In Wheels & Axles, the inhabitants of Mammoth Island decide to use the concept of a wheel and axle to create a feather machine that will help them dry their mammoths. The wheel and axle is a simple machine that makes work easier by changing the effort that force needs to move an object. Aside from their feather wheel, the islanders discover that the wheel and axle is at work all around them -- from waterwheels and windmills to turbines and doorknobs.
In Springs, a visiting inventor observes a family harvesting coconuts on Mammoth Island, using a number of devices called springs. Springs come in two shapes: There are coil springs, and there are bending bars -- called "leaf springs"-- which is what the islanders use to improve their coconut collecting. When a spring is bent, the molecules on one side are pushed together while the molecules on the other side are pulled apart. So once the bending force is removed, the molecules rapidly "spring" back into their natural places. Springs store potential energy when they are stretched or compressed.
Hammond (Going to Bend) shares the story of charismatic mega-vertebrate Hannah, the elephant star of the failing Max L. Biedelman Zoo, in her sweet but slow third novel.
Terry Deary and Martin Brown’s brilliant books about the nastiest periods in history have now - with the help of some astounding actors and directed by Dirk Maggs - been transformed into a series of audio extravaganzas. Featuring new, extra material not found anywhere in the books, these sound spectaculars are just as thrilling and spilling, funny and fast as their printed counterparts. Horrible Histories are guaranteed to bring you history with the nasty bits left in!
The Savage Stone Age clubs you over the head and drags you back to the days when people lived in caves, hunted wild animals and had never heard of table manners.
BBC Radioshow Set in a small town in Switzerland, The Pledge centers around the murder of a young girl and the detective who promises the victim’s mother he will find the perpetrator. After deciding the wrong man has been arrested for the crime, the detective lays a trap for the real killer—with all the patience of a master fisherman. But cruel turns of plot conspire to make him pay dearly for his pledge. Here Friedrich Dürrenmatt conveys his brilliant ear for dialogue and a devastating sense of timing and suspense. Joel Agee’s skilled translation effectively captures the various voices in the original, as well as its chilling conclusion.
