A huge sea monster has attacked and wrecked several ships from beneath the sea. Professor Arronax bravely joins a mission to hunt down the beast. He goes aboard the Nautilus, a secret submarine helmed by the mysterious Captain Nemo. At first, the mission is exciting, as Nemo takes Arronax on a voyage around the underwater world. But when things start to go wrong, Arronax finds there’s no escape from the Nautilus. He is now Captain Nemo’s captive 20,000 leagues under the sea!

Future designers, engineers, and architects will find hours of discovery in Macauley’s newest book about what can be accomplished with common sense, imagination, and technology. It focuses on the design challenges and solutions that go into the building of everyday structures — bridges, tunnels, skyscrapers, domes, and dams. It also contains detailed drawings and a glossary.

Paulsen writes about the real events that influenced Brian Robeson’s story in Hatchet. Paulsen’s stint as a volunteer emergency worker, experiences racing dogs in Alaska, and other hair-raising exploits give a glimpse into the real-life adventures that inspire his characters.

Dead men don’t tell tales. But their bones do! Lively text and color photos — in combination with the subject of solving crimes through the bones of the victim — is a sure way to whet the appetite of pre-adolescent readers. Dr. Michael Charney, a forensic anthropologist, takes the reader on a step-by-step investigation that shows how a person’s sex, race, age, height, and weight can be determined from studying his or her bones and teeth.

Hatshepsut’s male siblings died, leaving her young nephew pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Although second-in-command, Hatshepsut gradually took more and more control and had herself crowned. There was no word in her language for a female ruler, so she called herself pharaoh, or king, a male title. She began to wear men’s clothing and a gold beard in public. After Hatshepsut died, her nephew destroyed symbols and statues of her in an attempt to erase all signs of her reign. In spite of this, archaeologists have pieced together the remarkable story …

Fairies and other storybook characters that fly make wings seem magical. So does Marilyn Singer, even though this book is pure nonfiction. Facts about wings are just truly remarkable. Dragonflies can zoom up to 60 miles per hour. Ordinary houseflies can take off backwards or sideways. And did you know that not all wings are used for flying? Kid-friendly illustrations, interspersed with scientific drawings, bring the winged world to life!

Angela Johnson’s original new picture book pays tribute to the men, “from Native Americans to Europeans to Asians to Africans,” who with their “blood, sweat, and courage” have built America’s bridges, railroads, and skyscrapers. Poetic text and dramatic watercolors illustrate the hard work and danger these men faced.

In this novel, the noted animal author transports two brothers named Ryan and Nathan to a Jurassic world in which giant insects swoop and dive and a volcano simmers. Their adventures–including an encounter with a doting dinosaur who mistakes Nathan for her newly hatched baby–will captivate any reader who has ever wished to meet a dinosaur face to face.

Safari gives armchair explorers an opportunity to visit African animals in their natural habitats. A naturalist who often travels to Africa to paint wildlife, Bateman offers 12 paintings of animals along with little-known facts. For example, watching giraffes run is like “watching a herd of galloping rocking horses,” he says, but to see how they coordinate the movement of their necks and legs, you have to rock, too.

Also about a family, this story introduces a spunky girl determined to learn why her father is so angry and demanding. Chartreuse “Charlie” Pippin seeks her uncle’s help to learn about the Vietnam War. Boyd touches on sensitive issues that many young readers who would like to have a closer relationship to a parent will recognize.