Jeannie Meekins: 172 books

TV and movies will have you believing that black holes are huge holes in space and anything that falls into them is lost for all time – possibly falling into another universe or another time, or even falling forever. You may think that black holes run around in space like huge vacuum cleaners sucking...

Maria Sklodowska was a Polish girl who wanted a proper education. She changed her name to and went to university in France. She met and married Pierre Curie and began to work with radioactivity.Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. Hers...

What is a Space Shuttle? How can something that can’t fly go into space? Do spiders spin webs in space? Do astronauts get space sick? This book answers all these questions and more, plus everybody’s favorite: How do astronauts go to the toilet? This book was written in 2007, prior to the end of...

Wilbur and Orville Wright dreamed of flying. They designed, built and tested gliders. They studied wings and propellers. They designed and built an engine.After years of testing and a few crashes, they flew the first powered aircraft. This is the story of their life.Find out more about these...

Mary Tudor was a princess who should have been a queen. Instead, her father shunned and disowned her because she was not a boy. After the deaths of her father and half brother, she had to fight those in power who sought to keep her off the throne.She was eventually crowned Queen of England. Her battles...

Circling the heavens is a belt of rock and dust. Lying between Mars and Jupiter and orbiting our sun, The Main Asteroid Belt was once thought to be the remnants of an exploded planet or the beginnings of a planet that never formed. How much do you know about asteroids? Can you answer these questions: Where...

For thousands of years, many kingdoms and empires have fought for control of the Rhine River. It changed hands many times and defined where countries would come to exist.From its beginnings in the Swiss Alps, the Rhine has cut huge gorges, valleys and waterfalls. Its growing delta spreads across the...

The Nile River has amazed people for thousands of years. It runs opposite from most river systems. It floods for miles, pushing back the desert and providing farming lands for civilizations to thrive. It fills a massive swamp and has canyons and waterfalls that are as spectacular as anywhere in the...

Alexander the Great was a Greek ruler. He conquered many lands. He also built or named 17 cities Alexandria – after himself. One of these cities is in Egypt, about 20 miles west of the Nile River Delta. In this a massive, ancient lighthouse was built. The Lighthouse of Alexandria is one of the Seven...

After William, the French Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold of England at the Battle of Hastings, William became King of England. He built a fortress along the River Thames where he could maintain control of London and watch any invaders coming along the river. The fortress became The Tower of...

The Danube is a romantic river. It begins in the Black Forest of Germany, slashes gorges through the mountains and meanders along broad plains. Many castles and palaces have been built along its banks. Many cities have been built, destroyed and rebuilt. A truly international river, it is a source...

John Flynn was a man with a dream. The outback of Australia was a land of risk and adventure. It was also a land of isolation and danger.Flynn wanted to create a “mantle of safety” across the outback. He set up hospitals, hostels, nursing homes and welfare centres, and created the world’s first...

When we look at clouds in our sky, we can sometimes make out shapes. This is called pareidolia, where the human brain finds shapes or patterns hidden in random images. This can also happen with nebulas – clouds of dust and gas in space.There are two main types of nebulas; bright and dark. There...

The Great Wall of China is a man-made wonder, spanning thousands of miles. It spreads from the Pacific Ocean in the East to the Gobi Desert and beyond in the west. Much of it has stood for hundreds of years, with some portions over 2000 years old.The Great Wall stood as a wall of defense for many...