Following up on the New York Times bestselling Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid, with more than 200,000 copies in print, here is a globe-spanning history of invention like no other. This illustrated and STEM-oriented exploration of the planet’s 94 most interesting inventions and scientific discoveries sends middle-grade readers on an unforgettable trip around the planet and across time.

Each spread focuses on a world-changing technology and how it led to or influenced the tech or discovery on the next page. Starting with the very first invention, fire, readers will spelunk the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa for evidence of humankind’s earliest control of flames, then learn how fire is necessary to create another essential tech: glass, including the modern-day glass bridge in Zhangjiajie, China, that offers a crystal-clear (and terrifying!) view of the chasm 1,300 feet below.

As you gaze at comets through telescopes, create unbreakable codes, zap space garbage with lasers, and break supersonic records in the world’s fastest car, gorgeously illustrated scenes will transport readers across continents and centuries into a world of wonder and discovery.

Wonderfully illustrated and brimming with holiday spirit, this unique advent calendar features 24 jewel-like miniature board books to help children count down to Christmas.

Each day from December 1st through Christmas Eve, open a book, just like the peek-a-boo window on an Advent calendar, and then hang it on the Christmas tree by its gold thread loop. Read in sequence, the books tell the magical story of the first Christmas, from Gabriel’s visit to Mary to the Three Wise Men gazing at the star to Jesus’ birth.

A treasured keepsake to reuse year after year.