Eleven-year-old Willie McLean knows that General Lee will defeat the Yankees and win the Civil War, he just knows it. When a battle moves to the fields near his home in Appomattox, Virginia, Willie's thrilled--especially when General Lee, himself, comes to Willie's house! But then General Grant comes, too. Overhearing the two men talk, Willie hears one word: Surrender. Is the war really over?

Martha Dandridge Custis was twenty-seven years old when she married George Washington. She worked by her husband's side to help keep their family, home, and country running smoothly. Whether she was at a ball or on a battlefield, Martha Washington set the standard for all future First Ladies with her quiet determination and courage.

High in the sky, Bessie Coleman could soar like a bird. She was free--at least until she landed. As a black woman in the 1920s, she wasn't allowed to learn how to fly. Forced to travel to France to learn, she became the first African American woman to earn her pilot's license. Whether she was wing-walking, giving a speech, parachuting, or flying, Coleman inspired people with her bravery and resolv ...

Fifteen-year-old Paul Jennings looked out the window of the President's House. America was at war with Britain, and British soldiers were marching toward Washington. Terrified people were fleeing the city. But Paul was not going to join them yet. He was a slave who belonged to President Madison and his wife, Dolley. Dolley did not want to leave until her husband returned from the battlefront. Paul ...

Features many layers of information. The main text provides a general survey of the defining traits of hummingbirds. The illustrations and captions provide additional details, such as the names of different types of hummingbirds. At the book's conclusion, each illustration is presented in a smaller format with a very detailed paragraph of explanation. As a result, the book provides options that wi ...

Features many layers of information. The main text provides a general survey of the defining traits of raptors. The illustrations and captions provide additional details, such as the names of different types of raptors. At the book's conclusion, each illustration is presented in a smaller format with a very detailed paragraph of explanation. As a result, the book provides options that will keep re ...

Features many layers of information. The main text provides a general survey of the defining traits of mountain habitats. The illustrations and captions provide additional details, such as the names of different mountains and animal inhabitants. At the book's conclusion, each illustration is presented in a smaller format with a very detailed paragraph of explanation. As a result, the book provides ...

Features many layers of information. The main text provides a general survey of the defining traits of mammals. The illustrations and captions provide additional details, such as the names of different types of mammals and their habitats. At the book's conclusion, each illustration is presented in a smaller format with a very detailed paragraph of explanation. As a result, the book provides option ...

The war of 1812 is raging, and from the lighthouse where their father works, Rebecca Bates and her sister Abigail can see a British ship coming. But the American troops are nowhere near! Rebecca and Abigail go the rescue--to become an American army of two--in this adventure-filled tale based on the true story of two young women who turned the tables on the mighty British army.

Helga and Erik could not believe their eyes. There were grasshoppers everywhere, and they were eating the crops! In the 1870s, when grasshoppers destroyed farms in Minnesota and other Midwestern states, many families gave up and moved away. This is the story of how two Swedish immigrant children help their parents save their home on the prairie.

One morning in March 1888, twelve-year-old Milton Daub awoke to find the world buried in snow. The blizzard was like nothing Milton and his neighbors in the Bronx had ever seen. No one dared go out into the storm. No one, that is, except Milton. He and his father made a pair of snowshoes from barrel hoops and old roller skates. Then Milton stepped bravely into the storm to buy milk for his family. ...

In 1847 the people of Niagara Falls, New York and their neighbors in Canada wanted to build a bridge across the river that separated them. The first step was to get a line from one side to the other. Only a kite flown with great skill could do the job. Tekla White tells the story, based on real events, of young Homan Walsh and the kite he called the Union. Ralph Ramstad's illustrations beautifully ...

On a dark, cold, and rainy night in April 1777, Sybil Ludington sets out on a journey to warn American soldiers that danger is headed their way. The British are coming! They have already attacked a nearby town, and it is up to sixteen-year-old Sybil to make sure that she reaches the American soldiers before the British do. With only a large stick to defend herself, and her horse, Star, for company ...

From the time he was a young boy on a farm in Alabama until he received his fourth Olympic gold medal in Berlin in 1936, all Jesse Owens wanted to do was run. Overcoming sickness, poverty, and racial discrimination, Jesse worked hard, shattered many track and field records, and earned countless medals and trophies. But perhaps his greatest and most important accomplishment came when he stood up to ...

In 1957, nine teenagers were chosen to be the first black students to attend all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. A small group of people in Little Rock, including the governor of Arkansas, wanted to keep them out. But those nine students knew they had a right to a good education. And they would do anything to crack the wall that had kept black people and white people apart.

From lightning to blizzards, learn all about the awesome power of super storms. Illustrations.

When Mouse happens upon the remains of a Thanksgiving feast, his eyes override his self-control. His choices become unwieldy, landing him square in his enemy's path. All young readers should be exposed to these lyrical illustrations that dramatize the disaster of unwise choices, and highlight the happiness of contentment.

While it borders on the silly, who can resist a tale with chicken detectives named Dirt, Sweetie, Poppy, and Sugar? Although humorous wrong assumptions complicate their investigative strategy, the Chicken Squad bumbles its way to finding the "weird blue chicken's" missing home, restoring peace and order in their community. Very entertaining — a good choice for reluctant readers.