The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777


Kristiana Gregory - 1996
    Eleven-year-old Abigail Jane Stewart records the despair and hope of the difficult winter between 1777-1778--when she witnessed George Washington readying his young soldiers on the frozen fields of Valley Forge.

Amos Fortune, Free Man


Elizabeth Yates - 1950
    Although his freedom had been taken, Amos never lost his dignity and courage. For 45 years, Amos worked as a slave and dreamed of freedom. And, at age 60, he finally began to see those dreams come true.

The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson


Ann McGovern - 1975
    This is the exciting true story of a woman who became a soldier during the American Revolutionary War, by dressing and acting like a man.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes


Eleanor Coerr - 1977
    And then the dizzy spells start. Soon gravely ill with leukemia, the "atom bomb disease," Sadako faces her future with spirit and bravery. Recalling a Japanese legend, Sadako sets to work folding paper cranes. For the legend holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again. Based on a true story, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes celebrates the extraordinary courage that made one young woman a heroine in Japan.

A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet


Kathryn Lasky - 2003
    Kidnapped from her home in Africa and shipped to America, she’d had everything taken from her - her family, her name, and her language.But Phillis Wheatley was no ordinary young girl. She had a passion to learn, and the Wheatleys encouraged her, breaking with unwritten rule in New England to keep slaves illiterate. Amid the tumult of the Revolutionary War, Phillis Wheatley became a poet and ultimately had a book of verse published, establishing herself as the first African American woman poet this country had ever known. She also found what had been taken away from her and from slaves everywhere: a voice of her own.

Phoebe the Spy


Judith Berry Griffin - 1977
    Phoebe gets a job as George Washington's housekeeper, but her real job is to work as a spy. She listens and watches very carefully, and she meets her father every day to tell him what she has learned. One day Phoebe's father tells her that Washington is planning to leave town in a few days, and the person plotting against him will act before then. Phoebe is very frightened, but she is determined to figure out who is after Washington before it's too late. . . . "This episode drawn from the Revolutionary War is related with historical accuracy and suspense and illustrated with finesse."(School Library Journal)

Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up To Become Malcolm X


Ilyasah Shabazz - 2014
    But first, he was a boy named Malcolm Little. Written by his daughter, this inspiring picture book biography celebrates a vision of freedom and justice.Bolstered by the love and wisdom of his large, warm family, young Malcolm Little was a natural born leader. But when confronted with intolerance and a series of tragedies, Malcolm’s optimism and faith were threatened. He had to learn how to be strong and how to hold on to his individuality. He had to learn self-reliance. Together with acclaimed illustrator AG Ford, Ilyasah Shabazz gives us a unique glimpse into the childhood of her father, Malcolm X, with a lyrical story that carries a message that resonates still today—that we must all strive to live to our highest potential.

Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin


Marguerite Henry - 1947
    But I like to remember him as a boy who wanted so very much to paint that he dug his colors out of the earth and made his brushes from his cat's tail." Marguerite Henry

Henry and the Cannons: An Extraordinary True Story of the American Revolution


Don Brown - 2013
    It was a feat of remarkable ingenuity and determination and one of the most remarkable stories of the revolutionary war. Here the perils and adventure of his journey come to life through Don Brown's vivid and evocative artwork.

Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4)


Frank Murphy - 2001
    A funny, entertaining introduction to Ben Franklin and his many inventions, including the story of how he created the "magic square." A magic square is a box of nine numbers arranged so that any line of three numbers adds up to the same number, including on the diagonal! Teachers and kids will love finding out about this popular teaching tool that is still used in elementary schools today!

Who Was Thomas Alva Edison?


Margaret Frith - 2005
    The electric light bulb was only one of thousands of Edison’s inventions, which include the phonograph and the kinetoscope, an early precursor to the movie camera.As a boy, observing a robin catch a worm and then take flight, he fed a playmate a mixture of worms and water to see if she could fly! Here’s an accessible, appealing biography with 100 black-and-white illustrations.

Father and I Were Ranchers


Ralph Moody - 1950
    Through his eyes, the pleasures and perils of ranching in the early twentieth century are experienced... auctions and roundups, family picnics, irrigation wars, tornadoes and wind storms all give authentic color to Little Britches. So do wonderfully told adventures, which equip Ralph to take his father's place when it becomes necessary.Newly republished in a hardcover edition with a 1950s cover, jacket and pictorial endpages. Interior illustrations by Edward Shenton.

Who Was Eleanor Roosevelt?


Gare Thompson - 2004
    For a long time, the main role of First Ladies was to act as hostesses of the White House...until Eleanor Roosevelt.  Born in 1884, Eleanor was not satisfied to just be a glorified hostess for her husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Eleanor had a voice, and she used it to speak up against poverty and racism.  She had experience and knowledge of many issues, and fought for laws to help the less fortunate.  She had passion, energy, and a way of speaking that made people listen, and she used these gifts to campaign for her husband and get him elected president-four times!  A fascinating historical figure in her own right, Eleanor Roosevelt changed the role of First Lady forever.

The Fighting Ground


Avi - 1984
    He can handle a gun. He yearns to battle for glory, just like his brother and cousin.So when Jonathan hears the tavern bell toll, calling men to fight, he runs to join them. He doesn't realize that in just twenty-four hours, his life will be forever altered -- by the war, by his fellow soldiers, and by the terrible choices he must make.

Who Was Laura Ingalls Wilder?


Patricia Brennan Demuth - 2013
    Now young readers will see just how similar Laura's true-life story was to her books. Born in 1867 in the "Big Woods" in Wisconsin, Laura experienced both the hardship and the adventure of living on the frontier. Her life and times are captured in engaging text and 80 black-and-white illustrations.