Today, about four billion people--more than half the world's population--live in cities. This number could rise to seven billion by 2050. Cities face big challenges, including threats from climate change, food insecurity, a lack of clean water and rapid population growth, but they are also places where innovation and sustainability can thrive. Cities: How Humans Live Together travels through time to explore questions like When and why did cities form? How did people access food and water? Where did they go to the bathroom? Peek into the past to see how cities have changed through time and explore what could make cities more sustainable and welcoming for today and tomorrow.

Did you know that lamps can be powered by glowing bacteria instead of electricity? That gloves designed like gecko feet let people climb straight up glass walls? Or that kids are finding ways to make compostable plastic out of banana peels? Biomimicry, the scientific term for when we learn from and copy nature, is a revolutionary way to look to nature for answers to environmental problems such as climate change. In Design Like Natureyoung readers discover innovations and inventions inspired by the environment. Nature runs the entire planet with no waste and no pollution. Can humans learn to do this too? It's time to step outside and start designing like nature.

This nonfiction illustrated book for middle-grade readers explores our right to a healthy environment and introduces the stories of people fighting for change.