Before Wilma was five years old, polio had paralyzed her left leg and doctors said she'd never walk. But Wilma refused to believe that, and eventually won Olympic titles and became the first American woman to earn three gold medals.

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, ...

This biography tells the story of a woman who rose from a bleak world of poverty and discrimination to unprecedented success. "This impressive picture book will delight young readers as it gives a sense of this remarkable woman and the times in which she lived."N"School Library Journal" (starred review). Illustrations.

Young Orville and Wilbur Wright loved building things. From the fastest sled in town to the highest-flying kite, the Wright brothers' creations were always a step ahead of everyone else's. They grew up learning all about mechanics from fixing bicycles and studied math and physics. On December 17, 1903, Orville took off in the world's first flying machine! The Wright airplane is one of the most ama ...

At six years old, Ruby faced a crowd whose simmering anger would shrivel the most resolute soul. This book's spreads carefully accentuate Ruby with color just a shade brighter than everything else. And, her family's faith speaks just a little louder than the surrounding turmoil, eventually turning heads and softening hearts. A beautiful portrayal of courage, forgiveness, and trust in God for stren ...

The first black man to play professional baseball, Jackie Robinson helped break down walls of segregation in many walks of life. His biography is the story of one man's struggle to overcome great odds through hard work, skill and courage.

This inspiring biography of Harriet Tubman tells how she helped free over 300 slaves as a "conductor" for the Underground Railroad and how she became a nurse, a scout and spy for the Union Forces during the Civil War.

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 ...

Under arrest! The words came as a shock to young Esther Rudomin, Polish citizen. Because of their Jewish heritage and Father's business success, Esther's family faced certain deportment to Siberia. This sobering tale of a family torn from their homeland, from close relatives, and eventually from one another, paints a vivid picture of grim determination to survive against overwhelming odds. The Sib ...

Rich descriptors establish this memoir’s compelling setting so that readers feel the African heat , the desperation of starving families seeking sustenance from dry, barren farmland, and the wind’s power to help a helpless community. Against this backdrop a small, young boy with an insatiable appetite for knowledge lets curiosity drive his desire to help his family and his village. T ...

“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 ...

Golenbock describes the racial prejudice experienced by Jackie Robinson when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers and became the first black player in Major League baseball and depicts the acceptance and support he received from his white teammate Pee Wee Reese.

Susan B. Anthony was taught that girls and women could do anything boys and men could do--if only they were allowed. She fought for a woman's right to own property, hold down a job, and, more importantly, vote. Full color.

Award-winning author Warren combines haunting photographs from World War II concentration camps with the inspiring words of Jack Mandelbaum to tell the powerful true story of a boy becoming a man during the Holocaust.

Jackie Robinson was a great athlete, but his destiny went far beyond the baseball diamond. As the first black man to play in the all-white baseball leagues, he was a symbol of courage, hope, and unity for all black and white Americans, and for people throughout the world. A fresh new biography of an American hero. Illustrated.

Kehret, who contracted polio in 1949, describes the diagnosis, severe symptoms, treatments, physical therapy, walking sticks and more in this moving memoir. B&W illustrations.

Armstrong brings to life the incredible true story of the ill-fated Antarctic expedition of Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the "Endurance". "Armstrong's absorbing storytelling, illustrated with dramatic black-and-white photographs, makes this an enthralling adventure".--"Publishers Weekly".

In 1802, Jean-Francois Champollion was eleven years old. That year, he vowed to be the first person to read Egypt's ancient hieroglyphs. Champollion's dream was to sail up the Nile in Egypt and uncover the secrets of the past, and he dedicated the next twenty years to the challenge.James Rumford introduces the remarkable man who deciphered the ancient Egyptian script and fulfilled a lifelong dream ...