Maria Birmingham

BOOKS

A Beginner's Guide to Immortality:
From Alchemy to Avatars

48 pages
Owlkids Books

Is it possible to live forever? People have been trying to figure out a way
to escape mortality since, well, forever. This book takes readers on a
fast-paced tour of the wacky and wise methods humans have used to try prolonging their lives -- from ancient immortality elixirs and quests for a fountain of youth to modern-day research into cryogenics and robotics.

Touching on folklore from around the world, famed literary immortals and studies of animals unaffected by aging, the book delves into topics as diverse as genetics, a spiritual afterlife, and basic lifestyle choices that can impact longevity. As readers learn about the quest to live forever, they'll discover the beauty, sincerity, and playful side of human curiosity.

2016 Norma Fleck Award, Finalist
2017 Red Maple Award, Nominee
2017 Rocky Mountain Book Award, Nominee
Shortlisted for the 2015 Science In Society Book Award
Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Spring 2016
A Best YA Title of Winter 2016, Foreword Reviews

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Tastes Like Music: 17 Quirks of the Brain and Body

40 pages
Owlkids Books

Weird Zone: Sports

128 pages
Owlkids Books

There's more to sports than just soccer, baseball, basketball, and hockey! Weird Zone: Sports uncovers the "other" sports of the world, from the local and hidden to the strange, bizarre, and downright crazy.

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Humans may look pretty similar on the outside, but that's not the whole story. Sometimes it's what you can't see. Whether it’s having no fingerprints at all (adermatoglyphia), hearing music every time you taste chocolate (synesthesia), or being able to see one hundred million colors (tetrachromacy), some people have unique conditions and amazing abilities. Take an unparalleled tour of the hows and whys of these extraordinary human conditions.

Finalist for the 2014 Lane Anderson Award
Shortlisted for the 2015 Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award

2015/2016 Red Cedar Award Nominee
2016 Rocky Mountain Book Award Nominee
2015/2016 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award Nominee
Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre,
Spring 2015

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2014/2015 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award, Winner
2014 Silver Birch Award Nominee
TD Summer Reading Club, Top Read, 2015
Best Books for Kids and Teens Starred Selection, Canadian Children's
Book Centre, 2013
Best Bets Top 10 Junior Non-Fiction List, Ontario Library Association,
2013
Junior Library Guild Selection, Fall 2013