K'reeth and her sister, K'rin, were named for the moonbirds--sister raptor birds who share parenting duties, one the nurturer, the other the hunter and defender. Orphaned by catastrophe and adopted by the High Mistrada of the T'bredi scholars, they're teachers entrusted with all the gathered wisdom of the Ayanlak. Their bond of sisterhood is tested when K'reeth falls in love with the Wind Walker Talon. The relationship is further strained when the new peace with the Colonist invaders includes a promise to send home all the children who have been rescued by and raised among the Ayanlak--and K'reeth is the first. Her forced journey to be reunited with a family she doesn't even remember eventually takes both sisters across the continent and into the nest of political intrigue and contention that may tear their world apart--on the very brink of peace and the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.
B95 can feel it: a stirring in his bones and feathers. It's time. Today is the day he will once again cast himself into the air, spiral upward into the clouds, and bank into the wind. He wears a black band on his lower right leg and an orange flag on his upper left, bearing the laser inscription B95. Scientists call him the Moonbird because, in the course of his astoundingly long lifetime, this gritty, four-ounce marathoner has flown the distance to the moon—and halfway back! B95 is a robin-sized shorebird, a red knot of the subspecies rufa. Each February he joins a flock that lifts off from Tierra del Fuego, headed for breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic, nine thousand miles away. Late in the summer, he begins the return journey. B95 can fly for days without eating or sleeping, but eventually he must descend to refuel and rest. However, recent changes at ancient refueling stations along his migratory circuit—changes caused mostly by human activity—have reduced the food available and made it harder for the birds to reach. And so, since 1995, when B95 was first captured and banded, the worldwide rufa population has collapsed by nearly 80 percent. Most perish somewhere along the great hemispheric circuit, but the Moonbird wings on. He has been seen as recently as November 2011, which makes him nearly twenty years old. Shaking their heads, scientists ask themselves: How can this one bird make it year after year when so many others fall? National Book Award–winning author Phillip Hoose takes us around the hemisphere with the world's most celebrated shorebird, showing the obstacles rufa red knots face, introducing a worldwide team of scientists and conservationists trying to save them, and offering insights about what we can do to help shorebirds before it's too late. With inspiring prose, thorough research, and stirring images, Hoose explores the tragedy of extinction through the triumph of a single bird. Moonbird is one The Washington Post's Best Kids Books of 2012. A Common Core Title.
Popular account of a tour of the Furneaux Islands, Bass Strait; short history of their discovery; brief study of the Aborigines - extermination; descendants now on the islands of mixed race.
Journey to the exotic South Sea island of Bali, a magical land of dark jungles, of ancient Gods, and terrifying demons. Madai lives on Bali and dreams of life beyond his island paradise. Yet his wildest dream could not prepare him for the odyssey that lies ahead after he finds a moonstone amulet that introduces him to the spirit world.
Every living thing in the universe but one is made of starlight. The Okro lives deep in the forest and eats the starlight before it can return to the heavens. Moonbird sings the starlight back from the Okro, and flies it to Mother Moon in her silvery feathers.
An inspiring fantasy story from Katya Balen, author of The Space We're In and October, October. Maggie wants her dad to take her birdwatching like he promised but he's too busy and she ends up at the zoo with her auntie and her annoying cousins. There, she sees a strange bird and takes one of its beautiful silver feathers home. Little does she know, that this is the start of a magical adventure in the moonlight... This magical story features black-and-white illustrations by Pham Quang Phuc. The Bloomsbury Readers series is packed with book-banded stories to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2 by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence. With black and white illustrations and online guided reading notes written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for home and school. For more information visit www.bloomsburyguidedreading.com. Book Band: Dark Blue (Ideal for ages 9+)
Along with the maturing of blockchain technology, the scope of Web3 has been expanding from hash rate to crypto market, then from crypto market to metaverse. This book introduces the origin of the Web3 concept, before looking into the infrastructure of Web3, namely the blockchain and its main applications — the development of which started from the genesis block of BTC to date. The book also covers the key developing tracks of the current Web3 world, including DeFi, NFT, GameFi, DAO and Metaverse. A review of the 'twins' of Web3 — investors and regulators — in the regulation of this field wraps up the discussion.
In a world where magic is the norm, a young woman with little magical ability finds herself expelled from the prestigious magic academy by her own mother. Alone and lost, she encounters a rebellious spirit with a fiery temper in the heart of the forbidden woods. Unbeknownst to them, their chance meeting ignites a spark of unimaginable power, revealing hidden destinies intertwined with ancient prophecies. As their magical abilities surge, they become targets of mysterious forces determined to control their fate. Bound by a shared secret and a common enemy, they embark on a perilous journey to unravel the truth about their origins and the looming threat to their world. With each step, they forge unbreakable bonds of friendship, discover the true depths of their courage, and unlock the secrets of their extraordinary powers. Can they master their combined strengths before darkness consumes everything they hold dear? Stormfire: Enchanted Family Saga is a captivating young adult fantasy adventure that explores themes of friendship, loyalty, and the power of destiny.
Rescuing K'reeth from her kidnappers brought an epic storm down on their enemies, but common sense said the Dominators were far from defeated. Taron and K'reeth had dreamed of a world where Ayanlak and Na'huma colonists could live together in peace and acceptance. Now that she was pregnant, they needed to make that world a reality, and soon, or their child of two races might never be born. Admiral Dorwen had a dream of a peace village, where both groups of galactic refugees could learn from each other and learn to share their world, which the Ayanlak had named Storm Shelter and the Na'huma colonists had named Refuge. As fall turned to winter, volunteers gathered and shared ideas, and traveled to the T'bredi enclave, where they would be safe from their enemies, to prepare to start building in the spring. Touching while meeting together in the Dream Plain had always been forbidden, and the storm created when Taron rescued K'reeth illustrated exactly why. But that discovery sparked curiosity, and K'rin and other scholars delved into the archives to learn more about the Dream Plain, who had learned how to use it, and what else they could do in the realm of the mind. If people could travel wide distances through the Dream Plain--granted, with devastating consequences--what else could travel through it? The discovery of ancient treasures stored in the Dream Plain, unchanged by the centuries, opened doors of speculation and possibilities, and a chance to delve the secrets of the ancestors.
