The Biography of Bananas reveals the murky past and uncertain future of the tasty banana. Almost unknown in North America before the 1870s, bananas quickly became a popular fruit with a rocky More →

Next to petroleum, coffee beans are the second most valuable commodity traded in the world. Young readers will be fascinated to learn how this popular product is grown, harvested, processed,… More →

Maize, or corn, was the staple food of many early cultures in South America, Mesoamerica, and the Caribbean. The Biography of Corn will teach young readers how the farming of corn spread to… More →

From plant to T-shirt, this intriguing new book follows the history of this natural fiber from its earliest beginnings in Pakistan and Peru to its world-wide use today. Color photos and maps… More →

The ancient Incas grew potatoes on terraced farms in the Andes Mountains around 200 B.C. Spanish conquistadors brought the potato from South America to Europe in the 1500s. Since then, the… More →

Rice is one of the world's most important cereal crops. From wild plants in Asia and Africa, to its cultivation by ancient peoples 8,000 years ago, rice has helped shape the course of… More →

This fascinating new book explores how one of the world's most important products starts out as sap from a tropical tree and ends up as tires on your family car. Find out how this sap was… More →

The Biography of Silk follows the path of the Silk Road to tell the story of this luxury material. From its origins in China through to its production in major medieval cities, silk has for… More →

Empires were made from the growth and sale of spices and the age of discovery was launched in pursuit of them. Exciting text and historic images explain to children how spices were used to… More →

What was the world like before sugar? Find out how the human desire for sweets made a tropical grass into a valuable commodity around the world. With the use of colorful images and maps, The… More →