Showing results by narrator "Dan Schoeneberg" in All Categories

It’s Big Bear’s birthday! His best friend, Skinny Rabbit, helps him celebrate and even gives him a present—a new hammock! Big Bear makes a lot of requests, though. Will Skinny Rabbit be able to enjoy the day, too?

How did forgetting to wash a jar make cars safer? A scientist named Édouard Bénédictus accidentally dropped a plastic-coated flask that did not break. This invention was tested and engineered to help today's windshields protect drivers better.

In the late 1700s, young Louis Braille overcame his disability by inventing "night writing," a system of raised dots to help blind people read. This alphabet of raised dots allowed sightless people to live more independent lives.

In the 1870s, grasshoppers known as Rocky Mountain locusts destroyed crops and farms across the Great Plains states, then were never seen again. Where did these bugs come from and where did they go? That's the great grasshopper mystery!

A very nasty witch hatches an evil plan to make a pie made of children! Too bad, the child she snatches up is Hector, the naughtiest boy in town. The witch will have her work cut out for her as Hector keeps disrupting her plan! Hector will not go down without a fight!

Have you ever wondered why most people can eat foods like chocolate, but dogs cannot? Or why you may get sick after drinking one too many sodas? Learn more about how some poisons are used for good. Some poisons can be used in medicines, but remember: too much of a good thing can be bad for you!

You’ll love this collection of heroic adventure stories. In "A Willingness to Act", Dyne Shaizar learns what makes a hero: not physical ability or a lack of fear, but a willingness to act, to do the right thing no matter the cost. He then helps the warrior Haddon defeat a beast. Also included are two other hero stories: "Stray Magic" and "Save a Kingdom."

In this Indian tale, a wise mathematician named Sessa invents the game of chess to amuse the king and requests a single grain of wheat as his reward for the first square of the chessboard, double that the following day for the second, and so on. In the end, Sessa gets the real reward he wanted all along – a wiser and more mathematical king.

Do you like math? Math is so much more that just numbers and counting! It can be fun! You don’t have to be a magician or a mathematician to perform tricks with numbers. Just listen carefully and follow the directions. Remember, a good numbers trick never gets old.

Can you imagine visiting a doctor's office for an illness or injury, but getting treated by a robot instead? According to some researchers, this could be the reality in the not too distant future. Ongoing research into artificial intelligence and its use in medicine might someday produce robots that will work alongside human doctors and nurses to deliver the best health care possible.

Flowers may look pretty, but some can be downright deadly! In England, you can explore the Poison Garden—a place where flowers are known for their beauty on the outside and poison on the inside! In this story, you'll be able to learn about and see these flowers safely without interacting with them.

Are we born afraid of snakes, or is it something we learn from other people?

You'll love this collection of folktales from China. In "The Magic Paintbrush", Liang is given a magical paintbrush that has the power to turn anything he paints into real life. Liang must be clever, using both his brain and painting power to escape the greedy emperor. Also included are five other Chinese folktales: "The Water Bucket", "Song Dingbo and the Hungry Ghost", "Money Problems", "The Terrible Kites of Len Yo", and "The Divine Tortoise."

On a chilly day in 1947, a Japanese inventor named Momofuku Ando observed people waiting out in the cold for a hot meal. He dreamed of bringing fast-cooking noodles to the whole world. And he did—with ramen noodles! Sometimes the simplest inventions are the best!

Moshe is a frightened young boy when he and his family must flee their hometown from the Nazis. He risks starvation to find his way into the home of a Good Samaritan. Afraid he has lost his family in the Holocaust, Moshe carries on in the only way he knows how: by playing his violin.

Sports engineering analyzes a player's moves and the equipment. One challenge was the "spaghetti racquet", which caused an uproar in the tennis world.

What else is there to do on a hot, summer day? Head to the flea’s pool, of course! In this funny rhyme, all the animals head to the pool to cool down.

Have you ever wondered why the days are so long in the summer and short in the winter? Or why we have hot weather and colder weather? Read on to learn about the Earth, how it spins around the Sun, and the seasons!

Enjoy this collection of origin folktales, also known as pourquoi stories, that explain why things are the way they are. In "Why Alligator Hates Dog", everyone respects M'su Cocodrie, the king of the swamp, except the dogs, who taunt him and make lots of noise.

Enjoy this collection of stories about middle-school children performing. In "World Music", Niccolo’s parents are professional musicians who play with a symphony orchestra. They want Niccolo to spend the summer playing violin with the youth symphony orchestra. Niccolo enjoys classical music and playing his violin, but after meeting his new neighbors, Jeremy and Melly, he wants to try something different.