This is an encyclopedia. An encyclopedia is a book or numbered set of books containing authoritative summary information about a variety of topics in the form of short essays, usually arranged alphabetically by headword or classified in some manner. An entry may be signed or unsigned, with or without illustration or a list of references for further reading. Headwords and text are usually revised periodically for publication in a new edition. In a multivolume encyclopedia, any indexes are usually located at the end of the last volume. Encyclopedias may be general (example: Encyclopedia Americana) or specialized, usually by subject (Encyclopedia of Bad Taste) or discipline (Encyclopedia of Social Work). This book was published 2004 by Scholastic Reference .

Kate Waters is an experienced nonfiction editor and the author of Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy and Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl , among other titles. She lives in South Huntington, New York. Penny Arlon writes children's nonfiction, taking inspiration from her own children. Her books range from preschool titles to family reference books, and include the Art Attack books, based on the award-winning CITV (UK) children's television program, and all 14 titles in Dorling Kindersley's Eye Know series. She is the author of almost all the books in the Scholastic Discover More emergent and confident reader strands, which have won numerous accolades and prizes.