Book picks similar to
To the Stars! The First American Woman to Walk in Space by Carmella Van Vleet
biography
picture-books
picture-book
nonfiction
I, Galileo
Bonnie Christensen - 2012
The first person narration gives this book a friendly, personal feel that makes Galileo's remarkable achievements and ideas completely accessible to young readers. And Christensen's artwork glows with the light of the stars he studied.Galileo's contributions were so numerous—the telescope! the microscope!—and his ideas so world-changing—the sun-centric solar system!—that Albert Einstein called him "the father of modern science." But in his own time he was branded a heretic and imprisoned in his home. He was a man who insisted on his right to pursue the truth, no matter what the cost—making his life as interesting and instructive as his ideas.
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.
Beatrix Potter, Scientist
Lindsay H. Metcalf - 2020
For a decade before Beatrix released The Tale of Peter Rabbit, she became enchanted with fungi after encountering them on holiday in Scotland. She studied them obsessively, at first to draw them accurately, and later for the sake of inquiry. Her period as an amateur mycologist culminated with her submission of a paper to the Linnean Society of London, which asked her to revise, but did not let her attend because she was a woman. This is a STEAM-focused title and lyrical examination of how art interacts with science, the role of women in Victorian British society, and resiliency and reinvention in the face of rejection.
Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane
Kirsten W. Larson - 2020
Lilian tinkered and fiddled with all sorts of objects, turning dreams into useful inventions. As a child, she took apart and reassembled clocks to figure out how they worked. As an adult, typing up patents at the U.S. Patent Office, Lilian built the inventions in her mind, including many designs for flying machines. However, they all seemed too impractical. Lilian knew she could design one that worked. She took inspiration from both nature and her many failures, driving herself to perfect the design that would eventually successfully fly. Illustrator Tracy Subisak's art brings to life author Kirsten W. Larson's story of this little-known but important engineer.
This Is Your Time
Ruby Bridges - 2020
This volume features photographs from the 1960s and from today, as well as jacket art from The Problem We All Live With, the 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell depicting Ruby’s walk to school.
The First Step: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial
Susan E. Goodman - 2016
Then one day she was told she could never come back. She didn't belong. The Otis School was for white children only.Sarah deserved an equal education, and the Roberts family fought for change. They made history. Roberts v. City of Boston was the first case challenging our legal system to outlaw segregated schools. It was the first time an African American lawyer argued in a supreme court.These first steps set in motion changes that ultimately led to equality under the law in the United States. Sarah's cause was won when people--black and white--stood together and said, No more. Now, right now, it is time for change!With gorgeous art from award-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis, The First Step is an inspiring look at the first lawsuit to demand desegregation--long before the American Civil Rights movement, even before the Civil War.Backmatter includes: integration timeline, bios on key people in the book, list of resources, and author's note.
John Deere, That’s Who!
Tracy Nelson Maurer - 2017
Back in the 1830s, who was a young blacksmith from Vermont, about to make his mark on American history? John Deere, that’s who!Who moved to Illinois, where farmers were struggling to plow through the thick, rich soil they called gumbo? Who tinkered and and tweaked and tested until he invented a steel plow that sliced into the prairie easy as you please?Long before the first tractor, who changed farming forever? John Deere, that’s who!Beautiful illustrations—including spectacular landscapes—reflect the time period and bring John Deere's remarkable story to life.
Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins
Michelle Meadows - 2019
Janet Collins wanted to be a ballerina in the 1930s and 40s, a time when racial segregation was widespread in the United States. Janet pursued dance with a passion, despite being rejected from discriminatory dance schools. When she was accepted into the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as a teenager on the condition that she paint her skin white for performances, Janet refused. She continued to go after her dreams, never compromising her values along the way. From her early childhood lessons to the height of her success as the first African American prima ballerina in the Metropolitan Opera, Brave Ballerina is the story of a remarkable pioneer as told by Michelle Meadows, with fantastic illustrations from Ebony Glenn.
Spic-and-Span!: Lillian Gilbreth's Wonder Kitchen
Monica Kulling - 2014
She and her husband, Frank, became efficiency experts by studying the actions of factory workers. They ran their home efficiently, too. When Frank suddenly died, Lillian was left to her own devices to raise their eleven children. Eventually, she was hired by the Brooklyn Borough Gas Company to improve kitchen design, which was only the beginning. Lillian Gilbreth was the subject of two movies (Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes), the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and the first female psychologist to have a U.S. postage stamp issued in her honor. A leading efficiency expert, she was also an industrial engineer, a psychologist, an author, a professor, and an inventor.
Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud
Suzanne Tripp Jurmain - 2011
But their differing views on how to run the newly created United States turned them into the worst of friends. They each became leaders of opposing political parties, and their rivalry followed them to the White House. Full of both history and humor, this is the story of two of America's most well-known presidents and how they learned to put their political differences aside for the sake of friendship.
The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan: Inventor, Entrepreneur, Hero
Joan DiCicco - 2019
At age fourteen, he moved north to Cleveland, where his creative mind took flight amidst the city's booming clothing-manufacturing industry.Using his ingenuity and tenacity, Garrett overcame racial barriers and forged a career as a successful businessman and inventor. But when a tunnel collapsed, trapping twenty men, the rescue would test both Garrett's invention -- and his courage.Told in compelling prose by debut picture-book author Joan DiCicco and dynamic illustrations from artist Ebony Glenn, The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan is a powerful biography of an extraordinary man who dedicated his life to improving the lives of others.
The Boy Whose Head Was Filled With Stars: A Story About Edwin Hubble
Isabelle Marinov - 2021
Using the insights of great mathematicians and endlessly observing the sky, he succeeded in confirming two things that altered human life forever: that there are more galaxies than our own, and that the universe is always expanding. Hubble’s message to us is to find peace in the vastness of the mystery surrounding us, and to be curious. “We do now know why we are born into the world,” he said, “but we can try to find out what sort of world it is.”
A Kite for Moon
Jane Yolen - 2019
Y. Stemple, tells a heartfelt story about a young boy's fascination and unlikely friendship with the moon. With whimsical illustrations by award-winning artist Matt Phelan, the story begins when the little boy, who is flying his kite, notices a sad Moon. He sends up kites to her, even writing notes to Moon promising he will come see her someday. This promise propels him through years and years of studying, learning, and training to be an astronaut! Dedicated to Neil Armstrong, and a perfect children's book to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first United States moon landing, the cover of this book will captivate readers with eye-catching spot UV, foil, and embossing.
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth
Oliver Jeffers - 2017
Oliver Jeffers offers a personal look inside his own hopes and wishes for his child--a missive about our world and those who call it home.
Out of the Woods: A True Story of an Unforgettable Event
Rebecca Bond - 2015
"Inspired by the author's grandfather's experiences living in a lodge in the woods, a story of how people and animals survive a forest fire in a small Canadian town"--