The awe-inspiring southernmost place on our Earth Who discovered the Antarctic? How cold is it there, and do polar bears live at the South Pole? Everyone knows it, but hardly anyone can say more than three sentences about it: the continent that belongs to no one, but to all of us, which may only be…
Non-fiction for Children & Young Adults
Contemplating Nature Is nature of equal importance to all people?, asks Antje Damm and places the photograph of three children in India right next to this question. To her, nature is of such great significance that she raises more than 60 questions which can be the basis for a long and deep conversation with children:…
Africa—with 54 states, more than 1,000 languages and the youngest population of the world—is multicoloured and multifaceted, age-old and modern. This diversity is rarely addressed in Europe’s narrative about the “dark continent”. It clings to the fairy-tale of Africa’s lack of history and political insignificance with incredible tenacity. Current media portraits remain reduced to terrible…
Chemistry and Alchemy for the Unafraid When we think of chemistry, we envisage scientists in white lab coats that handle conical flasks and raw chemicals over Bunsen burners in their laboratory. Or we think of complicated formulae which we already failed to understand in school. Who would have thought that today’s white-lab-coats’ chemistry has a…
52 Opportunities to Talk About Lies and the Truth Does everyone lie every now and again? Is it allowed to tell white lies? Why do we want to know the truth? Is there always just one truth? Can animals lie? Lies can have far-reaching consequences. But they can also be a last resort. When do…
What do philosophers do when they philosophise? Books that deal with philosophy tell of great thinkers, their views and their lives. Philosophising itself remains in the dark. How it works, how it fosters creative and independent thinking, is now demonstrated by Jens Soentgen. He introduces the most popular and effective practices of philosophy, not abstract,…
Occasions to Think About Nothingness Are we nothing before we are born? Is it possible that nothingness is a hole? Where does a journey into nothingness lead? It is questions such as these that Antje Damm asks in this book and she thus takes children absolutely seriously. Her unique composition of succinct phrases with often…
Will the earth always be there? This is one of the questions Antje Damm poses in her book. Who wants to answer it? But to discuss it, to philosophise about it is fun and prompts us to think about the world in which we live. Where does fear come from? Does it hurt to grow…
A Voyage of Discovery through the Natural World Jens Soentgen’s voyage through nature stretches right through, from top to bottom, from macrocosm to microcosm. In doing so, the natural scientist and philosopher accomplishes something rare: he describes the phenomena he encounters with impressive subject-specific knowledge and romantic enthusiasm. Unearthing magnificent stories from the scientific findings…
Opportunities to Talk About Time Summertime, wintertime, spare time, timeout, best-before-dates – everything has its own time. Antje Damm renders time both visible and tangible – with photos, pictures and thought-provoking impulses. A book that not only children can spend a great deal of time with! It is rather strange with time: sometimes we have…