ICE: THE AMAZING HISTORY OF THE ICE BUSINESS

ICE!: THE AMAZING HISTORY OF THE ICE BUSINESS, by Laurence Pringle (Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills 2012)(ages 8+).  Before mechanical refrigeration, there was ice, which had to be harvested during the winter, stored, transported, and then delivered to customers.  ICE! offers a fascinating glimpse into a lost industry and illuminates a portion of day-to-day life a century ago. Photos and sidebars offer additional information and insights.

THE PLANT HUNTERS

THE PLANT HUNTERS: TRUE STORIES OF THEIR DARING ADVENTURES TO THE FAR CORNERS OF THE EARTH, by Anita Silvey (FSG/Macmillan 2012)(ages 8+).  For centuries, daring adventurers have searched the remotest corners of the earth, daring wild animals, disease, and physical hardship, all in a quest to bring back new specimens of plants for medicinal, scientific, economic, and aesthetic purposes. 

THE PLANT HUNTERS provides richly-drawn and detailed accounts of some of these little known explorers.  In addition to touching on contemporary aspects of botany, THE PLANT HUNTERS offers a fascinating and eminently readable account of an aspect of the history of science most people don't think much about.