Learningisland: 800 books

How many lenses does a dragonfly’s eye have? Which is bigger, an eagle’s eye or a human’s? How many eyes does a scallop have? How do lizards keep their eyes wet? Animal eyes can be really strange and wonderful. How much do you know about the eyes of your animal friends? Find out more...

The koala is a small animal that lives in trees. It is a native animal of Australia. The adult male Koala is called a buck. The adult female is called a doe. A young koala is a joey. There are two types of koalas. The southern koala is found around the state of Victoria and up to the bottom of New...

“Welcome to our little museum,” they heard a voice say. When their eyes adjusted they saw a man standing in front of them. “I’m Salty Bill and I’ll be your guide today. That will be two dollars each,” he added. “Cash only.” Their father turned over six dollars and the man quickly stuck...

“Thank you all for coming,” Alice said. “It seems we’ve had a break in. The police have already come and checked everything out. Unfortunately they didn’t find any fingerprints or anything else.”“I’d like to start by asking John, the caretaker, to tell you what happened tonight,”...

Peter Markham, the local bully stood before Kris Williams. They were standing outside the school at the end of the day. “Something came in that your mom would love,” Peter continued. “I know you’ll want to buy it.” Kendall and Jamie stepped up behind Peter just in time to hear the last line. “What...

“Hey, look at this,” Jamie said. She pointed to the inside of the trunk lid. Everyone looked. Stamped on the lid were some words: This trunk belongs to President Abraham Lincoln Springfield, Illinois “This trunk belonged to Abraham Lincoln?” Kim asked. “We could sell this for hundreds!”...

“Ten thousand dollars,” Carl answered. “I could get a lot more for it where I’m going in Europe. They remember the war over there. My grandfather was considered a hero by the people of France and England too. I’m only willing to sell it for this low of an amount because this was his hometown.” Is...

I was driving down a nearly deserted road. It was a shortcut I often took to get home from town. I’m not sure it was any shorter, but it was definitely quieter. A lot fewer cars came this way. Perhaps it was because most of the houses weren’t out this direction. Maybe it was even because of the...

Our sun is an average star in our galaxy. It is a sphere of burning gas that provides light and heat. It makes our plants grow and allows them to turn carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. If our sun were to shine a little less or a little more brightly, life as we knew it would not exist. A drop...

The ship came into the harbor, running full out in front of a storm. No one thought she’d make it, but she did. But then the town discovered that there was no one on board. She was called the Providence. It was a fitting name, for she brought Providence to our town, and much, much more to the widow...

Mary MacKillop devoted her life to educating poor children. With the help of Father Julian Woods, she established her own religious Order, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. She set up over 100 schools, educated 12,000 children, and received approval from the Pope for her Order. Mary constantly...

Machu Picchu is one of the few surviving ruins of the Inca Empire. It is situated in tropical forests on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains. It stretches five miles across a ridge and sits on top of two earthquake fault lines.The Spanish invaded South America looking for gold. They killed the...

St George, defender of the helpless and slayer of dragons is a saint honored by many countries and many religions. He is as popular with Muslims and Jews as he is with Christians. How could this happen? We know dragons never existed. How could someone be so well known and honored worldwide for something...

St Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, is one of the best known saints of the Western World. Legends claim he converted the country of Ireland to Christianity and drove all the snakes into the sea.Most of what we know about Patrick comes from his own writings.Patrick wrote about his thoughts, dreams and...