Who Was Susan B. Anthony?


Pam Pollack - 2014
    Anthony may be an international icon but her campaign for women’s rights had personal roots. Working as a school teacher in New York, Anthony refused to settle for less pay than her male colleagues which ignited her lifelong devotion to women’s equality. Anthony toured the United States and Europe giving speeches and publishing articles as one of the most important advocates of women’s rights. Learn more about the woman behind the movement in Who Was Susan B. Anthony?

Who Was Blackbeard?


James Buckley Jr. - 2015
    He began his career as a hired British sailor during Queen Anne’s War. He eventually settled in the Bahamas under Captain Benjamin Hornigold who taught the young sailor to go "a-pirating." Soon enough, Blackbeard was commanding his own fleet and stealing ships around the Caribbean and up and down the Eastern seaboard. Known for his thick, black beard and fearsome reputation, the legend of Blackbeard has influenced pirate legend and lore for over 300 years.

Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy


Andrea Warren - 2004
    This affecting true account tells the story of Long, who, like more than 40,000 other orphans, is Amerasian -- a mixed-race child -- with little future in Vietnam. Escape from Saigon allows readers to experience Long's struggle to survive in war-torn Vietnam, his dramatic escape to America as part of "Operation Babylift" during the last chaotic days before the fall of Saigon, and his life in the United States as "Matt," part of a loving Ohio family. Finally, as a young doctor, he journeys back to Vietnam, ready to reconcile his Vietnamese past with his American present. As the thirtieth anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War approaches, this compelling account provides a fascinating introduction to the war and the plight of children caught in the middle of it.

The Boys' War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War


Jim Murphy - 1990
     Winner of the Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction   “Making extensive use of the actual words—culled from diaries, journals, memoirs, and letters—of boys who served in the Union and Confederate armies as fighting soldiers as well as drummers, buglers, and telegraphers, Murphy describes the beginnings of the Civil War and goes on to delineate the military role of the underage soldiers and their life in the camps and field bivouacs. Also included is a description of the boys' return home and the effects upon them of their wartime experiences…An excellent selection of more than 45 sepia-toned contemporary photographs augment the text of this informative, moving work.” —School Library Journal (starred review)   “This wrenching look at our nation’s bloodiest conflict through the eyes of its youthful participants serves up history both heartbreaking and enlightening.” —Publishers Weekly   “This well-researched and readable account provides fresh insight into the human cost of a pivotal event in United States history.” —The Horn Book (starred review)

Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin


Robert Byrd - 2012
    In pictures and text, master artist Robert Byrd documents Franklin's numerous and diverse accomplishments, from framing the Constitution to creating bifocals.

Discovering Wes Moore (The Young Adult Adaptation)


Wes Moore - 2012
    One is in prison, serving a life sentence for murder. The other is a Rhodes Scholar, an army veteran, and an author whose book is being turned into a movie produced by Oprah Winfrey. Two men. One overcame adversity. The other suffered the indignities of poverty. Their stories are chronicled in Discovering Wes Moore, a book for young people based on Wes Moore’s bestselling adult memoir, The Other Wes Moore. The story of “the other Wes Moore” is one that the author couldn’t get out of his mind, not since he learned that another boy with his name—just two years his senior—grew up in the same Baltimore neighborhood. He wrote that boy—now a man—a letter, not expecting to receive a reply. But a reply came, and a friendship grew, as letters turned into visits and the two men got to know each other. Eventually, that friendship became the inspiration for Discovering Wes Moore, a moving and cautionary tale examining the factors that contribute to success and failure—and the choices that make all the difference.  Includes an 8-page photo insert.

Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and the War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America


Gail Jarrow - 2018
    She highlights the artists behind the broadcast, the broadcast itself, the aftermath, and the repercussions which remain relevant today.On the night of October 30, 1938, thousands of Americans panicked when they believed that Martians had invaded Earth. What appeared to be breaking news about an alien invasion was, in fact, a radio drama based on H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, performed by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre players. Some listeners became angry once they realized they had been tricked, and the reaction to the broadcast sparked a national discussion about fake news, propaganda, and the role of radio.

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker


Patricia Hruby Powell - 2013
    Louis to the grandest stages in the world. Meticulously researched by both author and artist, Josephine's powerful story of struggle and triumph is an inspiration and a spectacle, just like the legend herself.

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H. L. Hunley


Sally M. Walker - 2005
    Hunley made history as the first submarine to sink a ship in battle. Soldiers on the shore waited patiently after seeing the submarine's return signal. But after several days, the ship had failed to return. What had gone wrong? In 1995, after over 130 years of searching, the H.L. Hunley was finally found buried off the coast of South Carolina. Follow author, Sally M. Walker on a fascinating journey through the workings of the famous submarine, its voyages, and the difficult obstacles that were overcome to recover, excavate and conserve the ship.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain


Peter Sís - 2007
    Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps, and dreamscapes, Peter Sí­s shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin, and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. Sí­s learned about beat poetry, rock 'n' roll, blue jeans, and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned books, and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet the Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a sudden and brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion. But this brief flowering had provided a glimpse of new possibilities—creativity could be discouraged but not easily killed. By joining memory and history, Sí­s takes us on his extraordinary journey: from infant with paintbrush in hand to young man borne aloft by the wings of his art.

Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks


Suzanne Slade - 2020
    A picture book biography about Gwendolyn Brooks, the influential poet and the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize.

The Duel: The Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr


Judith St. George - 2009
    Both were brilliant students who attended college--one at Princeton, the other at Columbia--and studied law. Both were young staff officers under General George Washington, and both became war heroes. Politics beckoned them, and each served in the newly formed government of the fledgling nation. Why, then, did these two face each other at dawn in a duel that ended with death for one and opprobrium for the other? Judith St. George's lively biography, told in alternating chapters, brings to life two complex men who played major roles in the formation of the United States.

Red Scarf Girl


Ji-li Jiang - 1997
    But it's also the year that China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution—and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart. Over the next few years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on her and her family, forcing them to live in constant terror of arrest. And when Ji-li's father is finally imprisoned, she faces the most difficult dilemma of her life.

The Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea


Sy Montgomery - 2006
    It climbs trees as easily as a monkey— but isn’t a monkey, either. It has a belly pocket like a kangaroo, but what’s a kangaroo doing up a tree? Meet the amazing Matschie’s tree kangaroo, who makes its home in the ancient trees of Papua New Guinea’s cloud forest. And meet the amazing scientists who track these elusive animals.

Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White


Melissa Sweet - 2016
    B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. In Some Writer!, the two-time Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet mixes White’s personal letters, photos, and family ephemera with her own exquisite artwork to tell his story, from his birth in 1899 to his death in 1985. Budding young writers will be fascinated and inspired by the journalist, New Yorker contributor, and children’s book author who loved words his whole life. This authorized tribute is the first fully illustrated biography of E. B. White and includes an afterword by Martha White, E. B. White's granddaughter.