments.

There are
27 small bones
in your hand.

Bones fit
together like a
jigsaw puzzle.

Bone work
You have three kinds of bones—long bones such Your thumb is special. It has
as those in your legs, short bones such as those in a saddle joint in it which allows
your hand and spine, and flat bones such as your you to move your thumb
shoulder and skull. Bones are linked by different in two directions.
kinds of joints, which
allow them to move
in different ways. You have flat
gliding joints
in your foot.
Your kneecap, or
patella, protects
The shoulder has a your knee.
ball-and-socket joint.
The round end of one
bone fits into a cup-
Your knee joint, like your
shaped hole in the
elbow, is a hinge joint. The
other.Your shoulder
end of one bone fits into a
can move in a
sort of hollow in the other.
complete circle.
This kind of joint will only
bend in one direction.

245
 WHERE DO I
COME FROM? You began your life as an egg, which
was only about the size of this period.
This tiny fertilized egg grew for about nine months inside your mother
before you were born. While a baby is growing, it relies on the mother
for everything, and although a baby cannot do very much when it is
first born, already it is a complete and very special person.

The beginning
Everyone is made up of billions of living units, called cells. A baby starts
when an egg cell from a woman and a sperm cell from a man join
together to make one new cell. For the egg and sperm to meet, the man
and woman must have sexual intercourse. This is sometimes called
making love because the man and woman treat each other lovingly. The
man’s penis gets firm and he puts it into the woman’s vagina. The penis
releases a mixture called semen, which has sperm in it, to join the egg.

Bladder Penis
Egg tube
Egg Testes
make
Ovary Uterus sperm
Vagina

The fertilized egg

grows and divides
The fingers,
into two. It divides into
toes, and face
four, eight, sixteen,
After about eight are formed.
and so on . . .
weeks, the group of
Sperm are like tiny tadpoles cells starts to look
with long tails. They swim to the While it is dividing, more like a baby.
tube to find the egg. One sperm it is traveling to the
may then fertilize the egg. womb, or uterus.

After nine days the

egg attaches itself to
the wall of the uterus.
 An ear to touch
After 19 weeks the baby, or fetus, is properly formed, but
it could not yet live outside the mother’s body. It is growing
very fast and is moving around a lot inside the mother.

After forty weeks the baby is

The baby grows ready to be born.When a mother is
inside a warm, safe having her baby it is called labor
bag which is full of because it is very hard work.
watery liquid. There
is not much room The baby usually comes
so it curls up. out head first. The
muscles of the uterus
Nutrients and oxygen help to push it out.
travel from the mother
to the baby through a
mass of blood vessels,
called the placenta.

A special tube, called

the umbilical cord,
links the placenta to
the baby’s tummy.

247
 chapter 3

OUR
WORLD
Early people hunted animals and gathered wild plants
for food. Later, they learned to farm, growing crops and
keeping animals so they had a more regular supply of food.
Today, most of the food in stores and supermarkets still
comes from farms—meat and dairy products, grains and
rice, fruit and vegetables. However, machines now
do most of the work, and special chemicals kill pests
and help crops to grow.
As their lives became more settled, our ancestors
gathered into communities and their forms of entertainment
changed. Singing, dancing, and drawing branched out over
time into plays, and, much later, films, and television.
Today, whether they live on high mountains, in dry deserts,
or in swampy marshlands, all men and women have to feed,
clothe, and house themselves. But from country to country,
people do these things in an enormous variety of ways.
People in the Past
Arts and Entertainment
Food and Farming
People and Places
PEOPLE
IN THE PAST
The lives of men and women who
lived a long time ago were very
different from ours. The first people
made their homes in caves and had to
kill their food or find it growing wild.
For a long time, no one could read or
write, so information and stories had
to be learned by heart so they could
be passed on.
Changes in the way people lived
came gradually, when travelers—
traders, or soldiers who went to war in
foreign lands—took new ways of
doing things, new foods, or new
materials from one place to
another. Sometimes, changes
were particularly important,
like the invention of the
wheel or the printing press.
These changes tended to
spread quickly, and
completely altered
everyday life.

Ancient Pottery beaker

Viking warrior 18th-century gold doubloons Peruvian pot c. 2200 bce
250
 19th-century
Russian
cossack
pistol

17th-century samurai sword

Illuminated manuscript

Arapaho
chief’s
headdress

Egyptian wall painting c. 1400 bce

Ancient
Egyptian
reed pens

Beaded
Blackfoot
moccasins

251
HUNTERS AND
GATHERERS
The earliest people lived by hunting and gathering Horse
to find their food—meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit.
They moved with the seasons, taking shelter in caves
or tents. The animals they hunted gave them food
to eat, fat to fuel lamps, skins to make
tents and clothes, and bones to
make weapons, tent supports,
jewelry, and toys.
Some European hunter-
gatherers, who lived 35,000 years
ago, painted animal pictures in
caves. We don’t know exactly
why they did this, but cave
painting may have been
part of a ritual or
a kind of magic.

Making flint
tools
Flint was a
stone that was
easy to work and could be The mammoth was like
given a sharp edge. Hunter-gatherers a modern-day elephant, but
used it to make tools and weapons. covered in fur. It was hunted for
A pebble or bone hammer was used its meat, skin, bones, and tusks.
to strike long flakes of flint from
the main stone. The flakes were
shaped and then the edges
were chipped to make them
razor sharp. An ax with a flint blade

A spear with
a bone tip
252
Animal magic
Beautiful pictures of the
animals hunted by these
people were painted on
the walls and ceilings
of caves in southwest
France and in parts
of northern Spain.

Bison Reindeer
The hunters hurled
heavy stones at
their prey.

The spears used

for hunting were often
made from a flint
or bone arrowhead tied
onto a wooden shaft.

Unusual decoration
Teeth and bones from
The hunters wore animals were made into
clothes made from pieces of jewelry, such
animal skins. as this necklace.

First fashion
Animal skins were
used to make clothes.
First the skins were
pegged down and
then scraped to
clean them and make
them soft. Next the
skins were cut to shape.
The pieces were sewn A thong made
together using needles from animal hide
made from animal
bone and long, thin Skin scrapers
strips of hide.
A knife used to
cut animal hide

253
 THE EARLY
FARMERS
About 12,000 years ago, there was an
Bullock

important change in the way people lived.

People in parts of western Asia began
to settle in one place and farm the land.
Goat
They learned how to grow crops for food,
and how to tame wild animals so they had
a regular supply of meat. This new way of
life was so successful that it soon spread
far and wide.
As the people no longer moved Sheep
around, they built houses to live Taming animals
in. They learned to spin and Young wild animals were caught
weave cloth and also by hunters and raised on the
farms so they became used
to make pottery. to being around people.

Bringing in the harvest

When the crop was ripe,
it was cut down with a
sickle. This was made
of a sharp flint
blade set in
a wooden
handle.

First crops
This is emmer
wheat. Emmer was
developed from the
seeds of wild grasses to
become an important
food source.
 Before it is ground, this ear of
corn will be beaten to separate
the grains from the husk. Coiling clay
This girl is making a pot
by coiling long, thin rolls of
clay on top of a flat clay base.
She is making a pot in the
same way the first potters
did, 9,000 years ago.

The flour would be

mixed with water and
The grain was ground between two made into round, flat loaves.
heavy stones and made into flour.

From farm to town

Farms attracted The walls of the
people. As they grew houses were made
larger, villages and of mud. They only
towns were formed. had a few windows.
The first known town,
Çatal Hüyük, was
built in Turkey about
9,000 years ago.

The roofs were

made of branches, People got
reeds, and straw into their
covered in mud. houses by
climbing
The houses a ladder and
touched each going through a
other and there hole in the roof.
were no streets.
 THE SUMERIANS About 9,000 years ago,
A merchant makes
a record of the goods
farmers began to move he has sold.
into an area of land
between the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers. This fertile
land was called Mesopotamia, in
what is now Iraq. In the south
of Mesopotamia was the land of
Sumer. The Sumerians were very
inventive. They developed the first form of
writing and recording numbers, and invented
the wheel and the plow.
The Sumerians grew bumper crops of cereals,
which they traded for things they needed: wood,
building stone, or metals. Wheeled carts, and their
skills in writing and using numbers, helped them
develop long-distance trade.

How writing began

The Sumerians drew Fish
pictures on soft clay
with a pointed reed.
The pictures were Bird The signs were
drawn downward in lines, then joined together
from the right-hand side. to create words
Barley and sentences.

Ox
Later, they
started to write
across the tablet,
from left to right. In time, the picture signs
The reed tip made changed so much that
wedge-shaped marks. the original objects were
hard to recognize. This
writing is called cuneiform,
which means “wedge-shaped.”

256
It’s a deal
Instead of writing their
names, the Sumerian
traders used a seal to
sign their contracts.

Flooded fields
Mesopotamia was watered
by the Tigris and Euphrates,
which flooded in the spring.
The farmers dug
out basins and
canals so the river
water could be stored
and used to water fields away
from the river. Because of this,
land was very fertile and harvests
were good.

Wood was imported

from Syria and
the Lebanon.
Wheeled carts were
able to carry heavy
objects over long
distances.

Pots were
used to store Tilling the soil
grain and oil. Crosspiece The first plows were
Spokes
made of wood. Later, the
blade was made of bronze.
Despite the flooding from the
rivers, the ground in Sumer
was baked hard in hot weather.
The plow made it possible to
break up the hard-to-work soil.
Revolutionary invention
The first wheels were made They were clumsy and heavy.
of planks of solid wood held In time, lighter wheels were
together with crosspieces. made. These had many spokes.
257
 THE EGYPTIANS
The Egyptians believed that when they died they went
Well kept
This is how
the mummy of
King Seti I looks
underneath all
his bandages.
on to another, everlasting, life. To live happily in the He was buried at
afterlife, they needed their earthly Thebes over 3,000
years ago. Despite
bodies and great care was taken his age, you can
to ensure that they arrived in style. still see his face
very clearly.
The dead bodies were preserved in
a special way called mummification.
To mummify a body took
a long time, as much as 70 days.
First, inner organs were taken
out and put in tightly sealed jars.
Next, the body was dried out by
covering it with natron, a white
powder like salt. It was left for
40 days, rubbed with sweet-smelling
oils, and then covered in molten resin. A picture of
Finally, the body was wrapped in linen the dead person On this coffin,
is painted on the arms are shown
to make a neat package. the mummy crossed over the chest.
case, or coffin.

The coffin is made

to follow the shape These little drawings are called
of the body inside. hieroglyphs. Each picture means
Royal tombs
a word or sound in the ancient
Egyptian kings, called pharaohs, were Egyptian language.
buried in tombs known as pyramids.
258
 Creatures great
and small
The Egyptians believed Mummified crocodile
in many different gods
and goddesses,
some of which took
the form of animals.
They mummified animals
as offerings to these gods.
When mummified,
the creatures made
some odd shapes.

Mummified
cow

This coffin is
made of wood.
Early ones were
made of clay or
The lid of the coffin is Mummified
woven out of reeds
decorated with symbols cat
like a basket.
of the gods. These are
the wings of the sky
goddess, Nut.
All wrapped up
All mummies were
wrapped up tightly
in lots of material.
As much as
4,000 sq feet
(375 sq meters)
of linen
might be
needed to
wrap up a
single mummy.

This mummy case

The hieroglyphs Brightly colored may have been one
were spells to help figures and symbols of a nest of coffins,
the priestess on are painted on the each fitting inside
her journey to inside of the coffin. the next like a set
the next life. of Russian dolls.
259
 GREEK
GAMESAll over Ancient Greece festivals
were held in honor of the Greek gods.
They included competitions in sports, music, and drama. The discus was
The most famous of the festivals was the Olympic made of stone
or bronze.
Games, an event first held in 776 bce. There were
no team races and the male athletes competed as
individuals. Their prize was
a simple wreath of olive
leaves, but if you won
you became The athletes
competed barefoot
a hero. and wore no
clothes.

Liftoff!
The long jump was
the only jumping
event included in
Greek athletics.

Fighting fit
Athletics training kept men
fit for war. The connection
between sports and
war is shown in the
race-in-armor
event.

260
 The pentathlon
The decoration on this vase shows athletes
training for the pentathlon. The contest included
wrestling, throwing the javelin and discus,
running, and the long jump.

Handing over
Relay races
were included
in some
festivals,
but not the Olympic
Games. The runners
used a torch as a baton.

Equal opportunities
Only men and boys were allowed
to compete in the Olympic Games,
but in Sparta girls were expected
to go through the same tough
The wooden athletic training as the boys.
javelin had This little bronze statue of
Before they
a metal tip. a girl runner from Sparta
exercised, the
shows her barefoot and
athletes rubbed
wearing a short tunic.
olive oil into their
skin, perhaps to
protect them from
the sun. Inspiration from the past
The idea for today’s Olympics
came from the Ancient Greek
games of more than 2,000
years ago. The interlocking
Olympic rings represent the
five competing continents.

261
 ROMAN LIFE
The Romans planned their towns to include
In the kitchen
magnificent public buildings such as temples, This scene shows
the town hall, baths, and places of entertainment. what a typical
There were also grand houses for wealthy families. Roman kitchen was
like. You would have
But side by side with these were the tumbledown found it in the town
dwellings where most people lived—overcrowded house or villa of
apartments built over shops and workshops. The poor a rich family.
had no kitchens, so they lived on bread or bought hot
food from stalls. Since the Romans
lived, traded, and ate in the streets,
their towns were noisy places.
Traffic was bad, too, with carts
and wagons bringing country
goods through the busy streets.

Building being
built of bricks
Country living
Fine houses, called villas,
were built on estates
in the countryside.

Wharf

Fishing
nets drying

A wooden bridge
over the river
262
Herbs drying over the stove. Bread was an important A saucepan made
The Romans liked their food part of Roman diet, and of bronze
highly flavored. Herbs and the basic food of the poor. Storage jars, called
spices also helped make food amphorae, were
stay fresh longer. Slaves did the Jugs for used to hold wine.
housework for serving wine
wealthy Romans.

All mod cons

Unlike the poor in their
cramped dwellings, wealthy
Romans lived in well-planned
houses with lots of home
comforts. There was running
water, a toilet and bathroom,
a kitchen, and even central
This floor is decorated heating. This worked by
A sailing boat Cats were kept with a mosaic, a picture sending warmed air through
carries cargo as pets for children made from tiny tiles. pipes laid under the floor.
from the port. and to chase away
mice and rats!
263
 RAIDERS FROM
THE SEA The mast supported
a big square sail.
Late in the eighth century a seafaring people This was used when
from the countries now known as Denmark, the longship was out
at sea and there was
Norway, and Sweden began to sail abroad in plenty of wind to
search of wealth. They were called Vikings. fill the sail.
In their amazingly fast and adaptable longships,
Vikings were the best sailors in Europe. They
began by raiding foreign lands, and went on
to conquer and settle there.They were also
great sea traders. Many of the Vikings became
Christians. It was the Vikings who founded
the cities of Dublin in Ireland and Kiev in
Ukraine. The Normans were descended
from Viking settlers in northern France.

As Vikings prepare to land

Longships were called on a foreign shore, warriors
“Serpents of the Sea.” stand at the front of the
They were decorated longship, with settlers
with scary animal in the middle.
carvings called
figureheads.
 Strange stones
The Vikings set up stones,
called runestones. They
were carved with many
beautiful patterns
and with letters
developed by
the Vikings
called
Land and
river routes runes.
Homeland
Sea routes
Viking
Possible sea settlements
routes
Runes
Where the Vikings went
The Vikings roamed great distances. Merchants sailed
across the rivers of Russia and around the Mediterranean
Sea. They traded such northern objects as furs and walrus
tusks for southern objects such as silk and silver. Explorers
sailed to Iceland, Greenland, and to Newfoundland in
North America. They called this Vinland. Fascinating tales
Storytelling was very popular.
These stories, or sagas, were
long poems describing brave
deeds, journeys to strange
lands, and victories in battle.
Before the Vikings learned
Longships were made
to write, they remembered
of overlapping planks
stories by learning them
of wood. They were
by heart.
very light and could
be carried overland
for short distances
to get from one
river to another.
 THE CRUSADES
The city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land
of Palestine (now including Israel and Jordan)
are special to people of three faiths—Jews,
Over his armor,
Muslims, and Christians. Nine hundred the knight is wearing
years ago, the first of a series of wars a cross—the sign of
broke out over control of Jerusalem. a crusader.
In 1095, European Christians set out
to take the city, then ruled by Muslims.
The Europeans were called crusaders
from the French word croisade, meaning
“carrying a cross.”
In 1099, after four years of struggle,
the crusaders captured Jerusalem
and held it for nearly one hundred
years. Then it was recaptured by
a great Muslim leader called Saladin.
More crusades followed, but none
was successful. However, the
returning crusaders brought
many new objects and ideas
back to Europe.

Stronghold
The crusaders built strong castles
in the Arab style to defend the
land they had captured. This is
Krak des Chevaliers in Syria.

266
 Roman numerals
Body beautiful
The crusaders took Arabic numerals
back to Europe new
customs that they
learned in the Middle East.
One, two, three . . .
Cosmetics such as rouge to
The Muslims used a series of
redden the cheeks and henna to
numbers, called Arabic numerals,
color hair became common for
which were much easier to use than
women. Glass mirrors replaced
those of the old Roman system. They
polished metal discs. Perfumes
are used today throughout the world.
to scent clothes and the
body were used. Being Bookworms
clean became popular! Arab learning was more
advanced than that of the crusaders. They had lots of
books and libraries at a time when there were very few in
Europe. The crusaders took many books back with them.

Healing arts
Muslim doctors were
very good surgeons
and were skilled in
using plants and herbs
to make medicines.
They used opium and
A Muslim foot soldier myrrh to ease pain
usually carried a when people were
round shield for having operations.
protection. It may
have been made of Musical instruments
wood or of layers The Muslims invented a musical
of hardened leather instrument called the oud, which
sewn together. was called the lute in Europe.
The modern guitar was developed
from this instrument.

Boots made of
leather or felt were
the most common Great inventors
footwear for a The Muslims made fine
Muslim soldier. scientific instruments like
this astrolabe. It used
the positions of the
stars and planets to
show travelers which
way to go in the
empty deserts.

267
 MARCO POLO
In 1271 a merchant named Marco Polo
Making a trade
The Venetian
merchants exchanged
jewels, silver, and
gold for goods
from the East that
and his family set off from Venice on were highly valued
an extraordinary journey to China. They in Europe. These
included spices, silks,
traveled along the Silk Road, an important porcelain or “china,”
trading route between Europe and and fine carpets.
the Far East. Merchants had been using
the route for more than 1,700 years before
the Polos, but they were the first Europeans
to travel its whole length. In an age when
there were no planes, trains, coaches, or
cars, they crossed thousands of miles
of mountains, deserts, and plains on
foot, horseback, and even on camels.
Their journey to China took them
more than three years. The Silk
Road could be very dangerous
and the traders were sometimes
attacked by bandits. Because
of this threat, they traveled
together in groups.

Wealthy traders
Venice was the most important
port in Europe. Its merchants Camels were used by merchants Besides the barren deserts,
traveled by sea and land to when crossing the desert regions merchants traveling on the
bring back goods from the East of central Asia. Unlike horses, they Silk Road had to climb over
to sell to other towns in Europe. were able to travel long distances extreme mountain ranges
without needing water. and cross flooded rivers.

268
 Cloves
Mace Nutmeg

Cinnamon
Pepper

In the desert, travelers had to A large group

take all their own food and of people traveling
water with them. with camels was
called a caravan.
Silk
tunic

Persian carpet

Porcelain jar

In the court of Kublai Khan

When the Polos arrived in China they found
it under the control of the Mongol emperor
Kublai Khan. Marco Polo stayed at the
Mongol court for 17 years and became
a trusted advisor to Kublai Khan.

The camel driver is covered

from head to toe in heavy
clothing to protect him from
the harsh winds of the desert.

269
 THE RENAISSANCE
In the 15th century, Europe was bursting
Before the Renaissance, most paintings
showed mythical scenes or Bible characters,
with new ideas about art, learning, and and everything in them looked perfect.
For the first time,
religion. Many of the people who could Renaissance artists
read and write began to ask questions, and used live models and
to do experiments for themselves rather made them look like
ordinary human
than follow what their rulers and priests beings.
told them to think. They rediscovered
many of the ideas that the Greeks and
Romans had about life and the world.
As a result this period became known
as the “Renaissance,” a French word
meaning rebirth. The Renaissance started
in the cities of northern and central Italy
but gradually spread all over Europe.

A letter of
type used in the
printing press

The printed word

Before the printing press Artists began to make The apprentice is grinding
was invented by Johannes realistic paintings of colors to make paints for
Gutenberg, books had to everyday objects. his master. He will mix
be copied by hand. Only the powder with oil to
the rich could afford them. produce oil paints.

The Gutenberg Bible

These pages come
from one of the
three books that
made up the
Gutenberg Bible.
It was printed in
the 1450s and
was admired for
its quality.

270
 The quest for knowledge
In the 15th century, artists During the Renaissance, scholars and
began to paint on canvas using scientists began doing experiments
oil paints. Before then they and inventing things to find out more
had mainly used water- and about the world they lived in.
egg-based paints.

With the invention

of the telescope,
faraway planets
could be seen
in detail for
the first time.

The artist Leonardo da Vinci

was interested in the workings
of the human body. This is
one of his drawings.

This model was made from

a design by Leonardo,
showing an early
form of a tank.

Artists were no longer

Leonardo’s creative
unknown craftsmen,
imagination led him
and their names became
to produce designs
famous throughout
for a flying machine.
Europe during
the Renaissance.
271
 FOOD FROM THE
NEW WORLD
From 1492 onward, European explorers
sailed across the Atlantic to what they Sunflower
called the New World of North, Central,
and South America. There they discovered
a treasure trove of gold and silver. But they
found other treasures, too. These were foods
that grew only in the New World, such as
sweet corn and potatoes, and plants that
Cocoa
could be made into medicines. In fact, you
may be surprised to find out how many of
the foods you eat come from the New World.
Every time you eat a tomato, or mashed
potatoes, or have chocolate for a treat,
just think, you owe them to the people
of the Americas.

Corn was
eaten boiled or roasted,
A world of golden treasure or ground into flour.
The Native Americans had vast quantities The explorer Christopher This is cornmeal, made
of gold which they used to make into Columbus took it back to out of ground corn.
jewelry. The Europeans plundered Europe when he returned It was used to make
most of this treasure. from his voyages. breadlike foods.

272
 Healing plants
When the explorers reached the Americas,
they found skilled healers among the people
living there. These healers used thousands
of plants to make medicines. Their remedies
Peanut were used to cure many illnesses, including
stomach pains, headaches, coughs, and fevers.
Native American plants Many of these plants are still used today
These include cocoa (for to make medicines.
chocolate), sunflowers
(to give us oil to cook Cinchona
with), and peanuts. leaf

Quinine is used
to prevent an
illness called
malaria. It is
Cinchona
made from
bark
the bark of the
cinchona tree.
Quinine
tablets
Pineapples were one of
the new fruits found
by the explorers. They
were given this name
because they looked These small, hot peppers
like pine cones. Lots of different are chillies. They were
beans came from used to flavor the bowls
Black Mexico. These of corn porridge that
beans are red beans. the Mexicans ate
for breakfast.

Sweet potatoes

Tomatoes, first grown in

South America, spread to
Mexico, where the Spanish
came across them. The first
ones they brought to Europe
were small and yellow.

Potatoes were first grown in

the Andes Mountains. They
Avocados look like pears with were loaded aboard the treasure
rough, tough skins. They were ships as food for the sailors.
first grown in Central America.

273
 THE LIFE OF THE
SAMURAI
For about seven hundred years the
The large, horned
helmet was meant
to terrify enemies
Samurai were the honored knights as much as to
of Japan. Fierce fighters, they had a tough protect its
wearer.
training, becoming experts in fencing,
wrestling, archery, and acrobatics,
and they had a special code of
behavior. The word samurai
means “one who serves,” and
any Samurai worthy of the name was
absolutely loyal to his lord, ready to
obey any command without question.
However, although the Samurai
were professional fighters, away
from battle they were not violent
men. The Samurai believed in Zen
Buddhism, a religion that taught
respect for all living things. The Samurai
were also taught to love art and learning,
taking pride in their skill at painting,
writing poetry, and even flower-arranging.

Western merchants
When the Portuguese
arrived in Japan in 1543,
they brought guns with
them. The guns
changed the nature
of warfare in the
country completely.
 Knowing their place
Women and ladies Life in Samurai Japan
Just as the Samurai obeyed was strictly organized.
his lord, the women of his own From birth, everybody
family had to obey him. Graceful, had a fixed place in
musical, and artistic, these Samurai society. Samurai families
ladies were expected to make belonged to the
homes for their lords and masters. upper classes.
By contrast, the peasant women
who labored in the fields had to
work as hard as beasts of burden. The godlike Emperor
was the official ruler,
but the Shogun,
his chief general,
was really the most Shogun
powerful person
in Japan.

Daimyo
A Samurai’s most
important weapons were The Daimyo were the
his two razor-sharp nobles of Japan, and they
swords, a long one, called were supported by Samurai
a katana, and a short warriors. They preferred
one called a wakizashi. to have nothing to do
with money or the buying
and selling of goods.

Samurai
A Samurai’s armor
consisted of six main Merchants and traders
pieces: the helmet, the were not given much
face mask, the breast- respect, in spite of
plate, the sleeves, the their wealth.
shin guards, and
the loin guard. Merchants

Lowest of the low were

the peasants. They
worked on the farms
of the Daimyo and
were treated like slaves.
Peasant

275
 NEWCOMERS TO
THE AMERICAS
The Europeans who began arriving in North America
at the beginning of the 17th century were traders and
settlers as well as soldier-conquerors. At first, the contact
between them and the people already living there, whom they called
Indians, was friendly. The Native Americans showed the newcomers
how to hunt, fish, and farm in a land of plenty. In return for their
help and animal furs, the Native Americans were given objects
such as knives, needles, fish hooks, and cloth.
Warm furs from the forest animals
But before long, the settlers were taking more of North America were taken back
and more land for to Europe and sold for high prices.
themselves, and
trying to change
the ways of the
Native Americans.

European weapons,
tools, and machines
completely changed
hunting and warfare
for Native Americans.

European cloth
was prized for
its bright colors
and silkiness.
 Creek Iroquois Tlingit Hidatsa Hopi
(Southeast) (Northeast) (Pacific Northwest) (Plains) (Southwest)

Warriors and hunters

The work that men and women
did varied from tribe to tribe, but
usually the men were the hunters
and warriors, while the women were
Native Americans used the farmers and homemakers.
feathers and animal Most Native Americans wore
teeth to decorate their hair long and they enjoyed
themselves. decorating their bodies and clothes.

Sauk Paiute
Tepees, longhouses, and pueblos
(Great Lakes) (Great Basin) There was great variety in the lives
of the Native American peoples.
How they lived—their clothes,
their food, their religious beliefs—
depended on the land and the
Tlingit cedar- Hidatsa weather. Some of the differences
plank house animal-skin tepee between the tribes are shown
by their homes.
For comfort Sauk mat-covered
and protection dome lodge
against ants, snakes,
and other dangers,
Paiute brush
Native Americans
and reed
wore slipperlike leather
encampment
shoes called moccasins.

Iroquois
Sweet corn, squash, and wooden
pumpkins were among longhouse
the exotic American foods
that the European Hopi stone
settlers tasted for Creek
and sun-baked
the first time. storehouse
mudbrick pueblo

277
 THEASHANTI
KINGDOM The Ashanti kingdom flourished The item to be cast
The for 200 years after its emergence in gold was modeled
Ashanti in melted beeswax.
kingdom in the 17th century, in what is
now Ghana in West Africa. The
Ashanti were a highly organized people: the king
had his own civil service, which carried out his
commands throughout the country. The Ashanti
were also fine warriors, and much
of their wealth was based on selling The wax was made into thin
sheets. These were cut into
slaves from the prisoners they strips, which were used
captured in battle. They had to make the model.
vast quantities of gold which
was used to make jewelry Clay was molded around
and as decoration for musical the model and a hole
instruments and weapons. made in the clay. As
the mold was baked, the
Ashanti goldsmiths were wax melted and poured out
highly skilled in their craft. through the hole. Molten gold
was then poured into the space.
They used a special method
to cast the metal, called
When the metal had cooled
the lost-wax technique. and hardened, the mold was
smashed open. The gold object
was taken out and cleaned up.

Beautifully
made
These royal Ashanti goldsmiths worked
sandals have gold into all kinds of objects.
flowers of gold The handle of this sword was
sewn onto them. covered in a fine sheet of gold.

278
Hub of the kingdom Kente
Kumasi, the capital, was a cloth
teeming, bustling city. Many
sumptuous parades
Fine cloth
and celebrations
The Ashanti were experts
were held there.
at making beautiful cloth.
One, known as kente, was
made from cotton woven into
narrow strips that were then sewn
together. Adinkra was another sort
of cloth. Large pieces of material were
printed using stamps dipped in dyes.
Patterns were built up in blocks or panels.

Printing blocks
The stamps used to print
cloth were made out of
the shell-like fruits
of calabash trees.

Elephant symbols
were used in Ashanti
jewelry to show
the power of
the wearer.

Dripping with gold

The Ashanti wore
rings on their fingers
as well as gold
bracelets on their
wrists and at
their knees.

279
 CATHERINE
THE GREAT
Catherine II, Empress of Russia
during the 18th century, was called
“Great” because she made Russia
a great European power. She asked
the advice of many of the major thinkers in Europe
and, because she was interested in education, she
started the Russian school system.
Catherine also loved clothes and
spectacular entertainments, and so did
her nobles. Under her rule they became
even more powerful than they had been
before. They were the owners of land
and of people. These people were known
as serfs and, like slaves, they had to do
whatever their masters wanted. Serfs could
be bought and sold by their masters.

Catherine’s palaces and the homes of

Miserable existence the nobles were filled with furniture,
Nine out of ten Russians were serfs and life for them ornaments, carpets, and other
was grim. Often, they lived in poor log huts with luxuries in the latest fashions.
only one room for an entire family.
280
 The Hermitage
Catherine built the Winter
Palace in St. Petersburg. She During court entertainments
called it the Hermitage, because the wearing of masks
it allowed her to shut herself and became popular.
her court away like hermits. Today
it is a famous museum.
The court entertainments
were dazzling to look at,
The playing of music with gorgeous costumes.
was encouraged at court.
Catherine invited foreign
musicians to Russia to
perform their work.

Revolt of the serfs The number of rebels under

In 1771, a Cossack soldier named Pugachev grew and, in 1773, they
Emilian Pugachev set himself up swarmed across Russia, destroying
as a rival emperor to Catherine. the city of Kazan. Catherine
The nobles dressed The Cossacks were a warlike ordered her army to attack
in clothes that came people who lived in southern the rebels and, in July 1774, the
from fashionable France. Russia. Thousands of serfs serfs were defeated. Pugachev
They were the finest who wanted to get rid was captured, brought
clothes money could buy. of the nobles joined to Moscow, and executed.
in their revolt. The revolt was over.

281
 THE JOURNEYS OF
JAMES COOK
In the 18th century, a great explorer
named James Cook made three voyages
that mapped the Pacific Ocean, the world’s
largest and deepest sea. On his first voyage he sailed
around New Zealand and down the east coast of
Australia. On the second journey he explored
the Antarctic and mapped many South Pacific
islands. On his last trip he discovered Hawaii.
Cook’s voyages were important because he
tried to find out about the people, plants, and
animals of the countries he visited. On his
ship were scientists and artists, as well as
officers, crew, and servants.

South Sea paradise

Throughout the 18th century,
artists and writers presented life
in the South Pacific as being
easy and perfect. Cook and his companions
were members of the
Royal Navy, so they
wore naval uniforms.

282
The first voyage to the South Art for all
Seas was made to watch the Drawings and paintings made
movement of the planet Venus. by the artists on Cook’s voyages were
The scientists looked through This very accurate published. People in Europe could see
a telescope like this. astronomical clock was used illustrations of new plants and animals
for timing the observations discovered on the explorations.
of the stars and planets.

Erythrina
Hibiscus

This is a Wild cat

quadrant. It
was another
means of
helping sailors
find their way.

Butterfly fish

Blue-crowned lory

Artists were taken on the voyages

to draw the plants and animals
they saw, just as a photographer
might take pictures today.

283
 REVOLUTION
The revolutionaries were
against organized religion
and many clergymen fled
the country.

In the 18th century, an important

revolution started in France.
It happened because the king,
Louis XVI, and his nobles held
all the power and wealth in the
country. He could rule the people
as he pleased. The way he chose
to do so was unfair. For example,
the nobles, who were already
Detail from a French
revolution poster
rich, paid no taxes while the poor
peasants did. In 1789, the king had
nearly run out of money. He wanted to increase
taxes. At the same time, food was very scarce
because of bad harvests. The ordinary people
had had enough and decided that they didn’t
want to be ruled by the king. Louis was
executed and a new government was set up.
Nobles were thought
to be enemies of the
revolution. Some
were arrested and
went to the guillotine.

The revolution was The nobles made fun

supported by people who of the simple clothes of
thought they had been the revolutionaries.
badly treated by their They called them
rulers. They included “sans-culottes,” people
lawyers, traders, small without the fine knee-
farmers, workers, and length breeches
ordinary soldiers. the nobles wore.

Women played an
important part in
revolutionary events.
They led many of
the marches.
 The guillotine
Anyone who was not loyal to the
revolution faced arrest and possible
death by guillotine. The guillotine
cut off the heads of the victims.
It was made of a heavy, sharp
blade that fell between two posts.
Death by guillotine was very quick.
It caused less suffering than
other methods of execution.

Victims of the guillotine

rode to the place of
execution in open
carts, called
tumbrels.

The revolutionaries
wore a red hat
that looked like
a nightcap. It was
decorated with a
blue and white ribbon.

American revolution
In the 1770s, British
colonists (settlers) in
America grew sick of
being ruled by the British
king. They fought for
their independence
and won, setting up
a Republic—a state
without a king. The This painting shows
French revolutionaries colonists fighting the British
were encouraged by in Massachusetts in 1775.
the American success.

285
 RICHES OF Modern photography was
invented by the British scientist

INDUSTRY
William Fox Talbot during the
1830s. It soon became popular
for people to have their
photograph taken.

One of the biggest changes in the history

of the world, the Industrial Revolution,
started in Britain in the late 18th century.
As the “Workshop of the World,” Britain
was the first home of new machines,
new types of materials, and new ways
of making power. This was the age of
coal and iron, of gas and electricity,
of railroads and factories.
Within 50 years this series of
mighty inventions had dramatically
changed the way in which people
lived. Railroads and steamships made
it possible to travel quickly from place
to place. Instead of living in the
country, many more people lived in
towns and cities. There they worked
in factories where machines made things
in vast numbers, quickly and cheaply.

The railroads and cheaper

paper provided many more
readers with news of events
from all over the world.
Grim conditions
The big industrial cities were very smoky, and many
people were crammed together in badly built houses.

286
 Iron foundry
With the arrival of Abraham Darby
trains, which had replaced charcoal (made
to run according to from wood) with coke
timetables, people (made from coal) for making
began to live their a new kind of tough iron.
lives by the clock.

The invention of
electroplating made it Ironbridge
possible to coat iron
objects with silver.
They looked like Made of metal
solid silver but were In 1779, Abraham Darby III
far cheaper to make. built the first iron bridge
across the river Severn.
The place is now called
Vast numbers of Ironbridge. The Eiffel
machine-made cups Tower was built in
and plates were Paris in 1889 and is
turned out for more than 980 feet
everyday use. (300 meters) high.

Eiffel Tower

The invention of
artificial dyes in
the 1850s meant
that cloth did
not fade when
it was washed.

The Great Exhibition

In 1851, the Great
Exhibition was opened
in London, inside a
Factory life huge glass building
The first factories were built called the Crystal
to contain the heavy machinery Palace. The Exhibition
needed to produce cotton cloth. displayed all the latest
Whole families—even young industrial developments.
children—kept the machines
going night and day.

287
 PIONEERS
During the 19th century, European settlers
traveled across America in search
of land to farm. They were
called pioneers. Some of
them traveled in wagon trains
so long that they stretched as far as the eye could
see. The wagons were packed tight with provisions—
The wagons were
food, tools, plows, household goods, and even pulled by teams of
chamber pots. There was often only enough room horses, mules, or oxen.
for small children, the sick, and some women to ride
in the wagons. Everyone else walked alongside.
Tormented by the heat and dust, or by winds,
rain, and snow, the pioneers trudged across prairies
and climbed over mountains. They lived and slept
outdoors, and often went without food and water.
The pioneers also faced attacks from Native
Americans who resented the Europeans
taking their land from them.

The lure of gold

Prospectors were
people who hunted
for gold. They would
fill a shallow pan with
gravel from a riverbed
and wash the
stones out of
the pan with When gold was discovered in
water. Then they Australia, America, South Africa,
looked for any gold and Canada in the 19th century, The wheels in the front
that might have Europeans flocked to these were made smaller than
sunk to the bottom. countries to make their fortune. those in the back, so that
the wagon could be steered
more easily.

288
 Self assembly
When the pioneers The Great Trek
came to set up home, In 1835, Dutch settlers in South Africa moved
they had to build in wagons to new land to escape being ruled
their own houses. by the British. This journey was called the
Some made them “Great Trek.” For safety against the Africans
out of logs, but whose land they had entered, the settlers
others used chunks would carefully form their wagons
of dry earth cut into a circle at night.
from the ground.

The top was made of

canvas held up by a frame
of hoops. It helped
keep out rain
and dust.
The hoops were made
of strong and flexible
hickory wood.

The pioneers had

to bring all their
cooking equipment
with them.

The wheels were made of wood

and the rim was covered in iron.
Wheels often broke and held up
the wagon train.
 THE AMERICAN
CIVIL WAR
In 1861, a civil war started in America between
states in the South who owned slaves and states
in the North who thought this was wrong.
The South tried to break away from the Union
to form a separate nation, but the North went to
war to prevent this. After four
years of bitter fighting, the
North won and the South
If they were
was forced to return to lucky, soldiers
the Union. But the price were given
paid by both sides was drugs to make
them unconscious
terrible. More than 600,000 during surgery.
soldiers died, more than half But often they
of them victims of disease, had nothing to
ease the pain.
not of battle. When they got sick
or were wounded, their treatment
Northern states
was as likely to kill them as cure
them. The field hospitals were Confederate states
filthy and the surgeons often
Border states that fought
poorly trained. on the Northern side
Areas with the most slaves

Other territories

The Confederates
The soldiers of the South,
or Confederacy, were given
uniforms of gray coats and
caps, and blue trousers.
When uniforms were in
short supply the men wore
whatever they could find.
 The Unionists
The slave states
The soldiers of the
The wealth of the
North, or Union, wore
Southern states of
dark blue coats or
America came from
jackets and light blue
plantations producing
trousers. They
cotton, sugar, and tobacco.
had more and
The work on the plantations
better weapons
was carried out by slaves—the
than the troops
descendants of those who had been
from the South
captured and shipped over from
because most
Africa. Their masters could do what
of the factories
they liked with them and they were Slaves could be bought and
making weapons sold at market like animals.
often treated badly. Slavery was
were in the North.
finally abolished in America in 1865. Often families were split up.
The surgeons who treated
soldiers often worked
with dirty hands and Most medicines
clothes spattered with blood. Women volunteered were not very
to help the wounded. effective, and
In the North, teams a few were
of trained nurses actually
were set up. dangerous.

Special kit
With its pliers and saw, this box
looks like a tool kit. In fact, it was
a surgeon’s case used during the
American Civil War.

291
 IN THE The blackboard was
double-sided. It was
on wheels so it could

SCHOOLROOM
be moved easily.

Until 1870, children in England did not have

to go to school. Children from rich families went
to school, but poor families could not afford to pay
for education. Poor children had to go to work to help
their parents. After 1870, the government made school
The globe of the
places available to young children for a very small fee. world was used
By 1902, education was free and every child between to teach geography
five and thirteen years old had to attend school. to the children.
At school, children were taught reading, writing,
arithmetic, and religion. The children sat
at their desks, chanting spellings and tables
over and over again, and copying words
onto slates. At other times they did some
geography and history, drawing, singing,
and physical exercise. Discipline was
very strict and children were beaten
if they made mistakes in their work. A wooden
hoop used
for playing.

Playtime
When they were not in school, children
amused themselves with outdoor games like
the ones played today—marbles, skipping,
hopscotch, and football. Hoops were popular,
too—they were rolled along the ground,
thrown in the air, or whirled
around the body.
China inkwells in a tray
were filled and given out The ink to fill the
to the older children by inkwells was kept
a monitor. The children in a special container
wrote with pen and ink that looked like a
in a special copybook. small watering can.

292
The window was built Teachers often carried This is an abacus, or
high up so that the a cane with them. counting frame. Children
children could not look If the children were learned to add and
out and be distracted from bad they would subtract by moving
their work. be smacked. the beads along the wires.

Each child in the class had only

one reading book. It contained
stories and poems, and had to
last the whole year.

Young children
learned to write on
slates, which could be
wiped clean and used
again. Later they
were allowed to use
ink and paper.

The desks were very

simple. The shelf
underneath held the
children’s books.

Stitch by stitch
Samplers were very popular
in schools. They consisted of
The desks a piece of embroidery designed
Slate pencils were
had special holes to show a girl’s skill in using
made of a piece
made in them to different stitches. Girls began
of soft slate, or
hold the inkwells. to make them at an early age.
soapstone, wrapped
They were a way of teaching
in paper.
them the alphabet and their
sewing at the same time.

293
 ARTS AND
ENTERTAINMENT
Since earliest times, people
have enter tained themselves
with dance, songs, and
stor ytelling. When people
lived in small groups, ever ybody
would join together in a dance.
Later, the rise of civilization saw
the first professional performers,
who danced, played music, or acted
to please audiences.
Over time, more types of
entertainment were invented.
Today we can create and enjoy
exciting plays, films, music, and
ballets, and amazing photographs,
paintings, and sculptures.

Recorder Violin Trumpet

294
 Swan Queen in the
ballet Swan Lake

Camera

Powder pigments
The Secret,
Artists’ brushes a sculpture by Auguste Rodin

295
 THEATERS People have enjoyed going to the
theater to watch plays for thousands
of years—the first theaters were built
by the Greeks about 2,500 years ago. It’s a miracle
Stone seats were carved into the hillside. In the Middle Ages, actors
The actors did not need microphones, from each town performed
Bible stories. These were
because sound carried right up to the back row. Until called miracle plays and
the 17th century, most plays were staged out in the were about the battle
open. But by the 1650s, bare stages had been replaced between Good and Evil.
by elaborate sets that had to be kept inside, so
indoor theaters became common. Lights
transformed theaters, too. Realistic
acting began with the invention
of the spotlight—for the first time,
players’ expressions could be seen.

The upper
gallery was
about 25 feet
(8 meters)
above the
ground.

Stage
door

Ancient art
Noh is an old,
traditional type of The Globe
Japanese theater. Theatre was
Religious stories first built
and ancient myths are performed in 1599.
on a stage that has very little
scenery. The plays, some of which More than 2,000 people could crowd
are more than 500 years old, can in to watch a play. Only a few could
go on for as long as six hours! afford to sit in these galleries.

296
The Globe Theatre Setting the scene
William Shakespeare, the most Stage Theatres come in all sorts
famous of all playwrights, acted of shapes and sizes. Early
on the Globe’s wooden stage. The Globe ones were out in the open.
The theater was rebuilt and was octagonal. Most modern stages have
opened again in June 1997. Entrance roofs so that plays can be
staged when it is raining.
Musicians played When the flag was raised,
on this balcony. people knew that a play was
going to be performed.

This model of the

Globe Theatre has Greek theater
There was no scenery been cut in half to 200 bce
on the stage. let you see inside.

Roman theater
100 ce

Elizabethan theater
16th century

“Modern” theater
Most of the audience 19th century
stood around the stage. These
“groundlings” got wet when it rained.

297
PLAYS AND
PLAYERS Playwrights write stories, or plays, Not a word
Marcel Marceau was a famous
that are performed on stage by players, French mime artist—he acts
called actors and actresses. Molière out stories without speaking.
and Shakespeare both lived more The actor playing Romeo
than 300 years ago but their plays, shows that he likes Juliet
by giving her a rose.
such as L’Avare and Macbeth, are
still popular. Laurence Olivier, one
of the last century’s most famous actors, starred
in Henry V by Shakespeare and also in more
modern plays, such as The Entertainer
by John Osborne. Like all good players,
he could make an audience The players
believe that what they are wear costumes like
seeing is real, not just an act. those worn by rich
Italians in the past.

Happy ending
Plays that make
people laugh are
called comedies.
Molière wrote
many wonderful
plays in the 17th
century that are
still funny today.

Sad ending
Tragedies are
plays with sad
endings. Cat on
a Hot Tin Roof
was written by
Tennessee Williams
and is a famous
modern tragedy.

298
Setting the scene Makeup magic
Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s To make an
tragedies. The couple can never be together audience believe
because their families hate each other. This line is what they are
not spoken— seeing, players
Romeo (to Juliet, touching her hand) it tells the often change the
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
These are the first This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: actors what way they look by
words Romeo ever My lips, two blushing pilgrims, to do. using makeup.
ready stand
says to Juliet. To smooth that rough touch with a
tender kiss. 95

Juliet
Young
Juliet replies—she Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand
too much,
is not upset at him Which mannerly devotion shows in this; There are 145 Talcum powder
holding her hand. For saints have hands that pilgrims’ lines in this and special white
hands do touch,
scene, or part mascara makes
of the play. brown hair and
This is line 95. eyebrows look gray.

The actress pretends to Going grey

be shy, yet pleased
to receive the rose. Pale powder takes
away the rosy cheeks.

Lines are
drawn on
the face with
a special
dark pencil.
Old

Staged in the East

Spectacular traditional Chinese plays are known
as Peking opera in the West. Every action and color
has a special meaning—the costume and makeup
color show the sort of person the actor is playing.

299
 MUSIC Musical sounds can be made with your
voice or by playing an instrument. The
first instruments were played more than
42,000 years ago—people blew into shells
Beat the clock?
and hollow mammoth bones! Today’s A metronome can
instruments are more complicated. The tick at different speeds.
sounds they make can be high or low: this Musicians listen to it
to make sure they are
is known as the pitch of the note. The way these sounds playing at the right
are arranged is called the tune. Rhythm is the pattern speed. This is called
of long and short notes. A skillful musician can make keeping the beat.
the same tune sound slow and sleepy, or loud and jazzy.

Music groups
Wired for sound
Electronic instruments are actually
almost silent! When you twang the Electric
steel strings on an electric guitar, guitar
they vibrate. This movement
is changed into tiny electrical
signals by pickups beneath
Electric the strings. These signals are
drum then increased by an amplifier
Jazz band and finally turned into
sounds by an amplifier.

Electric saxophone
A pickup

Note it
Deeper notes are
Music is written down in a special language.
Pop group written on lower lines Instead of words, there are notes. These are
or in lower spaces. the notes for “Here Comes the Bride.”

This number tells Notes are named after

you there are four The way a note looks letters. This one in the
String quartet beats in each bar. indicates how long it lasts. second space up is A.

300
 A world of music
Bagpipes Different countries and regions have
very different instruments and styles of
music. This traditional music is played by
local people, or folk, so it is often called
folk music.

Banjo

You Scotland is famous

blow for bagpipes. They are
here. played by blowing air
into a bag and then People who live in the eastern
squeezing the air mountains of the United States
up through the pipes. are famous for their banjo playing.
Banjos were first brought to the
United States by enslaved Africans.

Panpipes are made

from pipes of different
lengths and are popular
in South America. You
play them by blowing
over the top of the
pipes. Longer pipes
make lower sounds.

Panpipe

Australian aboriginals are the

only people to play the didgeridoo.
It is made from a hollow bamboo
branch. It is very difficult to play well.
Didgeridoo

301
 ORCHESTRAS
Many musicians play music in
groups called orchestras. Most
Cymbal
orchestras have four sections:
string, percussion, woodwind, and
brass. The different sounds and notes,
from as many as 120 instruments in
a symphony orchestra, combine to
Principal
form wonderful music. Orchestras violinist
usually play classical music, often
Clarinet
written by great composers of
the past, such as Mozart
and Beethoven.

Percussion players play many

different instruments, such as
drums, triangles, and gongs.
Violin

Set the beat Woodwind instruments,

Most of the instruments in a gamelan including recorders,
orchestra from Indonesia are percussion The leader of an orchestra are played by blowing
instruments. They also have bamboo flutes is always a violin player down a tube that has
and plucked string instruments. who sits near the conductor. holes in it.
302
 Two beats
to a bar

Three beats Four beats

to a bar to a bar

Keeping the beat

If all the instruments in an Conductor
orchestra played at different
speeds it would sound
terrible. The musicians
The conductor The French horn, keep in time by watching
stands in front of like a trumpet or a a conductor who
the musicians so trombone, is a long, waves a baton
that they can see curved tube that to the beat
the baton. is made of brass. of the music.

Short stick,
Bow called a baton

This cello, like the violin,

is part of the string section.
It is played by drawing a
bow across the strings.

Which Section?
The clarinet player is sitting
on a yellow seat. By using Child genius
the key shown below, you Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
can see that a clarinet is wrote, or composed, more
a woodwind instrument. Strings than 600 pieces of music. He
completed his first symphony
String Percussion Woodwind Brass
when he was eight years old!
303
 DANCE
Dancing is a way of moving your body in time
This is an
imaginary
“bow.”

to music. Early peoples danced as a way of uniting

and uplifting a group of people. It was not until
the 12th century that dancing in pairs became
popular. The arrival of the waltz in the 1800s was The dancer
shocking—it was the first time that couples had pulls back
held one another closely as they danced. In the an “arrow.”
1960s dance changed again, when
many people began to dance
solo, often making up their
own moves instead of following
set steps.

There are about

55 specific
Proud to dance finger positions—
The spectacular flamenco each one has a
dance comes from the gypsy different meaning.
peoples of Spain. The
Head over heels
dancers hold their heads up
Jive dancing is a fast
high as they stamp their feet
and lively couple
and turn around. The women
dance. The dancers
wear long, colorful dresses,
twist, spin, jump, leap
but the men wear black.
around—whatever the
music makes them feel
Taking The dance like doing!
a bow begins
Taps are attached to the Tap, tap, tap
heel and toe of each shoe. Fred Astaire was
one of the most
famous dancers of
the 20th century. He
tap-danced his way through
many movies. Small pieces of
metal, called taps, were attached
Classical Indian to the soles of his shoes. When
dancers use their his feet touched the
entire body. Their ground, you could
neck, wrists, and hear the quick clatter
even their eyes of clicking metal.
move to the
rhythm of
the music.
As she pretends to
put a clip in her hair,
the dancer looks into
the “mirror.”
Her hand
is held out
flat to form
a “mirror.”

Moves matter
Classical Indian dance has been
performed for more than one
thousand years. Sometimes the
dancers just create shapes and
patterns with their body. In
other dances they use hand
movements and mime to
tell stories of Hindu gods.

She stamps her bare foot in time to the The pleats in the special dance
drumbeat of an instrument called a tabla. dress let the dancer move freely.
One, two, three
The waltz is danced in triple time—
each bar of music has three beats.
As the dancers swirl around
and around they bring their feet
together once every three steps.
305
 BALLET Ballet is a graceful type of
dance that uses particular
positions and steps. It began
in Italy but was developed
by the French into the style At the barre
you see today. Louis XIV of Ballet dancers must warm
France started the first ballet up their muscles before
Louis XIV they dance. They do this
school in 1661. But the dancers in by stretching while holding
his “ballets” at the French court sang and recited onto a pole, called a barre.
poems! The first true ballet, without words, was
not performed until 1789. The basic steps and
jumps taught by Louis’
school are still used This short, stiff
today—which is why skirt is called a
many of them have tutu. It allows
the dancer’s legs
French names. Glisser to be seen.
means to glide, and pas
de chat means cat step!
Hopping frogs
The Tales of Beatrix Potter is Women did not
an amazing ballet. The dancers dance in ballets
wear wonderful costumes and until 1681. Then,
animal masks. they had to wear
long, flowing dresses.

The five positions

In the 17th century,
a ballet teacher named
Beauchamps developed
five feet positions that
“Turning feet enabled dancers to keep
out” takes their balance and still
years of look elegant. Later, arm
practice. positions were added
too. Most ballet steps
First position Second position Third position Fourth position Fifth position begin or end with one
(en première) (en seconde) (en troisième) (en quatrième) (en cinquième) of these positions.
306
Long hair is Male dancers need to be
always tied strong. They have to
back in a bun. lift ballerinas high
up in the air.

This is ballet, too!

During this century some very adventurous
ballets have been performed. These modern
ballets use many of the classic steps, but
often have no story. The imaginatively
dressed dancers simply express a mood.
Ballerinas sew on
their own ribbons.

The ballerina
keeps her foot
pointed.

The leg is
held very
still and
straight.
A female
ballet dancer
is called a Ballet shoes
ballerina. To dance on tiptoe, or en pointe,
Ballerinas ballerinas wear special satin
put cotton slippers with stiffened toes. Girls
wool inside have to be at least twelve years
Dancing on their shoes old before their feet are strong
tiptoes makes so their toes Ballet dancers enough to dance like this.
the ballerina’s don’t hurt. wear tights.
legs look Male dancers’
longer and shoes do not have
more graceful. stiffened toes.

307
OPERA Operas mix music with theater in a most
spectacular way. The performers on stage
act out a story, but instead of speaking the
words they sing them. A performance usually
begins with an overture. This is a piece of
catchy music that features snatches of the
Inside Paris opera house tunes that will be heard during the rest
Smashing note of the opera. As well as
When you rub your singing the story, the stars
finger around the on the stage also perform
rim of a glass it
makes a high sound. If solo songs, called arias. These
a person with a strong are often the most beautiful songs.
voice sings this note
loudly, and for a long
time, the sound waves
can shatter the glass!

Stylish surroundings
Operas are usually staged in special buildings
that are designed to help the whole audience
hear the sound clearly. The Sydney opera
house in Australia is one of the most famous
in the world. It was finished in 1973.

The main concert

The jagged roof looks
hall holds more
like waves or the sails Paris opera house
than 2,000 people.
on a yacht.

Sydney opera
house model

308
 A choice of voices
Crowded stage
Operas sometimes
have spectacular The soprano is
stage sets and, as the highest female
well as the soloists, voice. It is a brilliant
a large group of and exciting sound.
singers, called
the chorus. The contralto, or alto,
has a slightly lower
voice than the soprano.
It has a warmer tone.

The tenors sing many

of the important male
songs in an opera.
Dressed to impress
Opera singers wear The bass sings the
incredible costumes to lowest notes. His voice
play their parts. In is deep and strong.
The Cunning Little
Vixen their makeup
is amazing, too.
Tuneful tenor
Luciano Pavarotti was one of
the world’s greatest tenors. He had
a powerful and beautiful voice.

Operas are mostly

sung in Italian,
French, or German.

Powerful lungs
enable the singers
to sing without
a microphone!

Foxy tale
Operas tell stories. The Cunning Little
Vixen, by Leoš Janáček, is about a crafty
female fox who escapes from a forester
and has many exciting adventures.
PAINTING
This says “Jan van Eyck
was here, 1434.” It may be
to prove the artist was a
witness to the marriage.
Painting began about 40,000
years ago when people painted
pictures of bulls, horses, and
antelopes on the walls of their
caves. We will never be sure why
they did this—perhaps it was
This cave painting is believed to make magic and bring people
to be 30,000 years old.
luck in their hunting. Since then, If you look closely in
artists have painted pictures to record events, to honor the mirror you can see
heroes and heroines, to make people wonder about the the reflections of two
other people. Perhaps
world, to tell stories, or simply for pleasure. All artists one is the artist himself.
have their own painting style, and you may not like
them all—it’s simply up to you.

Hills and valleys

Paintings of the
countryside are called
landscapes. This
Chinese scene looks Things that are
very different than a farther away look
Western landscape. smaller, so the artist
It is painted on silk, has made the shoes
using a fine and in the front bigger
detailed style. than those in the back. This
gives the picture depth.

King Ramses II Lucrezia Panciatichi Self-portrait Weeping Woman

by an unknown Egyptian artist by Il Bronzino by Vincent Van Gogh by Pa bl o P i c a s s o

310
The Arnolfini Marriage, painted by Jan van Eyck in 1434 Looking for clues
This painting records a couple’s
marriage. But if you look closely
you will see it is much more than
just a wedding picture.
One candle is left to burn,
even though it is daylight,
to show that the couple will
always love each other.
Like the merchant, his wife
is wearing expensive clothes.
It was the fashion to hold
your skirts this way.

Action painting
In this painting, modern American
artist Jackson Pollock was not
trying to show objects or people,
but feelings. He worked
by dripping and splattering
paint on the canvas.

Son of Man Marilyn Monroe

The light shines on the

couple’s hands, and
the artist has shown
every tiny line.

Painting portraits
For thousands of years artists have enjoyed
painting pictures of people. Not all of them
painted the person true to life—there are
by René Magritte by Andy Warhol
many different styles of painting.
311
SCULPTURE Sculptures are three-dimensional, not flat like paintings.
Bricks, plastic, even rubber tires, have all been used
by sculptors, but the traditional materials are wood,
stone, bronze, and clay. Some sculptors build up their
image by adding small pieces of material, such as clay.
Others start with a big block of wood or stone and cut
away material. When Michelangelo carved, it was as if he
was setting free somebody who was trapped in the stone!

Mystery from the past

Strange statues were
carved on Easter Island Many of Moore’s
In touch with nature
more than 500 years ago. sculptures are
Some of the sculptures created
Nobody knows for sure based on natural
by Henry Moore (1898–1986)
how the heavy heads were shapes, such as
look like people, but many are
moved into place. smooth pebbles.
just interesting shapes.

This rounded If you walk around this

sculpture is sculpture you see different,
meant to be exciting shapes.
touched.

Mountain men
Mount Rushmore has the heads of four
American Presidents cut into it. It took 14
years to blast and drill Presidents Washington,
Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln out of the rock.

312
 Marble masterpiece
This statue, called David, was created by the
great Italian artist Michelangelo (1475–1564).
David is
about three
times as tall This statue is based on the Bible
as you are! story about David and Goliath.
David is carrying the sling that
he used to kill the giant.

Sculptors often work

in marble because it
does not splinter like
other sorts of stone.

Michelangelo studied how the Adding art

human body works so that he Small lumps of clay
could make his statue look lifelike. are added to build
up the face.

Freeing David
Michelangelo chipped
out the statue with a
hammer and chisel.

This statue
was made
from one
big block
of white
marble.
It’s a wrap
Modern sculptors use all sorts of materials to
create works of art. In 1983, Christo surrounded
eleven islands with more than six million
square feet of pink, woven, floating fabric.

313
PHOTOGRAPHY
Every day, all around the world,billions of photographs
are taken. These are not just photos of birthdays and
holidays, but pictures of goals being scored, models in
studios, and important news events. All photographs are
made in much the same way as when the process was
invented more than 150 years ago. A camera is basically Say cheese!
a box with a hole in it. Light that enters through this hole In early photographs, it
is captured as a digital image you can see on a screen, took a long time for the
picture to form. People
but cameras originally used film. Lots of photos are now had to stay still for up
taken on mobile phones. to 20 minutes to keep
the picture from blurring.

Right time,
right place
News photographers
have to be ready
Camera for action all the
time. They may
not get a second
chance to capture
an amazing event or
famous person.

Spare camera
with flash Click—A sinking bus is snapped

Camera Collection

35mm professional
camera High-quality studio camera Instant camera Underwater camera

314
Lights, camera, keep still!
Wind, rain, and bad light can ruin your shots
when you take pictures outside. This is why The photographer
photographers work in studios. Many of the takes pictures when
pictures in this book were taken in a studio. the model is in the The flash is much
right position. bigger than the flash
on your camera!
White paper reflects light
back onto the model.
The person
having their
photo taken is
called the model.

The makeup artist

gets the model ready
to be photographed.

Reflecting umbrellas This camera is Three-legged frames

produce a diffused and soft connected to a laptop or tripods prevent
light due to the larger size by a cable. This allows the camera and Different camera
of the reflecting surface. the photographer to equipment from lenses
look at the images in moving around.
more detail.

315
 FILMS
From the first flickery film, people have
loved the world of movie make-believe.
The early films were made in black and
white and did not have any sound. They
were called silent movies. In the theater,
A star is born
a pianist played along with the film and The dry weather in California is ideal
the audience had to read words on the for filming. Hollywood, once a sleepy
screen. It was not until 1927 suburb of Los Angeles, was the center
of the American film industry by 1920.
that the first “talkie,” called
The Jazz Singer, came out.
Color films, such as The
Wizard of Oz were made
in 1939, but only became
common in the 1950s.

Silent star
Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977)
was one of the first movie stars.
He starred in more than 80 films.
His most famous character, “the Cue clapboard
Tramp” had a funny walk. When a clapboard is
clicked shut it is seen on
the film and heard on the
Moving pictures soundtrack. The pictures and
Most films are now words can then be matched.
shot digitally, but like
the first films, they
are made of many
still pictures called
frames. The frames
pass before your eyes
so quickly that the
pictures look as if
they are moving.

Creative hub The lighting crew sets

Almost 2,000 films a year are made in India— up the lights so that
more than double the number made in Hollywood. the actor looks as if
Streets in Mumbai and Delhi are lined with bright he is outside and not
posters that advertise these dramatic films. inside a bright studio.
316
 This “mountain” Films for everyone
was built inside The camera rolls
a studio. forward on a wheeled
truck called a dolly.
Rain
machine

Romance

Western

Horror

Science fiction

Between shots,
the makeup
This pole, which has a microphone artists make sure
on the end of it, is called a boom. that the actor
It is held up high so that it does The director is in charge
looks right.
not appear in the film. of shooting the film.

317
 SPECIAL
EFFECTS
Have you ever wondered how alien worlds are filmed, Size isn’t everything
or how actors and actresses survive death-defying This tiny, detailed model
of a Y-wing spaceship
leaps? These amazing events are not real, they are appeared in Return of the
created by special effects. With CGI (computer- Jedi. On screen it looked
generated imagery), clever camera work, and big enough to carry people!
special equipment, such as wind machines, Green screen
film directors can make us believe
that what we are seeing is real.
These tricks of the trade are used
when shooting the action in the
normal way would be too expensive,
too dangerous, or just impossible!

A wind machine can

make a gentle breeze
or a howling gale. Virtual reality
Green screens are an important part of making special
Cuew effects for television or film. The process is called
Filmmakers can’t wait chroma-key and it uses technology to superimpose
for the right weather. actors and props onto a virtual background.
In this scene from The
Mosquito Coast, giant fans
whipped up the waves
that battered the boat.

318
 The highly trained
Total transformation stuntperson leaps from
Prosthetic makeup is the building.
used in television and
film to turn actors into
all kinds of characters.
A sculpture of the
character is created, The audience
which is then covered must think
with plaster to make a that the actor
mold. Liquid latex is is falling so
poured into this to make the stuntperson
the prosthetic; this is wears the
glued to the actor’s face, same clothes.
then makeup is used to
cover all the edges.

The stuntperson
waves their
legs and arms
around, to look
as though they are
terrified.

The camera
stops running
when the stunt-
person prepares
to land.

Finished movie Falling for you The stuntperson

Fire! Jumping from a high twists in the air
Filmmakers don’t just building is dangerous and so that their
Fuse difficult! In films, it is shoulders will
throw bombs to make
flames and smoke. either digitally simulated hit the bag first.
Explosions are carefully or done by experts,
set up and controlled. called stuntpeople.
Explosives They take the place
Smoke cylinders of the actor who is
supposed to be falling to The stuntperson
This can
the ground in the story. hits the soft airbag
makes orange
at more than 50
smoke. Actor miles per hour
(80 km per hour)!

319
FOOD
AND FARMING
Lots of people buy food in stores
or from markets, but it has probably
been produced somewhere far away.
This could be a large farm in the
country, or a small plantation
halfway around the world.
We eat some things—fruit, raw
vegetables, and nuts, for example—
just as they are picked. Other types
of food have lots of things done to
them before we put them on the
table. Cocoa beans, for
example, which grow in
huge pods on cacao trees,
are made into delicious
chocolate. Grains of
Chocolate wheat are threshed
cake to separate them
from their husks, then
milled into flour. Flour is
used to make the bread,
biscuits, and pastry that
lots of people eat ever y day.

Baby pigs Baby

are called sheep are
piglets. called lambs.
320
 Fruit and vegetables

Many different kinds of cheese are

made from milk.

Broccoli
farming

Wheat and
bread Tractor
 WHEAT
Crop rotation
If the same crop is grown on the same land year
after year, the soil may lose its fertility and pests
and diseases build up. The farmer can prevent
this by changing the crops grown each year.
What have breakfast cereals, In the first year, rapeseed may be grown,
breads, cakes, pastries, pasta, then wheat, field beans, wheat, and barley.
and couscous all got in
common? The answer is that
they are made out of wheat, rapeseed
the most important crop in the world. barley
wheat
Wheat is so important that it
is known as a staple food. It is field beans
a main everyday source of food wheat
for more than 35 percent of the
world’s people. Like barley, oats, rye,
corn, rice, sorghum, and millet,
wheat is a cereal. Cereals
are grasses and we Machine power
This is a combine harvester.
eat their seeds. It cuts the crop and separates
This is the unloading the grain from the straw.
spout. It is used to
empty threshed grain
from the harvester.

In the harvester, the

grain is shaken off the
stalks. The stalks fall to
the ground in the back. These are straw walkers. They carry
the crop through the machine.

322
Edible ears Wheat products
Other cereal crops Wheat can be used for many
include oats, barley, different foods. You would never
and rye. Like wheat, guess these items are all made
these plants have an from the same ingredient.
“ear” of grain on each
stem. Each grain is Wheat germ
protected by a husk
and inside the husk
is the seed. The grain Rye Oats
Cracked wheat
can be eaten whole
or ground into flour. Barley

Breakfast cereal

Pasta

Monsters on the move

These wheat fields in the prairies of
Manitoba, Canada, are so vast that
several combine harvesters can work
the fields at the same time.

The cab is An ear of wheat is made up of 40 to 60

air-conditioned to grains. When wheat is ripe and ready
keep the driver cool and also to for harvesting, it turns golden yellow.
filter out all the dust produced
during harvesting. Home sweet home
The wheatfield is a world of its
The reel sweeps the own. It is home to mammals,
crop into the cutter insects, birds, and wild flowers.
bar. The cutter bar
cuts the crop.

323
 CORN
The flower at the
top of the plant is
called the tassel.

In many tropical and

This is the stalk.
subtropical countries Some kinds of
sweet corn is the main corn have stalks as
food that people eat. It is high as 20 feet
(six meters).
eaten as a vegetable or ground into
flour or cornmeal. Corn is also made
into oil for cooking and for salad
dressings. Corn needs lots of sunshine
Corn is,
to grow—it will grow in hot climates but in fact, a
also in cooler, mild ones, as long as there huge grass.
is plenty of sun. However, the varieties of
corn grown in these different climates are
not the same.
The corn ear, or
cob, is protected by
These long, a husk of tightly
soft threads wrapped leaves.
are called
the silk.
The cob is covered in
neat, straight rows of
kernels. The kernels are
the plant’s seeds and the
Pest part you eat.
problems
In warm
and tropical
Short side roots spread
areas, one of
over the surface of the
the pests most
soil. They anchor the
feared by farmers
tall plant like the
is the locust. They travel in
ropes of a tent and
huge swarms of more than
stop it from falling over.
40 billion insects, stripping
plants of their leaves and stems as
they feed. Locusts can destroy crops Deep roots go down into
and cause famine and starvation. the soil and absorb the
food and water the plant
needs to grow.
324
 Sun ripened Corn foods
Corn is the staple
food of the warmer
parts of North,
Central, and South
America, and also
of Africa. It can be
grown in huge fields
with the help of Sweetcorn
machinery, or tended
by hand.

Mountain of corn Breakfast cereal

After the corn has been
harvested, it is sorted. Some
will be kept as seed for the
next crop, some kept for food,
and some used as animal feed.

Tortilla chips

Amazing corn
Corn comes in all sorts of
colors and it may even be
striped, streaked, speckled,
or spotted.
Taco
Tough grains
In dry parts of Africa and Asia, people
mainly eat sorghum and millet. These
cereals are tough and will grow with
little water. This woman is pounding
sorghum grain. It is mixed with water
or milk until it becomes soft and sticky,
like semolina. Sorghum is eaten with Corn oil
spicy stews, which give it flavor. It is
also ground into flour. Millet is cooked
like oatmeal, baked into a flat bread, or
used in soups and stews.

325
 RICE
Rice is a swamp plant. It grows with
its roots in water. It has hollow stems
which take oxygen
to the roots.

Like corn and

wheat, rice is a staple
food. It is the main
food of almost half the world’s
population. As much as 90 percent
of the world’s rice is grown in Asia.
However, the Asian countries eat
most of what they grow. The US
also produces huge amounts of rice,
but sells a lot of what it grows
to the rest of the world.

How the rice plant is used

The grain is the part

of the plant we eat.
Damaged grains are used
to make beer, and flour In Asia, the work
for cakes and noodles. of sowing, planting out the
seedlings, and harvesting the
rice is usually done by hand.
Husks are used
as animal feed or
to make fertilizer.

Grain

The stems are

woven into baskets, Preparing the fields Planting out
mats, and hats. The paddy fields The presprouted
are flooded, plowed, seedlings are moved
raked, and flattened. to the paddy fields.
In Asia, buffaloes are They are planted far
sometimes still used apart so they have
to do the heavy work. plenty of space to grow.

326
 While water helps the
rice to grow, it kills off
weeds that can’t grow
in such watery
conditions.

Machine power
In the US, growing rice is highly mechanized. Tractors
prepare the fields, the seed may be sown from airplanes,
and combine harvesters gather the ripe plants.

Rice is a type
of grass.

Most rice is grown in flooded

fields called paddies.

The fields are

flooded for most of
the growing season. Safekeeping
Special buildings are used to store the
rice until it is needed. They are called
The rice is planted in granaries. A granary keeps the grain
straight lines. dry and safe from hungry animals.

All rice

Rice
noodles

Puffed
rice cakes

Winnowing Sticky rice

Harvesting
The rice is beaten cakes
The rice is ready for
harvesting in three to six to remove the grains.
months. The fields are The grains are crushed
drained and the plants and then sieved and Rice
cut down, tied in tossed to remove any paper
bundles, and left to dry. fine pieces of husk.

327
 VEGETABLE
OILS
Vegetable oils are made from
the seeds and fruits of many plants
growing all over the world, from tiny
sesame seeds to big, juicy coconuts. The
oils are used for cooking, as salad dressings, and
to make cooking fats and margarine. Soybeans are
the most important source of oil worldwide,
especially in the US. In western Europe, the
oil most widely produced is rapeseed oil.

Harvesting Olive trees

Olives are picked in the fall when they are are often quite
ripe. They are shaken from the trees and small but can live for
gathered up, usually by hand. Next, the olives hundreds of years. They
are sorted out to remove the leaves and twigs, develop very wrinkled,
and taken to be pressed. knotty trunks.

How olive oil is made

The olives are ground to a
thick paste which is spread
onto special mats. The Olive trees are planted
mats are then layered up in rows. Fields of olive
on the pressing machine trees are called groves.
which will gently squeeze
them to produce olive oil.

328
 Edible olives Surprising sources
There are many varieties of olives—black Oil can be produced
and green, large and small. Most are used from lots of very
for making oil, but some are eaten whole, different fruits and seeds.
too. Raw olives are very bitter, but once
they have been treated, fermented, and Groundnuts
pickled, they taste delicious! (Peanuts)
Cottonseeds

The trees are shaken

to make the olives fall.
Sometimes, machines
are used to do this job. Sesame seeds

Each long, flexible

branch has lots of
flowers and about
30 clusters of fruit.

Rapeseed Soybeans

Sunflower oil
Every sunflower is made up of hundreds of tiny
flowers, surrounded by a fringe of petals. It is the
seeds of the flowers that are rich in oil. Sunflowers
are ready for harvesting when the flowers are dead
and the heads have dried
out. Sunflower oil is
good for cooking
oil, salad oil, and
for making
margarine.

Nets are laid

down so that the
fallen fruit can be
gathered easily.

329
 CATTLE AND DAIRY
FARMING
Cattle are very popular domesticated animals because
A cow gives milk
for ten months of
the year, then she
they provide us with a lot of food. They are kept for rests for two months.
Most cows are milked
their meat, which is called beef, and also for their milk. twice a day.
Milk is full of calcium and protein, which makes
it a very complete and nourishing food.
Because of this, milk-giving animals
are kept all over the world—
but they are not always cows.
Goats, sheep, camels, reindeer,
and llamas give us milk, too!

To produce milk, a
dairy cow must have
a calf once a year.

Milky ways
To make just two pounds
(one kilogram) of butter,
you need around six A calf born to a
gallons (22 liters) of dairy cow stays
milk! The liquid that is with its mother
left over is buttermilk. for just 48 hours.

Hard cheese!
Foods made from milk, such as butter, cheese,
yogurt, and cream, are known as dairy products.
Making cheese is the best way to turn milk
into a food that can be stored for some time.
Thousands of different cheeses are made
all over the world. Soft, creamy cheeses
must be eaten promptly, but hard, crumbly
cheeses will last for months and even years!

330
 Second helping Dairy cattle
Cows eat grass without
chewing it properly. It goes
to the rumen and reticulum
to be broken down into
cud. The cow coughs this
Reticulum up and chews it again. When
Omasum it is swallowed, the cud
goes through the stomachs
Rumen Holstein Friesian
Animals that chew cud in turn, being finally
are called ruminants. Abomasum digested in the abomasum.

This is the
udder, where
the milk is Jersey
produced. It is
in four parts. Beef cattle
Each part
has a teat.

In the milking parlor

Hereford
When cows are milked, special
suckers are attached to the teats.
They squeeze the milk gently
from the cow just like a calf does.
A cow can give between 7 and 9
gallons of milk every day.

Bred for beef Charolais

Big, heavy breeds of cattle
are kept for beef because Dairy and beef
they have more meat on
them. The world’s largest
herds of beef cattle are
found in North and South
America. Here there are
lots of wide-open spaces
where the cattle can graze
until they are fat and
ready for eating. Simmental

331
 SHEEP
Sheep are raised for their meat, for the
All in a day’s work
An experienced shearer can shear
a lot of sheep in one day.
At shearing time, shearers
travel from farm
to farm to clip
foods that can be made from their milk, the animals.
and for their wool. There are more than
200 breeds of sheep and different sorts are
able to live in very different places—in lands
that are hot with little water, in areas that are
cold and wet, in the lowlands, and on the hills.
The kind of place where it lives affects the quality
of the sheep’s meat and wool.

Sheep produce
Sheep provide yogurt and cheese, and wool for
clothing. The wool contains a fat called lanolin.
It is used in ointments and hand creams.

Lanolin

Yogurt
Hand-operated
shears or electric
Cheese clippers are used
by the shearer.

Milk Sheep are shorn in

the spring and early
summer when they
no longer need their
long coats to keep
them warm.
The fleece is made into
It takes the wool from wool for knitting and for
one average-sized fleece making carpets and fabrics.
to make this sweater. Sometimes, it is even used
to fill mattresses.

332
 Bathtime Domestic sheep
Once or twice a year,
the farmer drives the
sheep through a
chemical dip. This
keeps them free of
pests and diseases.

Suffolk
Mummy!
Some lambs are
orphaned or not
wanted by their
mother. These
may be bottle-fed
by the farmer or
shepherd, or
adopted by
another ewe. Wensleydale

Working dogs
Dogs are used to gather the sheep in flocks and move
them from place to place. Sheepdogs naturally like to
herd animals, but they need to be trained to follow
instructions. The shepherd controls the dog using
special calls and whistles.
Sheep are timid, so the
dog will run low in Karakul
the grass to avoid
frightening them.

Scottish blackface

In a spin Wild sheep

To produce wool for knitting
or weaving, many strands
are twisted together to make
one long thread. Spinning
The shearer was first done by hand using
shears the sheep a spindle. Later, the spindle
so that the fleece was attached to a wheel, and Bighorn
comes off in wool could be spun more
one piece. quickly. Now, most spinning
is done by machine.

333
PIGS Domestic pigs are
mainly kept for their
meat, especially in
Duroc
China, which has
the most pigs in the world. Pigs Mud, glorious mud
raised for their meat are usually Despite their reputation, pigs are not dirty animals.
kept in pens and are fed on cereals, They cannot sweat so in hot weather they roll
around in mud to help cool themselves.
potatoes, fish meal, and skimmed
milk. Pigs kept for breeding often live
outdoors in fields. The farmer feeds
them but they also search
for their own food. They
like worms, snails,
roots, and plants.

A female pig is
called a sow.

The piglets go to
the same teat every
time they want to
feed.When they
are six weeks old,
they move on from
milk to solid food.
Intensive Farming
When pigs leave their
mothers, they are normally A sow makes a “nest”
housed in piggeries. The pigs before she has her litter.
are fed a special diet, and In a pen, she paws straw
because they have less space into a heap. In a field,
to run around, they put on she lines a hole with
weight quickly. leaves and straw.

334
Pig parade

Landrace British saddleback Piétrain Vietnamese potbellied pig

Domestic pigs don’t have a hairy

coat to protect them—just a few
short bristles. Because of this, pink
pigs can get sunburned. Black pigs
are protected by their dark skin.

Pig products
The meat from pigs, which is called pork, is
used to make a variety of foods, including
sausages, spiced meats, and all kinds of hams.
The last piglet born is often smaller
and weaker than the rest. It is called
the “runt” and it might not survive.

Detective work
Pigs have a good
sense of smell
and use their
snouts to dig up
food. In France,
pigs are used to
search for truffles,
which are difficult to
find because they can
grow as much as
12 inches (30 cm)
under the ground.

Truffles are like

A sow usually has about ten to twelve mushrooms and
piglets in a litter. She can have more are a great delicacy.
than two litters every year.

335
 CITRUS FRUITS
Oranges, lemons, limes, and
The ugli fruit is a cross
between a tangerine, an
orange, and a grapefruit.

tangerines are just some of the

many citrus fruits. Along with apples,
watermelons, bananas, and grapes, they are
one of the world’s largest fruit crops.Citrus
fruits are grown mainly in tropical and
subtropical parts of America, in
countries around the northern
and eastern Mediterranean,
and in Australia.
A tree can produce a thousand oranges
each year.

This is a white
grapefruit. The
flesh inside is a
pale yellow.

Lemons, like other citrus fruits, are

rich in minerals and vitamins,
especially vitamin C.
Tangerines are
like small, sweet
Fighting frost
oranges. They
Citrus trees need just the right climate to
have several
produce good fruit—sun to make them
small seeds.
sweet, and then cold to make them tart.
But the trees’ greatest enemy is frost, which
will kill the fruit. So modern plantations Limes have thin
often have wind machines and special skins and very
orchard heaters in case it is frosty. tart juice.
Orchard heaters protect
the trees from frost.
336
This is a pink grapefruit. The perfect package
Inside it has a sweet, Citrus fruits are perfectly Tough skin
pink flesh. packaged foods. In the
middle is the juicy flesh, a
wonderful source of food
and drink that is rich in Soft flesh
vitamin C. Next comes a
spongy layer, called the
pith, which cushions the
flesh. On the outside is
a protective skin. Pith

Navel
oranges
are very juicy. Mix and match
Usually they By mixing pollen from the blossom
have no seeds. of different citrus trees, new varieties
can be developed. The limequat, for
Clementines, like satsumas example, is a cross between a lime
and tangerines, have a loose and a kumquat.
skin that is easy to peel.

Satsumas are like tangerines,

You can eat kumquats except they don’t have seeds.
whole, including the rind.
Juicy fruit
These oranges are being sorted
and packed, and will be sold for
eating. Many oranges are pulped
to be made into juice. This pulp
is frozen for transporting around
the world.

Fresh orange juice contains

lots of vitamins and nutrients.

337
 GRAPES
There are two different types of grapes—black and
Grapes need rain to
swell them and sun
to ripen them.

white. But black grapes are really dark red, and white
grapes are light green. Grapes are delicious
to eat fresh, and keep their sweetness when
dried, too. But most of the grapes grown in
the world are used for making wine. Grape
plants are called vines, and they are planted
in rows in vineyards. Vines need a lot of
care, and it takes lots of hard work and
skill to produce a bottle of fine wine.

Pruning
As vines grow,
they are often cut
back so they have a
few strong branches
Broad vine
rather than lots of
leaves shade
weaker ones. This
the grapes from the
work is called
direct glare of the sun
pruning and must
and the battering rain.
be done by hand.

From grapes to wine

Bitter wine First the grapes are crushed and pressed to mix the
Red and white wine yeast with the sugar in the grapes. This is called
can also be made into fermentation. Then the juice is filtered and poured
vinegar. It is produced into vats. These are left in a cool place for
when special vinegar the flavor of the wine to develop.
yeasts ferment the
wine and turn it sour.
Vinegars can be made
from other liquids, like
cider or malt, and are
used as a flavoring.
They can also be mixed
with foods to pickle
and preserve them. Grapes Press

338
 There is a natural Dried goods
yeast on the grape Grapes for drying must
skin that is needed be very sweet because
to turn the grape it is their natural sugar
that preserves Currants
juice into wine.
them. They can be dried
on racks, in the sun, or
Black grapes can in ovens. Only seedless
be made into red grapes are used for
Raisins
or white wine. drying. Sultanas are
To make red wine, dried white grapes.
Sultanas
the skins of black Raisins and currants are
grapes are left in dried black grapes and
the wine mixture. are usually smaller.

Grapes grow
in tight
bunches.

Grape harvesters
Most wine grapes today
are picked by machine,
except in small or sloping
vineyards. Special grapes
for making rare wines
are carefully picked
by hand.

Digging deep
The type of soil in a vineyard is
very important and affects the
flavor of the wine. Yet some of
the best wines are produced from
poor soils. This is because the
vine can find regular supplies of
food and water by pushing its
Vats Wine roots deep into the earth.

339
UNDERGROUND
VEGETABLES
Some plants are not grown for their leafy tops, but
for the parts of them that grow beneath the soil.
The flowers produce
Carrots, turnips, radishes, and parsnips are the fat seeds that can be used
roots of plants, and are known as root vegetables. Potatoes to grow new plants,
but it is more usual
are the swollen part of the underground stem of the plant. to use seed potatoes.
They are called tubers. Onions, too, grow in the dark earth,
but it is the bulb of these plants that we eat.

Farming with nature

Potato plants grow
Many farmers use chemical fertilizers
well in cool climates,
and pesticides to help them grow
but are killed by frost.
crops efficiently, but some farmers
use only natural products. They use
fertilizers such as manure, and encourage
pest controllers like ladybugs, which eat
all sorts of flies and larvae. This helps
to stop a buildup of chemicals
in the environment and is called
organic farming.

Radish Carrot Beet

These are
the tubers.
Each plant
has between 15 and 20 tubers.

340
Types of tubers
Tubers come in all
shapes and sizes.

Sweet potato Cassava Yam Taro

Harvest time
In the fall, the
potatoes are fully
grown and special
harvesters, pulled
by tractors, are
used to lift them
carefully from
the soil.

Tasty bulbs
Bulbs, like
onions, are not
roots. Instead,
they are made
up of clumps Garlic
of tightly curled leaves.
Leeks, garlic, shallots,
and scallions are all
members of the same
plant family, and they
When the leaves are all valuable for
wither in the fall, the flavor that they
the farmer knows the Shallot can give to many
potatoes are ready other foods.
to harvest.
Stem

Some potatoes may be harvested and set

aside. These will then be used to grow
new plants, and are called seed potatoes.
Onion
From these tiny scars, called
eyes, new shoots will grow.
Roots

341
 HOTHOUSE
VEGETABLESIn countries with cool
climates, usually there
is not enough heat to
grow the most delicate or
exotic vegetables. But in special
hothouses, with glass or clear
plastic walls, a farmer can grow
almost any crop. This is because
the temperature inside a hothouse
can be controlled. Hothouses are
useful in warmer countries, too.
They mean the farmer does not
have to follow the seasons of Computer controlled
Tomatoes are quite fragile
the year, and summer vegetables plants, so this hothouse,
that do not store can be grown where the temperature and
fresh all year round. feeding are controlled by a
computer, is a good place
to grow them. Tomatoes
grown in hothouses are
usually top quality and
are picked by hand.

Nature’s “hothouse” Short showers

Some of the world’s hottest spots are Most of the work in large
dry deserts. But if a water supply can be hothouses today is done by
set up, the desert heat can be put to good machines. These young sweet pepper (capsicum)
use. Fertile gardens can be created, plants are watered by overhead pipes. Hothouse crops
like this fruit orchard in Jordan. must also be sprayed to protect them from the pests
and molds that like the damp, warm conditions.
342
 A carpet of seedlings Water gardens
Seeds germinate quickly Some vegetables can
in the warmth and be grown without soil.
protection of the The plants are carefully
hothouse. These are supported and supplied
lettuce seedlings. with water which is
Hothouses can be automatically mixed
large and some are with plant foods. This
half the size of a way of growing plants
football field. is called hydroponics.

This material
does not feed the
plants, but helps
to support them.
Water full of plant
food flows past the roots.

Mixed vegetables
Here are some other vegetables
that would normally need lots of
sun to grow, but can be farmed
in hothouses in cool climates.

Cucumbers

French beans

Doors must fit These panels

neatly to keep may be opened if
out drafts. the hothouse gets
too hot. Eggplant

The hothouse has This hothouse only

transparent sides to uses natural heat, Zucchini
let in as much light but some have Okra
as possible. special heaters. Red and green chillies

343
 COFFEE, TEA,
AND COCOA
Coffee, tea, and cocoa are drunk in most
countries of the world. Cocoa is also
used to make chocolate. Coffee and
cocoa grow in the tropics. They are
grown on huge plantations, but a lot is produced on
small farms as well. Tea is grown on plantations in the
tropics and subtropics. Altogether, millions of people
are employed to produce these crops. Coffee, tea,
and cocoa are important to the countries that
grow them because they are cash crops. This
means they are grown to be traded with other
countries rather than for home use.

Picky pickers
Tea comes from evergreen trees that are
pruned into bushes. This makes it easy
to pick the leaves. The best-quality teas
are produced by plucking only the bud
and the first two leaves on each shoot.
A skilled plucker can pick enough leaves
in one day to make 3,500 cups of tea. Green tea Black tea

Special treatment
The leaves are made
into black or green tea.
For green tea, the leaves
are dried, heated, and
crushed. For black tea,
the leaves are dried,
crushed, fermented,
and dried again.
344
A coffee tree produces
about 2,000 fruits each There are two green
year. It takes twice this coffee beans inside
amount to make two The fruits are called cherries each cherry.
pounds (one kilogram) because of their color and size. They only turn
of roasted coffee. brown after they
are roasted.

The coffee is harvested

twice a year. The trees are pruned to stop them
from growing more than 10 feet
(three meters) high.

When the fruits first

appear, they are green.
Gradually, they turn bright
red. They are then ready
to be picked.

The ripe fruit is picked by hand

or shaken from the tree onto a
cloth spread out underneath it.
On some plantations, machines
are used to pick the fruit.

Heavy load
Cocoa pods are large and heavy.
They grow on the trunk of
the cacao tree or from its
thick branches.

The pod has a thick skin.

Each pod may contain

20 to 50 cocoa beans.

The pod grows up to 12

inches (30 cm) long, about
the size of a football.

345
 SUGARS
More than 185 million tons of
Workers watch out!
The sugar plantations
can be home to the
deadly bushmaster
snake. Enormous
bird-eating spiders also
sugar is produced each year. More nestle in the
thick foliage.
than 80 percent of it comes from sugar
cane. This is grown on a large scale on
plantations in the tropical areas of Brazil,
Cuba, India, China, Australia, Mexico, the
Philippines, Thailand, and the US. The rest of
our sugar comes from sugar beet, which is a
vegetable. Sugar beet grows in the cooler
climates of Europe, the US, Canada,
China, and Japan.

Sugar cane The canes

Sugar cane is a tropical are cut close
plant. It grows best in to the ground
places that get plenty of because this is
sunshine and lots of rain. where the most
sugar collects.

After the cane has been harvested, healthy

stumps will regrow into new plants.
Sugar cane is a Sugar beet
very tall grass, like Sugar beet is a root vegetable. It looks like a giant
rice and cereals. parsnip. It grows best in places that have warm
summers and cool or cold winters.

The leafy tops of the plants are cut off before the sugar beet is
lifted. The tops can be used for animal feed.
The sugar
is stored
inside the stalk,
in a firm pulp.

The stalks of a mature plant

are about two inches
(five centimeters) thick. The sugar is stored in the thick root.

346
The canes are The canes are ripe
cut when they when they look dry.
are 14 to 16
feet (5 to 7
meters) high.

Sugar production
In a sugar factory, sugar from the canes or
beet is taken out, cleaned, and boiled.
This leaves a syrup which is turned
into brown sugar crystals. These can
be refined to make white sugar.

Sorts of sugar
Sugars differ in color
and in the size of their
crystals, or grains.

Granulated

Sugar cane is often harvested by

machine, but in some places it is
still cut by hand.

Maple syrup
Maple syrup is made from the sap of Demerara
sugar maple or black maple trees.
Holes are made in the trunks in
winter when the trees are dormant.
When a thaw
follows a freeze,
the sap is collected Dark soft brown
from the wounds
in buckets. Maple
syrup is only
produced in
North America.
Muscovado

347
PEOPLE
AND PLACES
In lots of ways, people are the same
everywhere: they build homes, they
wear clothes, they eat meals, and
they have fun. However, people in
different countries have developed
their own languages and customs,
which vary widely from place to place.
Did you know that in Spain there
is a festival in which people throw
tomatoes at each other? Did you
know that the Chinese language
has more than 50,000 written
characters? Did you know that
India produces more films each
year than any other country?
Learning about other ways of
life is not only interesting,
it also helps you to
understand and get along
with people in other
countries who may be
very different from you.

Inuit boy from

northern Canada The Eiffel
Tower in
Paris,
France

Indonesian boy on
African jewelry a water buffalo

348
Talking drum
from Nigeria

Antipasto
Vegetable market in Guatemala from Italy

Buckingham Palace in London, England

Woven bag
from Peru

Indian cricketer

349
THE ARCTIC &
ANTARCTICA
The Inuit, Saami, Aleut, and other indigenous Icy city
Norilsk in the Arctic Circle
people live in the icy lands of the Arctic North. is the farthest north city
For many generations, they have found ways of in the world. The sun does
coping with their cold surroundings. But no one not rise in this Russian city
between November and
has settled for very long on the southern extremes the middle of January.
of the planet. Antarctica is the coldest and windiest
place in the world. This huge continent is lashed by
freezing blizzards and gales,
with temperatures almost
as low as -148°F (-100°C).
Homes in the north
In the past, the Inuit were self-sufficient and lived a
life on the move, hunting and fishing to survive. They
built temporary homes, called igloos, from solid snow.
Today, most Inuit live in wooden houses and earn a
living by working for other people, often in fish-canning
factories or for mining companies.

Speedy Ski-doos
Today, the Inuit people get around
on snowmobiles called Ski-doos.
This is much faster than using
dogs to pull a sled, which is
Long-lost relatives the traditional method of travel.
For many years, Inuit
families on either side of Warm clothes are
the Bering Strait were not vital in the Arctic.
allowed to meet, for political
reasons. Nowadays, the North The Bering Strait is a
American Inuit and their narrow stretch of sea that
relatives in northern Asia separates northern Asia
can visit each other from North America.
once again.
The Arctic
350
 Antarctica

Antarctic science
Scientists from all around the world
are the only people who live and work Exploring the unknown
in Antarctica. Some study the effect of Antarctica was the last continent to be explored.
the enormous sheet of Antarctic ice The first successful expedition in search of the
on the world’s weather patterns. Others South Pole took place in 1911, led by a Norwegian
observe the behavior of living things in called Roald Amundsen. The British expedition led
the freezing conditions. by Captain Scott ended in disaster, when the team
froze to death on the trek home.
This scientist is
measuring the density
of Antarctic snow.

This emperor
penguin lives
in the Antarctic.
No penguins live
in the Arctic.

A windshield protects the

riders from the biting wind.
Climate change
The west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula
is one of the fastest-warming places in the world.
Rising sea temperatures mean plants and animals
must adapt, including penguin colonies that now
have less ice to live on.

Runners on the front of the

Ski-doo spread the weight
of the vehicle evenly, to stop
it from sinking into the
soft snow.
 CANADA Canada is an enormous country. A journey
Totem poles can be enormous
or very small, such as those
that guard the doorways to
village homes.

from the east to the west coast on one of the

world’s longest highways will take you through
almost 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) of beautiful
landscape. Canada’s population of 37 million is
small for the country’s huge size. Most people live
in cities in the warmer southern part of the country,
Some carvings
close to the border with the United States. show off the
family possessions.
Quebec City
Quebec City is the
capital of the province
of Quebec. It is
Canada’s oldest city
and the only walled The animals
city in North America. are symbols of
Many of its distinctive the family’s
buildings are in the ancestors.
original French style.

Timber!
Half of Canada’s 1.5 million square miles (4 million square Totem pole
kilometers) of forest are used for timber. Logging is a very The First Nations of British Columbia,
important Canadian industry. On the west coast, large areas on the west coast of Canada, carved
of forest are disappearing. Logging companies are being giant totem poles out of trees. Some
asked to slow down the destruction and to replant more trees. totem poles celebrated special events
Modern machinery or the lives of leaders.
fells giant conifer trees.
 Canada

Inuit victory
Indigenous people have lived
in Canada’s Arctic north for
thousands of years. In 1993,
the Inuit people regained
control of native land when
a territory called Nunavut was
formed and put under their
control. Nunavut covers Is there anybody out there?
more than 20 percent The first long-distance phone call
of Canada’s land mass was made in Canada in 1876.
and is home to almost A century later, Canada was the
40,000 people. first country to set up a satellite
network. Satellites provide a vital
link to many remote communities.

Two languages
Canada has two official
languages, English and
French. The first Europeans
to settle in Canada were
the French, followed by the
British. Today, the majority
of Canadians speak English,
but French is the official
language in Quebec, Canada’s
largest province.
Winter sports
Winters are very harsh all over Canada.
A tug pulls the timber Ice hockey and skating are national
down the river. Water The timber is taken to a sports—some families flood their back
transportation is used when riverside sawmill, where it gardens in winter, so that the water
there are no major roads is cut into planks or pulped freezes to make a temporary ice rink.
through the forest. for papermaking.
THE UNITED STATES
The United States of America is an exciting mixture of different
cultures and traditions. Over the last 500 years, tens of millions
of people from all over the world have made America their home.
The families of the new arrivals now help to make up the American
population of about 326 million. The United States is
a superpower, and is probably the most powerful
nation in the world.

Lots of languages
Most Americans can trace their
Leading light family trees back to other parts
The Statue of Liberty has been a of the world. Four out of five
welcoming sight to many immigrants Americans speak English, but
arriving in America for more than other European and Asian
one hundred years. The statue languages are also widely
is a symbol of freedom, and spoken. The country’s second
was built to celebrate the language is Spanish.
100th anniversary of
American independence.
It was given to the Americans
by the French in 1884.

Many Americans
live in cities. This
is San Francisco,
in the West
Coast state
of California.
 United States
Jeans are
made of tough
material Drive time
called denim. America is a huge country, and many
Americans are used to driving long distances
to visit friends or family. Driving is a popular
American pastime. Large cars are not as
fashionable as they used to be. This is
because smaller cars use up less gasoline
and are better for
American icon the environment.
Jeans are an American
invention. The first pair
was made in 1874 by
Levi Strauss. Jeans are now
one of the most popular pieces
of clothing ever invented, and Levi jeans
are still sold all around the world today.

Many American More corn is grown in America

children grow up in than in any other country. A lot of
suburbs. It is easy to the farming is done by machines,
drive from the suburb so less than two
to the nearest shopping percent of the labor
mall or city. force work on
farms today.

Native American Languages Act

In 1990, Congress made it US policy
to “preserve, protect, and promote the
rights and freedom of Native
Americans to use, practice, and
develop Native American languages.”
 MEXICO, Antigua and Bahamas Barbados
Barbuda

C ENTRAL MERICA, A
& THE CARIBBEAN
Central America is made up of a narrow strip of eight countries
that link the continents of North and South America. Just like
the long chain of islands that makes up the Caribbean, Central
America is surrounded by clear blue oceans. Today, the beautiful
Caribbean Sea and the sunny, sandy beaches attract many tourists.
In the past, the sea brought visitors who were less welcome, like
the Conquistadors and colonizers
from Europe 500 years ago.

Weaving for a living

About 40 percent of the people of Guatemala are
Amerindian. Their ancestors go back
a thousand years to the days of the
ancient Maya. Guatemala now
sells Mayan crafts to the Carnival time
rest of the world. The Caribbean is famous
for its carnivals. For two days
Horizontal
and nights just before the
weaving loom
Christian festival of Lent,
people dance through the streets
wearing fantastic costumes.
The end of
the loom is It is often possible to tell
tied to a tree. which village a weaver
lives in from the patterns
in her cloth.

A strap around the

weaver’s back holds
the loom steady.

356
Belize Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican El Salvador Grenada Guatemala
Republic

The Day of the Dead

Every year in Mexico, a festival is held to remember
people who have died. It is called the Day of the Dead
and takes place at the end of October. Families have
picnics by the graves of their relatives. When night falls, Haiti
they keep watch over the graveyard by candlelight.
A sugary souvenir
City of chocolate of the festival. Honduras
The densely populated
Mexico City is built on a lake
called Texcoco. Its indigenous Jamaica
tribes were some of the first
in the world to turn cacao
beans into tasty chocolate Mexico
almost 4,000 years ago!

Nicaragua
A modern mix
Many Caribbean people are
descendants of African slaves
who were forced to work on sugar Panama

plantations. Slavery was stopped in

the 19th century, and many Asians
then came to work in the Caribbean. St. Kitts-Nevis
Their descendants still live there today.

St. Lucia
Terrific temples
More than 1,000 years Natural disasters
ago, the ancient Mayans Central America has many
built impressive temples, natural hazards, such as St. Vincent and
especially in Mexico. volcanoes, earthquakes, and
the Grenadines
Mayan society was very hurricanes. Volcanoes have
sophisticated long before become popular with tourists,
the Spaniards invaded and some now have trails and Trinidad
in the 16th century. cable cars up them. and Tobago

Caribbean people
More than fifty
different ethnic
groups live on
the islands of
the Caribbean.
Here are just a few.
Asian Arawak Afro-Caribbean European

357
 SOUTH Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile

AMERICA
Galloping gauchos
Large areas of northern and central
Argentina are covered with a grassy
plain, called the pampas. Huge herds
of cattle are kept on the pampas, and
are looked after by cowboys known as
Most South Americans are gauchos. Most gauchos are descendants
of European settlers in South America.
Catholics. A huge statue of
Christ towers over the Brazilian These gauchos from
port of Rio de Janeiro. This is a reminder northwest Argentina are
of three centuries of European rule, when wearing traditional
Spanish hats and
the first peoples of South America were neckerchiefs.
almost wiped out. Most South Americans
still speak Spanish or Portuguese. South
America is home to diverse landscapes
from the Amazonian rainforests to the
Andes and the Galapagos Islands.

Stiff, flared leather

flaps protect the
gaucho’s legs from
high-growing
thistles when he is
riding his horse in
the pampas.
Heavy
leather
riding crop

Rich and poor

São Paulo, in Brazil, is South America’s
biggest industrial city. The city center is very
modern and wealthy. Many people from the
surrounding areas travel to São Paulo in
search of work. Their
children often end
up living in
terrible poverty
on the streets.

358
Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Surinam Uruguay Venezuela

Machu Picchu and La Paz

Gauchos are very proud South Americans have always
of their horses. They been good at building cities
work on ranches in the mountains. Machu
called “estancias.” Picchu is hidden 7,700 feet
(2,350 meters) up in the Andes,
A thick poncho is used in Peru. The city was built more
as a blanket at night. than 500 years ago, without the
It can also be used as help of modern machinery.
a shield in a fight.

La Paz is the capital city

of Bolivia. It is the world’s
highest capital city, 12,000
feet (3,636 meters) above sea
level. The city’s steep streets
are surrounded by snow-
capped mountains. The thin
mountain air often makes
visitors breathless.

The Yanomami
In 1991, an area of the
Brazilian rainforest
about the size of
Portugal was set aside
for the Yanomami tribe.
This did not stop miners
from invading the land,
bringing diseases that
have wiped out large
numbers of the
Yanomami population.
South Americans
South America is a huge continent,
with a wide mix of different people.

Highland Lowland South American South American

Amerindian Amerindian of African descent of European and
Indian descent

359
 Algeria Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Chad Djibouti

NORTHERN
Republic

AFRICA The spectacular pyramids The Berber people

and priceless treasures of Ancient Egypt Berbers are an indigenous people of
North Africa. They have their own
are world famous. Art and culture are still language and religion, but through
very important to people all over northern conquests have also learned Arabic
Africa. A great range of musical and and become Muslim. Many live in
cities, but others have a traditional,
artistic traditions have been passed down nomadic way of life.
through families for generations.
The big bass
drums are
Making music called brekete
African rhythms have influenced drums.
modern jazz and blues music, and
are now an important ingredient of
African pop music. These drummers
are from Ghana in West Africa.

Famine
Up to 233 million Africans suffer from a lack
of food. When the rains don’t come, crops fail
and disaster strikes, but this isn’t the only cause.
Sadly, humans are responsible, too. War and the
need to move to avoid conflict, corruption, lack
of planning, and misuse of aid can all result in
starvation. These children in the Sahel region of
northern Africa are in danger of starving.

360
Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast

City growth
More than 50 percent
of northern Africans
live in cities. Some Liberia
of the largest cities
in the world, such as
Cairo in Egypt, are in
northern Africa. Lagos Libya
in Nigeria is Africa’s
fastest-growing
modern city. Mali
Chocolate center
Well over half the world’s cocoa
The drummers’ clothes The smaller drums are is grown in western Africa. More
and music come from called talking drums. cocoa is grown in the Ivory Coast Mauritania
Dagbon, in northern The tighter the strings than anywhere else. About a fifth
Ghana. are squeezed, of Ivory Coast farmland is
the higher used to grow cocoa crops. Morocco
the note.

African crafts
Wood carving, weaving, and jewelry Niger

making are traditional African crafts.

Nigeria

Senegal

Nigerian wood carving

Sierra Leone
Narrow-strip woven
pants from Ghana

Somalia
Bronze bracelet
from Mali
South Sudan

Sudan

Togo

Algerian silver jewelry, Brass bracelet and

with enamel decoration earrings from Sudan
Tunisia

361
 SOUTHERN AFRICA
Angola

A rich variety of peoples make up the African countries

in this region. Huge grassland savannahs support an
amazing variety of wildlife. Game parks were first set
up in Kenya to protect animals from hunters. Today,
these parks are big tourist attractions. Across the whole
region, traditional lifestyles, like those of the Kalahari Bushmen, have
slowly been replaced with new ways. There have been many personal
and political changes for the
peoples of southern Africa. On the move
Only a few groups of San still
A new start hunt in the Kalahari desert.
The San people live in the Kalahari Each group has a territory of
desert. For about 20,000 years, they up to 385 square miles (1,000
hunted animals and gathered plants square kilometers).
to survive. Very few of them still hunt, The men hunt
and most now find work on local while the women
farms or in nearby towns. find tasty fruit,
nuts, and roots.
Today, most San people
settle in one place.
They have given up
a life on the move. Much of the
San people’s land is
now used for farms,
cattle ranches, and
nature reserves.
Botswana Burundi Comoros Congo Equatorial Gabon Kenya Lesotho Madagascar
Guinea

Market day
African women often
earn money by selling
surplus vegetables from
Malawi
the family farm at the
market. Village markets
are lively and noisy
occasions, where friends Mauritius
meet to exchange the
latest news.
Mozambique

History of apartheid
In 1948, the white Going to school Namibia
government of South Many African children
Africa passed have a long trek to school. A bus
apartheid laws that takes these Zimbabwean children
were unfair to most part of the way, and they have to Rwanda

people. The African walk the last few miles.

National Congress
fought the laws and São Tomé
& Principé
their leader, Nelson
Mandela, was jailed
for 27 years. He was let
out in 1990 and in 1994 South Africa
he became the first black
president of South Africa.

Swaziland

Tanzania

Chatterboxes Uganda
The countries of southern Africa are
home to many differents groups of
people, each with their own language.
European languages like English, Dem. Rep. Congo

Rise of the Zulus French, and Portuguese are also

Two hundred years ago, the Zulus were spoken as a result of colonialism.
a small clan of a few hundred people, but The Constitutional Court in
Zambia
they fought wars with similar clans to become Johanessburg is shown here with its
one big Zulu nation. Today, the Zulus are name written in all eleven official
the largest ethnic group in South Africa. languages of South Africa.
Zimbabwe

363
THE MIDDLE EASTThe Middle East has always been a very productive area.
Its age-old civilizations have exported farming techniques,
beautiful crafts, and three major religions all around the
world. The discovery of oil has made parts of the Middle
East very rich and powerful. Huge oil refineries are
a common sight in the region. But the oil will not last
forever, and other industries are being developed to
keep the money coming in when the oil has run out.

Dressed for the heat Some Muslim

Parts of the Middle East reach women wear
temperatures in excess of 113°F head scarves.
(45°C) in the summer, so
people wear loose-fitting
clothing and cover their
heads to protect
themselves from
the sun’s rays.

Turkish bazaar White clothes reflect

In the Middle East, many people bright sunlight
shop in markets and bazaars. and help people
This shopkeeper is hoping to keep cool.
sell some of his brassware at
the Great Covered Bazaar
in Istanbul, Turkey.

Refugee Crisis
War has forced large
numbers of people in
the Middle East to flee
their homes in order
to seek safety. Millions
of people are living in
refugee camps around
the Middle East as
temporary shelter from
the danger of war.

364
 The Dome
of the Rock

City of faith
Jerusalem is a Afghanistan
special city for
Jews, Christians,
and Muslims. Jews Bahrain
come to pray at the Western
Living on a kibbutz Wall, the only remaining part of
In Israel, big farms, called the ancient Temple. Christians
kibbutzim, were set up so believe Christ came back to life after Iran

many Jewish families could his death in Jerusalem. The Dome of

live and work on the same the Rock marks the spot where Muslims
farm and share the produce. believe Muhammad rose to heaven. The Western
Iraq
Wall is the holiest
site in Judaism.
The traditional
male robe has Israel
many names,
including thobe,
kandora, and
Jordan
dishdasha.

Kuwait

Lebanon

Oman

Trip of a lifetime
At least once in a lifetime, every Qatar
Muslim must try to make a special
journey, or Hajj, to Mecca in Saudi
Arabia. During the Hajj, visitors
crowd into the Great Mosque, and Saudi Arabia
walk seven times around the shrine,
called the Ka’ba.

Syria

United Arab
Yemen Emirates Turkey

365
SCANDINAVIA
Scandinavia is the name given to the countries of
northern Europe. The far north of this region lies
inside the Arctic Circle, so the winters are very harsh. City slickers
The people of northern Scandinavia About a quarter of the
Danish population live
enjoy winter sports in the cold in Copenhagen, the
climate. Cross-country skiing was capital of Denmark.
invented in Norway, and is still Most Scandinavians
choose to live in cities
a quick way of getting around in the warmer south
during the snowy winter months. of the region.

Escape to the country

Sweat it out Many Scandinavians
Saunas are wooden rooms, enjoy a high standard of
steaming with heat from a living. Some can afford
stove. Invented in Finland to buy or rent a second
more than 1,000 years ago, home in the mountains,
they are found in many in the forest, or by the
homes in Scandinavia. sea. They escape to
After a sauna, people often these “holiday huts” on
enjoy a cold shower or a weekends and during
roll in the snow. the summer months.

Land of the midnight sun

Imagine waking at midnight, to find the sun It is still light
shining outside! At the height of summer, at midnight,
Earth’s tilt causes northern countries to because the sun
get more of the sun’s light. In northern hasn’t set.
Scandinavia, it doesn’t get dark at all
in the middle of summer.

Lighting up the sky

The northern lights, or aurora borealis,
can be seen in many parts of the Arctic
Circle, especially the far north of
Scandinavia. The colorful, dancing
lights appear in the sky when a cloud
of gas released from the sun collides
with the magnetic field around Earth.

366
 Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden

Out in the cold

The Saami people are traditionally
nomadic, traveling throughout
northern Scandinavia and Russia
herding their reindeer. It is getting
harder to make a living this way, so
many young Saami have become
fishermen and farmers.

Building success
Denmark is the home of Lego®,
one of the world’s most popular
children’s building toys. The first
Lego® theme park was built near
Billund in 1968, but there are now
many more all around the world.

Earthly energy
These Icelanders are swimming
in waters warmed by energy deep
At midday, the hot under the Earth. This geothermal
sun is at its highest energy is also used to generate
At seven o’clock in electricity and heat houses.
position in the sky.
the morning, the
sun is already far It is six o’clock, and
up in the sky. the long, light evening
is just beginning.

367
 THE UK
AND IRELAND
The Republic of Ireland, also called Éire, is an
independent country, with its own government By the sea
and traditions. England, Scotland, Wales, and Britain is surrounded by
Northern Ireland make up the United Kingdom. the sea. British seaside vacations
first became popular in the 19th
Many aspects of British life, such as its historical century. Today, many British
buildings and customs, have been preserved. But people go on vacation abroad,
the United Kingdom is also good at adapting to where it is less likely to rain!
change. A rich variety of ethnic groups now live
in the United Kingdom’s multicultural society.
The Commons’
Democratic center Chamber is where
The Houses of Parliament in London have been MPs debate
the home of British democracy since 1512. The government decisions.
political party with the most representatives,
called MPs, forms the government. MPs
are voted in at national general elections.

Howzat! Big Ben is the name of

Sunday afternoons in the bell inside Elizabeth Tower.
summer would not be the same
in many English villages without Guy Fawkes night
the familiar sight of a cricket match A plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament almost
on the village green. Cricket is an succeeded in 1605, but the ringleader, Guy Fawkes,
English invention, and is usually was caught and executed. Guy Fawkes Night is still
followed by another well-known celebrated all over Britain on November 5, when
English tradition, afternoon tea! homemade straw dummies—called guys—are
burned on big bonfires at firework parties.
368
 Republic of Ireland United Kingdom

Arty Edinburgh
For three weeks every August,
a big arts festival takes place
in Edinburgh, the historic
capital of Scotland. The
fringe festival gives amateur and
part-time entertainers the chance
to perform, and also attracts some
of the world’s best musicians,
theater companies,
and artists.

Music masters
Traditional folk music is extremely
popular in Ireland. The fiddle is
a typical folk instrument, often played
to accompany singers. Irish bands have
been very successful on the world pop
scene. Many songs were first written in
Gaelic, the original language of Ireland.

A divided community
Northern Ireland is part of the
Possible United Kingdom but remains
new laws are politically divided, mostly along
debated in religious lines. Unionists (mostly
the Lords’ Protestants) consider themselves
Chamber. British and want to stay part of
the United Kingdom, whereas
Republicans (mostly Catholics)
see themselves as Irish, and want
to be part of a united Ireland.

National pride
The Welsh are proud of their
culture, and enjoy celebrating
national festivals. St. David
is the patron saint of
Wales, so on St. David’s
Day, children go to
school wearing traditional
Welsh costumes.
The daffodil is the
national flower of Wales.

369
 FRANCE & THE
LOW COUNTRIES The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg are sometimes
called the Low Countries, because much of the land is flat
and low-lying. France and the Low Countries are
powerful farming and trading nations, thanks to
their good soil and large natural harbors. The
people of the region are fond of good food. French
chefs are world-famous for their fine cooking skills.

This stylish outfit

European dream is by Christian
Many European countries Lacroix, a top
are working together French fashion
by being members designer.
of the European Union.
The parliament is at
Brussels, in Belgium, Style capital
and also at Strasbourg, Paris, the capital of
in France. France, is at the heart
of the world fashion
Chocolate secrets industry. Every season,
Many Belgian chocolate famous designers display
makers keep their recipes new creations at big shows.
secret, so no one can
copy them.

At war with the sea

Nearly half of the
Netherlands was once
Brandy under seawater. Over
the centuries, the Dutch
have reclaimed this land
Coffee City canals from the sea, draining it
Amsterdam is the capital by using a clever system
Mint of the Netherlands. It is built of canals and sea walls,
around a network of canals or dykes. Much of the
that were once used for trade reclaimed land is now
Nougat and transportation. By tradition, used for intensive crop
many Dutch find their way and dairy farming.
Mixed nuts around the city on bicycles.
370
 Belgium France Luxembourg Monaco Netherlands

Fabulous food
The French love their food, and take
care to buy it as fresh as possible. Most
French people are careful shoppers,
Land of wine closely inspecting food and even
France produces some of the world’s sampling it before they buy.
best wines. Each region has its own
wines, with their own special flavors. Attractive vegetable
In the Rhône valley in southeast France, displays are
grapes ripen in the summer sun. They are arranged to catch
then harvested and fermented in vats. the shopper’s eye.

Many French
shops sell only
one kind of
produce, but
offer a wide
range of choices.

Small but rich

Luxembourg is a tiny country nestled
between France, Belgium, and Germany.
Its small population has a high standard
of living, because of the country’s success
as a financial center.

Crusty French
bread is bought
every morning,
as it does not keep
fresh for long.

371
SPAIN & PORTUGAL
Both Spain and Portugal have warm, sunny climates and long
coastlines. The blue skies and dazzling white beaches of Spain’s
Mediterranean coast attract millions of tourists every
summer. The sea is also an important source of food
and employment. Fishing is a major industry in
Portugal and on Spain’s Atlantic coast.
Young Spaniards
can ride scooters
from the age of 15.
Easy Riders
Scooter-riding is a craze for
young people in many parts of
Spain, especially the regions
of Valencia and Catalonia.
Bikers meet in
the evenings,
to compare bikes
Fiesta!
and arrange races.
Spain has more festivals
than any other European
country. Some are religious,
others are just for fun. One of
the messiest festivals takes place in
Bunyols, in Valencia. The villagers
pelt each other with tomatoes, to
celebrate the time when a truck
spilled its load of overripe tomatoes
all over the village square.

Tide of tourists
Mediterranean countries are
very popular with tourists.
In 2018, about 82 million
tourists flocked to the coasts
of southern Europe. Every year,
the Spanish population doubles
when tourists arrive to enjoy
the hot summer weather and
sandy beaches.

372
 Andorra Portugal Spain

Eating around Spain

Here are some tasty
dishes from different
regions of Spain.

City of seven hills

Take your pick Lisbon, the capital of Portugal,
These Portuguese farmers grow is one of the smallest capitals in
oranges, lemons, and olives. Orchards Europe. It is built on seven steep
Gazpacho—cold tomato
of sweet, juicy oranges are a common hills. Old electric trams carry the
soup from Andalusia
sight in the hot countryside of townspeople up and down
southwest Portugal. the sloping streets.

Fire dance
Flamenco dancing was
developed many hundreds
of years ago by the gypsies Cocido—meat stew from
of Andalusia. It is still Castile and Estremadura
popular all over Spain.
Many Spanish children
learn the dance from
a young age, and enjoy
wearing the colorful
flamenco costumes.

Zarzuela de Pescado—
seafood stew
from Catalonia

First communion
Most Spanish people
are Roman Catholics.
From the age of seven
or eight, children are Paella—chicken, seafood,
taught the main beliefs and rice from Valencia
of the Catholic church,
and are ready to take
their first communion at
the age of 10. The
ceremony is a religious
and social occasion—an
important event for the Doughnuts—a popular
entire family. treat all over Spain

373
 GREECE & ITALY
Greece and Italy lie in southern
Europe, where the warm summers
and beautiful Mediterranean
coastline draw millions of tourists
every year. Many magnificent
buildings, dating back to the days Priests on parade
of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, Greek Orthodox priests are
are also popular attractions. A lot of allowed to get married, unlike
Roman Catholic priests. Priests
these sites are in urgent need of repair. Both play an important part in both
Greece and Italy are struggling to keep their Greek and Italian society and
are given great respect.
ancient monuments in good condition.
Chemicals from
car exhausts are
eating away at
the ancient stone.

Parts of the
Parthenon are
being restored
Café talk or replaced.
In some parts of Greece and Italy, far
away from the busy towns and cities, life
carries on at a very relaxed pace. Many
families rest in the strong heat of the day.
In the cooler evenings, men often gather
in cafés for a drink and a chat.

So many tourists visit the

Parthenon that its steps are
being worn away.
Temple under threat
The Parthenon in Athens is an ancient Greek
temple, built to honor Athena, the goddess
of wisdom. It is under threat from air
pollution and visitors’ feet, but
work is being done to protect it.
 Cyprus Greece Italy Malta San Marino Vatican City

Car Italia
Italy is world-famous for
The Pope’s city its cars. They’ve produced Pasta preparations
The Pope is head of the Roman luxury sports cars including More types of pasta are
Catholic Church. He lives in a tiny the Ferrari and Lamborghini. made in Italy than anywhere
country called the Vatican City, which The Fiat car works in else in the world. Flour, eggs,
lies within the walls of Rome, the northern Italy was once vegetable oil, and salt are
capital of Italy. This state has its own among the largest car mixed to make dough,
laws, police force, and even its own factories in the world. which is then rolled
postal service! out and cooked.
Pasta is often
Spaghetti eaten with a
Bolognese tasty sauce.
Big arches reduce
the weight of this
typical Venetian
building.

Grand passions
Opera and soccer are two of Italy’s
Brick top obsessions. The soccer World Cup
foundations are took place in Italy in 1990. Luciano
laid on wooden Pavarotti, the world-famous Italian
posts, which are opera singer, sang at a gala concert to
driven deep celebrate this important tournament.
into the mud.

Sinking city
Venice was built on the mudbanks of a lagoon on
Italy’s northeast coast. The floating city is slowly
sinking. Many of its buildings have been damaged
by pollution and constant contact with water,
and need to be carefully restored.

375
 GERMANY, AUSTRIA,
& SWITZERLAND
Germany, Austria, and Switzerland lie at the heart
of Europe. Central Europeans share a love of
traditional food, drink, and festivals. They also
share a language, as German is the most widely
spoken language of the region. Germany is a powerful
country. After years of separation for political reasons,
East Germany rejoined West Germany in 1990 to become
one big country. The wall dividing East from West Berlin
was torn down amid great celebrations.

Fantasy castle
The castle of Neuschwanstein is nestled
among the Bavarian Alps in south Germany.
It was built more than a hundred
years ago by a rich Bavarian king
with a wild imagination. Tall turrets give the
castle a fairy-tale
appearance.
King Ludwig II died
in 1886, before this
spectacular castle
was finished.

Starting school
German children start primary school
at the age of six, although most have
been to a nursery, or kindergarten, for
three years before this. On their first day,
children are sent to school with a large
cone stuffed with everything they will
want, including candy, pens, and books.

The castle attracts

tourists from all
over the world.
 Austria Germany Liechtenstein
Switzerland

Snowy holiday
Every year, thousands
Coming down the mountain of skiers visit resorts in
The return of cows from the Alps Austria and Switzerland.
is celebrated in August. It is called Some people worry that
the Einabtrieb. The cows are usually mountain tourism spoils
decorated in bright colors. But if the environment. But it
somebody has died, the decorations brings lots of money for
are black or dark blue. both countries and is a big
employer of local people.

The highest point The biggest wheel

of the wheel is nearly The Riesenrad in Vienna is one of
213 feet (65 meters) the largest big wheels in the world.
above the ground. The wheel is 200 feet (61 meters)
across, and it goes around at
30 inches (75 centimeters)
Each carriage per second.
takes up to
12 passengers.

Very Viennese
One in five Austrians lives in Vienna,
the capital of Austria. The city was
once at the center of the great
Austro-Hungarian empire. It is still
an important city, and is the home of
many United Nations organizations.

Four languages
Switzerland is surrounded
by Germany, Austria,
Liechtenstein,
France, and Italy.
The languages
spoken in Switzerland
are French, German,
Italian, and Romansch.
Most Swiss people speak
German, but many speak at least
two of these languages.

377
CENTRAL AND
EASTERN EUROPE
Central and eastern Europe has been invaded many
times, but is now a meeting place for different cultures
and religions. The downfall of communism in the 1980s
and 1990s has liberated the countries of the region, but
has also allowed old tensions between many of the
ethnic groups to flare up again. Several new countries
have been created, including the Czech Republic,
Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Lake Bled
The picturesque snow-covered
mountains and clear lakes Hungarian dress
of northwestern Slovenia This traditional dress is covered
draw tourists to the area. in detailed embroidery. Colorful
Lake Bled, with its beautiful sewing is a typical Hungarian
village overlooking the handicraft. Today this costume
waterside, is one of the most is only worn on special occasions.
spectacular vacation resorts in Slovenia.
Prague’s town hall
Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and one of
the most beautiful cities in Europe. The Old Town Hall
looks huge, but is really a row of small adjoining buildings.

Fishermen of the Adriatic

These fishermen are from the island
of Korcula, off the coast of Croatia.
Local people have made a living
from fishing since prehistoric times.
Many families have their own
boat and a private jetty.

Above the inscription “Prague, Head of

the Kingdom” is the city’s coat of arms.

378
Albania Bosnia and Bulgaria Croatia Czech Hungary Kosovo Macedonia Montenegro
Herzegovina Republic

Poland

Romania

Bratislava castle Serbia

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and
is situated on the Danube
River. The oldest parts
Slovakia
of the city date back to City of learning
the middle ages. Many of Poland’s buildings were lost
in World War II, but Krakow’s buildings
Slovenia
escaped and the impressive streets are
a reminder that Krakow was once the Favorite foods
capital of Poland. The oldest university Here are some
in Poland is situated in Krakow—the typical central
To get to the steeple university of the Jagellonians. and eastern
you have to enter European dishes.
the main doors,
which are Gothic
in style and carved
from wood.
Red borscht
The face of this
famous clock
not only tells
the time, but
shows the Pork with cabbage
movement of and dumplings
the sun and the
moon through
the twelve signs
of the zodiac.
Historic square
Warsaw, the capital of Poland,
is more than 700 years old. Goulash
Today its old town is a popular
Pictures on the tourist attraction and people can
calendar show explore the area in traditional
how the world horse-drawn carriages.
changes with
the four seasons.
Dalmatian bake
379
 Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Estonia Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Latvia

NORTHERN EURASIA
Eurasia is the name given to the combined landmass
of Europe and Asia. Northern Eurasia stretches
across a vast area, from Ukraine in the west to the
frozen lands of Siberia. For centuries, northern
Eurasia was controlled by powerful rulers and
governments. But in 1991, the communist Soviet
Daring dance
Union split into 15 independent states. This energetic dance
celebrates the courage
of cossack soldiers
from the Ukraine.

Going to church
Orthodox Christianity has been
the traditional Russian religion for
more than 1,000 years. The cathedral of
Musical entertainment St. Basil is one of the most spectacular
Named after the famous composer, the Moscow Russian Orthodox churches.
Tchaikovsky Conservatory is one of several
conservatories in Russia. It is where the very
best music students learn to master their The cathedral lies
chosen instruments. in Red Square,
right in the heart
of Moscow.

St. Basil’s was

built for Tsar Ivan
the Terrible in the
1550s, to mark his
military successes.

Russian art
The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg
is one of the largest museums in the world.
It holds more than three million cultural
artifacts and works of art in galleries totalling
over 2.5 million sq feet (230,000 sq meters).
Lithuania Moldova Mongolia Russian Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan
Federation

Moscow State Circus

Some of the most famous Northern Eurasians
circuses in the world are based The largest ethnic group
in Russia. The Bolshoi Circus of northern Eurasia is
on Vernadskogo opened in 1971 made up of Slavs. Next
and can seat an audience of biggest is the Turkic-
up to 3,400 people. It entertains speaking population.
audiences with exciting aerial Smaller groups include
feats, trapeze artists, and Mongols and Inuit.
amazing costumes.

A world of difference
The people of Central Asia
look very different from
the Russians who live farther
north. They speak languages Ukrainian Slav
similar to Turkish and many are
Muslims, like their neighbors
in the Middle East. These
women are selling bread at
a market stall in Uzbekistan.
Yesterday’s hero
Ancestors of these Mongol
horsemen fought in the
army of the fierce Mongol Turkic-speaking
emperor, Ghengis Khan, Uzbek
1,000 years ago. Today,
Ghengis Khan is once again
a Mongolian national hero.

Colorful,
onion-shaped
domes top the Mongol
nine chapels
of St. Basil’s.

Caucasus Mountains
There is a huge diversity of ethnicity
and language in the Caucasus
Mountains. People generally live
long lives, which may be due to their
active lifestyle and the high altitude. Russian Inuit

381
CHINA AND
TAIWAN
There are more than a billion people
in China—more than any other
country. In fact, almost a fifth of the
world’s entire population lives in China.
Communism in China
Fifty-seven different ethnic groups live The Communist government
there, but by far the largest group is the Han, in China plays an active role
traditionally a peasant farming people. in people’s everyday lives.
This official government poster
encouraged couples who live in
cities to have only one child.
Food and farming
Two-thirds of the
Chinese people are Bringing up baby
farmers, growing crops For many years there was
on every spare patch a “one child per family”
of suitable land. Up to rule in China. It was
three crops of rice may introduced in 1979 to
be grown on the same try to control the fast
paddy field each population growth.
rice-growing season. Since 2016,
couples can have
Rice is the basic food two children.
for China’s huge
population.

Words and pictures

The Chinese written
language is based on
pictures, which describe
objects, actions, and
ideas. There are
Man
about 50,000
pictures, or characters.
Woman A simplified list of about
2,000 is commonly
used today.

Lettering brush

382
 China Taiwan

Hong Kong
More than seven million people live in
the 403 square miles (1,045 square kilometers)
of Hong Kong, making it the world’s
most crowded place as well as a busy
trading center.

Folk art in Taiwan

Taiwan has some colorful folk
traditions. A sticky mixture of rice
and flour is dyed and molded to
make these decorative figures. In
the past, the flour and rice recipe
was used to make children’s snacks.
Today, the figures are kept, not eaten.
Get well soon
This street trader is
selling herbal medicines.
Ancient, natural ways of
treating illnesses are
very common
in China.
Angelica root

Most Chinese mothers

work full-time. Their
children are looked after Buddhist Tibet
in day care at the Most people living in Tibet are Buddhists.
workplace, until They believe their past leaders are alive
they are old enough now in the body of their present leader,
to go to to school. the Dalai Lama. In 1959, the Dalai Lama
fled his home, the Potala Palace, to escape
the invading Chinese army. He now lives
in exile in India.

383
 JAPAN & KOREA
Japan is famous for its electronic gadgets and
Fish food
machines. In the last 50 years, Japan has become
The traditional one of the world’s richest countries, and many
Japanese diet of fish Japanese people enjoy a high standard of living. Its
is very healthy. Many
Japanese people live neighbor, Korea, is split into two separate countries.
to be very old—in North Korea has cut off its links with the South and
2010, more than is one of the world’s most secretive societies. South
a quarter of the
population was Korea is a successful industrial country, like Japan,
over 65 years old. and trades with the rest of the world.

Dinnertime
Children on parade The evening meal is an important
The Seven-Five-Three time for busy Japanese families to
Festival in Japan is named get together and relax.
after the ages of the children Parents often get home
who take part. Every year late from work, and
on November 15, girls and children have lots of
boys are dressed up in homework to do
traditional costumes and in the evenings.
taken to a Shinto shrine. It
is a very sociable occasion.
Rice is cooked until it
is sticky, so it is easy
to eat with pointed
chopsticks.

An electric rice
cooker sits close
to the table.

Watch your head

These pupils are not hiding from their teacher!
They are practicing what to do if there is an Japanese tea is drunk
earthquake. Earthquakes do not happen often without milk, and is
in Japan, but they could happen any time. In called green tea.
the past, they have caused terrible damage.

384
 Japan North Korea South Korea

Colorful Koreans
This woman is wearing the
national costume of South
Korea. It is made of brightly
colored material. South
Korea sells huge amounts
of material to the rest of
the world. Millions of
square yards of cotton
are produced in South
Korea every year.
Selling ships
The food is placed Most of the ships in Asia are made
on the table before at the Hyundai shipyard in South
the family sits Korea, the biggest shipyard in the
down to eat. world. It has 9,000 employees, and in
The family sits on 2015 it became the first shipbuilder to
cushions around a low deliver its 2,000th ship.
table to eat their meal.

Watch this space

The big cities of Japan
can get extremely
crowded. Space is often
very hard to come by,
but the smallest places
are always put to good
use. This small kiosk in
Tokyo has hundreds of
items for sale.

Climb every mountain

Japanese people work hard,
but they also enjoy their
hobbies. Japan has some
stunning mountain ranges,
and many Japanese people
keep fit with mountain
Chopstick rest climbing. These hikers are
on Mount Furano-Dake,
Presentation is very on the island of Hokkaido
important in Japanese in northern Japan.
cooking. Portions are
always small.
385
THE INDIAN
SUBCONTINENT Bound by the Himalayas in the north
and the Indian Ocean in the south,
the Indian subcontinent is a region
that includes the nations of India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal,
and the Maldives. Most of these countries are young,
having formed after the end of European colonial
rule in the 20th century. Hinduism, Islam, and
Buddhism are the most common religions practiced
in the subcontinent.

Railroad network
Stretching over an amazing
41,861 miles (67,368 km), the
railroad network in India is one
of the largest in the world. Most
people in India prefer to use
trains to travel between towns
and cities. Trains are run by the
government-owned organization
called Indian Railways, which
employs more than 1.4 million
people and is one of the largest
employers in the world.

Urban life
A booming economy underlines
India’s rapid growth into one of
the world’s fastest developing nations.
Almost a third of India’s population
now lives in urban areas, mainly in big
metropolitan cities such as New Delhi
and Mumbai. Skyscrapers frame parts
of the skyline of Mumbai, which has
a population of more than 22 million.

386
 Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka

Floods in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a very low, flat country,
crisscrossed with rivers. After heavy
rain, flooding can cause terrible
damage. This farmer is helping to push
a tricycle taxi, called a rickshaw,
through a flooded village in
northeastern Bangladesh.

A world of films
India has one of the most
successful film industries
in the world, and produces
the highest number of films
in a year—1,986 films were
produced in 2017 alone. The
Hindi branch of this industry
– Bollywood—is centered in
Mumbai. Bollywood films are
famous around the world for
their vivacious song-and-dance
routines, glamorous sets, and
colorful dresses.

Playing cricket
The land of tea Introduced by the British in
Sri Lanka is one of the largest the 19th century, the sport of
exporters of tea in the world, cricket has millions of followers
and the country is famous for across the subcontinent. Many
the Ceylon tea it produces. children start playing cricket
Tea is consumed in most from a very young age, and
households, and it has can often be seen on the streets
become a major source of and in the parks. Becoming a
revenue for the people. cricketer is now a well-paid job!

387
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Brunei Myanmar (Burma)

It is hard to get away from water in most parts of Southeast Asia!

The twelve countries that make up the region are linked by waterways
and surrounded by oceans. The hot, wet environment is ideal for
farming rice, the staple crop of the region. It also
supports large areas of tropical rainforests.
Sadly, heavy logging has forced many forest
people to move into towns, where the way
of life is very different.

People power
The Penan people live The secret of success
in the rainforests of The small island state of Singapore
Sarawak. They have is a powerful trading nation.
tried to stop the Singapore became successful
destruction of their because of its position. It was built
forest home by blocking up as a key trading post between
roads into the rainforest. the Far East and the West, and is
Sarawak has the world’s now one of Asia’s richest countries.
highest rate of logging.
The houses are made both
from natural and modern
Living with water The houses are called “long” materials. Some roofs are
Many houses in Malaysia and houses. Behind each door made from palms, others
Indonesia are built on stilts. This is a large room, or “bilik,” from corrugated iron.
helps protect them from floods where the family lives.
during torrential rainstorms.

388
Cambodia East Timor Indonesia Laos Malaysia Palau Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam

Bali dancers
The Indonesian island of Bali is
famous for its exciting dances.
Historical tales of local princes
and heroes are acted out
in a masked dance called
the Wayang Topeng. The
dance is very entertaining,
with lots of clowning around as
well as serious storytelling.

Floating market A Topeng dancer acts

Much of Bangkok in Thailand is below out the character of
sea level, and the city has a busy network the mask.
of canals. Floating markets are colorful
occasions—local traders bring their goods Every movement
to market by boat, and shoppers paddle is carefully
up to take a look at what is on display. controlled.

Religious teaching
The vast majority of
Thais are Buddhists.
Every male Buddhist
is expected to become
a monk for a while,
to study religious
teachings and prepare Extreme weather
for adult life. In 2004, an earthquake caused a tsunami in
Southeast Asia. With waves 100 feet (30 meters)
Boats are the main form of Notched tree trunks high, entire towns, villages, and cropland were
transportation. Rivers provide or ladders are used destroyed across 14 countries. Communities
links between small communities. to get down to the have pulled together to rebuild the many
water level. schools, hospitals, and homes that were lost.

389
AUSTRALASIA
Australia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia

& OCEANIA
Most Australians live in big
cities like Sydney, the capital
of New South Wales. Both Emergency!
Australia and New Zealand The Royal Flying Doctor
are big economic powers, trading mainly with Asia Service is a lifesaver for
people living in remote parts
and the United States. By contrast, many Pacific of Australia. Few patients
islanders of Oceania live in isolated communities are more than a two-hour
flight away from a hospital.
that have little contact with the outside world.
Australian megamix A large number of
British settlers first came to Australians have
Australia about 250 years British ancestors.
ago, but in the last 70 years
there have been many new
arrivals from other parts New European
of Europe and Asia. arrivals include
many Greeks.

Many Italians
moved to Australia
after World War II.

The majority
of Australians
Aboriginal art share a love of
Aboriginal peoples were the first to the outdoors, and
settle in Australia, more than 50,000 live by the sea.
years ago. They have strong artistic
traditions, and Aboriginal art is now
sold around the world, making much-
needed money for their communities.
Nauru New Zealand Papua New Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
Guinea

Teaching in Tonga
Tonga is one of the
independent nations among First people
the Pacific islands of Oceania. These people were
English and Tongan are the some of the first
two official languages for the settlers in Australasia
small population of around and Oceania.
106,000. In Tonga, children
have to go to school between
the ages of five and eighteen.

Stone money
Some Pacific island tribal
traditions have not changed
for thousands of years.
This boy has Pacific islander
The people of Yap island
Vietnamese parents.
still use stones like this one
English is his second
as money when they make
language, just as it is
important property deals.
for one in five other
Australians.

This girl’s parents Papua New Guinea

are Chinese. Many tribesman
Australians are
of Asian descent.

Rugby dance
The Maoris settled in New
Zealand about 1,000 years ago.
The New Zealand rugby team, the All
Blacks, has borrowed some Maori Maori woman
traditions. They use an old
Maori war chant, called a
haka, to get them in the
mood for matches.

Surfing is popular
along the coast
of Australia. Aboriginal tribesman

391
 chapter 4

SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Through the centuries, people’s lives have changed
enormously. Today, the way you live is completely dominated
by technology, from the electric toaster that produces
your breakfast to the bus that takes you to school.
Computers, devices, and apps have become central to
how you learn new things, play games, entertain yourself,
meet new people, and keep in touch with family and friends.
Science and technology have helped us in lots of ways.
Because of them, we can grow and distribute food cheaply,
manufacture clothing and household goods in huge quantities,
treat illnesses of all kinds, travel from place to place quickly,
and communicate with people all over the world in an instant.
But we have to be very careful to use the technology
we have in a responsible way. The same knowledge that
saves lives and makes our world better can also lead to
the development of dangerous weapons, chemicals
that make us sick, and pollution that harms our planet.

Science and Machines

Energy and Industry
Transportation
SCIENCE
AND MACHINES
You don’t need to walk into a
laboratory to see science in action.
Science is all around you, every day
of your life. There are three main
kinds of science. The science of the
natural world—plants and animals—
is called biology. The study of what
things are made of, and what happens
when they are mixed together, is
chemistry. The third science, physics,
is about how everything in the
universe works.
The world of physics includes
the study of machines. Machines
help us to perform tasks using less
effort. For example, one of the first
machines, the wheel, makes it easier
to move things from place to
place. From scissors to smoke
detectors, machines are all
around us, making our
lives easier and safer.

The laws
of flight Cooking an egg is everyday chemistry. Biology is all about
are studied When you heat it, a chemical reaction living things.
in physics. turns the runny part hard and white.

394
 Tunneling machine

Light bulb

The
development
of the wheel

Colored image of nerve

cells from the brain.

Quartz Portable
clock video game

395
LIVING THINGS
You are a living thing. All living things are
Cherries

made up of cells, and your body is made

up of many billions of cells. Your cells join
together to make tissues, for example
muscles. Tissues combine to make organs,
such as your heart. Biologists are scientists
who study living things. They have divided Seaweed
the world of living things into groups called
“kingdoms.” The study of plants is called
botany, and the study of animals
is called zoology.
Bacteria and
fungi kingdoms Moss
Bacteria are so tiny they
Fly agaric
can’t be seen without a
fungus A kitten grows up
microscope. They have a
simple, one-cell structure. into a cat. All living
Splitting up Bacteria and fungi feed on things grow.
Living things are other living things and
made up of at recycle the remains.
Now
least one cell. For
a living thing to Living things all
reproduce and grow, find some way of
its cells must keep on All living things make copies
of themselves. This process breathing. A cat
splitting into identical breathes through
pairs. This single-cell is called reproduction.
20 minutes its nose.
later bacterium divides
every 20 minutes.
Look how many
bacteria there are
after one hour.

40 minutes later

Living
One hour things need
later food to
stay alive.
396
 Plant kingdom Raft spinner
There are many different Hoverflies
kinds of plants. Some are
soft and small enough to hold in
your hand. Others are enormous
and woody. Some plants have flowers,
but others don’t. Green plants use
Sweet sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide
chestnut to make their own food.
Badger

Animal
kingdom
Animals have billions of very complex
Poppy heads and seeds cells. Most of the world’s animals, like
insects, do not have backbones.
Animals with backbones include
All living things get rid of mammals, birds, reptiles,
waste products. amphibians, and fish.
Gerbera
flower

Hen with chicks

Grass
snake

Lovely lashes
Some people have tiny mites Spotted
All living things living in their eyelashes. salamander
move, but you The mites feed on liquid
can’t always see from the eye, cleaning
the movement. the lashes at the same
time. The mites need
people, and people
need them. Many
A cat hears with its living things depend
ears. Every living on each other.
thing is sensitive in
some way to the Cuban hock
world around it.
Shore crab
Rudd
397
SOLIDS Everything is made up of matter.
Molecules are the building blocks
Hydrogen
atom
Uranium
atom
Amazing atoms
of matter. In solids, molecules The smallest amount
are usually packed together of a pure substance is called an atom.
The simplest atom is hydrogen, but
in a regular way, so the solid other atoms are more complex.
keeps its shape without Atoms are incredibly tiny—about
needing a container to hold it. 100,000 million atoms fit
on this period.
Most matter is visible, like
the pages of this book, but some matter is
invisible, like air. Matter may be solid, liquid,
or gas, and change from one state to another.

Molecules in a solid
Ice Each of these children
is acting the part of a
molecule in a solid.

The children are all

Water wearing red T-shirts,
to show that the
molecules are all
the same.

Steam The molecules

in most solids
make up a very
regular pattern.
In a state
Ice, water, and steam
are made up of the
same molecules. They
are not alike because
their molecules are Solids on show A flower
spaced differently. You can tell these solids is soft and
Solid ice melts into apart because they do delicate.
liquid water. When not look, feel, weigh or
water is boiled, it turns smell the same. They all
into a gas called steam. have different properties. A cake is crumbly
and tasty.

398
 Larger than life
These long, thin wax
molecules are shown about
3 million times larger than
they are in real life. The
tiny blue dots are atoms
that have joined together to
Making molecules make up the wax molecules.
Atoms link up to make molecules.
Two atoms of hydrogen join Sugar
together to make one molecule
of hydrogen gas. Crystal clear
Grains of sugar are
solid crystals. Their
atoms are close together
and arranged in a regular
pattern called a lattice.
The molecules in Many solids that look smooth
a cool solid do not actually have a
move around very crystal structure,
fast. If a solid is like these vitamin
heated, the molecules C tablets.
move around faster
and faster.

Vitamin
Vitamin C
C tablets
crystals, seen
through a
microscope.

There are strong

links between the
molecules in a Graphite
solid. This means and diamond
that solids have Graphite is soft and is
a fixed shape. used in pencils, and
diamond is the hardest
solid in the world. But
diamond and graphite
have a lot in common!
They are two different
forms of carbon.
This means they
have the same
molecules, but they
A shell is hard are arranged in
A spider’s web is
and brittle. different ways.
light and strong.

399
 LIQUIDS
If you spread some butter on hot toast,
Syrup
flows
slowly. Car oil
flows
fairly well.
the butter melts. When a solid gets Ink flows
very easily.
hot enough to melt, it turns into
a liquid. Liquids behave
Sticky spoonful
differently than solids. The Some liquids flow
heat that melts a solid breaks much more easily
down some of the strong links than others. Liquids that
are “viscous” do not flow well.
between molecules, so that the
molecules can move around more freely. A
liquid flows because its molecules can’t hold Molecules in a liquid
These children are behaving
together strongly enough to form a solid shape. like molecules in a liquid.

Liquid levels
Liquids flow to fill containers of
any shape or size. The surface of a
Fair shares? liquid always stays level however
Who has more milk to much you may tilt the container.
drink? It may not look
like it, but these glasses
hold the same amount.
Containers of different
shapes can hold the
same volume, or
amount, of liquid.

400
 Too hot On the boil
to handle? When a liquid is heated to a
Ice creams melt certain temperature, it turns
very easily, but into a gas. This temperature is
not all solids called the boiling point. Different
have such low liquids have different boiling
melting points. points. The water in this pan
Some only melt if boils at 212°F (100°C).
they are heated to
very high temperatures.
The steel in this factory
melts at 2,732°F
(1,500°C).

Moving molecules can get

In a liquid, the into all the corners of a
molecules are separate container. This is why liquids
from each other. take up the shape of the
container that holds them.

Molecules in a liquid
move around faster than
molecules in a solid.
Molecules in a liquid are not
arranged in a regular pattern, Good mixers Bad mixers
so they can move around freely. Cranberry juice mixes Some liquids do not
well with water. It mix at all. Oil does not
On the surface dissolves completely. dissolve in water.
Molecules near the surface of a liquid
pull toward each other. A drop keeps
its shape because of this surface
tension. If some dishwashing
liquid is added to a water drop,
the surface tension is made
weaker, so the drop spreads out.

401
 GASES
Gases are all around us and can’t usually
be seen or felt, but some can be smelled.
All smells are molecules of gas mixed in
the air. If you smell some tasty soup, you
are actually sniffing in molecules of the soup.
When you heat a liquid, it turns into a gas.
The heat makes the molecules in the liquid Lighter than air
When a gas gets hot, it takes up
move around faster and faster. The gas more room and gets lighter. A hot-air
molecules fly off in all directions, balloon rises up in the air because the
spreading through the air. air inside it is hot, and much lighter
than the air outside.

Molecules in a gas
Each child is acting
like a molecule in
a gas. Look how
they are bumping
into each other.

There are no links

between any of the
Dancing on air molecules in a gas.
When a shaft of light shines through
a gap in the trees, specks of dust look
like they are dancing in the sunlight. Carbon dioxide
In the air
What is really happening is that the Other gases There are a number
molecules in the air of different gases in
currents move around, Oxygen the air we breathe.
flicking the dust 78 percent of air is
in all directions. nitrogen gas. Oxygen
Nitrogen makes up 21 percent.
As a gas spreads, the Carbon dioxide and
molecules get farther a variety of other
and farther apart. gases make up just
Gases will always one percent of the
spread to fit the gases in the air.
space they are in.

402
 Pumping air
It is easy to squash
together, or compress,
gas molecules. When
you pump up a tire, you
compress air molecules
into a small space. The
more air molecules you High pressure
pump in, the more they Air presses on everything
push against the inside of on Earth. You can see
the tire. The tire gets air pressure at work. If
harder because pressure you suck juice out of a
increases inside it. carton, the carton
buckles. This is
because the air pressure
pushing on the carton is
greater than the air
pressure inside the carton.

Molecules in a gas
move very quickly,
darting around in
all directions.

Out of breath
Gases can dissolve in liquids, and oxygen
from the air dissolves in water. Fish need
oxygen to breathe, so they use the oxygen in
water to survive under water. Humans also
Night and day breathe oxygen, but unlike fish, we can’t
Plants help keep the balance of gases in the breathe under water without a supply of
air. Night and day, they take in oxygen and compressed air.
“breathe out” carbon dioxide, as we do. But
by day, they also take in large amounts of
carbon dioxide—which they need to make
their food and give off oxygen.

403
ENERGY Energy is needed for life, and
Jumping jack
When the lid is closed,
the puppet’s spring is
coiled up, ready to push
the puppet out of the
box. We say the spring
for every single movement has potential energy.
When you open the lid,
in the whole universe. When the spring’s potential
you have run a race, you may feel energy turns into
that you have used up all your energy. movement energy.
But your energy has not been lost, it has Energy changes
changed into different kinds of energy: We can’t make energy, or
destroy it. Instead, energy
movement and heat. When work is done, energy is can change from one kind
never lost, but it changes into other kinds of energy. to another. This toy robot
Movement and heat energy are just two of the shows how energy may
not stay in one form
many different kinds of energy. for very long!

Eating energy
We get our energy from
food, and we need to eat
plants, or animals that
have eaten plants, to stay
alive. Plants get energy
to grow from sunlight,
so our energy really
comes from the sun.

Sun power
Living things that grew
millions of years ago
were buried under
rock, where they
slowly turned into
coal, oil, and gas.
Energy from these
fuels comes from the
sun, shining long ago.

404
 1. When the robot is switched on,
chemical energy stored in the batteries
turns into
electrical Batteries
energy.

2. As the robot
moves, electrical
energy turns into
kinetic energy,
which is another
name for movement
energy.
Running out of energy
Most machines need energy to work.
The energy from oil, coal, and gas is
in danger of running out altogether.
Once these fuels, called fossil fuels,
have been used up, we will never be
able to replace them.

3. The flashing lights

show that electrical
energy has been
changed into
light energy.

Splitting the atom

4. The robot makes Neutrons are tiny
a noise as it moves. particles inside an atom.
Electrical energy has If a uranium atom takes
been turned into Everlasting energy in one extra neutron, it
sound energy. These solar collectors store the sun’s heat and splits, releasing a huge
use it to make electricity. Energy from the wind amount of energy.
and waves also provides power. Scientists are Nuclear energy produces
5. The robot gets warm. trying to find cheaper ways of capturing the radioactive waste, which
Movement energy has endless supply of natural energy. has to be handled and
changed into heat energy. disposed of very carefully.

405
 HEAT The sun’s rays can make you
very hot. The way heat rays
move through air is called
radiation. You feel warm
because the radiation makes
the molecules in your skin
move around faster than
usual. Heat comes from
molecules moving around.
It moves through solids by conduction—the
molecules in a solid vibrate, bumping the heat
along. Heat travels through air and liquids in Heat moves along the
wooden spoon by conduction.
a circular movement called convection. The spoon takes a long time to
get hot because wood is not a
Snug as a bug? good conductor of heat.
Heat doesn’t travel easily through
air, so materials that trap air keep you
warm. This polar explorer is wearing
clothes made of materials that insulate
his body. This means they keep his body
heat close to his body, where he needs it.

Tricky fingers
If you dip one finger in hot
water and another in cold, the
hot water will feel hot and the cold
water will feel cold. If you then dip
both fingers in lukewarm water,
your “hot” finger is tricked into
finding the water cold, and your
“cold” finger finds the water hot.

406
 Good conductors
If you heat a solid, its
molecules jostle around,
passing the heat from
molecule to molecule.
Just as a whisper moves
along a line of children,
so the moving molecules
pass, or conduct, the heat
from one end of the solid
to the other.
Building bridges
When most solids are heated, they get
As the water reaches bigger, or expand. This is because the
its boiling point, it heat speeds up the molecules, and they
evaporates into steam. get farther and farther apart as they
move. Bridges are built with small gaps
When the water near between the sections of the roadway,
the heat source gets hot, so there is room for them to expand
it rises up toward The cooler water near the on a hot day.
the surface. surface will sink to the
bottom of the pan, where it
is then warmed up by
the heat source.
Familiar temperatures

212ºF
(100ºC)
Water boils

140ºF (60ºC)
Cup of coffee

98.6ºF (37ºC)
Body temperature

86ºF (30ºC)
Hot summer day

50ºF (10ºC)
Cold drink

The flames Metal is a good 32ºF (0ºC)

are a direct conductor of heat. Water freezes
source of heat.
LIGHT
Hot stuff
Most light comes
from hot objects.
A very hot object
makes a very
You may need to wear bright light. The
sunglasses on a sunny day, sun is white hot,
and sunlight is the
because the bright light brightest natural
hurts your eyes. It is light we have.
dangerous to look straight
at the sun. The sun’s light is not just
blinding, it also travels to us very fast.
In just one second, light travels
186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers).
If a straight beam of light has to
This beam of light
pass through obstacles such as Concave lenses comes from a flashlight.
convex and concave lenses, curve inward in A flashlight is a man-
the middle. made light source.
it changes direction.
This is called refraction.
Light bends outward
when it passes through
a concave lens.
Retina Pupil

Convex
lenses bulge
in the middle.

Lens
Optic nerve Light for life
Plants always grow
How we see light toward the light, even
Light enters your eye through your if, like this plant, they
pupil. It passes through a lens, which have to grow around
focuses the object you are looking at corners to reach it!
onto the retina. Millions of tiny cells Light is very important
inside the retina turn this upside-down for life. Plants need
image into electrical messages. The light to grow, and we
optic nerve carries these messages to need to eat plants, or
your brain, which “sees” the image the animals that eat plants,
right way up. to stay alive.
 When a beam of
light passes through
a prism, the colors
split apart because
each wavelength
is bent a different
amount.

Over the rainbow

Drops of rain act like tiny prisms.
The big bang! When light passes through
Light travels faster than sound. raindrops, the colors of light are
When fireworks explode high in split up to form a rainbow.
the sky, you see the lights before
you hear the loud bang. Light
reaches your eyes more quickly
than sound reaches your ears.
Light travels in
tiny waves. Light A prism is a
has a mixture solid, triangle-
of different shaped piece
wavelengths. of glass
or plastic.

When light is
reflected, the beams
of light bounce off
When light passes the mirror at the
through a convex lens, same angle as
it is bent, or refracted, they hit it.
inward.

When light hits an object

that it can’t travel through, Busy line
such as this mirror, a shadow When you talk on the telephone,
forms behind the object your voice is turned into laser light
where the light can’t signals and sent down very thin
reach. fiber glass tubes called optical
fibers. Up to 150,000 different
conversations can be sent down
just one of these optical fibers.
COLOR Imagine waking up in a world
without color. There would
be no beautiful paintings or
rainbows to look at, and no bright
shoes or clothes to wear. At night
when you switch off the light, all
Color cones
the bright colors around you The inside of the back of your
suddenly disappear. This is eye looks like this through a
because you cannot see the color microscope. You have cells in the
back of your eyes called cones,
of an object without light. White light can be which send messages to your
split into all the colors of the rainbow—shades brain about the colors you see.
of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and
violet. When all these colors are mixed
back together, they make Seeing in color
white light again. If you don’t have
all the different
types of cones in
your eyes, you
may find it hard
to tell some
colors apart. A
color-blind person
may not be able to
see the number
on this color
blindness test.
White is the
only color that can’t be made
by mixing together
Seeing red the primary colors of paint.
We see things because light
bounces off them. Light is Light mixing
actually a mixture of all the The colors of light behave
colors of the rainbow. When differently than paint colors.
light hits these shoes, all the When red, green, and blue
colors sink in, except the red light are mixed together,
color that is reflected back they make white light. When
to your eyes. the same colors of paint are
mixed, it makes a dark color.

410
Paint mixing
You can make new colors Blue, yellow, and
by mixing the primary red are the primary
colors of paint together. colors of paint.

Red and yellow

mix to make
orange.

Blue and
red mix to
make purple.
Tasty morsels
Which of these dinners
do you prefer? Both
meals would taste the
Different shades same, but the food
can be made by coloring in one puts you
adding more of off before you start.
one color than Color can change our
another. feelings about things,
especially food.

Blue and
yellow mix to
make green.

Warning colors
Colors are often used as a warning. This
moth is poisonous, and its bright wings warn
hungry birds to leave it alone. We also use
colors to warn us of danger. A red traffic
light tells us to stop, but a green traffic light
means that it is safe to go.

411
 SOUND Astronauts talk to each other by
radio because their voices can’t
travel through empty space.
Sound travels in waves. When
these waves move through air,
the air molecules move quickly, Deafening decibels
or vibrate. If there are no air The loudness of sounds
is measured in decibels.
molecules, no sound is made, because there is nothing When airplanes land, they
to vibrate. When you shout, the vocal cords in your reach a very high number
throat vibrate. These vibrations pass through your of decibels.This ground
controller is wearing
mouth into the air, making the air itself vibrate. ear protectors to prevent
Your ear picks up the vibrations and you can being deafened by
hear them as sound. the noise.

The bottle tops

clink together
when the jingling
stick is shaken.

Lentils inside
Wailing whales the shaker
Whales communicate under water over make a soft,
huge distances. The sound of a great rattling sound.
whale may travel hundreds of miles
under water. Sound travels faster and
farther through liquids and solids Strings vibrate as
than through air. This is because the instrument is
molecules in liquids and solids plucked. The tighter
are more tightly packed. the string, the
higher the note.
412
 Seeing sounds
You can show that sound
vibrations exist by hitting
a tray next to a drum
sprinkled with rice. The
rice bounces up and
down with the vibrations
that the sound makes. Bouncing sound
This pregnant woman can see her baby
before it is born because of sound. High-
frequency sound waves are reflected as
they reach the baby, making an image
Hitting a tin pan on the computer screen.
makes it vibrate.
You hear a loud
and crashing noise. What is frequency?
The number of complete sound
waves that pass by in a second Hearing sounds
gives us the “frequency” of a We cannot hear sounds of
sound. Frequency is measured very high or low frequencies,
in hertz. High notes have a high but some animals can. It is
frequency. They make lots of impossible for us to hear
vibrations, and have a high these sounds because
number of hertz. Low notes they are outside our
have a low frequency. hearing range.

Bat
up to 120,000 hertz

When a wind Mouse

instrument is up to 91,000 hertz
played, the air
inside the tube
vibrates to make Cat
a sound. up to 64,000 hertz

Dog
up to 45,000 hertz
Blowing into the pipe
makes the air inside it Young person
vibrate all the way along up to 20,000 hertz
to the funnel at the end.

413
FORCE AND
MOVEMENT A rocket can only take off
Push it!

because a blast of energy forces Playing with force

it to move. Things move if Forces can act in lots
of different directions
they are pushed or pulled, to change the shape
or if they are high up to start of something. Try
with. The movement they make this for yourself
Pull it! with a lump of
has a speed in a particular direction. modeling clay.
How quickly they speed up depends on how big
the force is, and how heavy the moving thing is.
Some forces make things move, but others stop Squeeze it!
things from moving. Friction is the name
for the force that
stops movement.

The heavier the

passenger is, the
more difficult it
The go-cart wheels is to push the
will keep moving go-cart along and
until something make it speed up.
stops them or slows
them down.
Roll apart
If one girl
pushes the other,
both will start to
roll away from
each other. When a
force pushes one
way, another force
pushes equally in
the opposite
direction.

414
Speed and velocity Down to earth
The time something takes to move a distance When you jump, a strong
is called speed. Velocity is speed in a particular force called gravity pulls
direction. A rocket’s velocity is much greater you back down to Earth.
than a snail’s! Earth’s gravity gets
weaker as you travel
A snail moves at about 0.003 away from it. On the
miles (0.005 km) per hour. Moon, gravity is much
less strong, so astronauts
A fast sprinter runs at about can jump high with heavy
27 miles (43 km) per hour. packs on their backs
before gravity pulls them
A race car reaches speeds of
up to 257 miles (413 km) per hour.
back down again.

A rocket needs to travel

at 25,000 miles (40,000 km) per hour.

Pushing is a kind Quick stop

of force. The harder the Without friction
boy pushes, the bigger the between its wheels and
force on the go-cart. the ground, this truck
would slip all over the
road. The tires have
thick patterns, called
tread, to help them
grip the ground.

Good performance
At high speeds, air rushes over the
top of a racing car, pushing it
More pushing down onto the track. This
power is needed makes the wide tires grip
to start the the track better, so the car
go-cart than to can take bends faster
keep it moving. than an ordinary car.

415
 MAGNETS
Magnetic fields
A magnetic field is where a magnet has its
power. If iron filings are sprinkled around
a magnet, they gather together where the
magnetic field is strongest. Two identical
Magnets are pieces of poles push each other away, so iron filings
special material which curve outward.
Two different poles
have an invisible force attract. The iron
that can push things filings run straight
between them.
away, or pull things
towards them. The
biggest magnet of all is
the world itself. Scientists think that
as Earth spins around, electricity is
made in the hot metal deep down
in its center. This electricity gives Earth
magnetic power. Earth has two magnetic
poles, called the magnetic North and N
South Poles. Compass needles
always point toward the
magnetic North Pole. S

Left out
Magnets only attract some kinds
of material. Not all metals are S
attracted by
magnets.
N

Magnets are fun to

play with! These
magnets are called The area where
horseshoe magnets the magnet has
because of their its power is
curved shape. called the
magnetic field.

416
 Make a magnet
If you stroke a needle
about 50 times with a
magnet, it will become
magnetic. Stroking the
needle in the same
What are magnets? direction turns its atoms
Scientists think that atoms behave like tiny to face the same way.
magnets. In a nonmagnetic material, the atoms Simple compass
face in different directions. In a magnet, all the Compasses are made
atoms face the same way. Magnets lose their with magnets—see for
strength if they are hit, dropped, or heated, as yourself! Tape your
this makes the atoms face in different directions. magnetic needle to a
piece of cork, and
float the cork in some
The ends of water. It points the
a magnet are same way as a real
called its poles. compass needle—
toward the magnetic
North Pole.

N It is hard to push two

identical poles together.
The magnetic forces are
S pushing them apart.

It isn’t easy to Electricity and magnets

Every magnet pull two different Electricity is used to make magnets
has two poles, a poles apart. The which can be switched on and off. The
south pole (S), and magnetic forces amount of electric current determines
a north pole (N). between them the strength of the magnetic field
hold them close produced. Reversing the flow of
together. electricity will also reverse the
magnet’s poles. This electromagnet
is used to sort scrap metal.
417
 MACHINES
Forced apart
Wedges are simple
machines that split
things open. When
a force hammers a
When you solve a difficult math problem, wedge into a block
of wood, the wood
you are working hard, but this is not what is pushed apart.
scientists call work! In science, work A wedge is a kind
is only done when something is moved— of slope.
for example, lifted or turned around. Machines make it easier to
move things, so less effort is needed to do a job. Bicycles help us
move quickly. Like most machines, bicycles are made up of a number
of small, simple machines. Wheels, axles, pulleys, gears, levers,
slopes, and screws are all common simple machines.
Saddle sore?
It is possible to ride a long
Fulcrum way on a bike—between
1922 and 1973, a Scot
named Tommy Chambers
cycled 799,405 miles
(1,286,517 kilometers)!

Easy does it Cables link the brake

Levers make it easier to move things. levers to the brake
A seesaw is a kind of lever. It balances blocks. Pulling the
on a point called a fulcrum. The girl’s weight brake levers makes
moves the box up. Moving the fulcrum closer the brake blocks stop
to the box will make it easier to lift. the moving wheels.

Brake blocks
press against
the wheel. They
use friction to
stop the wheel
from moving.

Wheel genius
The wheel is one of our most
important machines. Two wheels can
be joined together by a pole called an
axle. A small movement of an axle The wheel spins,
makes a big turn of a wheel. or rotates,
around an axle.

418
 Easy
Difficult

Get into gear Uphill climb

A toothed wheel that turns another Slopes are simple machines. They
toothed wheel is called a gear. make it easier to move things onto a
Gears change the speed higher or lower level. A screw is a kind
or direction of the of slope. If you could unwind the spiral
moving part of a grooves on a screw, they would
machine. The small flatten out as a slope.
wheel spins around
twice as fast as the big
wheel, turning in the
opposite direction.

A chain links the gears

and the pedals to the
back wheel. A small
movement of the pedals
is turned into a bigger
turn of the wheel.

The chain
is part of
a pulley
system.

Light as a feather?
Lifting up a weight with your bare hands
is hard work. It is much easier to lift
a weight by pulling down on the ropes
of a pulley. If you double the number of
Pedal power pulley wheels, the same amount of effort
is the force that will lift twice as many weights.
gets you started.
419
ENGINES AND
MOTORS
Engines and motors provide power to make things move. Motors usually
run on electricity, and often drive small things, such as fans or hairdryers.
Engines are usually more powerful, and run on heat. In steam engines—
the first real engines—heat boils water to make steam, and the steam
pushes the engine around, just as steam in a pan of boiling water pushes
up the lid. Cars have “internal combustion” engines. In these, the engine is
pushed around by the gas
produced from burning gasoline
inside the engine.
Boiler to make steam

Letting off steam

Brightly colored steam
traction engines like this one
were often seen at fairgrounds
up until around the middle of
the 20th century. The steam
traction engine drove the rides
and made electricity for the lights.

Electric power
Electric motors work by magnetism.
An electric current passing through
a coil of wire turns the coil into a
very powerful magnet. If the coil is
set between another magnet, it is
driven around at great speed to power
machines, such as your hairdryer.
Jet power
Most modern airplanes have jet
Magnet engines. These push a blast of hot
air out of the back, which drives the
Coil of wire plane forward at enormous speed.
spins around

420
 Four steps
Gasoline engine Fuel is drawn In most cars, the engine works
This is a model of an internal into the engine in four steps, which is why it is
combustion engine, just like through this called a 4-stroke engine.
those used in most cars today. inlet pipe.
Fuel is constantly drawn into Cylinder
the engine’s cylinder where it
This is the spark plug
is set afire by an electric spark.
that lights the fuel.
The explosion pushes the
piston down and turns
the engine. 1. Fuel and air pass
into the cylinder.

Old burned fuel

is pushed out
This is the through this
cylinder where exhaust pipe.
the fuel is
burned. This is the piston.
It has been pushed
down by the
burning fuel.
2. The fuel and air
are squashed.

Spark
plug

3. The spark sets

fire to the fuel.
Cooling fins
This is the crankshaft. It
turns around and around as
Spot the engine the piston goes up and down.
You can find a machine’s
engine in all sorts of places.
The engines here are colored green.

4. The burned gases

are pushed out.
Electric car Magnet-powered train Propeller aircraft Jet fighter

421
 WAR
MACHINES Modern armies have all sorts of weapons, from rifles
An aircraft carrier

and grenades for fighting a single enemy, to bombs

Hand grenade and missiles for attacking large targets. Soldiers can go
into battle riding in a tank—a huge gun on wheels
Going bang!
protected by heavy armor plating. But nothing
can protect against nuclear bombs, the most
powerful weapons of all.
This is the turret. It turns
The main gun can fire around so the gun can be
powerful shells that aimed in any direction.
will travel nearly 10,000
Gunpowder was first used in feet (3,000 meters).
China more than 1,000 years
ago for making fireworks.

The tank can carry a huge

amount of fuel—around 420
gallons () 1,900 liters. But it
is only enough to drive about
275 miles (440 kilometers)
at 25 miles (40 kilometers)
In 1605, Guy Fawkes tried an hour.
to blow up the English
Parliament with gunpowder. The commander
sits at the top.

The loader loads

The driver sits inside the main gun with
at the front, and uses The gunner aims the main explosive shells. He
mirrors to see what is gun using a thermal also operates the radio.
In 1867, Alfred Nobel happening outside. imaging sight. This picks
invented a very powerful up the heat given out by
explosive called dynamite. enemy targets.

422
Runway at sea Getting up speed
Aircraft carriers are huge ships
with flat decks which war Muskets were used by soldiers in the 17th
planes use for taking off and century. They needed reloading after each shot.
landing. The carriers sail close
to enemy coasts so the planes
can launch attacks. Heavy steel armor up to
five inches (13 centimeters) Handguns like this
One of the crew uses a Colt 45 were carried about
thick protects the crew
machine gun to defend 150 years ago by cowboys in
from enemy fire.
the tank against the American west. They
enemy aircraft. could fire six bullets without
being reloaded.

Machine guns were

invented in 1884 by Sir
Hiram Maxim. They
could fire dozens of
bullets one after the other.

Nuclear weapons
A single nuclear
The wheels run bomb can destroy a
inside tough metal whole city, and the
bands called caterpillar radiation it leaves
tracks. To steer, the behind can kill
driver makes one track run people and animals
faster than the other. years later. There
Destruction caused by a are now enough
nuclear bomb in Hiroshima,
Japan, 1945.
nuclear weapons to
destroy the world.
A nuclear explosion
1. As the bomb 2. The 3. The 4. A cloud
explodes, it explosion blast of rubble and
makes a shakes and fire dust mushrooms
giant the city destroy up high into
fireball. below. buildings. the sky.

423
COMPUTER
MAGIC Computers are the world’s
smartest machines. Inside a
computer are thousands of
very tiny electronic switches, a bit like light
switches. By switching them on and off in
different combinations, computers can
perform all kinds of tasks. They are used
everywhere, from factories and hospitals
to stores and offices. Some guide
aircraft, ships, submarines, and
spacecraft. Others are used
just for having fun, such
as playing games and
watching movies.

Keeping your head up

A jet fighter pilot must not take Seeing inside
their eyes off the view ahead, even Doctors can use a CT (computed tomography)
for a second. All the information they scanner to see inside a patient’s body. A CT
need to control the plane and fire scanner uses X-rays to create images of “slices”
at targets is fed to a computer, and through the body. These are put together on a
projected onto the pilot’s face mask. computer to create a 3-D image, which doctors
This is called a “head-up” display. use to see what needs treating.

424
 Bytes and megabytes
Computers can help
with homework,
or steer a rocket
into space.

Pocket brain
The first electronic computers
filled a large room. Now there
are smarter and faster Laptop computer
computers that
can be held in
your hand, such as
this smartphone.

Shrinking switches
The switches in Tablet computer
computers have gotten
steadily smaller, and
more complicated.
The first computers
had glass valve
switches as big as Global positioning
your thumb. system (GPS)

Gaming device

Computers now have

microprocessors. They are
only the size of a small
fingernail, yet packed
with billions of switches. Data center

425
 ROBOTS
The camera in Asimo’s head
allows him to see objects, plan
routes, and even recognize faces.

Robots are machines that “think” with

a computer brain that tells them what to do.
Once they have been programmed, they can work
entirely by themselves. Some people believe that
one day we will be able to make robots that can do
everything a human can—and they may even look
like humans. Right now, though, most robots in use
today are nothing more than
mechanical arms or cranes.
Asimo automatically
Mechanical men bends or twists his body
Automatons are smart machines to keep balanced while
that move kind of like humans walking or running.
or animals. This one was made
for a fair in Victorian times.

Factory hand
A factory robot is often
just a moving arm. But
a robotic arm can hold
things, screw them into
place, weld them, and
check that they work.
It can replace lots of
human workers.

Robots at work and play

Robot
space Robot dog Bomb- Robotic
probe disposal robot arm

426
There are force sensors in Asimo’s
wrists, so if someone shakes his
hand, he can tell if he needs to
move closer or step back.

Handy robot
Asimo has thumbs just like
a real person, so he can hold
Amazing Asimo objects, carry trays, open
The first walking doors, and even pour a drink!
robots made by
Honda in the 1980s Asimo can walk,
have led to Asimo: run, and climb up
a robot that interacts and down stairs.
with humans and
can help them in
the home or office.
This “backpack” is
Asimo’s power source,
which lasts for an hour
on a single charge.

Robots in space
NASA has sent the first humanoid
robot into space. Robonaut 2 is on
the International Space
Station, doing
jobs that are
too dangerous
or mundane
for humans
to do.

427
ENERGY
AND INDUSTRY Oil rig
In today’s world there are thousands
of different industries, and they are
divided into three groups. Primary
industries, such as farming and
mining, take raw materials from the
earth. Manufacturing industries make,
or manufacture, things from the raw
materials. Service industries are made
up of people who sell these goods or
supply skills, such as nursing or
teaching. All industry needs energy, so
as the world becomes more industrial,
it needs more and more energy.
Energy for industry comes mostly
from fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas.
Since these are quickly being used up,
we are now switching
to solar, wind, and
ocean energy that
will last forever.

Wind is a type of
endless energy.

Oil
Coal Natural gas Nuclear energy
428
Iron ore Steel is made from iron ore. Cars are made from steel.

Microchips
manufactured
on a silicon slice.
Nylon rope

Stores are
part of the
service
industry.

Factories put things together, one step at a time, in production lines.

429
 COAL Like layers of icing
Big wheels, called winding
gear, lift the coal bucket
to the surface.

in a cake, there are

bands, or seams, Fans suck stale
of coal in the rocks air out of the mine
beneath the ground. Opencast
shaft. This drags
fresh air down the
Some seams are near mine other shaft.
enough to the surface
to be scraped out Cut it out
Each scoop on
with diggers. This this coal-cutting
is called opencast mining. But most machine is big
enough to
seams are found deeper down, and Scoop hold a car!
have to be dug up by miners using
massive machines. About 40 percent
of the nine billion tons of coal mined
each year is burned in power stations Roof supports
to generate electricity. Face facts
The part of a
seam where coal
Cooking coke is being cut is
Coal is put into called a face.
giant ovens The coal is
and baked at ripped out by a
more than spinning cutter
1,650°F (900°C). with steel teeth.
When the oven
Coal
door is opened,
face A big bucket carries
coke topples out.
Coke is needed coal to the surface.
to make steel.

Water is Conveyor belt

sprayed onto
Coke is coal minus the coal to
tar, oils, and gases. cut down the Pumps take
coal dust. water from
The tar that collects at the bottom
the bottom
of a coke oven is used to make soap!
of the mine.

430
 Air in
Computer Down to earth
control room Not all coal is the same.
Hard coals, which are found
deeper underground, release
more energy when they burn.

The coal is washed

and separated into
different-sized Burning to go Half-squashed coal, or
lumps before it Nonstop trains peat, is made into fuel bricks.
leaves the mine. take coal straight
to the power station.

Cages carry miners

down a deep shaft.
Soft, crumbly brown coal
All aboard! is burned to make coke.
The main Miners travel on trains
shaft was to coal faces that are
blown out of many miles away
the rock with from the shaft.
explosives.

Most of the coal

in this seam has Black bituminous coal is
already been burned to generate electricity.
dug out.
Long tunnels are A breeze can always
dug to reach new be felt in the tunnel
coal seams. as the air moves
through the mine. Anthracite coal is used in
houses and factories.

Davy’s Seeing the light

safety lamp Miners once worked by candlelight,
but the flames often set fire to the
Boring! explosive gases that build
Big machines up in tunnels. In 1815,
chew through a safety lamp was
the rock to open invented. Its flame
up new tunnels. was kept behind a
wire mesh. Modern
lamps are even
Mine shafts can be safer, as they are
4,000 feet (1,200 battery powered.
meters) deep.

431
 OIL
In the rocks under hot deserts, snowy
This is a model
of an oil platform
in the North Sea.
Unwanted gas is
burned from the top
of a tall tower.

Drilling pipes
plains, and stormy seas, there is buried Two hundred hang from a tower
treasure: a “liquid gold” called oil. people live and called a derrick.
Most of this sticky, black fossil fuel work on this
oil platform. Helicopter
is used for energy, but 12 percent
of each barrel is turned into chemicals
and plastics. All oil is brought to the
Sandstone surface by drilling deep
holes called wells. On
land this is fairly easy, but
at sea, platforms as tall as Lifeboat
skyscrapers have to be built.
Sandstone with oil Every day, one
Solid “sponge” Natural quarter of a million Some oil is
Oil is found in the gas barrels of hot, piped into
tiny spaces in rocks freshly drilled oil a gigantic,
such as sandstone. are pumped into underwater
This oily layer is Trapped the hollow concrete storage
often sandwiched oil legs to cool down. tank.
between water and
a layer of natural gas.
Each marble stands Water
for a grain of rock. Cooled oil is
piped ashore.
A boring bit
A sharp-toothed metal cutter,
called a bit, bores through rock
to reach oil. Drill bits are Explosives are
replaced twice a day, as used to make Gas
they wear out quickly. cracks in the rock
so that oil can flow
During drilling, into the wells. An arched layer of
chemicals are oilproof rock, such
pumped around as granite, traps oil
the bit to carry underneath it.
rubble up to Oil
the surface. Wells fan out
Water to reach the oil.

432
 Only way out Oil at sea
A 769-mile-long Huge structures,
(1,287-kilometer-long) called rigs, drill down
pipe snakes across the to find oil. At sea,
snowy wastes of Alaska. some rigs float on
Oil takes a whole week the surface, while
to flow down the pipe to others stand on the
reach an ice-free port in sea bed.
the South.

Huge tankers “plug Look how big this

into” this oil store rig is compared to
to take on oil. Tankers can the Statue of Liberty!
take oil all
over the world.

Jack-up rig

Anchors keep Pump it up Drill ship

the oil store Not all oil gushes to the surface
on the sea bed. naturally. Some is pumped up by
machines called nodding donkeys!
This “donkey” has been painted to
look like a grasshopper.

This zigzag break in Semisubmersible rig

the picture is to show that
oil is usually found under
Gas gushes
thousands of yards of rock.
out when the
pressure is
released.
Wildcat wanted?
Before a well is dug, geologists Bubble trouble
must be sure that the rocks Just like the
below the ground are the right fizz in soda pop,
shape to trap oil. A test drill, bubbles of natural
or “wildcat,” is only started gas are trapped in oil.
if the surveys and satellite If there is enough gas, it
pictures look good. is piped ashore. If not,
the gas is just burned.

433
 NATURAL GAS In 1918, a gas was discovered in an
oilfield in Texas. It was named natural
gas because it replaced a gas that was
manufactured from coal. This new fuel
is now used in factories and homes all
The journey
over the world. Natural gas travels a long begins at
What a whiff ! way before it reaches your stove, to burn a gas rig.
Natural gas
has no smell. as a bright blue flame. It has to be
Chemicals are released from deep below the ground,
added to it so
that leaks can
cleaned, and piped countless miles.
be smelled.
Gas terminal
Mostly methane
Natural gas contains
three different gases.
Butane and propane are
taken out at a gas terminal. Giant fans waft
Methane, the part that natural gas
burns best, is sent along the pipes.
through pipes to Pipe
houses and factories.
Butane gas “Pig”
camping stove

Cool it
Ships take methane If it is cooled into a
to places that are liquid, a balloonful
not connected to of methane gas can
pipelines. The gas fit into a space the Soil
is cooled into a liquid size of a pea.
so that it takes up 600
times less room. Methane is cooled to Very important pig
-260°F (-162°C) to “Pigs,” not people, check
Methane tank make it turn into a liquid. natural gas pipes!
A “pig” is a computer
on wheels that
whizzes down pipes
to pinpoint cracks
and other problems.

434
 On the way up What size pipe?
This big building, called a rig, gathers up
gas that flows from deep under the sea bed.
The drill to reach the pocket of gas may be
nearly four miles (six kilometers) long.

Some gas is stored near

homes to supply sudden
daily demands—such as
at dinner time!
The roof floats on top
of the gas. So the
lower the roof is, The plastic gas pipe
is dragged through the You could stand
the less gas is left.
tunnel by the “mole.” up in the pipe that
travels between the
rig and the terminal.

Iron pipe Road

The “mole” smashes

Gas is sent through the earth like
through pipes a pneumatic drill.
to homes and
factories. A dog could fit into
the pipe that links
factory pipes to
gas-terminal pipes.

Pumping stations
keep the gas moving. “Mole” hole The pipes that take
gas to factories is
roomy enough for
Growing gas a cat to sit in.
Farms off the coast
of California grow a Moles beat diggers
giant seaweed called Small pipes can be laid
kelp. It is harvested without digging up streets by
three times a year using a rocketlike machine A mouse could fit
by special ships and called a “mole.” Its route is into the small plastic
then put in tanks guided by a computer. pipe that goes into
and left to rot. The your home.
decaying kelp gives
off methane gas.

435
NUCLEAR Not so fast
This drawing shows very simply

ENERGY
how neutrons whizz around a
nuclear reactor and crash into
uranium atoms in fuel rods.

Atoms are the tiny particles that make

up the whole universe. Enormous
amounts of energy are locked
Super fuel inside atoms. When billions of
One handful of pure uranium atoms are torn apart
uranium can release
as much energy as in a nuclear power station, the
72,000 barrels of oil! energy that is set free can 2. The splitting
uranium atoms
boil water. Steam from this hot water is used inside the fuel rod
to generate electricity. People worry about “shoot out” new
nuclear power because when the energy neutrons which
travel at 9,900
is released from an atom, deadly rays, miles (16,000 km)
called radiation, also escape. per second.
Water warms up
A neutron collides 1. Energy is
with an atom. od released when
Fuel r neutrons hit atoms
The center of the in the fuel rods.
uranium atom
splits in half.

Two or three new neutrons

escape. Each one can collide
Energy and with another atom and set
radiation free more energy.

Cold
Old fuel water
rods are
Fission division radioactive Cool it
The heart of an atom, called a “garbage.” Fuel rods are replaced
nucleus, is made up of neutrons and every few years. Before
protons. These are held together by the reusable uranium can
energy. When an atom is split, some be removed from them,
of this energy is set free. Splitting an the rods are cooled in
atom to release energy is called fission. a special pond.
436
 Inside this building, a turning
turbine generates electricity. The nuclear
reactor is
in here.
Mod
erato
r

A powerful building
The nuclear reactor is surrounded
by thick concrete walls. These The reactor is under
make sure that dangerous this red steel floor.
radiation does not escape.
3. The neutrons
collide with atoms
in the moderator. This
slows them down to
just 1.2 miles (two If the neutrons
kilometers) per second! travel too fast, they
will just whizz past
the uranium atoms
in the fuel rod,
4. This metal rod and not release
is a neutron stopper! any energy to Safe deposit?
It is pulled in and heat up the water. A typical nuclear power
out to let just the station produces about 20
right number of bathfuls of very dangerous
neutrons through. Con
trol radioactive waste each year.
rod It is made into a sort of
glass and poured into steel
tanks, which are coated in
concrete and buried.
If too many neutrons pass
the control rod, too much Less dangerous waste
energy is released, and the is buried in barrels.
Hot reactor could explode.
water
Sunny future
5. Heat passes from When superhot
the hot water inside the atoms collide, they
reactor to this flow of fuse together and set
cold water. The cold energy free. It is this
water boils into steam. fusion that makes the
sun shine. Scientists
6. The powerful jet of Laser are trying to build
steam turns a turbine beam “suns” on Earth by
to generate electricity.
firing lasers at atoms.

437
 RENEWABLE ENERGY
When oil, gas, and coal run out, people
will need other sources of energy to fuel
their cars and light their houses. Wind
and water are already being put to
work, but the best hope for a renewable
supply of energy is the sun. Light and
heat from the sun pour down onto What a gas!
In some countries manure
Earth all the time. Today, sunshine is collected, dumped into
runs everything from watches to power containers, and left to rot.
stations. One day scientists hope to collect The gas it gives off is
piped into homes and used
sunlight in space, and beam it back to Earth! for cooking and heating.

Trick of the light

This is the world’s first solar
power station. It was built in
1969 at Odeillo in France.
Electricity is generated
by using reflected
sunlight to boil
water into steam.
Falling for you
The energy of the Spinning shaft
crashing water at Niagara This enormous
Falls has been used since mirror is curved
1759. The cascading water so that all the
forces huge paddles, sunshine that hits
called turbines, to move it is reflected onto
around. The spinning one small spot at
turbines turn a shaft the top of the tower.
to generate electricity.
Computers keep
Whooshing water pushes the 63 minimirrors
the paddles around. facing the sun.

Not alone
The solar power station
is faced by 63 small, flat
mirrors. They reflect extra
light onto the main mirror.

438
 Whizzing in the wind
Strong, steady winds can be put to work
turning windmill blades. As the blades
spin, they turn a shaft that generates
electricity. These modern windmills
come in several shapes. Groups
of them are called wind farms.

Blades

A solar power
Reflection of station does not need a Shafts Electricity generators
the ground chimney—there are no
fumes or ash!

This mirror is 140 feet

(42 meters) wide. It is
built onto the side of a
building.

Water inside
this tower
turns to steam.

It can get as
hot as 6,900°F No need for a plug
(3,800°C) inside Solar cells, made from slices
this tower. of wafer-thin silicon, turn
sunlight into electricity. This
remote jungle telephone is
powered by several solar cells.

Sunlight knocks electrons from

the top layer to the bottom layer
of silicon. This generates an
electric current that is collected
by the metal layers.
Sunlight
Metal
Silicon
Metal

439
 ELECTRICITY
Electricity is used as a way of moving energy from place
to place. It can take energy from burning a fuel, such as
coal or gas, in a power station into your home to work your
television. Most electricity is generated in machines. Small
machines, called dynamos, light the lights on bikes.
Huge generators in power stations light whole
cities. Pedal power works a dynamo, but steam Mighty machine
produces the electricity in a power station. The big blue
This steam is made by using the heat from generator inside
this power station
burning fossil fuels or splitting atoms. is about ten times
Sunshine, falling water, and whirling as tall as you!
Dynamo windmills can also generate electricity. 5. The moving
Chimney magnet creates
This magnet an electric
spins around 3. Steam surges 4. Turbines turn current in huge
because it is from the boiler a massive magnet coils of wire.
fixed to a rod into the generator. 50 times per
that touches the It pushes around second.
huge paddles, First
turning wheel.
called turbines. transformer
Electricity is generated
2. The burning
in this coil of wire by
coal makes water
the spinning magnet.
turn into steam.

1. Coal is crushed
A pile of coal and then blown into
as heavy as the boiler to burn.
40 elephants
is burned
each hour.

A condenser turns
Choice of fuels the hot steam into
A power station uses hot water.
just one sort of fuel to Oil
generate its electricity.
This one burns coal, but The cooling tower cools
other power stations use oil, the hot water so that it
natural gas, or nuclear fuel. Natural gas Uranium can be used again.

440
 In charge
Power stations can’t be built
near all the places that need
electricity. So the electricity
generated flows into a
network of cables, called
a grid. At the touch of a
button, electricity is made to
flow to wherever it is needed.

Electricity cables are

laid under the ground
Second in towns and cities.
Electricity is dangerous, transformer
so tall pylons hold the
long cables high above
the ground.

A substation makes Watt is power?

electricity safe for you The speed at which
to use in your home. different machines
use energy is
measured in units
called watts.
Aluminum cable

Energy travels down

the cables at about
Electric clock
155,000 miles (250,000
(10 watts)
kilometers) per second—
almost as fast as the
speed of light!
Going up or going down?
Machines called transformers change the
These children strength of an electric current. The current
are pretending Each ball that flows between pylons has to be
to be tiny parts is a “parcel” decreased to stop the cables from melting. Vacuum cleaner
of atoms, called of electrical (900 watts)
electrons. energy.
Pass the parcel
People once thought that
electricity flowed like water,
which is why it was called
a current. In fact, energy
moves along a cable Welding machine
more like balls being (10,000 watts)
passed down a line!

441
 METALS Metals are found in the
Coke
Limestone Crushed
iron ore

Blast
furnace
ground, hidden in certain Steel from iron
Iron has a lot of carbon in
rocks called ores. Tin, copper, it, which makes it crack
Iron ore and iron all have to be taken easily. If some carbon is
out of their ores before a factory removed, iron turns into
superstrong steel.
can melt and shape them into a can, This change starts
pan, or car. Pure metals, however, are in a blast furnace.
usually too weak to be used in industry, Hot
Coke, limestone, air
and have to be mixed together to make and iron ore heat
better metals called alloys. Lead is soft, up and turn into iron
and a waste material
and tin breaks easily. Together they called slag. Iron
can make a strong, tough alloy Slag
known as pewter.
Copper
pan
Not natural
Brass cannot be dug out of
the ground. It is an alloy
made by mixing together
two weaker metals,
copper and zinc.

Brass is
stronger Zinc-coated
than zinc bucket and wire
or copper.

Precious metals
Gold and silver are
used to make much
more than just jewelry.
Gold is sprayed onto
an astronaut’s visor
to reflect sunlight.
Silver is used in 1. Blasted iron ore
electronic equipment A stream of iron is flowing from
because it carries this huge oven, called a blast furnace.
electricity very well. It has been burned out of iron ore
by blasts of hot air.

442
 Plane wrapper
Aluminum is a marvelous
metal. Thin sheets are
wrapped around chocolate
to preserve its taste. Thick
sheets are made into jumbo
jets. Aluminium is used to
Big dipper make planes because it
Steel girders are dipped in a bath does not rust, and it is
of melted zinc to stop them from very light. The aluminium
rusting. This process is known is made as stiff as steel by
as galvanizing. adding a little copper.

Iron waiting
to be converted Rust buster
Oxygen rushes You would not want to
down this tube. eat with rusty cutlery!
Upright So chromium is added
converter to steel to make an alloy
Scrap iron can called stainless steel.
be put into the
In 40 minutes converter, too.
the converter
Tipped-up When the strips of
can make 385
converter steel are cold they can
tons of steel.
be squashed by rollers
into flat slabs.

Hot steel

2. Iron in, steel out 3. Taking shape

The liquid iron is poured into a converter. Hot, freshly made steel is poured into
After a powerful jet of oxygen has burned a big tray. When it has almost set,
out the impurities and most of the carbon, nozzles are opened and steel oozes
the converter is tipped up to pour out steel. out, like toothpaste out of a tube.

443
MAKING A CAR
Every few seconds, somewhere in the world,
a brand-new car rolls off a production line
and out of a car factory. Each car is made
from raw materials, such as iron ore, sulphur, Stamp it out
Model T and sand, which have been shaped into more Sheets of cold steel
are stamped into
than 30,000 parts! Most of this “jigsaw puzzle” is put shape by machines
together on a kind of giant conveyor belt. Each area called presses. A
press room can be
of the factory puts on a few particular pieces; for the size of three
example, the body shop adds the roof, but football stadiums!
never the seats. The first car made
like this was the Model T Ford. Each car body is
made from more
than 20 pieces,
Press or panels, of steel.
Steel

The start of the About 65 percent

“conveyor belt.” of a car is made of
iron and steel.
A roller test is used
Start with steel to check that the
Steel is the most car is working. Apart from their color,
important ingredient all the cars made on this
for making cars. production line are the same.
Rolling mills press
hot steel into thin
sheets. These are
then rolled up and
sent to car factories.

Cars are washed and polished before

they leave the factory to be sold.
Built to bounce
To make your journey
Ready to go smooth, tires are made
Cars were invented of rubber and
toward the end of the filled with air.
19th century. There
are now more than Strands of steel or nylon
one billion of them. strengthen the tires.
444
 Robots in charge
The pressed The steel sides, roof, and doors have
Robot steel panels to be joined together. This is done by
welder form a rigid welding—making the metal melt and
box to protect stick together. Using more than 1,000
the passengers. welds, robots can build a car body in
just 42 seconds.

Robot
painter

Heavy cars use more fuel. Mechanical Monets

So more and more metal Cars are painted by
parts, such as bumpers, robots with sprays.
are being made of plastic. The robots are not
harmed by paint fumes,
and can put paint on
The doors are removed quickly and accurately.
so that the inside can be
reached more easily. Bare steel Top
base coat

The car is lowered onto an engine, which

was built on a separate production line. Fifteen coats
This may have been in another country! of paint are put
Robots add on each panel.
windows.

Each worker
repeats the same Pile up
job over and A new car may not
Together at last be as new as you think.
The engine is the
over again.
Up to 25 percent of
heart of the car, the steel may have come
but it is not added from old cars! Recycling
to the body until scrap steel saves raw
near the end of materials and energy.
the production line.

445
CHEMICAL
INDUSTRIES
Soap, fertilizer, and glue are just a few of the
useful products of the chemical industries.
They are made by combining different substances.
Crude oil (unprocessed oil taken straight from the
ground) is the main raw material for these Oil refinery
industries. The carbon and hydrogen in oil can
be made to combine in different ways to make
Distillation
more than half a million things, such as gas, paint, tower
or pills! This manufacturing starts in large
factories called refineries. 230°F
(110 °C)

Split it up! Cooling oil drips

Crude oil is split into useful oils inside from the edge of
a distillation tower at a refinery. The this “saucer” into
oils are separated by being boiled into the tray below.
a gas, and then cooled back into a liquid.

Kerosene is 360°F
Liquid again the fuel used (180 °C)
If you put a saucer by airplanes.
over a cup of steaming hot The cloud of crude oil
liquid, droplets collect on gets cooler and cooler as
the saucer. The liquid has it wafts up the tower.
turned into steam and then
cooled back into a liquid Lubricating
when it hit the cold saucer. oil makes
machines run At 725°F (385°C),
smoothly. crude oil turns into
a gas.

Crude oil is pumped

into a furnace to be
boiled into a gas.
Very hot
liquid turns Gas cools
into a gas. into a liquid.

446
All change Catalytic cracker
Chlorine keeps the Oil is made up of long chains of carbon
water in swimming and hydrogen atoms. Useful chemicals,
pools clean and called petrochemicals, are made by
safe to swim in. breaking up these chains. This is done
It is made in a by heating the oil in tanks called catalytic
factory by passing crackers. The small chains can be used
electricity through salty water. The electric to make useful things such as shampoo.
current makes the atoms in the salt and water Carbon Hydrogen
rearrange, and produces chlorine. atom atom

Hydrogen atoms are forced between

the carbon atoms to break up the chain.

The gases that come out

of the top of the tower
are made into plastics.
Shampoo Plastics
Antiseptic
One-fifth of each liquid
barrel of crude
oil separates Nail
into gasoline. Gasoline is the most polish
common fuel used
to power cars.
When the cloud
of crude oil reaches this
height, it is cool enough
for diesel to turn
into a liquid.
Diesel is the
fuel used by
many trains.
A different oil
flows out of each
pipe because all the oils
in crude oil cool into
liquids at different
temperatures. Dark industrial
oil is burned in
factories and
Bitumen is the first power stations. Super sulphur
oil to flow out of About 165 million tons of
the tower. sulphuric acid are used every
year to help make things such as
Thick, sticky bitumen fertilizer, paper, and explosives.
is spread on the This acid is made by heating
surface of roads. a yellow rock called sulphur.

447
 PLASTICS
Plastics are amazing materials. They don’t
Get set or go?
Some plastics are like
bread! Once they have
been “baked” they
cannot be reheated and
rot like wood or rust like some metals, and made into new shapes. A mug
made of melamine will not change
they are light and easy to shape. Plastic pens, shape when hot drinks are poured
shoes, and even surfboards are all made from into it. Polystyrene and polythene
oil or coal. Chemicals are taken from these are more like chocolate—they
can be melted again and
fossil fuels and turned into small, white pellets. again. Each time the
These are then melted and blown mixture cools, it sets
to form bags or rolled flat to into the shape of the
mold it has been
make floor tiles. Buckets, poured into.
bowls, and boxes are usually
shaped by being injected The two halves of the steel
into molding machines. mold lock tightly together.

Bowled out
Plastic bowls are made by injecting
melted plastic pellets into the space Cold water cools
between two halves of a steel mold. down the plastic
The plastic cools inside the after it has been
mold, and sets into a bowl shape. molded.

Coloring and Heaters help New

plastic pellets to melt the bowl
are poured in. pellets. Mold

A screw pushes the squashed,

hot pellets into the mold. Melted plastic
Each bowl
needs this
Temperatures of 540°F
amount of Two handfuls of (280°C) are needed to melt
coloring. polypropylene plastic the pellets and make them
pellets make each bowl. flow into this mold.

448
 Plastic products
Don’t throw it away
Plastic litter can create
harmful pollution. It is Nose
best to reuse or recycle cone
plastic because throwing
Some planes’ nose
it away is a waste of energy.
cones are made from
Most plastic “garbage”
composite plastic.
can be turned into new
things, such as filling for
sleeping bags or coats.

Each half of this bowl mold

weighs as much as 20
eight-year-old children!

Many electronic gadgets,

such as game consoles,
are made of a tough
plastic called ABS.
This half of the mold moves
back to let the warm, newly
shaped bowl drop onto a
conveyor belt.
Four bowls
can be made
in a minute.

Food slides off the slippery

plastic, known as Teflon,
used to coat the surface
of nonstick pans.

Under the rim, you may see

a line. This is where the two
halves of the mold met.

Jets of air blow the bowl off

Plastic packaging keeps
the mold when it is finished.
food fresh for longer. For
example, polythene bags
Every bowl that comes out of this stop bread from
machine is exactly the same shape. drying out.

449
 BUILDING The invention of new
materials and new ways
of building has enabled
cities to shoot up into the
sky. Skyscrapers are not
held up by wood, brick, or
stone walls, but by strong
Taipei 101 steel skeletons on which There are around
walls and windows are 26,000 hand-cut glass
panels covering the
simply hung like curtains. One of the tower, which are all
tallest office buildings in the world is the cleaned by hand, too!
Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which was built Growing up
in 2004. It has 101 floors and stands The tallest building in
1,670 feet (509 meters) tall. the world is the Burj
Khalifa, in Dubai.
It is 2,700 feet (830
meters) to its spire, and
has more than 160
floors. Construction on
it began in 2004 and it
was finished in 2010.

Three different
entrances on three
sides take you to
three different
floors of the spiral-
Concrete creation shaped building.
Many modern buildings, such
as the Sydney Opera House, are
made of concrete. This artificial
rock is made by roasting clay and
limestone to make cement, and
then adding sand and water.
Stretched steel cables inside the
concrete stop it from cracking.
Clay
Water
Limestone Sand

450
 Building bridges
It took about Simple beam bridges
22 million man-hours can span narrow streams,
to complete the tower. but bridge designs get
more complicated.
There are
26 stages where
the tower gets Beam bridge
narrower as it
gets taller.

Arch
bridge

There are
34,600 tons of
reinforced steel
bars in the Cantilever
tower—enough bridge
to reach more
than a quarter of
the way around
the world.
Suspension
bridge

A team of more
than 380 people
worked to put
on the glass and Steel
metal cladding— frame
as many as 175
panels a day. Concrete
base
Rock steady
Buildings need a strong
base, or foundation, to
stop them from sinking,
slipping sideways, or being Soft
blown over by the wind. Tall Piles are rock
buildings are held down by pushed into
long steel or cement piles. solid rock.

451
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation is so much a
part of our daily lives that
most of us take it for granted.
Without it, we would all
grind to a halt. Millions
of people would not get to work, many
children would not get to school, and
no goods would be delivered to stores.
Even the letters we send would never
reach their destinations.
Early people relied on animal
transportation, and this remained
the only way of getting around until
about 200 years ago, when the bicycle
was invented. Cars didn’t come into
common use until the first part of
the 20th century. Today, though, a
jet plane can fly you across the world
in hours, and huge spacecraft take
astronauts on exploratory journeys
into space. Soon, you may be able to
book a ticket to outer space!

Motor
scooter
Electric
car

452
 Some pilots like to
perform displays of
flying called aerobatics,
in which they twist and
turn their planes.

Boeing 787 taking off

19th-century
sailing ship

The TGV train

is the fastest
wheeled train Container ship
in the world.

453
 BIKES
Bicycles were invented in
the late 1700s. But they
have changed their shape
so much over the years
that some early bikes such
as the “ordinary” bicycle, also called the
penny-farthing, look very strange to us
today. Power for a bicycle comes from the Fix it yourself
Bicycles are simple machines
rider, but sometimes the rider simply runs and one of the cheapest forms
out of energy! In 1885 a German, Gottlieb of transportation. Most repairs on
Daimler, added an engine to the bicycle, bicycles are quite simple, too, and
can be done cheaply and easily
and the motorcycle was invented. The very by their owners.
first motorcycles had tiny steam engines, but
today they have gasoline engines, and can Protective helmet
more than match cars for speed.

Reflective strips
help motorists to
see cyclists at night.

The pedals are

linked to the back
wheel by a chain.

Pollution-free traffic
In the Netherlands, there are
more bicycles than people. Nearly
40 percent of all trips taken in
the capital, Amsterdam, are on
bikes. Imagine the terrible fumes,
and the effect on the environment
if all these riders drove cars The brakes
instead of pollution-free bicycles. are operated by
levers on the handlebars.
454
 Working bikes
Scooters, which are
Riding a motorcycle motorcycles with small
can be dangerous, and engines, are used for
a rider should wear many jobs around the
leather clothes and world. The Spanish
a special helmet for Post Office uses yellow
protection. scooters for delivering
most of its mail.
Bicycles can also be
adapted for carrying all
sorts of things—even pigs!

There are storage Hot wheels

compartments Motorcycles come in
under the seat. all shapes and sizes for
This part can be different jobs and sports.
removed to make a
seat for a passenger.

World War II
US Army motorcycle

1966 police motorcycle

1983 Racing motorcycle

The panels of this motorcycle are The exhaust

shaped so the bike will cut smoothly The motorcycle carries waste
through the air. Its top speed is engine runs fumes from
148 miles (238 kilometers) an hour. on gasoline. the engine.
Motocross motorcycle

455
 CARS TODAY It is hard to imagine a world without
cars. They are all around us and are
always being improved to make
them more comfortable, more
reliable, faster, and safer. And cars
must continue to change. There are now so many Safety first
cars in the world that they are one of the greatest Engineers test all new car
threats to our environment. Experts are constantly designs for safety by crashing
the car and filming what
thinking of new ways to make affordable cars that happens to the dummies inside.
use less energy and produce less pollution. Most cars have airbags in the
steering wheel that inflate in a
Lever for Speedometer fraction of a second in a crash.
indicator
lights The winshield is made of
Steering wheel
special glass that stays in
one piece if it is broken.
The clutch
is used for Gear shift
changing gears.

Emergency
brake
Brake pedal
Accelerator

The hood lifts to

show the engine.

Headlight

Bumper

Models for driving Rearview

Cars are designed to suit the mirror
needs of many different people.

Mini car Sedan car Sports car Family car

456
 Record-breaker
Cars like this are the fastest around. In
1997, ThrustSSC set a new Supersonic
World Land Speed Record, traveling at
763 miles (1228.5 kilometers) per hour.

Sticking to the road

Race cars have low bodies, an airfoil or “wing”
at the back that pushes the car down, and wide,
gripping tires. These are all designed to keep
the car firmly on the road at speeds of up to
230 miles (370 kilometers) an hour.
The body is
strengthened to
act like a This door opens wide
protective “cage.” so that luggage can be
stored in the back.

Cars of the future

Most gasoline engines are
quite noisy and give off
harmful fumes. Electric
cars are quieter and
cleaner, although their
batteries need charging.
Some futuristic cars, such
as the Fun-Vii concept car
(above), can even display
pictures on their outsides.
Filling up
These lights are used to tell the driver with gas
behind if the car is going to turn,
brake, or reverse. They also show
Tires grip the road where the car is in the dark.
in all weathers.

Pickup truck Stretch limousine Camper van

457
 TRUCKS
Trucks come in all shapes and sizes, and do very
Tractor
Semitrailer

different jobs. Some trucks are very specialized Tight corners

Long trucks are often
and are used for essential services, such as made up of two parts that
collecting garbage and fighting fires. Most are hinged so they can turn
tight corners. The front part
trucks, however, are used for transporting goods. is called the tractor, and it
Trucks are ideal for this job pulls a semitrailer.
because they can deliver things
right to your door. Even goods
carried by trains, planes,
and boats usually need
trucks to take them on the
last stage of their journey.
Floodlight for
night emergencies
Warning
light

Hose storage
rack
This area is for
storing equipment
such as extinguishers,
axes, buckets, and sand. Flashlight
This gauge shows how
much water is left in
the fire engine.
Pump for the fire
engine’s internal
water supply Trains without tracks
Some of the world’s biggest
trucks are used to transport
goods across the desert in
Australia. They are called
roadtrains because one
truck pulls many trailers.

458
Big trucks

Amphibious truck Cement truck Earthmover Car transporter

The equipment for The ladder can be raised
cutting people out automatically to a height Blue flashing
of crashed cars of 44 feet (13.5 meters). lights
is stored in here.

Air deflector Container

A working arrangement
The same tractor can hook on
semitrailers of many different
types, so no journey is wasted.
Air deflectors make some loads
more streamlined to save fuel.

Tanker

Five crew members can sit in

the front and rear of the cab.

This reflective
strip makes the fire
engine easy to see.

Cab comforts
Over the top At night, long-distance truck
Trucks are not just used for work. drivers usually sleep in their
People often race them and perform cabs, in an area behind the
crazy stunts with them, too. This seats. Some have only bunks,
Big Foot truck is demonstrating how but others have televisions,
to flatten a row of parked cars! fridges, and even ovens.
459
 ELECTRIC AND
DIESEL TRAINS In 1964 the Japanese opened the
first high-speed electric railroad.
These “bullet” passenger trains
reached speeds of 130 miles
(210 kilometers) an hour, a world Around the bend
Trains have to slow down
record at that time. But railroad to go around bends
companies earn most of their money by moving goods, safely. Some trains can
called freight. Freight trains are often pulled by diesel tilt inward on curves, just
like a motorcycle leaning
locomotives, and they keep a lot of traffic off the roads. into a bend. This means
The world’s longest freight train had 682 cars and was they don’t have to slow
more than four miles (seven kilometers) long! down so much.

On electric trains, the section that pulls The Inter-City Express,

the coach cars is called a power car. or ICE, is an electric
Pantographs pick up
train from Germany.
electricity from overhead
wires to power the train.

Diesel power
Many passengers and goods The French
still travel by cheaper, electric high-speed train
diesel-powered trains, is called the TGV. On its High-speed train routes are expensive to
such as this long Canadian regular route it has a top set up because they need a special track
railroad convoy. speed of 190 mph (300 kmh). that has gentle curves.
460
 At the controls
The control center for Eurostar
is in contact with the driver of
every train. Controllers can warn
the driver about any problems ahead,
such as delays, signal failures, and
electrification faults. In this way, the
control center keeps the rail network
running as smoothly as possible.

Grand Central Station

The largest railroad station On the tracks
in the world is Grand Central A variety of engines
Station in New York. It has and freight cars use
two levels with 41 tracks on the railroad tracks of
the upper level and 26 tracks the world today.
on the lower one.
Breakdown
train

A typical ICE has eight

coach cars with 16 power
motors and can carry
up to 500 passengers.

Snowplow

Coast to coast
One of the great railroad journeys
of the world crosses Australia, from
Sydney to Perth. The route covers
2,466 miles (3,968 kilometers) in Passenger
three days and includes a world train
record 297 miles (478 kilometers)
of completely straight track!

The streamlined
shape of electric trains Freight train
helps them speed along. In tests the
ICE has reached 215 mph (345 kmh).

461
UNDERGROUND AND
OVERGROUND As a city grows busier, the traffic on
the roads becomes heavier and slower.
This problem often can be solved by
building a railway across the city,
either over it, on tracks raised above
the roads, or under it! There are
underground trains all over the world, from London,
where the world’s first underground railway was built,
to Moscow, where stations are like palaces. But they
all do the same job—keep people moving.
No smoking
The first underground railroad
opened in London in 1863. It
used steam trains, but the smoke
often made it impossible to
see in the tunnels. The answer
was electric trains, which were
introduced in 1890.

The London Underground Emergency

is also called the “tube” stairs
because the deep
tunnels are built
using steel tubing.
Tunnels near
the surface are
dug like ditches
and then
covered over.
A tight squeeze
So many people travel on the
underground trains in Tokyo, Japan,
during the rush hour, that special Underground trains are
“pushers” are employed to squeeze powered by electricity picked
passengers into the cars. up from extra rails.

462
 Signs tell people where there
is an underground station.

Riding a
single rail
It is not always
possible to build
an underground
railway system, so
some railways run
overground. Some
trains run on top
of a single rail,
called a monorail.

Ticket machines Ticket office Hanging on

Not all trains
run on top of
the rail. The
first monorail
was built in
Wuppertal,
Germany, and
Automatic gates open when a ticket the electric
is put in the slot, or a travel card is trains hang
tapped on a sensor. from the line.
The escalator is taking passengers
toward the platform. A
different route will take
people from the trains Going up!
Staff in the out of the station. Special types
control room of transportation
check the progress are needed for
of the trains, and watch getting people up
the platform on special steep slopes.
television screens.
Route map Rack railway

Cable car Funicular railway

463
 SAILING
SHIPS
Nearly three-quarters of Earth’s
surface is covered by water, most A quick tea
of it in the seas and oceans. For A ship’s speed is measured
in knots—one knot is about
thousands of years people have been finding 1.85 kmh (1.15 mph). The
ways to cross this water. At first they built fastest sailing ships were
rafts, and boats with oars, but around 3200 bce China tea clippers, such as the Cutty
the Egyptians began to use sails. From then on, bundles Sark, which had a top speed
of 17 knots. It transported
sailing ships ruled the seas until a century ago. tea from China to England in
Today, big ships have engines, but small sailing about 100 days.
ships are used for sports, fishing, and local trade.

Sailors once used an

instrument called a sextant
to find their way in the middle
of the ocean. A sextant helped
navigate using the position of
the sun or stars.

Sea charts
The sea often
hides dangers, Tall ships
such as shallow waters or Many of the great ships of the
shipwrecks, so sailors must past have been restored and
find their way using sea are used today for special
maps, called charts. “Tall Ships” races.
16th-century
Spanish galleon
17th-century
merchant ship
Across the ocean 15th-century
Portuguese
For hundreds of years, sailing caravel
ships have traveled the
oceans of the world for
exploration, trade, and war.

464
This ship is known as a
junk. It has square sails, The masts hold the
called lugsails, and comes sails in a good
from China. position for catching
the wind.

Bamboo rods keep

the sails flat and
stiff, and make a
good ladder, too!
Sailing to work
Many countries, such as Sri Lanka,
still rely on small sailing ships for
coastal fishing.

When the sails

are full of wind,
the ship will
move forward.

Big ships
carry a small
boat for getting to Old junks
land because they anchor The junk, which can still be seen in harbors
in deep water a little such as Hong Kong, in the Far East, was one
way from the shore. of the earliest types of boats. It is also one of
The rudder is used
the most sturdy sailing ships.
for steering the ship.
19th-century
18th-century iron-hulled
man-of-war trading ship

465
 SHIPS WITH
ENGINES
Wind is not a very reliable form
of power—sometimes it blows from
the wrong direction, and sometimes
it does not blow at all! But from around Propeller power
The ship’s engine turns a
1800, steam engines were used to turn propeller at the back of the ship.
paddle wheels or propellers. Steam This pushes the ship forward.
power moved ships faster and was On a big ship, these propellers
can be enormous.
a more reliable way of transporting
people and goods. Today, ships use
The ship is steered
mainly diesel engines, and their most from the wheelhouse.
important job is carrying cargo.
Living
This part of the ship is quarters
called the bridge.

The cruising speed of a ship

like this is around 15 knots
or 17 mph (28 kmh).

Pull and tug

In the dock Big ships are difficult
In modern ports, like to control, and from full
Singapore, most cargo arrives speed can take several
on trucks and trains, and is miles just to stop. So in
already packed in containers. ports and harbors, small,
These are stored on the docks powerful boats called
and can then be neatly loaded tugs help push and
onto the ships by cranes. pull big ships safely
into position.

466
A vacation at sea
Cruise ships offer passengers
a luxury vacation as they travel. A loading line
The biggest cruiser today holds On the side of a ship is a row
nearly 9,000 people. It is the length of lines called a Plimsoll
of 4 football fields, and has 23 mark. A certain one of these
swimming pools and 24 elevators. lines must always be above
water or the ship may sink.
There are several lines, as
ships float at different levels
in salt or fresh water, in
summer or winter, and in the
tropics or the North Atlantic.
Plimsoll mark

The front of the ship is

marked with a sighting mast.
Otherwise it would be hidden
from the crew in the bridge by
Containers are stacked the cargo on the deck.
in racks on the deck.

Save our souls

In an emergency at
sea, passengers and
crew put on life
jackets and send an
SOS signal. Rescue
is carried out by a
lifeboat crew.

Ship shapes
The seaways of the world are busy
with ships of all shapes and sizes.

Naval frigate Roll-on/roll-off ferry

Oil tanker
467
 SKIMMING OVER
THE WATER
Most boats travel very slowly because the
water itself creates a drag on a boat’s hull, Hovercrafts, like
or body, that slows it down. But hovercraft this Landing Craft
and hydrofoils just skim across the water, so they can Air Cushion, are
still widely used in
travel at great speed. A hovercraft is not really a boat because the military.
it hovers above the surface of the water. It is also amphibious,
which means that it can travel on both land and water.
Fan boating
People get around Control
the reed beds and cabin
watery forests of the
Everglades in Florida
using flat-bottomed
fanboats. These have
raised fan motors that
do not get caught in
the weeds.

What a drag!
Water-skiers can speed
over the water, but will
slow right down if
they fall in. This is
because water is
more than 800
times denser
than air.

Life
rings

468
 Up and away
Hovercraft are
also known as
air-cushion
vehicles because
they float on a
cushion of air.
When the hovercraft is The engines start, and the Hovering just above the
sitting still on the tarmac, skirt fills with air to become surface of the water, the
the skirt is flat and empty. a thick cushion. vehicle speeds on its way.

Military vehicles
or cars drive in
through the doors
in the back.
Propellers
push the
vehicle Thin fins
forward. Fins under a hydrofoil lift it out
of the water so that it can skim
over the surface at great speed.

Riding high
Inflatable Catamarans have two thin hulls
skirt so there is very little of the boat
in the water to slow it down.

Super speedy
Superboats have very
powerful engines.
They race at speeds of
around 155 miles (250
kilometers) an hour—
so fast that their hulls
rise right out of
the water.

469
 PLANES WITH
PROPELLERS
For hundreds of years people tried in all sorts of
crazy ways to fly like birds and insects. But it was not
until 1903, when the Wright brothers attached a propeller to a
small gasoline engine, that people first managed to control a
plane’s takeoff and landing. Today, huge jet planes can fly
hundreds of people around the world, but smaller, cheaper
planes with propellers are still the best
form of transportation for many jobs.
These propellers
have three
blades. As they
spin around,
they move the
plane forward.

Skis have been

attached to the
wheels so the plane
can land and take
off from the snow.

Fresh air!
In 1927 Charles
Lindbergh made the
first nonstop solo
flight across the Atlantic in
Open
the Spirit of St Louis. Like all pilots To the rescue
cockpit
at that time, Lindbergh had to wear Light aircraft are relatively cheap to run and are
warm leather flying gear such as a ideal for transportation in large remote areas. In
helmet, gloves, a coat, and boots to parts of Africa, for example, the only way doctors
protect himself from the cold. can get to their patients quickly is by plane.
470
 Short take-off War and peace
Small planes only need Over the years, there have
short runways. This been many types of
means they can go to propeller-driven aircraft.
places where larger planes
could not land, such as
this grassy airstrip on a
mountainside in Nepal.

World War I triplane

This plane can seat The rudder moves
up to 19 passengers. the plane to the left
or the right.

World War II Spitfire

This tailplane
keeps the plane
stable. Hinged flaps
on the back of it
move up and down Cessna light plane
to make the plane
climb or dive.
This twin-engined
“Otter” can take off and
land in a small space.

Floatplane

Fighting flames Flying slowly and

This Canadair plane is specifically quite low, the pilot
designed for fighting forest fires. opens a hatch to
The pilot prepares release the water.
to lower two pipes to As the plane skims the surface, up
scoop up water into to 1,400 gallons (6,400 liters) of
the body of the plane. water are forced into the tanks in
10 seconds.

471
 PASSENGER
PLANES
The biggest airliner today is
the Airbus A380, which can carry 853 passengers
and enough fuel to fly 9,200 miles (14,800 km)— Join the line
as far as England to Australia. Big planes have The busiest airport in the world
made flying much cheaper, and millions of is Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta
International Airport in Georgia.
people pass through the world’s airports each More than 92 million passengers
year. The passengers simply step onto a waiting pass through it every year, as
well as 950,000 planes.
plane, but many jobs must be done to ensure
every flight takes off and lands safely.

Airplane movement
Special trucks on the ground is
pump fuel from directed from this
underground tanks control tower.
into the plane.

This plane can

All sorts of vehicles carry up to
are needed to take 116 passengers.
luggage, supplies, and
Park it freight from the plane
Once a plane has landed, a to the terminal.
marshaller helps to park it by
signaling instructions to the pilot
with brightly colored wands.

472
 Top speed
The fastest
passenger plane in
the skies today is the
Boeing 747, also known as the jumbo jet.
The average 747-400 plane takes off at 180 mph
(290 kmh) and cruises at 565 mph (910 kmh).

A room with a view

At peak hours in major international airports, Curious cargo
there is a plane taking off or landing every 45 Goods may be loaded
seconds. Workers called air traffic controllers onto a plane with a
carefully organize planes for takeoff and landing. scissor-action crane or
a conveyor belt. Some
cargo simply walks in
and out of the hold!

A good checkup
Before each journey the
ground crew give the
plane a good cleaning,
inside and sometimes
outside! Engineers check
that the plane is in
perfect working order.

From this control Passengers check in

A loading tower, staff direct Service vehicle for their flights in the
tunnel takeoffs and airport terminal.
links the landings.
plane to
the terminal.

473
INDEX astrolabe 267
astronomy 52-3
athletics 260-1
bones 242, 243, 244-5
books 267, 270
botany 396
356-7
Central Europe 378-9
cephalopods 95
A atoms 398, 436-7
Australia 11, 79, 288, 390-1
bovids 214-15
Brachiosaurus 140-1, 142
Ceratosaurus 135, 149
cereals 254, 256, 322-7
abacus 293 animals 174, 188-9 Brahmaputra River, India 31 Cessna light plane 471
Aboriginals 301, 390, 391 food production 336, 346 braille 226 Chambers, Tommy 418
ABS plastic 449 Austria 376-7 brain 224-5, 226, 240 Chaplin, Charlie 316
Achilles tendon 241 automata 426 brass 442 cheetah 192-3
Africa 325, 348, 360-3 Avecinnia 70 Brazil 201, 346, 358, 359 chemical industries 432, 446-9
animals 192, 193, 194, avocado 77, 273 breathing 96, 232-3, 396,
199, 210 chemistry 394
402-3 chillies 273, 343
birds 173, 174, 182
Afrikaners 363
B bridges 451 chimpanzee 198-9
baby development 246-7 British Isles 286-7, 368-9 China 36, 310, 382-3, 422, 465
afterlife 258 bacteria 57, 396 Bronzino, Il 310
agave 62 Marco Polo 268-9
badger 174, 397 bubble shells 88 plays 299
air 402-3, 412 bagpipes 301 Buddhism 274, 383, 389
pollution 456 sugar production 346
baleen whales 102-3 budgerigar 152, 175 chinchilla 206
Airbus A380 472 Bali, dancers 389 buffalo, African 215
aircraft carrier 422-3 chipmunk 206
ballet 295, 306-7 buildings 450-1 chiton 89
air-cushion vehicles 468-9 bamboo 69 Bunyols festival, Spain 372
airports 472-3 chlorine 447
Bangkok, Thailand 389 Burj Khalifa, Dubai 450-1 chlorophyll 64-5
albatross, Royal 158 Bangladesh 31, 386, 387 bushmaster snake 346
Albertosaurus 149 chocolate 272, 344, 357, 361, 370
banjo 301 Bushmen, Kalahari 362 Christ statue, Rio de Janeiro,
Aldrin, Edward “Buzz” 40 banyan 68 bustard, Kori 175
algae 57 Brazil 358
baobab 69 butane 434 Christians 266, 365
Algeria 360, 361 barley 322-3 butterflies 74, 109, 114-17
All Blacks rugby team 391 chromium 443
Barosaurus 133, 140, 142-3 butterfly fish 283 chrysalis 116
Allosaurus 149 bats 75, 154, 187, 202-3, 413 butterwort 67
alloys 442 circulatory system 219, 230-1
batteries 405, 417
alpaca 213
alpine plants 71
Bavarisaurus 146 C citrus fruits 336-7
clam 89
bazaar, Istanbul 364 cable car 463
aluminum 443 beans 273, 343 cactus 58, 61, 69 clementine 337
American Civil War 290-1 bears 196-7 calcite 22, 23 cliffs 23, 26-7, 171
amphibians 57, 151, 397 Beauchamps (ballet teacher) California 354, 435 clippers 464
Amsterdam, Holland 370 306 camels 212-13, 268-9, 330 clock, astronomical 283
Amundsen, Roald 351 beaver 206, 207 Camarasaurus 132, 142 clothes 253, 332, 361, 364, 365
Andes mountains, South bedouin 364-5 cameras 314-15 protective 406, 455
America 273, 359 bee eaters 157, 175 Canada 288, 346, 352-3 coal 286, 287, 404, 405, 428,
angler fish 85 beef 330-1 animals 194, 197, 215 430-1
animals 57, 87, 259, 396 bees 74, 108, 124-5 Canadair plane 471 coastlines 26-7
breathing 232-3, 402, 403 beetles 109, 112-13 capsicum 342 cobra lily 59
See also individual species beetroot 340 capybara 206 cocido 373
Antarctica 25, 178-9, 350-1 Belgium 370 car transporter 459 cockatoos 141
antelopes 187, 214 Berbers 360 caravans 269 cocoa 272, 344-5, 361
anther 72, 74 Bering Strait 350 carbohydrates 238, 239 coconut 78-9, 328
anthracite coal 431 Bhutan 386 Caribbean 356-7 cocoon 115
ants 108, 120-1 Bible, Gutenberg 270 carnivores 194-5, 196 cocoyam 341
apartheid 363 bicycles 418-19, 454-5 carnivorous plants 66-7 Coelophysis 149
Apatosaurus 142 Billund, Denmark 367 carrot 340 coffee 78, 344-5
apes 198-9 biology 394, 396-7 cars 355, 375, 444-5, 456-7 coke 287, 430, 431
Apollo space program 36-9, birch 63, 82 cartilage 97, 100, 245 Collins, Michael 40
40-1 bird of paradise flower 75 cassava 341 Colorado River 31
apple 60 birds 57, 86, 132, 141, 151, cassowary 183 color 410-11
arachnids 108 152-85, 221, 225, 397 castles 266, 376, 379 Columbus, Christopher 272
Arctic 25, 58, 160-1, 350-1, birds of paradise 173 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof comedies 298
366-7 birds of prey 160, 180-1 (play) 298 comets 50-1
Arizona 51, 151 birth 247 Çatal Hüyük, Turkey 255 compass 417
Armstrong, Neil 40 bison 214-15, 253 catalytic cracker 447 Compsognathus 135, 146
“Arnolfini Marriage, The” bitumen 447 catamarans 469 computers 424-5, 434
(J. van Eyck) 310-11 bivalves 88-9 caterpillars 109, 114-15, 116 conduction 406-7
artists 271, 310-11, 383, 390 black holes 55 Catherine II, Empress of Congreve rockets 36
Cook’s voyages 282-3 blackberry 58 Russia 280-1 conifers 83, 143, 162
Ashanti kingdom 278-9 blackbuck 215 catkins 74 conkers 76
Asia 325, 326, 380-1 blood 224, 230-1 cats 192-3, 225, 259, 263, continents 14-15
animals 192, 193, 194 blue tits 152, 159, 164 413 control tower 473
See also individual blue whale 84, 103 cattle 212, 214, 254, 330-1, convection 406, 407
countries Boeing 747 aircraft 473 358 Cook, James 282-3
Asimo (robot) 426-7 boiling points 401 caves 22-3, 26 Copenhagen,
ass 208-9 Bolivia 358, 359 paintings 252-3, 310 Denmark 366
Astaire, Fred 305 Bollywood 316, 387 cavy, rock 206 copepods 86-7
asteroids 35, 50, 150-1 bombs, nuclear 422-3 Central America 272-3, 325, copper 442, 443

474
Corythosaurus 141 distillation tower 446-7 Fiat car works 375 Ghana 278, 360-1
coral 27, 84, 89 dogfish, prickly 99 fig 63, 75 ghost moth 118
corn 272, 277, 322, 324-5 dogs 194-5, 333, 413 fig wasp 75 gibbon 198
cosmetics 267 dolphins 84, 104-5 films 316-19, 387 ginger 80
Cossacks 281, 380 dormouse 204, 205 finches 156-7, 165, 175 giraffe 186, 187
cotton 287, 291, 329, 385 dragonflies 108, 126-7 fingerprints 228 glaciers 20-1, 25, 28-9, 30
cowrie 89 dried fruits 339 fire fighting 458-9, 471 Globe Theatre 296-7
cows 259, 377 dromaeosaurids 146 fireflies 113 goats 215, 254, 330
See also cattle dromedary 212, 213 fish 84, 86, 96-101, 225, Gobi desert, Asia 213
crabs 84, 85, 86, 90-1, 243 drums 300, 360-1 397, 403 gods 259, 260
crane fly 111 Dublin, Ireland 264 fishing bats 203 Gogh, Vincent van 310
crassula 81 ducks 154, 159, 161, 169 fission 436 gold 278-9, 442
Cretaceous period 134, 135, dung beetle 113 flamenco dancing 304, 373 discoveries 272, 288
136 dunnock 165 flamingo, greater 167 Gondwanaland 15
cricket (the game) 368, 387 dynamite 422 flies 109, 110-11 goose, red-breasted 161
crickets 122 dynamo 440 flight 110-11, 154-5, 162-3, 168 gorge 23, 31
crop rotation 322 flint tools 252-3, 254 gorilla 198-9
crossbills 163
cruisers 467
E flounder 85
flowering plants 60-1, 72-6,
goshawk 181
gourd 69
eagles 172, 180, 181
crusades 266-7 ears 220-1 145 granaries 327
crustaceans 91 Earth 9, 10-33, 34, 35, flying doctors 390, 470 Grand Canyon,
Crystal Palace, 40-1, 49, 57, 84, 108, foods 238-9, 263, 277, 404 Colorado 31
London 287 152 staple 322-47 Grand Central Station,
CT scan 424 force 414-15 New York 461
earth mover 459
Cuba 346 forests 352-3, 388 granite 21
earthquakes 14, 18-19, birds 162-3, 172-3
cuckoo 165 384 grapefruit 336-7
cucumber 343 fossils grapes 338-9
earthworm 70 dinosaur 136-7, 150
cue clapperboard 316 Eastern Europe 378-9 graphite 399
cuesta 32 fuels 404, 405, 430-5 grasses 322-7, 346
eating 238-9 fox 194, 195
cuneiform writing 256 echinoderms 92-3 grasshoppers 109, 122-3
Cunning Little Vixen, The France 284-5, 335, 348, grasslands 174-5
echoes 221 370-1
(opera) 309 Edinburgh Festival, gravity 415
currants 339 cave paintings 252-3 Great Exhibition, 1851
Scotland 369 freight trains 460, 461
cuttlefish 95 Edmontosaurus 145 287
friction 414-15 “Great Trek,” South Africa
eggplant 343
D eggs 158-9, 246
frigate 467
frogmouth 185
289
grebe 168, 169
da Vinci, Leonardo 271 Egypt 251, 258-9, 360, 464 frost 336
daddy-longlegs 111 Eiffel Tower, France 287 Greece 374
fruit-eating bat 202 Ancient 260-1, 296, 297
daffodil 81, 369 Einabtrieb 377 fruits 76-7, 336-9
Daimler, Gottlieb 454 electricity 286, 416-17 Greek Orthodox church 374
fuel rods 436-7 greenfinch 156-7
Daimyo 275 production 430, 436-41 fungi 396
dairy products 330, 331, 370 trains 460-3 green marble 11
funicular railway 463 grizzly bear 196-7
Dalai Lama 383 electronic instruments 300 funnel web spider 128, 129
damselfly 127 electroplating 287 groundnut 78, 273, 329
dance 304-7, 373, 380, 389
Darby, Abraham 287
elephants 187, 216-17, 221
ellipses 48
G guanaco 212, 213
Guatemala 349, 356
galaxies 54, 55
Darby III, Abraham 287 emu 182 galvanizing 443 guillemot 153, 171
day length 350, 366-7 energy 404-5, 438-41 gamelan 302 guillotine 284, 285
decibels 220, 412 geothermal 367 games, outdoor 292, 368 guineafowl, vulturine 175
deciduous trees 82, 165 nuclear 436-7 Ganges River, India 31 guitar 267, 300
deer 212, 253 engines 420-1 gannet 170, 171 guitarfish 101
deforestation 352, 388 England 292-3, 349, 368-9 Ganymede (moon of guns 422-3
Deinonychus 133, 146-7 estuaries 27 Jupiter) 47 Gutenberg, Johannes 270
deltas 31 Euoplocephalus 135 garlic 341 Guy Fawkes night 368-9, 422
Denmark 264, 366-7 Euphrates River 256, 257 gas 402-3, 446-7
deodar 83
deserts 32-3, 176-7, 342,
Europe 15, 252, 266, 346
Renaissance 270-1
coal 286
natural 404-5, 428,
H
Hadrosaur 141
364 European Union 370 432-3, 434-5 hair 229
Devil’s Marbles, Australia 33 evergreen trees 82, 83 gasoline 447, 457 hair seals 107
dhole 195 Eyck, Jan van 311 gastropods 88-9 Hajj 365
diamond 399 eyes 110, 222-3, 408 gazpacho 373 Halley’s comet 50, 51
diaphragm 233 birds 160 gears 419 hand grenade 422
didgeridoo 301 gelada 186 harbor seal 85
diesel transport 447, 460, 466 F Gemini Titan rocket 36 Hartsfield-Jackson International
digestion 218, 238-9 falcons 160, 180-1 generators 440-1 Airport 472
Dilophosaurus 134 fats 238 Genghis Khan 381 harvesters 339, 341
Dinosaur National Monument, faults 13, 18-19 geometrid moth 119 combine 322-3, 327
USA 137 feathers 154-5 geothermal energy 367 hawks 180, 181
dinosaurs 57, 132-51 ferns 60, 61, 63, 143 gerbil, Indian 205 hearing 220-1, 412-13
Diplodocus 135, 138 fertilization 76, 246 Germany 376-7 heart 224, 230-1, 232

475
heat 404-5, 406-7 iron 286, 287, 429, 442-3 Legoland, Denmark 367 Maoris 391
hedgehog 187, 190-1 Ironbridge, England 287 lemmings 204 maple 63, 82, 83, 347
Hercules beetle 113 iron-hulled trading ship 465 lemon 78, 336, 373 marble 21
Hermitage, The, Israel 266, 365 lemur, ring-tailed 200 Marceau, Marcel 298
St. Petersburg, Russia 281, Italy 349, 370, 374-5, 460 lens 408-9 “Marilyn Monroe”
380 Renaissance 270 leopard 187, 193 (A. Warhol) 311
herons 156, 167, 184 Ivory Coast 361 leopard seal 107, 179 Mariner 10 space probe 42
Herrerasaurus 134 lettuce 343 Mars 34, 35, 44-5
herring gull 170, 171
Heterodontosaurus 134, 145 Jjacana 169 levers 418
lichens 61
marshes 27, 166-7
marsupials 186, 188-9
hibernation 190 lifeboat 467 matte painting 318-19
hieroglyphs 258 jackal 195 light 49, 87, 350, 366-7,
jaguar 192 Maxim, Sir Hiram 423
Himalaya Mountains, Nepal 10 408-9, 410 Maya 356, 357
Hinduism 305, 386 Janáček, Leoš 309 energy 404-5, 438-9
Japan 346, 384-5 mayfly 127
hippopotamus 210-11 photosynthesis 64-5, Mecca, Saudi Arabia 365
Hiroshima 423 theater 274-5, 296 86, 397
jeans 355 medicinal plants 267, 272,
holly 63 lily 66, 72 273, 383
Hollywood, California 316 jerboa 204, 205 lime 336
Jerusalem, Israel 266, 365 Mediterranean 265, 336, 372,
honey possum 74, 189 limequat 337 374
honeybees 124-5 jet engines 420, 472 limestone 20, 22-3
honeyguide 174 jewelry 253, 279, 361 melamine 448
Lindbergh, Charles 470 melting points 401
honeypot ants 121 Jews 266, 365 lion 192
Hong Kong, 383, 465 joints 245 Mercalli scale 19
liquids 400-1, 412, 446 Mercury 34, 35, 42, 49
horse chestnut 63, 76 Jordan 266, 342 Lisbon, Portugal 373
horses 208-9, 252 jungle fowl 173 Mesopotamia 256-7
liverworts 61 metals 442-3
hospitals, field 290-1 junks 465
hothouses 342-3 living things 396-7 metamorphic rocks 20-1
Jupiter 34, 35, 46-7 llama 213, 330
houses 277, 289 Jurassic period 134 meteors and meteorites 51
Ancient Rome 262-3 lobster 91 methane 434, 435
Houses of Parliament, London,
England 368-9, 422 K
Ka’ba, Great Mosque 365
locusts 122-3, 324
logging 352-3, 388
London, England, underground
metronome 300
Mexican hat plant 81
hover flies 110-11 Mexico 176, 273, 357
Hovercraft 468-9 kagu 182 railway 462-3 sugar production, 346
Hubble space telescope 52-3 kakapo 183 longships 264-5 Mexico City 357
human body 218-247 kangaroos 188 lory, blue-crowned 283 Middle East 364-5
humans 57 kelp farm 435 Louis XIV, King of France 306 milk 330-1
hummingbird 75, 158, 173 Kenya 362 Louis XVI, King of France 284 Milky Way 9, 34, 54, 55
Hungary 379 kestrel 153, 181 Low Countries 370-1 millet 322, 325
hunters 252-3 kibbutzim 365 “Lucrezia Panciatichi” mime 298, 305
hunting birds 160, 180-1 Kiev, Ukraine 264 (Il Bronzino) 310 minerals 238, 336
HW-1 rocket 36 Kim’s game 225 Ludwig II, King of Bavaria 376 mining 430-1
hydrofoil 468-9 “King Ramses II” 310 lunar modules 37, 38-9. 41 miracle plays 296
hydroponics 71, 343 kingfisher 168 lungs 232-3 mites 397
Hypsilophodon 141, 145 kiwi 182, 183 Luxembourg 370-1 molding machine 448-9
hyrax 216 koala 187, 189 molecules 398-403
Hyundai shipyard,
South Korea 385
Korea 384, 385
Krak des Chevaliers, Syria 266 M
machine gun 423
moles 190, 191
Molière 298
Krakow, Poland 379 mollusks 88, 94-5
Iibis, scarlet 166-7 krill 87, 102, 178
Kublai Khan, Emperor 269
machines 418-19, 440-1
Machu Picchu, Peru 359
mackerel 97
Mongolia 380, 381
monkey 199, 200-1
Kumasi, Ghana 278-9 monkey puzzle tree 82, 145
ice 28-29, 398 kumquat 337 Magellan space probe 42-3
icebergs 25 magma 17, 20, 21 monorail 463
monstera 63
Iceland 15, 265, 367
igloos 350
igneous rocks 20-1
L
La Paz, Bolivia 359
magnets 416-17
magnolia 73
magpie 153
moon 24
missions 38-41
Iguanodon 144, 145 Lacroix, Christian 370 Magritte, René 311 Morocco 360, 361
illusions, optical 222 ladybug 112, 340 Maiasaura 132, 133, 139 Moscow, Russia 380-1, 462
India 316, 346, 349, 386-7 Lagos, Nigeria 361 Malaysia 388-9 mosses 61, 396
dance 304-5 Lagosuchus 134 Mali 361 moths 114-15, 118-19
Indonesia 302, 348, 388-9 lamprey 97 mallard 169 motorcycles 355, 454-5
industrial revolution 286-7 languages Mallee fowl 177 motors 420
insects 57, 108-127 See individual countries Mamenchisaurus 142 Mount Furano-Dake,
insectivores 190-1 larch 59, 163 mammals 57, 102, 106, 151, Hokkaido, Japan 385
Inter-City Express (ICE) laser light 409, 437 186-217, 397 mountain ash 82
460-1 Laurasia 15 mammoth 252 mountains 12-13, 20-1, 28-31,
internal combustion engine lava 16-17, 20, 21, 23 Mandela, Nelson 363 33
420-1 lead 442 mandrill 200 mouse 186, 204-5, 413
Inuits 348, 350, 353, 381 leafcutter ants 120 Manitoba, Canada 323 movement 397, 404, 414-17
Ireland, Republic of 368, 369, leaf insect 123 man-of-war 465 Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
370 leaves 62-3, 64-65, 82 manta ray 100 303
iridium 151 leeks 341 manure 438 mullein 73

476
Mumbai, India 386 Oman 364 pigs 320, 210-11, 334-5 quartz, shocked 151
mummification 258-9 onions 340, 341 pine 62, 77, 145, 162, 163 Quebec City, Quebec,
muscles 218, 219, 240-1, 243 opera 308-9, 375 pineapple 273 Canada 352, 353
music 294, 300-3, 360-1, 369 opossum 189 Pioneer spacecraft 47, 52 quetzel 77
musical instruments 267, 300-3 optical fibers 409 pirates 389 quinine 273
musket 423 orange 336-7, 373 pitcher plant 66
Muslims 266-7, 365, 381
mustang 209
orangutan 198-9
orb web spider 129
plaice 97
planes 271, 470-3 R
rabbit 186, 221
orbits 48-9 planets 42-9
N
narwhal 103
orchestras 302-3
orchids 61, 73, 74
See also Earth
plankton 86-7
race cars 457
rack railway 463
radar 52, 137
Orion (constellation) 53 plants 57, 58-83, 87, 396-7,
nautilus 95 Ornitholestes 134 403, 408 radiation 436, 437
nebulae 53, 54 oryx, Arabian 214 medicinal 267, 272, 273, radio telescope 52-3
nectar 74, 75, 76 ostrich 158, 182-3 383 radish 340
Nepal 386, 387 plastics 432, 447, 448-9 rafts 468
otter 187 railroads 286-7, 386, 460-3
Neptune 34, 46, 48-9 owls 153, 160, 164, 184-5 Plateosaurus 134
nerves 219, 226-7 plates, earth 14-15, 18-19 rainforest 58-59
elf 176, 177, 185 raisins 339
nests 156-7 oxen, musk 214 platypus 186
net-casting spider 129 plays 298-9 rapeseed 328, 329
oxpecker 174 raptors 180, 181
Netherlands 370-1, 454 oxygen 58, 96, 232 Plimsoll mark 467
Neuschwanstein castle, plover, ringed 156, 171 rats 204, 205
ravines, Tunisia 33
Bavaria 376
New Delhi, India 386 P
Pacific islands 390-1
Pluto 48-9
poinsettia 72 rays 101-2
razor shell 88
New Moscow Circus 381 polar bear 196
New World 272-3, 276-7 Pacific Ocean 282 pollen 72, 74-5, 76 recycling cars 445
New York 354 paella 373 pollination 74-5, 76 red monarch butterfly 116
New Zealand 182, 390, 391 Painted Desert, Arizona Pollock, Jackson redwood, giant 83
Newfoundland, Canada 265 20 311 reed warbler 166
Niagara Falls 438 painting 310-11, 410-11 pollution 351, 379 refineries 446
Nigeria 349, 61 caves 252-3, 310 air 357, 456 refraction 408-9
nightingale 164 Renaissance 270-1 Polo, Marco 268-9 reindeer 253, 330
Pakistan 386, 387 polystyrene 448, 449 relay races 261
nightjar 184 Renaissance 270-1
Nile River, Africa 31 Palestine 266 polythene 448, 449
palms 64 poppy 73, 76, 397 reproduction 246-7, 396
Nobel, Alfred 422 pampas grass 61 plants 72, 74-81
nocturnal birds 184-5 porcelain 268, 269
panda 186, 196, 197 porcupine 206 reptiles 134, 151, 397
nodding donkey 433 Pangaea 15 Return of the Jedi (film) 318-19
nonflowering plants 61, 397 porpoise, harbor 105
panpipes 301 portraits 310-11 revolutions 284-7
Norilsk, Russia 350 panther 193 rhea 183
North Africa 360-1 Portugal 370, 372-3
Papua New Guinea 391 Portuguese caravel 464 ribs 233
North America 176, 272, 276 papyrus 81 rice 326-7, 382, 388
food production 325, 331, Potala palace, Tibet 383
Paris 370 potato 80-1, 272, 273, 340-1 Riesenrad, The, Vienna,
347 opera house 308 Austria 377
North Pole 160, 416, 417 pottery 254, 255
parrots 152, 153, 172, 173 power stations 438-9, 440-1 rivers 20, 30-1
northern Eurasia 380-1 Parthenon, Athens, Greece 374 roadrunner 176
Northern Ireland 368, 369 prairie chickens 175
passion flower 60-1 prairie dogs 206, 207 roadtrains, Australia 458
Norway 264, 366 pasta 375 robin 153
nuclear energy 405, 436-7 prawns 91
Pavarotti, Luciano 309, 375 praying mantis 123 robots 404-5, 426-7, 445
nuclear weapons 422-3 peacock 156 rockets 36-9, 41, 414
primates 200
numbat 189 peacock moth 119 printing press 270 rocks 20-3, 29, 151, 442
numerals 267 peanut 78, 273, 329 propellers 466, 468, 470-1 volcanic 17, 21, 23
Nunavut, Canada 353 peccary 210, 211 prosthetic makeup 319 rodents 204-7
nymphalid butterfly 118 Peking opera, China 299 proteins 238, 240 Rodin, Auguste 295
Penan people 388 Przewalski’s horse 208 roll-on/roll-off ferry 467
O
oak 59, 78, 82, 83
penguins 178-9, 182, 183, 351
pentathlon 261
ptarmigan 160-1
puffin 170, 171
Roman Catholic church 373,
375
percussion 302-3 Pugachev, Emilian 281 Romania 378-9
oats 322-3 peregrine falcon 180-1 Romany people 378-9
observatories 53 pulleys 419
perfume, 267 pulsar 55 Rome, Ancient 262-3, 297
obsidian 21 peristalsis 239 Romeo and Juliet 298-9
oceans 13, 24-5 pulse 231
Peru 250, 349, 359 pumice 11 roots 64, 70-1, 340-1
octopus 84, 86, 94-5 petrochemicals 447 rose 76-7
Odeillo, France 438-9 pumpkin 277
pewter 442 purse web spider 129 rosella 155
oil 404, 405, 428, 432-3, 446-7 phalarope, red 161 Rosetta mission 51
Alaska 433 Puya raimondii 72
Phillipines 346 pyramids 258, 360 rowan 165
Middle East 364 photography 286, 314-15 Royal Flying Doctor Service,
vegetable 328-9, 446 pyraustine moths 119
photosynthesis 64-5, 86, 397 Australia 390
okra 343
olives 328-9, 373
Olivier, Laurence 298
physics 394
Picasso, Pablo 310
pigeons 155, 165
Q
quadrant 283
royal jelly 125
runestones 265
Russia 265, 280-1, 380-1
Olympic games 260-1 piggyback plant 80 quail, Gambel’s 177 Russian Orthodox church 380

477
rye 322-3 shrew 190, 191 stars 52-5 Tenontosaurus 147
sight 160, 223-3, 408 Statue of Liberty 354 tenrec 191
S
Saami people 367
signing 220
silk 115, 268, 269, 310
steam engines 420
steamships 286, 466
TGV train 453, 460-1
Thailand 346, 389
Silk Road 268-9 steel 401, 429, 430, 442-3 theaters 296-9
safety lamps 431 silkworm 115 Stegosaurus 135 thistle 69
St. Basil’s cathedral, silver 272, 442 Steller’s jay 162 thrush 164
Russia 380-1 Singapore 388 stems 68-9 Tibet 383
St. David’s Day 369 siskin 162-3 stick insect 123 tides 24
Saladin 266 skeletons 27, 97, 219, 236, stigma 72, 74, 76 tiger 192
Saltasaurus 135 242-3 stilt, black-winged 167 Tigris River 256, 257
sampler 293 dinosaur 138-9, 140, 141, stingray 100-1 timber 352-3, 388
Samurai 251, 274-5 149 stomata 62, 65 tin 442
San Andreas Fault, CA 18 Ski-doos 350-1 stork 167 tires 415, 444, 457
sand dunes 27, 32-3 skiing 366, 377 story telling 265, 305 Tokyo, Japan 462
sand gaper 88 skin 228-9 Strauss, Levi 355 tomato 272, 273, 342
sandgrouse 176 skull 236 strawberry 77, 81 tombs, Royal 258, 360
sandstone 11, 20 slate 21, 293 string instruments 267, 300, Tonga 391
São Paulo, Brazil 358 slaves 263, 290, 291, 357 301, 302-3 tongue 235, 241
Sarawak 22, 388 See also serfs studios 315, 317 tools 252-3, 254
satsuma 336, 337 slopes 418-19 Sudan 361 Torosaurus 135
Saturn V rocket 36-9, 41 smell 195, 234-5 sugar 291, 346-7, 399 totem poles 352
Saudi Arabia 32 smew 169 Sugar Loaf Mountain, Brazil toucan 172
saunas 366 snake’s head fritillary 73 21 touch 226-7
sauropods 140, 141, 142-3 snow bunting 160 sugarbeet 346-7 trade 256-7, 265, 276
sawfish 101 snowplow 461 sulphuric acid 447 Silk Road 268-9
saxophone 300 soccer 375 sultanas 339 tragedies 298
scallops 88 solar power 438-9 Sumerians 256-7 trains 287, 386, 460-3
Scandinavia 366-7 solar system 48-9, 55 sun 9, 24, 34, 35, 350, 366-7 transformers 441
Scolosaurus 141 solenodon 191 sundew 67 transpiration 63
scooters 372, 455 solids 398-9, 412 sunflower 68, 272, 329 transportation 452-473
Scotland 301, 368, 369 “Son of Man” (R. Magritte) sunlight See light Transvaal daisy 73
Scott, Captain Robert 351 311 superboats 469 trapdoor spiders 130
screws 419 songbirds 164-5 supernovas 55 tree creeper 163
sea anemone 84, 91 sorghum 322, 325 surface tension 401 trees 60, 65, 68-9, 82-3
sea charts 464 sound 220-1, 308, 412-13 swamps 31, 166-7 See also forests
sea cucumber 93 South Africa 288, 289, 363 sweet pea 68 Triceratops 133, 135
sea gooseberry 87 South America 201, 272-3, sweet pepper 342
sea horse 97 Triassic period 134
301, 358-9 sweet potato 341 triplane 471
sea lily 93 birds 166, 172, 183 sweetcorn 272, 277, 322,
sea lion 107 food production 325, 331 tropical sundial shells 84
324-5 trucks 458-9
sea slug 84 South Pole 416 Switzerland 376, 377
sea urchin 93 Southeast Asia 388-9 truffle hunting 335
Sydney, Australia 390-391 tsunamis 18-19
seabirds 170-1, 178 soybeans 328, 329 opera house 308, 450
seals 86, 106-7 Soyuz rocket 37 tubers 340-1
to Perth railway 461 tugs 466
sedimentary rocks 20-1 space shuttle 37
tundra 160
seeds 72, 74, 76-7
germination 78-9, 343
Spain 253, 372-3
Spanish moss 71 T
Taipei 101, Taiwan 450
turnip 340
turtles 84
seismology 19 sparrowhawk 165
Seismosaurus 137 Sparta, athletics 261 Taiwan 383 tusk shell 88, 89
semitrailers 458, 459 sperm 246 takahe 183 Tyrannosaurus rex 134, 135,
sempervivum 81 spices 268-9 Talbot, William Fox 286 136, 138-9, 148-9
spiders 108, 128-31, 346 Tales of Beatrix Potter, The
U
senses 220, 222, 226-7, 234-5
flies 110 spinning 333 (ballet) 306
serfs 280, 281 Spirit of St. Louis (aircraft) “Tall Ships” race 464 uakaris, bald 200
sesame 328, 329 470 tamarin 200, 201 ugli fruit 336
Seti I, King of Egypt 258-9 spitfire 471 tanager, scarlet 154 Ukraine 380, 381
Seven-Five-Three festival, spitting spider 131 tangerine 336 Uluru 11
Japan 384 spoonbill 167 tank 271, 422-3 United Kingdom 368-9
sexual intercourse 246 springs, hot 16 tap dancing 305 United States of America 354-5
sextant 464 spruce 83, 163 Tarbosaurus 149 animals 194, 196, 215
shag 171 squash 277 Tasmanian devil 189 food production 326, 327,
Shakespeare, William 297, squid 95 taste 234-5 328, 346
298-9 squirrels 206, 207 tea 344, 387, 464 uranium 405, 436
shallot 341 Sri Lanka 386, 465 tears 222 Uranus 46, 47, 48-9
sharks 84, 97, 98-9 stageset 309 teeth 236-7 urn plant 80
sheep 214, 215, 254, 320, 330, stag’s horn fern 60 teflon 449 Uzbekistan 381
332-3 stag’s horn sumach 58 telephones 353, 409
shellfish 86, 88-9
ships 264-5, 385, 464-7
stalactites 10, 22
stalagmites 23
starfish 85, 86, 92-3
telescopes 52-3, 271, 283
tellin 88
temperatures 401, 407
V
V-2 rocket 36
shoebills 167
Shogun 275 starlings 153 tendons 241 valleys 13, 29, 30-1

478
vampire bat 203 Winkler, Johannes 36 & Architecture Collection: 256tl, 162-3, 151tl, K.Taylor 117bl, 123br,
wobbegong 99 260, 261c, 268bl; Aquila 127tl, 258bl, N.Tomalin 192cr,
Vatican city, Rome, Italy 375 Photographics: C.Greaves 167tl; M.Viard 335crb, J.Visser 205cr,
vegetables 340-1, 342-3 wolf spiders 131 Archiv Fur Kunst und Geschichte, R.William 119tl, 141c, K.Wothe 69bc,
New World 272-3, 277 wolves 147, 194-5 Berlin: Musee 201tl; Bruce Coleman Inc.: 113c;
oils 328-9, 446 wood carving 352, 361 du Louvre, Paris 310bcr; Ardea: Colorsport: 375crb, Sipa Sport
Velociraptor 146 woodchuck 206 G.K.Brown 177l, D.Parer & E.Parer- 469cr; Comstock Inc.: George Lepp
woodland birds 164-5 Cook 13t, K.W.Fink 209cra, F.Gohier 159cl; Corbis: Astier/BSIP 424cb,
Venera space program, 43 102b, 103t, 105tc, 213cb, C.Haagner Dave Bartruff 367ftl, Blue Jean
Venice, Italy 268, 375 woodpeckers 158, 164, 177 13b, J.M.Labat 188c, Mike Osmond/ Images 424-5, Tami Chappell/Reuters
Venus 34, 35, 42-3, 52, 283 woodwind 302-3 Auscape Int.102-3, J.Swedberg 170c, 472tr, Leo Mason 472tl, Tom Sibley
Venus flytrap 66-7 wool 332-3 R.&V.Taylor 98b, A.Warren 203cr, 425br. Derngate Theatre,
verdin 177 wren cactus, 177 199b, A.Wearing 239tr; Art Northampton 380tr; DLP: D.Heald
Wright brothers 470 Directors: 352c; ASAP: Y.Mazur 342-3c, D.Phillips 301tc; Dorling
vetch 76-7 365tl; Australia House: 461bc; Kindersley: Neil Fletcher 128, Kate
vibration 412-13 writing 256, 258, 382 Australian Picture Library: 371r; Howey and Elgan Loane of Kentree
vicuña 212, 213 Wuppertal, Germany 463 Aviation Picture Library: Austin Ltd, Ireland 426br, David Leffman/
Viking spacecraft 44-5 J.Brown 472tr, 473tc. Hans Rough Guides 367cr, Gary Ombler/
Vikings 250, 264-5
vinegar 338
X
X-rays 243
Banziger: 119cl; Michael Benton:
137clb; BFI Stills, Posters &
Designs: courtesy Productions La
Oxford Museum of Natural History
145cl, John Rigg/The Robot Hut
426bl; Dreamstime.com:
vines 338-9 Fete Inc., Montreal, Canada 378tr; Dreamstime.com/Christian Delbert/
Vinland 265
virtual reality 424-5 Y
yak 215
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris:
267c; Biofotos: Heather Angel 29cr,
62br, 68br, 71tl, 78c, 78clb, 81tc,
Babar760 375tc, Orcea David 425tr,
Dimbar76 380bl, Fred Goldstein
369tr, Ifeelstock 425c, Konstantinos
vision 160, 222-3, 408 106tr, 344cb, Bryn Campbell 25, Moraitis 456fbl, 456-457cb, 457bl,
vitamins 238, 336-7, 399 yam 341 Brian Rogers 29cra; Birmingham Pavel Losevsky 380cl, Manaemedia
voices 309 Yanomami tribe, Brazil 359 Museum: 349crb; Black Hills 425cra. Ebenezer Pictures:
volcanoes 14, 16-17, 20-1, 25 Yap island 391 Institute of Geological Research: J.Browne 383crb; Ecoscene: 449tc;
yarrow 73 Ed Gerken 138bl, 139tc; BNFL: ESA: ATG medialab 51cl;
vole, sagebrush 205 437crb; Bridgeman Art Library: E.T.Archive: 288bc, 464tr, National
volume 400 Yucatán, Mexico 150-1 Bibliotheque National, Paris 310cl, Maritime Museum 282tl, bl, V.&A.
Voyager space probe 46-7, 49 Yukon Delta, Alaska, USA 31 Christies, London ©1993. Pollock- Museum 251cr; Mary Evans
vulture 180 Krasner Foundation 311cr, Forbes Picture Library: 284l, 285tr&b,
Z Magazine Collection 287tc, Galleria 287b, 314tr, 357cl, 376clb, 422clb.

W
wading birds 166-7
zarzuela de pescado 373
zebra 208-9
del’Academia, Florence 313l, Galleria
degli Uffizi, Florence 310bcl,
Giraudon 306tl, 310bl, Giraudon/
Gary Farr: Photo appears courtesy
of New Line Cinema Corp. 317crb;
Chris Fairclough: 313tr, 330bl,
Zen Buddhism 274 Louvre 303br, National Palace, 447tc; Ffotograff: Patricia Athie
Wales 368, 369 Mexico City 272br, Guildhall Library 369crb; Fine Art Photographic:
wallaby 189 zinc 442, 443 462c, Musee Rodin, Paris 295br, 286bl; Focus, Argentina: 358-9c;
walrus 106, 107 zoology 396 National Gallery, London 311tl, Michael & Patricia Fogden: 77br;
waltz 304-5 zucchini 343 Phillips 311bc, Private Collection Foods from Spain: 337bl; Ford
warbler 158 Zulus 363 ©ADAGP, Paris & DACS, London Motor Co.Ltd.: 456tr; Werner
1993 311bl, Private Collection Forman Archive: Asantehene of
Warhol, Andy 311 ©DACS 1993 310br, Tretyakov Kumase 279crb, Plains Indian
water birds 168-9 Gallery 280bl; British Aerospace: Museum, Buffalo Bill Historical
water power 33, 438 424bl; British Coal: 430tl, cr, 431tc, Centre, Wyoming 276; Fotolia:
waterfalls 30-1, 438 cl, bl; British Gas: 434br, 435c; Stocksnapper 355ca; French
Courtesy Trustees of the British Railways Ltd.: 461tr; Fullwood:
water-skiing 468 Museum: 250bl, 251bl, br, 258tl, 331c. Christina Gaiscoigne: 265tr;
watts 441 258-9c&b, 259r, 260t, 260-1t, John Paul Getty Museum: 262cr;
waves 25, 26-7 278-9t, 357cra; British Steel: 430cl, David Gillette, PhD: 137tl; Getty
wax 399 442br, 443bl; John Brown: 447bra. Images: Ebrahim Adawi/AFP 319tc,
© Canon: 314tl, 314fbl; J.Allan Oleg Albinsky 355, Andia 453cla,
waxwing 162-3 Cash: 433c; Christie’s Colour Chabruken 248-9, Gianluca Colla/
Wayang Topeng, Bali PICTURE CREDITS Library: 293bc; Bruce Coleman Bloomberg 426cb, Charles Crowell/
389 Ltd.: 170-1, D.Austen 212c, Bloomberg 451bl, John Crux 357cr,
weapons 252, 274-5, The publisher would like to Jan & Des Bartlett 176cl, 182b, DreamPictures 386-7c, E+/Mie Ahmt
thank the following for their Erwin & Peggy Bauer 141tc, 175cr, 366tr, E+/ Yuri_Arcurs 364-5bc, ESA/
276, 422-3 kind permission to reproduce M.N.Boulton 81tr, Mr.J.Brackenbury Rosetta/MPS 51br, Flightlevel80
weathering of rocks their photographs: 122t, J.Burton 67bl, 78cla, 113bl, 453ca, Romeo Gacad/AFP 389cr,
20-1, 28-31, 33 194-5t, 204cr, J.Cancalosi 325cl, Gallo Images/Motivate Publishing
weaver ants 120 123RF.com: Aberration 396br, G.Cappelli 339cr, D.Chouston 180tr, 451cla, Chris Gorgio 224-225c,
bloodua 369cr, deusexlupus 457br,
weaver birds 157 Dinodia 349br, Grafner 295tr, Robert
A.Compost 198-9t, E.Crichton 114b, hadynyah 387bc, The Image Bank/
145bl, 402cl, G.Cubitt 66tr, 69cr, Martin Child 450c, iStock Editorial/
weaving 279 Klein 449cra, Iryna Linnik 369fbr, P.Davey 216cl, A.Davies 200c, F.Erize csakisti 364bc, Jesusdefuensanta 310tl,
Guatemala 356 nerthuz 452br, Niphon Subsri 395br, 107tl, 178tr, 206tr, Dr.I.Everson 102t, Johner Images 366c, Jason Kempin/
Ghana 361 425crb, rawpixel 456bc, 456br, MPL Fogden 75tl, 118tr, Jeff Foott WireImage 426-7, Kimimasa
“Weeping Woman” saiko3p 386br, Szilard Szanto 314br, 61cl, 104-5b, 176r, 209ca, C.B. & Mayama/Bloomberg 457cra, mrbfaust
Vladimir Kramin 456bl A.F.P. D.W. Frith 64cl, F.Furlong 170tl, 314fbr, Bill Nation/Sygma 457tl,
(P. Picasso) 310 Photo, Paris: Mufti Munir 387cra; J.Grayson 109tr, D.Green 158tr, Nordroden 350tr, nycshooter 457bc,
welding 445 Air France: 473tl; Alamy Images: F.Greenaway 171tc, U.Hirsch 72br, olrat 453bl, Joaquin Ossorio-Castillo
whales 84, 86, 102-5, 412 Chad Ehlers 366clb; Alamy Stock M.P.Kahl 65tr, S.C.Kaufman 67br, 385cr, Photographer’s Choice RF/
wheat 254, 322-3 Photo: Andrew Bell 460tr, 201br, 347bc, S.J.Krasemann 115cb, Franz Aberham 367tc, Pictorial
wheel 257, 418 BonkersAboutTravel 363c, 202-3b, 331bc, F.Labhardt 126cb, Parade/Archive Photos 425tc, Monty
ClassicStock 266-267c, Design Pics H.Lange 61tr, G.Langsbury 171cl, Rakusen 441tr, Rastan 53tl,
whirlpool galaxy 52 Inc 386cl, Dinodia Photos 316bc, F.Lanting 116br, L.Lee Rue 66br, RichLindie 351cr, Robert Harding
white ermine moth 118 Friedrich Stark 387crb, Futuras Fotos 329tr, 363bl, M.Timothy O’Keefe World Imagery/Eurasia 450ftl, Joel
wildebeest 208, 214 278tl, Juergen Freund 70bl, Mohamad 336bc, W.S.Paton 193tr, M.R.Phicton Saget/AFP 450ftr, sankai 332bl,
Williams, Tennessee 298 Haghani 147b, Planetpix 37r, Rodolfo 137cra, 210cr, D.& M.Plage 10b, Sankei 427tr, Science Photo Library
Arpia 314cl, Taigi 50clb, Tom Uhlman
willow, weeping 82 407; Doug Allan: 179cr, c; Allsport:
217cr, Dr.E.Pott 74cr, 329br, Dr. 245tr, sdbower 61crb, Stone/Arnulf
Sandro Prato 66-7c, 115cr, M.P.Price Husmo 366-7, suwich 130cr, Time
wind 32-3, 82, 154 Russell Cheyne 391cr, Yann 58-9c, A.J.Purcell 74bl, 109tc, M.Read Stopper 442bc Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP
wind machines 318, 336 Guichaoua/Agence Vandystadt 404tl, 130t, H.Reinhard 60bl, 71tr, 106bl, 427c, Universal Images Group/
windmills 439 D.Klutho 459bl, S.Powell 261br, 210tr, 215tc, F.Sauer 123b, J.Shaw Environment Images/UIG 424clb;
wine production 338-9, 371 Pascal Rondeau 415br; Ancient Art

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Giraudon: 285tc; Ronald Genoa, Servizio Beni Culturali Dr.Chris Pellant: 26; Photostage: 313br; Staatlische Museen zu
Grant Archive: 317br; EMI 268tl; Michelin: 415cr; Donald Cooper 298bla, bl, 299br, Berlin, PK Antikensammlung/
Film Productions Ltd.: 306c, Massey-Ferguson Ltd.: 321br; 309tl, c, bl; Pictor: 31t; BPK: 260b; Standard Fireworks:
© Saul Zaentz Co., all rights Michel Muller: ©Henry Moore Picturepoint Ltd.: 361ca; Pitt 409tl; Steel Can Recycling
reserved, Francois Duhamel: Foundation (1993) reproduction Rivers Museum, University of Information Bureau: 419; Still
318bl; S.&R.Greenhill: 220cl, by kind permission of the Henry Oxford: 251tl; Planet Earth Pictures: B.&C. Alexander 367c,
236cl; Geoscience Features: Moore Foundation 312br; Pictures: K.Ammann 3br, 210-1b, N.Dickinson 388c, J.Schytte 438tr;
16c, 17, 23tr, 151cl. Rafn Museum of Automata: York © G.Bell 188-9cb, J.Braagirde 207cr, Tony Stone Images: 264-5b,
Hafnfjord: 15; Robert 426cl; Museum of London: J.Brandenburg 194cl, 196tr, M.Clay 348-9c, 352cr, 355cr, 356 cr, 368cl,
Harding Picture Library: 23tl, 250br, 262b, 263; Museum of 192cl, L.Collier 93bc, R.Coomber 377cra, 405bc, 428-9c, 433tc, Glen
27b, 252tr, 256br, 266bl, 271cl, the Rockies: Bruce Selyem 136b, 166tl, 217tc, P.David 85cr, H.C.Heap Allison 5cr, 439tl, Chris Baker
282-3b, 316tr, 333tc, 342tl, br, 137br. NASA: 37l, 39br, 40, 42br, 32, A.Kerstich 94cl, K.Lucas 95tc, br, 186-7c, P.Berger 389cla, K.Biggs
347tr, 353cl, 362cla, 366tr, 43t, 47tl, 49c, 150cr, 415tr, 427bc; 108-9, 198tl, J.Lythgoe 20r, 405tr, Bryn Campbell 349bl, Paul
372cla, 374tr, 434cl, 439cr, ESA and A. Simon (NASA R.Matthews 201c, D.Perrine 88-9b, Chesley 348cl, 345cra, 389cl, 462bl,
444cl, bl, 445tc, 451br, 455tc, Goddard) 47cr, ESA, and the Christian Petron 89br, M.Potts 31b, B.Chittock 390tr, P.Correz 468c,
463cr, 496tl, tc, tr, Bildagentur Hubble Heritage Team 55cr, R.S.Rogoff 195tr, A.&M.Shah 192bc, R.Frerck 372cla, Roy Giles 465cr,
Schuster/Meier 379bl, M.J. Goddard/GSFC 4tl, 11cb, 11bl, P.Scoones 84-5c, J.Scott 216cb, M.Gowan 382c, D.Hanson 354bc,
Bramwell 470-1c, P.Craven 11br, 53tc, 53cra, 55br, JPL 46br, 216-7c, P.Stephenson 214bl, D.Hiser 348bl, 357bc, 391tc,
380-1, G.Heller 385bc, 52cl, JPL - Caltech 55crb, H.Voigtmann 100b, J.D.Watt 104bl, A.Husmo 367b, 404cl,
J.Green 471tl, D.Maxwell 232cl, JPL/University of Arizona 45tr, Norbert Wu 94tr; Popperfoto: 425tc, A.Le Garsmeur 382cb, J.Murphy
C.Rennie 328bl, 381c, 455tr, JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt 55bc, 470cl; Premaphotos: 466bc, S.Proehl 385tl, Olaf Soot
W.Rawlings 370cb, V.Southwell JPL-Caltech/SSI 46tr, 46cr, K.G.Preston-Mafham 119b, 120bl, 357bl, N.Turner 365cr; Swift
257tr, G.M.Wilkins 469cra, A.Wolf JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Jason 122br, 131t, R.A.Preston-Mafham Picture Library: 252-3c; Sygma:
460bc, A.Woolfitt 370-1bc, 386cla; Major 47br, JPL-Caltech/Univ. of 128tl; Quadrant: 473cr, A.Dalton J.Andanson 371tl, T.H.Barbier-Proken
© Hasselblad: 314bl; Holt Toledo/NOAO 53crb; ©National 446-7c. ©John Reader 1994: 359cra, 470br, A.Grace 379cla, A.Gyori
Studios International: Geographic Society: Wilbur E. 360clb, 362cr, b, 373tl, 389tr, 391c; 378cl, J.Jones 363cl.Telegraph
R.Anthony 325bl, D.Donne Bryant Garrett 350cl; National Maritime Renault: 457cr; Retna Pictures: Colour Library: 304cl, 402br,
327tr, cr, Nigel Cattlin 68cl, 78cr, Museum: 453br; National Palace J.Welsby 375c; Rex by Colorific!/Claus Meyer, Camara Tres
bc, 323cb, 326-7t, 333cla, 334bl, Collection: Museum of Taipei, Shutterstock: Disney/Kobal 318cr, 358bl, /Roger Ressmeyer, Wheeler
340br, 343cla, 344c, 345br, Jurgen Taiwan, Republic of China 269br; 319cl; Rex Features Ltd.: M.Friedel 355tl, Masterfile/H.Blohm 351bl,
Dielenschneider 329bc, Primrose NATS Swanwick control centre: 374cl, Stevens/Zihnioglu/ Sipa Press 353cla, /John Foster 353tl, /J.A.Kraulis
Peacock 341c, Inga Spence 320-1c, 473cl; Natural History Museum, 375cla, Stills/Pat/Arnal 370cr; 352cla, /V.C.L. 374br; TomTom:
338-9tc, 339clb; House of London: 137crb, cb, 138cl, bc, br, Ludwig Richter: Guttenberg 425cr; Topham Picture Source:
Marbles: 292tl,tr; Dianne R. 283r; Nature Photographers Museum 270c, bl, br; Royal Botanic 271bc; Truck Magazine: 459 bc.
Hughes: Biological Sciences, Ltd.: Frank Blackburn 180bl, Gardens, Kew: David Cutler 70br; University of Bristol: Dr.Mervyn
Macquarie University, NSW K.Carlson 166bl, Hugh Clark 163b, Royal Collection, St.James’ Miles 399t; Courtesy of U.S. Navy:
Australia 99tc; Hulton-Deutsch A.Cleare 171c, E.Janes 167b, Palace ©Her Majesty The Queen: US Marine Corps photo by Lance
Collection Ltd.: 304c, 470bl; P.Sterry 335br; Peter Newark’s 280tl; Royal Geographical Society: Cpl. Thomas P. Miller 5br, 468-9.
Robert Hunt Library: 423br; American Pictures: 285crb, 351tc; Royal Museums of Jack Vartoogian: 307tr; Vauxhall:
Hunterian Museum, Glasgow: 291tr; Network Photographers: Scotland: 250bcr. Scala: 253tr, 445bl; Vu Agence: Christina Garcia
Malcolm McCleod 278b; J.Leighton 376cla, Barry Lewis Iraq Museum, Baghdad 257tl, Museo Rodero 372cr; Max Whitaker: 328cl;
Hutchison Picture Library: 378b, 379cr, Paul Lowe 364cla, della Scienza, Firenze 271tr, Museo Windsor Castle Royal Library,
296clb, 361tl, Sarah Errington Dod Miller 369tl, Laurie Sparham Vinciano, Vinci 271cb; Science ©1992 Her Majesty The Queen:
363tl, V.Lamont 325c, L.McIntyre 379cr; NHPA: Agence Nature Museum: 36c, 39bl, 42cr, 44-45; 27tl. ZEFA: 65bra, c, 182cr, 198bl,
325tl, M.MacIntyre 302bl, Stephen 214c, H.Ausloos 210clb, 403cr, Science Photo Library: A.Bartel 229tr, 289b, 295tc, 312bl, 323cl,
Pern 381cl, John Ryle 358cl. A.Bannister 75tr, 114tl, 130bl, 422bl, 438cl, 440-1tc, Dr.Jeremy 329cra, 335cra, 355bl, 359ca, 364cl,
The Image Bank: 444tr, S.Allen G.Bernard 71br, Bishop 60cl, Burgess 399cr, CNRI 243tr, 394-5c, 402tr, 406bl, tr, 438bc, 441c, 459br,
457crb, D.Berwin 366c, I.Block N.A.Callow 68tl, L.Campbell T.Craddock 430tr, 438-9bc, Fred 462tl, 465tr, Damm 30, 374cla,
390cl, A.Caulfield 450tl, 371cl, 69crb, S.Dalton 75b, 110tl, tr, Espanak 34-5c, European Space Davies 368tr, G.Deichmann/
G.M.Corian 137cla, A.Choisnet 116tr, 123bl, 190clb, tr, 204cla, c, Agency 8b, 10tl, Dr.G.Feldman/ Transglobe 33b, T.Dimock 399bc,
308cr, M.Coyne 450cl, G.V.Faint M.Danegger 152-3, J.B.Free 69tc, NASA/GSFC 87tr, S.Fraser 1c, W.Eastep 466bl, J.Feingersch 409br,
280-1t, 460bla, D.Fisher 412tr, S.Krasemann 113tr, M.Leech 205l, 447tr, 150bc, Adam Hart-Davies Freitag 160tr, Goebel 351tl, R.Halin
Fotoworld 377cl, Di Giacomo D.Middleton 83r, M.Morecombe 410cr, Gary Hincks 14-5b, Kapteyn 401tr, Heintgel 168cl, bc, c, Knight &
332-3, T.King 468bl, R.Lockyer 74tl, L.H.Newman 175cl, Laboratorium 52b, M.Marten 437tl, Hunt 33t, W.McIntyre/Allstock 21l,
308tl, N.Mascardi 392-3, R.Phillips A.Papaziar 101b, S.Robinson 198c, J.Mason 437tr, A.McClenaghan NASA 408tr, R.Nicholas 473tr,
301tr, Andrea Pistolesi 356b, John Shaw 74c, 82cl, 161c, 196cr, 411br, P.Menzel 424bc, 460tlb, Rossenbach 27t, Schlenker 358cla,
Barrie Rokeach 354br, Marc R.Tidman 159cr, M.Tweedie Prof.Motta/Dept. of Anatomy, Schroeter 409tc, B.Simmons 312tl,
Romanelli 301c, Guido Alberto 113crb, D.Watts 178cr, Martin University ‘La Sapienza’, Rome M.Tortoli 123c, A.Von Humboldt
Rossi 212tr, 288tl, Schloter 445br, Wendler 122c, 183cl; Nissan: 235br, 238tl, 410tr, Prof.E. Mueller 464cr, T.J.Zhejiang 344bl; Zinc
H.Schoenbeck 460-1bc, M.Skaryd 445tr. Oxford Scientific Films: 151c, NASA 10-1c, 49t, 50b, 151b, Galvanising Association: 443tl.
472cl, J.Smith 443tr, Harald Sund D.Allan 107c, 179tr, Animals, 412tl, 414, 442bl, NOAO 54b, Claude
288-9, 383cb, Dag Sundberg 367c, Animals 113cl, Breck P.Kent Nuridsany & Marie Perennou 28tl, All other images © Dorling
Jack Ward 209br, Frank Wing 338c; 214-5b, K.Atkinson 88c, S.Bebb cla, bl, D.Parker 18, Max Planck Kindersley
Images: 2tr, 229cl, 234cla, 244cr, 20l, Hans & Judy Beste 202bl, Institute 52t, E.Pritchard 452-3c,
287cr, 370cl, 390cla, 396tc, 404bl, G.Bernard 172tr, Neil Bromhall/ R.Ressmeyer, Starlight 436bc, 437bc, For further information see www.
466tr, 467tr, cr, 472tl; Impact: Genesis Film 247t, S.Camazine R.Royer 54-5, J.Sanford 51t, c, dkimages.com
M.McQueen 422cla, G.Mendel 128tr, J.C.Cannon 179tl, Densey Dr.R.Schild/Smithsonian
363br, M.Mirecki 373tc, B.Rybolt Clyne 121c, M.Colbeck 33c, Astrophysical Observatory 54t, tl - top left
298tr. Jacana: A.Le Garsmeur D.Dale Photo Researchers Inc. Dr.R.Spicer 150cl, S.Terry 21r, 42bc, clb - centre left below
382tr, Jean-Michel Labat 157tc, 110b, B.Fredrick 126c, MPL A.Tsiaras 413tr, U.S.Dept.of Energy tr - top right
Jean-Philippe Varin 159t. Kobal Fogden 121t, 346tr, D.Lee 412bl, 427br, 436tl, 437cr, D.Vaughan 351c, crb - centre right below
Collection: 305tr, 316cl, 317cra, tr, S.Littlewood 114cl, R.Lynn/Photo E.Viktor 150bl; Schwangau/ cla - centre left above
Warner Bros. 318br. Ian Lambot: Researchers 148tl, J.&C. McDonald Ostallgau, Germany: Tanner bl - bottom left
451tl,cl,bl; Frank Lane Picture 188-9c, T.McHugh 18bl, 147tr, Nesselwang 376bl; Sea Containers: cra - centre right above
Agency: E.&D.Hosking 191tl, G.A.McLean 124tr, Mantis Wildlife 469crb; Survival Anglia: Jeff Foott br - bottom right
S.McCutcheon 28clb, M.Newman Films 114tr, 120tl, T.Middleton 211tr, 435bl, J.&I.Palmer 324c, cr - centre right
160-1, R.Van Nostrand 124tcr, 23b, C.Milkins 128cl, S.Osolinski J.M.Pearson 194bl, Alan Root 189cr, tc - top centre
Fritz Polking 174bl, Len Robinson 192-3t, P.Parks 86clb, c, 86-7b, t, J.Root 211c; Shell: 434-5tc; Harry c - centre
185t; Legoland: 367cl; Lockheed H.Reinhard 333c, J.H.Robinson Smith Collection: 337cr, 341cl; cb - centre below
Martin: 449tr. Magnum: Abbas 156bl, F.Schneidermeyer 104cl, Smithsonian Institute, cl - centre left
360tr, Eve Arnold 382-3c, Bruno David Thompson 73tr, 125bl, Washington D.C.: 132br; Society bc - bottom centre
Barbey 294-5c, 373c, Fred Mayer R.Toms 177r. Panos: 363tr; for Co-operation in Russian & f - far
373bl, Chris Steele Perkins 359c; Peabody Museum, Yale Soviet Studies: 281bl, br; Frank
MARS: U.S.Navy 422tr; Marshall University: 133bl, J.H.Ostrom Spooner Pictures/Gamma:
Cavendish Picture Library: 146br; The Performing Arts Graham 370cla, T.Mackie 314cr,
267tr, 292tc, bc, Palazzo Tursi di Library: Clive Barda 309br; Rotolo 461cl, V.Shone 381bc, W.Volz

480