The People of Sparks picks up where The City of Ember leaves off. Lina and Doon have emerged from the underground city to the exciting new world above, and it isn't long before they are followed by the other inhabitants of Ember. The Emberites soon come across a town where they are welcomed, fed, and given places to sleep. But the town's resources are limited and it isn't long before resentment begins to grow between the two groups. When anonymous...

In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

A little princess is protected by her friend Curdie and her newly-discovered great-great-grandmother from the goblin miners who live in caves beneath the royal castle.

For centuries, the residents of the underground City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights and quiet contentment. But when the City's massive power generator begins to fail, the streetlamps fade - along with the hopes of the townspeople. Now it will be up to two courageous teenagers to follow a trail of clues left by the ancient builders to find the way out of Ember before their world is plunged into complete darkness.

In the spring 2003, kids, parents, teachers, librarians—whole communities—discovered and fell in love with Jeanne DuPrau's story about a doomed city, and the two children who found a way out. Nearly 10 years later, that story, The City of Ember, is a bona fide classic, with over 1.7 million copies sold. Now experience Jeanne DuPrau's vision anew as artist Niklas Asker faithfully brings to life the glare of the lamps, the dinginess...

"The Alpha and Omega teams are in a race for the six essential elements that can fuse into a new source of clean energy, but the elements are scattered throughout the galaxy, and the teams are running out of time"--

Discusses the legal and emotional aspects of the adoption process and examines the current movement for giving the adoptee freeaccess to the records concerning his or her origin.

Discusses the methods, regulation, and ethics of cloning in relation to agriculture, medicine, endangered species, and human beings.