Ballots for Belva: The True Story of a Woman's Race for the Presidency


Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen - 2008
    A little-known but richly deserving American historical figure, Belva is an inspiration for modern-day readers. Despite all the changes in society since Belva's time, there is still a lot to fight for, and Belva shows the way. The book also includes a glossary and a timeline of women's suffrage events.

Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story


Arun Gandhi - 2016
    The villagers vow to live simply and non-violently. Arun Gandhi tries very hard to follow these vows, but he struggles with one of the most important rules: not to waste. How can throwing away a worn-down pencil hurt anyone? How can wastefulness lead to violence? With the help of his grandfather, Arun learns how every wasteful act, no matter how small, affects others. And in time he comes to understand the truth of his grandfather’s words: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)


Sue Macy - 2011
    Through vintage photographs, advertisements, cartoons, and songs, Wheels of Change transports young readers to bygone eras to see how women used the bicycle to improve their lives. Witty in tone and scrapbook-like in presentation, the book deftly covers early (and comical) objections, influence on fashion, and impact on social change inspired by the bicycle, which, according to Susan B. Anthony, "has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world."NCSS—Notable Social Studies Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2012School Library Journal Best Books of 2011Finalist YALSA Excellence in Non Fiction for Young AdultsSLJ’s 100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2011Amelia Bloomer List

No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure


Susan Hughes - 2008
    Appearances can be deceiving ...Based on legends, poems, letters and first-hand accounts, these seven biographical tales tell of women who disguised themselves as men. From ancient Egypt through the Middle Ages to the 19th century, this historically accurate graphic treatment is perfect to transport readers back to bygone eras. The lives of these daring women were often filled with danger and the fear of discovery. However, for the sake of freedom, ambition, love or adventure, these women risked everything. No Girls Allowed brings a contemporary edge to a part of history largely untold - until now.

Who Was Sacagawea?


Judith Bloom Fradin - 2002
    Through this engaging book, kids will understand the reasons that today, 200 years later, she is still remembered and immortalized on a golden dollar coin.

Fallingwater: The Building of Frank Lloyd Wright's Masterpiece


Marc Harshman - 2017
    The water's tune echoes through its sunlit-dappled rooms, and the façade blends effortlessly into the rock and forest behind it. This is Fallingwater, an architectural masterpiece born from the marriage of meticulous research and unbounded imagination, the legacy of the lauded American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.This stunning picture book collaboration between Marc Harshman, Anna Egan Smucker, and LeUyen Pham guide readers through Wright's process designing Fallingwater, from his initial inspiration to the home's breathtaking culmination. It is an exploration of the creative process; a celebration of potential and the vision required to unlock it. Graceful prose and rich, dynamic illustrations breathe life into the story of Wright and of Fallingwater, a man and a home unlike any other.-from front cover flap

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone


Katheryn Russell-Brown - 2014
    As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family's Majestic radio. At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument. By the time she was a teenager, Melba's extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz. She joined a band led by trumpet player Gerald Wilson and toured the country. Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century: Randy Weston, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones, to name just a few. Brimming with ebullience and the joy of making music, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a fitting tribute to a trailblazing musician and a great unsung hero of jazz.

Looking at Lincoln


Maira Kalman - 2012
    Lincoln's legacy is everywhere - there he is on your penny and five-dollar bill. And we are still the United States because Lincoln helped hold them together. But who was he, really? The little girl in this book wants to find out. Among the many other things, she discovers our sixteenth president was a man who believed in freedom for all, had a dog named Fido, loved Mozart, apples, and his wife's vanilla cake, and kept his notes in his hat. From his boyhood in a log cabin to his famous presidency and untimely death, Kalman shares Lincoln's remarkable life with young readers in a fresh and exciting way.

Digging For Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built


Angela Burke Kunkel - 2020
    One is a boy who dreams of Saturdays-- that's the day he gets to visit Paradise, the library. The second Jose is a garbage collector. From dusk until dawn, he scans the sidewalks as he drives, squinting in the dim light, searching household trash for hidden treasure . . . books! Some are stacked in neat piles, as if waiting for Jose. Others take a bit more digging. Ever since he found his first book, Anna Karenina, years earlier, he's been collecting books--thick ones and thin ones, worn ones and almost new ones-- to add to the collection in his home. And on Saturdays, kids like little Jose run to the steps of Paradise to discover a world filled with books and wonder.With an evocative text by a debut author, and rich, stunning illustrations from an up-and-coming Colombian illustrator, here is a celebration of perseverance, community, and the power of books.

How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea


Susan Campbell Bartoletti - 2020
    Paul and Burns met in a London jail and fought their way through hunger strikes, jail time, and much more to win a long, difficult victory for America and its women.Includes extensive back matter and dozens of archival images to evoke the time period between 1909 and 1920.

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery


Russell Freedman - 1993
    A Newberry Honor Book.

14 Cows for America


Carmen Agra Deedy - 2007
    Hundreds of Maasai surround an American diplomat to bestow a gift on the American people. The gift is as unsought and unexpected as it is extraordinary. A mere nine months have passed since the September 11 attacks, and hearts are raw. Tears flow freely as these legendary warriors offer their gift to a grieving people half a world away. Word of the gift will travel news wires around the globe. Many will be profoundly touched, but for Americans, this selfless gesture will have deeper meaning still. For a heartsick nation, the gift of fourteen cows emerges from the choking dust and darkness as a soft light of hope and friendship. Master storyteller Carmen Agra Deedy hits all the right notes in this story of generosity that crosses boundaries, nations, and cultures. An afterword by Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, the Maasai warrior at the center of the story, provides additional information about his tribe and their generosity. Thomas Gonzalez's stunning paintings are saturated with rich hues of oranges and browns and blues and greens, which capture the nobility of the Maasai people and the distinctive landscape of the African plain.

Spring After Spring: How Rachel Carson Inspired the Environmental Movement


Stephanie Roth Sisson - 2018
    Spring after spring, year after year, she observed how all living things are connected. And as an adult, Rachel watched and listened as the natural world she loved so much began to fall silent. Spring After Spring traces Rachel’s journey as scientist and writer, speaking truth to an often hostile world through her book, and ultimately paving the way for the modern environmental movement.

Me and the Sky: Captain Beverley Bass, Pioneering Pilot


Beverley Bass - 2019
    Still, they encouraged her, and brought her to a nearby airport to watch the planes take off and land.After decades of refusing to take no for an answer, in 1986 Beverley became the first female pilot promoted to captain by American Airlines and led the first all-female crewed flight shortly thereafter. Her revolutionary career became even more newsworthy when she was forced to land in the remote town of Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001, due to US airspace closures. After several days there, she flew her crew and passengers safely home.

Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit


Linda Elovitz Marshall - 2020
    This is the true story about how she helped save the English countryside!Growing up in London, Beatrix Potter felt the restraints of Victorian times. Girls didn't go to school and weren't expected to work. But she longed to do something important, something that truly mattered. As Beatrix spent her summers in the country and found inspiration in nature, it was through this passion that her creativity flourished. There, she crafted The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She would eventually move to the countryside full-time, but developers sought to change the land. To save it, Beatrix used the money from the success of her books and bought acres and acres of land and farms to prevent the development of the countryside that both she and Peter Rabbit so cherished. Because of her efforts, it's been preserved just as she left it.