The family performed at fairs, weddings, quinceañeras, and on street corners in their native Texas. Selena learned how to sing in Spanish and soon became hugely popular within the Latino community--so much so that she became the best-selling Latin artist of the 1990s. Selena was poised to be a great success, but her life was cut short after being fatally wounded by the president of her fan club. Selena's contributions to music and fashion during her life made her one of the top Latin musicians in the 1990s, and readers will want to know more about the woman who introduced the world to Tejano music.

    But do they know that the ever-ambitious and adventurous Houdini was also a famous movie star and the first pilot to fly a plane in Australia? This well-told biography is full of the details of Houdini's life that kids will really want to know about and illustrated throughout with beautiful black-and-white line drawings.Illustrated by John O'Brien.

    Bruce didn't fit in at school but found solace in rock and roll and playing guitar. After the breakup of a local band he'd joined, Springsteen went out on his own and people began to take notice. He signed with Columbia Records and under pressure to come up with a hit, wrote Born in the USA, which tells the story of America during the years of the Vietnam War. A multi-millionaire and twenty-time Grammy winner, the Boss has remained a working class hero whose music deals with the political and social changes in our country.

    With a hand-painted sign that read School strike for the climate in Swedish, Greta sat alone on the steps of the Swedish parliament to call for stronger action on climate change. Her one-person strike would soon spark a worldwide movement. This exciting story details the defining moments in Greta's childhood that led up to her now-famous strike and all the monumental ones that have fueled her revolution since, including being named Time's Most Influential Person of the Year in 2019.

    A tough, intelligent woman who spoke five languages, Elizabeth ruled for over forty years and led England through one of its most prosperous periods in history. Over 80 illustrations bring ?Gloriana? and her court to life.

    Instead, it presents young readers with a biography that covers what is known historically about Jesus and places in his life in the context of his world when Jerusalem was part of the Roman Empire. In an even-handed and easy-to-read narrative, this title—illustrated with eighty black-and-white drawings—also explains the early origins of Christianity and how it became a major religion.

    In fact, he hated the very first program that he ever watched! Join author Diane Bailey as she takes readers through the journey that brought Mister Rogers into our living rooms. From his childhood interest in puppet-making and music, to his courageous visit to Russia during the Cold War, this book details Mister Rogers's quest for kindness and his gentle appeal to be more neighborly.

    Louis, Missouri, on May 21, 1804, their mission was to explore the vast, unknown territory acquired a year earlier in the Louisiana Purchase. The travelers hoped to find a waterway that crossed the western half of the United States. They didn't. However, young readers will love this true-life adventure tale of the two-year journey that finally brought the explorers to the Pacific Ocean.

    But Hitler brought her childhood to an end and forced her and her family into hiding. Who Was Anne Frank? looks closely at Anne's life before the secret annex, what life was like in hiding, and the legacy of her diary. Black-and-white illustrations including maps and diagrams provide historical and visual reference in an easy-to-read biography written in a way that is appropriate and accessible for younger readers.

    Best known as the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, not unlike his protagonist, Huck, has a restless spirit. He found adventure prospecting for silver in Nevada, navigating steamboats down the Mississippi, and making people laugh around the world. But Twain also had a serious streak and decried racism and injustice. His fascinating life is captured candidly in this enjoyable biography.

    You will learn how the Maya civilization developed, the major turning points in their 3,000-year-long history, the mysteries surrounding their demise, and some of the unique places where Maya exist to this day. In the first part of this book, you will discover the origins of the Maya civilization and the Mesoamerican cultures that may have influenced them. You will find out why Maya (out of all the different tribes that existed in the region at the time) have captured the imagination of the West so much. The book will reveal how they lived, ate, slept, whom they worshipped, and how they used herbal medicines and hallucinogenic plants to treat the sick. You learn about their trading routes and rivalries with another famous Mesoamerican tribe—the Aztecs. The book will go into the decline of the Maya civilization and how their rivalries with the Aztecs aided the victory of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, led by the famous Spaniard Hernán Cortés. You will also learn about the heroic efforts of the Maya to fend off the Spaniards, and why they were able to succeed at this task for much longer than the Aztecs. The book will also track down the Maya living today, a population that is still six-million strong and adhere to many of the traditions that their ancestors once held. In among the battle tales and gore of human sacrifice, you will get some delicious cocoa recipes, Maya-style, that you can make at home. After you have discovered all about the Maya origins, their cuisine, and their most notable events to present day, the book will go into the aspect that’s often the reason why so many people have been fascinated by the Maya civilization throughout the ages. You will learn about their mythology, cosmology, and the solar calendar that resulted in the infamous doomsday scare back in 2012. Some of the topics and questions covered in this book include: Maya Timeline Glossary of Important Maya Terms The Origins of the Mesoamerican Civilizations The Archaic period: 7000 – 2000 BC The Olmecs: 1,200 – 300 BC The Preclassic Period and the Magnificent Zapotec Early Preclassic period: 2000 to 1000 BC Cuello and early Maya architecture Middle Preclassic period: 1000 to 300 BC The Zapotec: 600 BC to AD 800 Late Preclassic period: 300 BC to AD 250 The Classic Period, Doomsday Calendar, and the Mystery of the Red Queen Early Classic – AD 250 to 600 How Maya measured the time Late Classic – AD 600 to 900 The mystery of the Red Queen Terminal Classic – AD 900 to 1000 Food, Rites, and Gruesome Tales How to make Maya hot chocolate at home How did the Maya grow their food? The Maize god The Maya beauty standards The sacred Ball Game The Decline of the Maya Civilization and Human Sacrifice Early Postclassic – AD 1000 to 1250 Inside Chichen Itza – features of Maya cities The Maya Observatory (El Caracol) Human sacrifice and the methods The Kukulkan pyra

    Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in 1780s Germany and were inseparable throughout their childhood. While pursuing their law degrees, the two became fascinated with folktales and folk songs. Together, they researched and published centuries of folklore in their famous early nineteenth-century compilation, Children’s and Household Tales. Thanks to the Brothers Grimm, German folk tales like “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Little Red Ridinghood,” and “Hansel and Gretel" are enjoyed by children everywhere.

    Young Will left the town of Stratford to pursue theater in London, where his work eventually thrived and made him a famous and wealthy man. With black-and-white illustrations that include a diagram of the famous Globe theater, Celeste Davidson Mannis puts together the pieces of Shakespeare's life and work for young readers.

    In 1935, she also became the first woman to fly across the Pacific. From her early years to her mysterious 1937 disappearance while attempting a flight around the world, readers will find Amelia Earhart's life a fascinating story.

    These were just some of the hardships for the people who stayed at home in World War Two - the blitzed Brits.