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 ...

Gazing up at the stars, Benjamin Banneker longed to understand how and why things worked as they did. In a time when most black Americans were slaves, Banneker lived a life of freedom and became known as America's first black American man of science. He helped survey Washington, D.C., and became the first black American to write an almanac. Through his accomplishments, he helped advance the cause ...

How does a man decide to ignore life-threatening consequences in order to attempt the rescue of others? When a hurricane batters and breaks not one tanker, but two in half the same night, it leaves 84 seaman at its mercy. Survival is against all odds, and this story's authors pay relentless attention to detail and perspective that places readers in the midst of split-second decisions that risk eve ...

During a crisis, how many things have to go right before you wonder if a larger plan is playing out? Survivors and rescuers confront this question in a dramatic, real-life story of survival. The writing is unrelentingly gripping, giving readers multiple perspectives as the storm rages, the waves rise, and the rescue plays out. (Includes mild language in very few quotes from individuals as they sha ...

Spare, evocative language and exquisite illustrations by Ral Col, n depict the life of Roberto Clemente, a great athlete and an even greater man, who became one of the most respected baseball players of all time.

This definitive picture book biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is an unforgettable portrait of a man whose dream changed America--and the world--forever.

Compelling, life-sized, carefully-detailed illustrations, punctuate the depth of Frederick Douglass's devotion to justice and liberty for all. The dark pain of loss at a young age translated into grim determination to learn words because "...Frederick sensed that words had power. ...he traded food for words." In a world of fast food and e-books, Rappaport reminds us to value the influence of speak ...

“Unlike my parents, I had no concept of what war was actually like.” With these words, 10-year-old Leon Leyson foreshadows his shattered innocence. Deft writing presents horrific injustices of war, grievous loss, and unfathomable disdain for humanity with an authentic voice that acknowledges such evil but chooses to more significantly highlight every scrap of hope and celebrate every s ...

Large watercolor illustrations warmly portray Helen Keller—overcomer, speaker, and briefly, actress. This reading experience highlights Annie Sullivan's belief in Helen's potential, and Helen's increasing connections that strengthened her mind and ambition. Readers sense the importance of pushing beyond difficult limits. Large-print quotes give voice to Helen's dogged determination that hig ...

As a young boy, Rick Hansen loved to fish and play ball. At 15, an accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. However, Rick was a very determined young man. He'd still fish and play ball and live out his dreams -- he'd just learn to do them differently. Boy in Motion shows how Rick literally set his dreams in motion made them come to life. Sensitive text and lovely watercolor illustrations c ...

From a Maryland cabin to the top of the world, Matthew Henson knew how to take advantage of opportunities, prove himself, and become a partner in exploration and accomplishment. An unforgettable look at an adventurer who deserves to be known by readers, young and old.

Curriculum Connections: Historical fiction, based on true events, biographical account; Susan B Anthony, point of view; Bessie Keith Pond- young girl main character, Story elements: setting; Berkley, California- 1896, Plot and character development, illustrations enhance meaning and tone, Conflict: man vs man, man vs society. Comprehension strategies; cause and effect relationships, author's purpo ...

As a successful former slave, Clara Brown used her money to help other freed slaves get a new start in life. In 1859 Clara bought her own freedom and headed west to Colorado to find her daughter, who was sold when she was just a little girl. Clara didn't find her daughter there, but she did get rich. The people she helped became her family, and she became known as Aunt Clara Brown.

In 1946, six-year-old Wilma Rudolph dreamed of walking and playing like other children, but a sickness called polio had damaged her left leg. Wilma spent hours each week doing painful exercises at a hospital for African American patients. The rest of the time, she was forced to wear a heavy and cumbersome leg-brace. Still, Wilma never gave up. She knew she could walk again, and if she could walk, ...

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 ...

This is a richly layered biography, best enjoyed by late elementary ages. Ada Byron Lovelace possessed an inquisitive mind that relished numbers, patterns, and challenge. However, she grew up during a time when measles and cholera puzzled the medical community, and both left her very ill. It was also a time when men were more readily associated with the mathematical work and invention for which Ad ...