When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days--as he has done before--and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home. But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost...

This early work by Richard Austin Freeman was originally published in the early 20th century and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'The Silkworms of Florence' is one of Freeman's novels written under the name Clifford Ashdown. The first story featuring his well-known protagonist Dr. Thorndyke – a medico-legal forensic investigator – was published in 1907, and although Freeman's early works were seen as simple homages to...

When Grandma and Grandpa send the gang some beautiful silk robes from their trip to China, Luna, Jupiter and Clyde are surprised that little silkworms made the silk robes. But how can something so small make such beautiful robes? They head out to the yard to see if they can find some worms to make them silk robes, but no luck. They decide to make believe they’re little silkworms at the silk mill and are thrilled to discover that the silkworms are...

Rome 1638 Old sins have long shadows ~ Italian Proverb Giulia Tofana never wanted to be a nun, but she is determined to atone for her past misdeeds by making her new monastery a success. When an unexpected disaster closes the convent, Giulia is forced to turn to her old friend Fabio Pasello for help. Giulia still has intense feelings for Fabio and Fabio's passion for her has never diminished. But they are not the same people they were before. Giulia...

From bestselling author Dr. Joe Schwarcz, a new collection of bite-size pop science essays that allow curious readers to understand the science behind everything from plastic-wrapped cucumbers to head transplants.

Little Mo's friends came to celebrate her birthday. Little Mo was waiting anxiously for a beautiful gift from her mom and dad, but she was very disappointed when she got a box of ugly caterpillars. Although her parents tried to explain to her that these were the silkworms that could spew out silk thread, used for making clothes, Little Mo refused to listen. She ran out with sadness. Little Mo's friends wanted to cheer her up, so they took her to explore...

Describes the physical characteristics, habits and stages of development of silkworms, as well as how they are raised to produce silk.

Describes the life cycle of the silkworm.