And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?


Jean Fritz - 1973
    But not everyone knows the harrowing details and narrow escapes that occurred along the way. This timeless and witty book highlights little-known facts about patriot Paul Revere.

Carter Reads the Newspaper


Deborah Hopkinson - 2019
    Woodson didn’t just read history. He changed it.” As the father of Black History Month, he spent his life introducing others to the history of his people.Carter G. Woodson was born to two formerly enslaved people ten years after the end of the Civil War. Though his father could not read, he believed in being an informed citizen. So Carter read the newspaper to him every day. When he was still a teenager, Carter went to work in the coal mines. There he met a man named Oliver Jones, and Oliver did something important: he asked Carter not only to read to him and the other miners, but also research and find more information on the subjects that interested them. “My interest in penetrating the past of my people was deepened,” Carter wrote. His journey would take him many more years, traveling around the world and transforming the way people thought about history.From an award-winning team of author Deborah Hopkinson and illustrator Don Tate, this first-ever picture book biography of Carter G. Woodson emphasizes the importance of pursuing curiosity and encouraging a hunger for knowledge of stories and histories that have not been told. Illustrations also feature brief biological sketches of important figures from African and African-American history.

Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova


Laurel Snyder - 2015
    . .One night, her mother takes her to the ballet, and everything is changed. Anna finds a beauty inside herself that she cannot contain.So begins the journey of a girl who will one day grow up to be the most famous prima ballerina of all time, inspiring legions of dancers after her: the brave, the generous, the transcendently gifted Anna Pavlova.

Seeds of Change: Wangari's Gift to the World


Jen Cullerton Johnson - 2010
    A picture book biography of scientist Wangari Maathai, the first African womanand first environmentalistto win a Nobel Peace Prize (in 2004), for her work planting trees in her native Kenya.

Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo Da Vinci


Gene Barretta - 2009
    But Leonardo da Vinci thought of all these ideas more than five hundred years ago! At once an artist, inventor, engineer, and scientist, da Vinci wrote and drew detailed descriptions of what would later become hang gliders, automobiles, robots, and much more. Gene Barretta cleverly shows how Leonardo’s ideas—many inspired by his love of nature—foreshadowed modern inventions, offering a window into the future.

The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth


Kathleen Krull - 2009
    Plowing a potato field in 1920, a 14-year-old farm boy from Idaho saw in the parallel rows of overturned earth a way to "make pictures fly through the air." This boy was not a magician; he was a scientific genius and just eight years later he made his brainstorm in the potato field a reality by transmitting the world's first television image. This fascinating picture-book biography of Philo Farnsworth covers his early interest in machines and electricity, leading up to how he put it all together in one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. The author's afterword discusses the lawsuit Farnsworth waged and won against RCA when his high school science teacher testified that Philo's invention of television was years before RCA's.

God King: A Story in the Days of King Hezekiah


Joanne Williamson - 2002
    It is 701 B.C - rule of the Kushite dynasty in ancient Egypt. Young Prince Taharka, a very minor royal son, succeeds unexpectedly to the throne of Kush and Egypt - a "divine" rulership. It's not long, however, before a treacherous plot pushes him into sudden exile and into the hands of Amos, an emissary of King Hezekiah seeking help with whom he will fight - the mighty Assyrian, Sennacherib, promising alliance or Hezekiah, the Jew who trusts in Yahweh. A novel inspired by research of the historical King Taharka and period. Includes an introduction with home-education suggestions.

Vivaldi and the Invisible Orchestra


Stephen Costanza - 2012
    Nobody notices Candida or appreciates her hard work.But one day Candida accidentally slips a poem she wrote into the sheet music and the girl so often behind the shadows gets recognized for her own talents. Vivaldi really did have an Invisible Orchestra made up of orphan girls he taught to play. This beautiful book pays tribute to their inspiration.

How Kate Warne Saved President Lincoln: The Story Behind the Nation's First Woman Detective


Elizabeth Van Steenwyk - 2016
    But Kate convinced Allan to hire her for his detective agency. She explained that she could worm out secrets where men could not go—in disguise as a society lady! Join Kate on her most important mission—to thwart a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln on the way to his inauguration.

With Books and Bricks: How Booker T. Washington Built a School


Suzanne Slade - 2014
    Washington had an incredible passion for learning. Born a slave, he taught himself to read. When the Civil War ended, Booker finally fulfilled his dream of attending school. After graduation, he was invited to teach in Tuskegee, Alabama. Finding many eager students but no school, Booker set out to build his own school—brick by brick. An afterword gives detailed information on how the school was built.

The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot July 25, 1909


Alice Provensen - 1983
    "This book...recounts the persistence of a Frenchman, Louis Bleriot, to build a flying machine to cross the English Channel....  The text is succinct, caption-like in its directness and brevity....The paintings...add the necessary testure and tone to this marriage.  This is vintage Provensen" – School Library Journal

She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World


Chelsea Clinton - 2017
    In early 2017, Senator Elizabeth Warren’s refusal to be silenced in the Senate inspired a spontaneous celebration of women who persevered in the face of adversity. In this book, Chelsea Clinton celebrates thirteen American women who helped shape our country through their tenacity, sometimes through speaking out, sometimes by staying seated, sometimes by captivating an audience. They all certainly persisted.She Persisted is for everyone who has ever wanted to speak up but has been told to quiet down, for everyone who has ever tried to reach for the stars but was told to sit down, and for everyone who has ever been made to feel unworthy or unimportant or small.With vivid, compelling art by Alexandra Boiger, this book shows readers that no matter what obstacles may be in their paths, they shouldn’t give up on their dreams. Persistence is power.This book features: Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, Clara Lemlich, Nellie Bly, Maria Tallchief, Claudette Colvin, Ruby Bridges, Margaret Chase Smith, Sally Ride, Florence Griffith Joyner, Oprah Winfrey, Sonia Sotomayor—and one special cameo.

Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald


Roxane Orgill - 2010
    But for a girl who was orphaned and hungry, with raggedy clothes and often no place to spend the night, small change was not enough. One amateur night at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, Ella made a discovery: the dancing beat in her feet could travel up and out of her mouth in a powerful song —and the feeling of being listened to was like a salve to her heart. With lively prose, Roxane Orgill follows the gutsy Ella from school-girl days to a featured spot with Chick Webb’s band and all the way to her number-one radio hit "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." Jazzy mixed-media art by illustrator Sean Qualls brings the singer’s indomitable spirit to life.

Archimedes and the Door of Science


Jeanne Bendick - 1962
    Against the backdrop of Archimedes's life and culture, the author discusses the man's work, his discoveries and the knowledge later based upon it. The simple, often humorous, illustrations and diagrams greatly enhance the text. Ages 10 and up.

Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh


Sally M. Walker - 2015
    Harry was a veterinarian. But he was also a soldier in training for World War I. Harry named the bear Winnie, short for Winnipeg, his company’s home town, and he brought her along to the training camp in England. Winnie followed Harry everywhere and slept under his cot every night. Before long, she became the regiment’s much-loved mascot. But who could care for the bear when Harry had to go to the battleground in France? Harry found just the right place for Winnie while he was away — the London Zoo. There a little boy named Christopher Robin came along and played with Winnie — he could care for this bear too! Sally Walker’s heartwarming story, paired with Jonathan Voss’s evocative illustrations, brings to life the story of the real bear who inspired Winnie the Pooh.