In a gorgeous history that spans continents and millennia, Aarathi Prasad weaves together the complex story of the queen of fabrics. Through the scientists who have studied silk, and the biology of the animals from which it has been drawn, Prasad explores the global, natural, and cultural history (and future) of a unique material that has fascinated the world for thousands of years. Silk—prized for its lightness, luminosity, and beauty—is also one of the strongest biological materials ever known. More than a century ago, it was used to make the first bulletproof vest, and yet science has barely even begun to tap its potential. As the technologies it has inspired—from sutures to pharmaceuticals, replacement body parts to holograms—continue to be developed in laboratories around the world, they are now also beginning to offer a desperately needed, sustainable alternative to the plastics choking our planet. Aarathi Prasad’s Silk is a cultural and biological history from the origins and ancient routes of silk to the biologists who learned the secrets of silk-producing animals, manipulating the habitats and physiologies of moths, spiders, and mollusks. Because there is more than one silk, there is more than one story of silk. More than one road, more than one people who discovered it, and wove its threads. From the moths of China, Indonesia, and India to the spiders of South America and Madagascar and the silk-producing mollusks of the Mediterranean, Silk is a book rich in the passionate connections made by people of science to the diversity of the animal world. It is an intoxicating read, a mix of biography and science, that not only brings to life the vast, winding history of silk, but also looks to its future as a resource with incredible, untapped potential.

Doll Bones meets Skandar and the Unicorn Thief in this spooky, illustrated middle grade novel about a boy who doesn’t believe in magic discovering a supernatural world full of danger. It began with a crack in the wall . Eleven-year-old Benjamiah Creek believes in science, logic, and the power of reason. He definitely does not believe in magic. But when he receives a mysterious doll in the mail—a doll that can transform into a bird—he is led into an impossible (and most definitely magical) Wreathenwold. Wreathenwold is dangerous and holds many secrets within its labyrinthine walls—magi prowl, Hanged Men stalk, and at the center of its shifting streets lurks the Minotaur, a beastly creature and object of terror. In no time at all, Benjamiah is swept into a perilous adventure with the fierce and brilliant Elizabella, a girl determined to solve the disappearance of her missing brother, who may be caught up in a decades-old conspiracy that could doom them all. Will Benjamiah ever find his way home? Or will he be lost forever in the labyrinth?

Grace Evans, an overworked New Yorker looking for a total escape from her busy life, books an Airbnb on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming. When she arrives, she's pleasantly surprised to find that the owner is a handsome man by the name of Calvin Wells. But there are things Grace discovers that she's not too pleased about: A lack of cell phone service. A missing woman. And a feeling that something isn't right with the town. Despite her uneasiness and misgivings from Calvin's friends and family, the two grow close and start to fall for one another. However, as her departure date nears, things between them start to change for the worse. Grace grows wary of Calvin as his infatuation for her seems to turn into obsession. Calvin fears that Grace is hiding something from him. Told from dual points of view, You Shouldn't Have Come Here is a thrill ride and a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when you open up your house and your heart to a total stranger.

With wonder and a sense of humor, 'NATURE OBSCURA' author Kelly Brenner aims to help us rediscover our connection to the natural world that is just outside our front door - we just need to know where to look. Through explorations of a rich and varied urban landscape, Brenner reveals the complex micro-habitats and surprising nature found in the middle of a city. In her hometown of Seattle, which has plowed down hills, cut through the land to connect fresh- and saltwater, and paved over much of the rest, she exposes a diverse range of strange and unknown creatures. From shore to wetland, forest to neighborhood park, and graveyard to backyard, Brenner uncovers how our land alterations have impacted nature, for good and bad, through the wildlife and plants that live alongside us, often unseen. These stories meld together, in the same way our ecosystems, species, and human history are interconnected across the urban environment.