The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Ka'iulani of Hawai'i


Fay Stanley - 1991
    But although this beautiful young princess worked tirelessly to prepare herself to rule, and fought bravely to protect the rights of her beloved people, she would never be queen.When it was first published, The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Ka'iulani of Hawai'i won many honors for its sensitive text and brilliantly colored illustrations. "The full page paintings are reflecting the beauty of the islands and the handsome racially mixed people who live there...A visual treat," said School Library Journal in a starred review. A 1991 American Library Association Notable Book, it also won the Carter G. Woodson Award from the National Council Social Studies.In this reissued edition of an inspired collaboration, author Fay Stanley, writing her only children's book, and daughter Diane Stanley, the celebrated author and illustrator, tell the touching, bittersweet story of Princess Ka'iulani and open a window onto a nation's history that is often forgotten.

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science


John Fleischman - 2004
    Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain science.At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely recover from his accident. He could walk, talk, work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage "was no longer Gage," said his Vermont doctor, meaning that the old Phineas was dependable and well liked, and the new Phineas was crude and unpredictable.His case astonished doctors in his day and still fascinates doctors today. What happened and what didn’t happen inside the brain of Phineas Gage will tell you a lot about how your brain works and how you act human.

Who Was Princess Diana?


Ellen Labrecque - 2017
    A shy twenty-year-old girl stepped out of a horse-drawn coach and into the world spotlight, capturing the imagination of millions as a real life fairytale princess. Although the storybook marriage didn't have a happy ending, Diana learned to use her fame as a way to champion charitable causes near to her heart. She became the People's Princess by humanizing the image of the royal family and showing care and concern for all people, including the homeless, the sick, and others in need.

World War II


Simon Adams - 2000
    From Pear Harbor, Midway, and the Atlantic to fighting in Russia and in the desert, outstanding and original photography provides a unique glimpse of the tragedies that led to the loss of more than 50 million lives.

The First Americans: Prehistory-1600


Joy Hakim - 1993
    They didn't know it, but they had discovered a New World. The First Americans is a fascinating re-creation of pre-Columbian Native American life, and it's an adventure of a lifetime! Hunt seals with the Inuit; harvest corn on a cliff-top mesa; hunt the mighty buffalo; and set sail with Leif Erickson, Columbus, and all the early great explorers--Cabot, Balboa, Ponce de Leon, Cortes, Henry the Navigator, and more--in this brilliantly told story of America before it was America.About the Series: Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out


National Children's Book & Literacy Alliance - 2008
    Starting with a 1792 call for designers to plan a presidential mansion and continuing through the present day, OUR WHITE HOUSE takes in everything from the amusing antics of presidents' children and pets to the drama of the White House ablaze and the specter of war; from the role of immigrants, African Americans, and Native Americans to the thoughts and actions of many presidents themselves. These highly engaging writings and illustrations, expressing varied viewpoints and interwoven with key historical events, are a vital resource for family sharing and classroom use — and a stirring reminder that the story of the White House is the story of every American.

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel


Kathryn Gibbs Davis - 2014
    Capturing an engineer’s creative vision and mind for detail, this fully illustrated picture book biography sheds light on how the American inventor George Ferris defied gravity and seemingly impossible odds to invent the world’s most iconic amusement park attraction, the Ferris wheel.     A fun, fact-filled text by Gibbs Davis combines with Gilbert Ford’s dazzling full-color illustrations to transport readers to the 1893 World’s Fair, where George Ferris and his big, wonderful wheel lifted passengers to the skies for the first time.

Let the Children March


Monica Clark-Robinson - 2018
    Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world.

Juneteenth for Mazie


Floyd Cooper - 2015
    She is ready to celebrate freedom. She is ready to celebrate a great day in American history — the day her ancestors were no longer slaves. Mazie remembers the struggles and the triumph, as she gets ready to celebrate Juneteenth.This beautiful story by award-winning author and illustrator Floyd Cooper will captivate both children and adults.

Who Was Marie Curie?


Megan Stine - 2014
    There she met a professor named Pierre Curie, and the two soon married, forming one of the most famous scientific partnerships in history. Together they discovered two elements and won a Nobel Prize in 1903. (Later Marie won another Nobel award for chemistry in 1911.) She died in Savoy, France, on July 4, 1934, a victim of many years of exposure to toxic radiation.

Alone Yet Not Alone


Tracy Michele Leininger - 2003
    On this particular day the whole valley seemed to rejoice in the fullness of the season—but suddenly Barbara and Regina’s peaceful frontier life is changed forever. General Braddock and his army had been defeated and soon the Pennsylvania settlers would suffer the bloody effects of the French and Indian War. On October 16, 1755, a band of Indians, led by Allegheny warriors, stormed through Buffalo Valley, burned the Leiningers’ log cabin, and captured the sisters. Few survived the Penn’s Creek Massacre and even fewer lived to tell the story. Regina makes a promise to her older sister just before they are unwillingly separated—each to endure different fates. Barbara is taken deep into the wilderness, but holds on to the hope that she will find her little sister. Though she is adopted into the Indian tribe, there is a longing deep inside that cannot be denied. She must escape—but the penalty if caught is certain death. No one expresses Barbara’s apprehensions better than her own words, written in 1759: “If one could not believe that there is a God, who helps and saves from death, one had better let running away alone...The extreme probability that the Indians would pursue and recapture us, was two to one compared with the dim hope that, perhaps, we would get through...even if we did escape the Indians, how would we ever succeed in passing through the wilderness, unacquainted with a single path or trail…"

Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie


Peter Roop - 1985
    In the winter of 1856, a storm delays the lighthouse keeper's return to an island off the coast of Maine, and his daughter Abbie must keep the lights burning by herself.

Ben Franklin: His Wit and Wisdom from A-Z


Alan Schroeder - 2011
    He amassed enough noteworthy acccomplishments to cover the entire alphabet from A to Z. This nontraditional tribute has information about a Founding Father who was as amusing as he was amazing.

Will's Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk


Jane Sutcliffe - 2016
       But, Jane embraces her dilemma, writing about Shakespeare, his plays, and his famous phrases with glee. After all, what better words are there to use to write about the greatest writer in the English language than his very own?  As readers will discover, "the long and the short of it" is this: Will changed the English language forever.   Backmatter includes an author’s note, a bibliography, and a timeline.

Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code


Laurie Wallmark - 2017
    Who was Grace Hopper? A software tester, workplace jester, cherished mentor, ace inventor, avid reader, naval leader—AND rule breaker, chance taker, and troublemaker. Grace Hopper coined the term “computer bug” and taught computers to “speak English,” and throughout her life succeeded in doing what no one had ever done before. Delighting in difficult ideas and in defying expectations, the insatiably curious Hopper truly is “Amazing Grace” . . . and a role model for science- and math-minded girls and boys.