Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving


Laurie Halse Anderson - 2002
     Almost Lost Thanksgiving Yes. That's right! Way back when "skirts were long and hats were tall" Americans were forgetting Thanksgiving, and nobody seemed to care! Thankfully, Sarah Hale appeared. More steadfast than Plymouth Rock, this lady editor knew the holiday needed saving. But would her recipe for rescue ever convince Congress and the presidents? Join acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson on a journey of a woman and a pen that spanned four decades, the Civil War, and five presidents, all so you could have your turkey and eat it too!

Mose the Fireman (Rabbit Ears)


Eric Metaxas - 2004
    Relates the tall tale adventures of Mose Humphries, a nineteenth-century fireman in New York City.

President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath


Mac Barnett - 2014
    Abraham Lincoln saved the Union. William Howard Taft got stuck in a bathtub and then got unstuck. This is his story.

The Josefina Story Quilt


Eleanor Coerr - 1986
    But Faith loves her pet. Can Josefina show Pa that she still has a few surprises left in her?

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere


Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1861
    Illustrator Christoper Bing adds luminous paintings, historically rich engravings, and other enrichments to Longfellow's poem, tying the fiction into the fact of what really happened on that April night.

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.

Irena's Jars of Secrets


Marcia K. Vaughan - 2011
    She became a social worker; and after the German army occupied Poland during World War II, Irena knew she had to help the sick and starving Jews who were imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. She began by smuggling food, clothing, and medicine into the ghetto, then turned to smuggling children out of the ghetto. Using false papers and creative means of escape, and at great personal risk, Irena helped rescue Jewish children and hide them in safe surroundings. Hoping to reunite the children with their families after the war, Irena kept secret lists of the children’s identities.Motivated by conscience and armed with compassion and a belief in human dignity, Irena Sendler confronted an enormous moral challenge and proved to the world that an ordinary person can accomplish deeds of extraordinary courage.

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.

Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Imperial China


Joanna Cole - 2005
    Full of historical and cultural facts, the book is a learning adventure - and a lot of fun.Is it magic? Ms. Frizzle, Wanda, and Arnold simply duck under the dragon at the local Chinese New Year's parade, and they are mysteriously whisked back in time to ancient China! They arrive in a village where the farmers are in trouble. The Friz and friends vow to go to the capital to get the emperor's help. As they journey, they learn how silk is made, travel on the Grand Canal, and see the Great Wall under construction, but will they fulfill their mission to help the farmers?Cole and Degen relay a bounty of facts with charm and humor as they bring the majesty of imperial China to life.

Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery


Sandra Neil Wallace - 2018
    Even when he played as a boy with his friends he drew with a stick in the mud. And he never left home without a sketchbook. He would draw the junk man, families walking home from church, or the old man on the sofa. He drew what he saw.But in the segregated south, Ernie didn’t know how to make a living as an artist. Ernie grew tall and athletic and became a football star. Soon enough the colleges came calling. Still, in his heart Ernie longed to paint. Would that day ever come?Ernie Barnes was one of the most important artists of his time known for his style of elongation and movement. His work has influenced a generation of painters and illustrators and can be found in museums and collections, such as the African American Museum in Philadelphia and the California African American Museum.Between the Lines is a story of inspiration, spirit, and of an American original who pursued his dream. This enchanting picture book includes pieces of artwork created by this little known artist who captured the truth and beauty of the world he saw around him.

Henri Matisse: Drawing with Scissors


Jane O'Connor - 2002
    She finds out that over his long career Matisse made paintings, sculpture, books, costumes, and her favorite—his cut-outs, or what Matisse called “drawing with scissors.” The report is filled with about 20 of Matisse’s masterpieces as well as artwork that Keesia has created in his “style” (cut-out leaves, drawings through windows, fauvist animals). As she follows Matisse through his life she discovers why he is considered one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

The Long Way to a New Land


Joan Sandin - 1981
    This book is a helpful supplement to a history class and a courageous, compelling story for any occasion.The year is 1868 and Sweden is a barren land of poverty and famine. Carl Erik and his family receive a letter from an uncle in America. The uncle realizes that the Erik family is near the end of their rope, and encourages them to move abroad to make a new life. The family sells all their personal items and begins a long trek across land and sea to America...As a fan of this book and its companion, The Long Way Westward, put it: "The books describe the difficulty and dangers of the journey in a way that is non-complaining and full of optimism for a new life in America. Teachers, these books are wonderful for integrating with other subjects and topics, such as immigration, westward expansion, steamships, trains, geography, and American life in the 1860s."Author-artist Joan Sandin's grandfather was born in Sweden and immigrated to Wisconsin with his parents in 1882, when he was only two. Joan herself spent time in Sweden and did extensive research to create her well-loved classic books about the immigrant experience.

Who Eats What?: Food Chains and Food Webs


Patricia Lauber - 1994
    Every link in a food chain is important because each living thing depends on others for survival, no matter how big or how small. Lively drawings from Holly Keller illustrate the clear, simple text by Patricia Lauber.This is a Stage 2 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explores more challenging concepts for children in the primary grades. Let's-Read-And-Find-Out is the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series.Supports the Common Core Learning Standards and Next Generation Science Standards

Pop!: The Invention of Bubble Gum


Meghan Mccarthy - 2010
    It's been around for centuries; from the ancient Greeks to the American Indians, everyone's chewed it. But the best kind of gum; bubble gum! wasn't invented until 1928, when an enterprising young accountant at Fleer Gum and Candy used his spare time to experiment with different recipes. Bubble-blowing kids everywhere will be delighted with Megan McCarthy's entertaining pictures and engaging fun facts as they learn the history behind the pink perfection of Dubble Bubble.

Saving the Liberty Bell


Megan McDonald - 2005
    This is a grand one, told with rightful pride by a boy who was there in the city of Philadelphia in 1777 and was lucky enough to play a role in the American Revolution. John Jacob Mickley, eleven years old, and his father were in the city when the Great Bell began ringing Brong! Brong! BRONG! from atop the State House to warn the citizens: "Redcoats! The Redcoats are coming!" And come the British did -- with their muskets and their cannons and their will to keep the colonies for their king. Looting they came and stealing any metal they could get their hands on to melt down for the making of more weapons. And the prize above all? The Great Bell itself -- metal for many a cannon! But the clever Pensylvanians (yes, the word was spelled like that then) had other plans for keeping the Bell safe from the British. Megan McDonald has aptly caught John Jacob's excited retelling of the story, and Marsha Gray Carrington has relished every wild and wooly moment of it in her pictures -- both funny and carefully researched.