Shipwrecked on Padre Island

Shipwrecked on Padre Island

Written by: Isabel R. Marvin

"After the shipwreck, 13-year-old Catalina and her father spend frightening days on the island with other survivors. Fast forward to the present. A teenage visitor to Padre Island finds a bracelet lost by Catalina, thus forging a link between the two girls separated in time by 400 years."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.nps.gov/pais/historyculture/1554-1.htm
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/PP/rrp1.html

The Land and Resources of Texas: Shaping the Growth of the State

The Land and Resources of Texas: Shaping the Growth of the State

Written by: Isabelle Marfa

Easy Readability

"The diverse geographic features of Texas offer unique opportunities in agriculture and business. This book examines how land and resources have helped shape its history and economy. Intriguing maps and graphic organizers are included to create a fun and enriched learning experience."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://irnr.tamu.edu/
http://www.texaslandtrustcouncil.org/

Devil Storm

Devil Storm

Written by: Theresa Nelson

"This novel describes the Galveston hurricane of 1900 which killed more than 6,000 people. Thirteen-year-old Walter Carroll wonders if the house in which he lives on Bolivar Peninsula, across from Galveston, is safe as the storm increases in intensity. His mother wants to stay, but Walter wonders if defying his mother and fleeing is the
wiser choice."

Social Studies Center (SSC)

Online Resources:
http://www.1900storm.com/
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/history.shtml

Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park

Written by: Joel Nick Patoski
Photographs by: Laurence Parent

"Big Bend National Park is one of the few places left in America where a person can literally get away from it all. Nestled in the great bend of the Rio Grande that forms one of the most distinctive features of the silhouette of Texas, the park is several hundred miles from any large city. Within its 1,250 square miles of mountains, canyons, desert, and river, Big Bend National Park offers visitors respite from the stresses of urban living-a place for taking stock and charting new courses. That's one reason why many people return to the park year after year. This book is the first and only comprehensive photographic and word portrait of Big Bend National Park."

Product Description

Online Resources:
http://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm
http://www.virtualbigbend.com/

Texas Coast

Texas Coast

Written by: Joe Nick Patoski
Photographs by: Laurence Parent

"This beautiful book combines Laurence Parent's magnificent photographs with Joe Nick Patoski's entertaining text to create a one-of-a-kind portrait of the Texas coast. Parent's images capture Texas beaches, bays, estuaries, and salt marshes from Sabine Pass near the Louisiana border to Boca Chica, where the Rio Grande (sometimes) enters the Gulf of Mexico. He records all the familiar and distinctive scenes-sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico and sunset over the bays, sand dunes covered in goat-foot morning glories, historic lighthouses, shrimp boats and sailboats in harbor, and our favorite destinations of Galveston, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi, and South Padre Island. He also highlights lovely, lesser-known places you may not have discovered yet, such as Brazos Bend State Park."

Product Description

Online Resources:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/about_texas/regions/gulf_coast/big_kids/gulf_coast_history.phtml
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/history/whtexas.htm
http://www.traveltex.com/cities-and-regions/regions/gulf-coast

Texas Mountains

Texas Mountains

Written by: Joe Nick Patoski
Photographs by: Laurence Parent

"The sparsely populated Trans-Pecos region of extreme western Texas covers about 50,000 square miles across eight counties and contains more than 30 named mountain ranges. Featuring stunning color photographs by Austin resident Parent (Hiking Texas) with accompanying text by Texas Monthly senior editor Patoski, this work will amaze readers who have never visited this vast and remote area as well as those few who have. In addition to the wonderful photos, Patoski's text presents a colorful history and paints a vivid portrait of a wide variety of locals who seem to share a love of the wide-open spaces and solitude afforded by the rugged terrain. This very nicely conceived and well-executed work includes both a color map and brief descriptions of each of the mountain ranges covered. Highly recommended for all regional and larger public libraries as well as those with travel/natural history collections."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://www.joenickp.com/books/texasranges.html
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/mountains.html
http://bigbendtexasmountains.com/

Texas Hill Country

Texas Hill Country

Written by: John Graves
Photographs by: Wyman Meinzer

"Its intimate landscapes of rolling hills, fields of wildflowers, and cypress-shaded rivers impart a peace and serenity that draws the urban-weary from across Texas and even beyond. In this volume, two of the state's most respected artists join their talents to create an unsurpassed portrait of the Texas Hill Country. John Graves writes about the land and its people and how they have shaped one another.

He pays tribute to the tenacious German pioneers who turned unpromising land into farms and ranches, the Anglo-American "cedar-choppers" who harvested the region's pest plant, and even the generations of vacationers who have found solace in the Hill Country. As Graves observes, "since well over a century ago, the region has been a sort of reference point for natives of other parts of the state, and mention of it usually brings smiles and nods." Together, John Graves and Wyman Meinzer once again demonstrate that they are the foremost artists of the Texas landscape. The portrait they create in images and words is as close as you can come to the heart of the Hill Country without being there."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/about_texas/regions/hill_country/big_kids/hill_country_history.phtml
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Guides/HillCountry

Texas Rivers

Texas Rivers

Written by: John Graves
Photographs by: Wyman Menizer

"John Graves brings to Texas Rivers his ability to weave history, geography, and culture into a vibrant portrait of a land and its people. Through photographs of rare beauty, Wyman Meinzer reveals the rivers as few will ever see them in person, distilling decades of experience in capturing light on film into a tour de force presentation of Texas landscapes. In essays on the Canadian, Pecos, Llano, Clear Fork of the Brazos, Neches, and Sabinal rivers, Graves captures the essence of what makes each river unique."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/water/habitats/rivers/
http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/Ftbend/rivers.html