At fourteen Langston is uprooted from his home in rural Alabama to post-war inner-city Chicago. He is utterly lost with no friends or family for comfort and only his overworked father to help him through the difficulties of city living. But one day running from ever-present bullies, he accidentally finds his first oasis, a public library, where he begins to find himself.

In 1920 three American navy officers were on a routine practice run by balloon. A sudden storm hit sending them drastically off course. Subsequent actions to avoid a crash led them even further north into the snowy Canadian wilderness. Each man uses his strengths to encourage the others’ weaknesses. Kloor is the youngest, the most fit, and the best trained balloonist. Farrell is the oldest and l ...

A story of tragedy and triumph, this book sheds light on life during the great depression through the eyes of a boy turned hobo. While it documents what life was like all across America, and provides interesting facts about hobo life, its strongest feature is a genuine and convincing lesson about the importance and value of helping others. This is a must read not only for history lovers, but also ...

In July 1863 the bloodiest battle of the Civil War was fought outside the sleepy Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg. In The Last Brother the story of one small boy is told amidst the dramatic events of those early days of July. Though he is only 11 years old, Gabe is a bugler in the Union Army. He takes his responsibility very seriously; after all, there are over 60 different battle calls for buglers ...

Set in the late 1950s, this is the moving story of a young boy whose father operates a ferryboat between Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas. As young Mark witnesses the building of the new Mackinac Bridge, he is torn between family loyalty and eager anticipation. Full color.

A poetic tribute to the victims of the racially motivated church bombing that served as a seminal event in the struggle for civil rights. In 1963, the eyes of the world were on Birmingham, Alabama, a flashpoint for the civil rights movement. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United States. Civil rights demonstrators were met with police dogs and water cannons. On Sunday, Sept ...

Young Moses and his family leave Baltimore in 1889 in a quest of owning their own land and head west, where they find themselves participating in the Oklahoma Land Run. Evocative paintings and spellbinding storytelling bring this pivotal event in American history to vivid life for young readers. Full color.

In 1944, a vacant army base in upstate New York became the temporary home of over 900 men, women and children who had fled Europe towards the end of World War II. With little more than the clothing on their backs, Rebekkah and her mother are just two of the many refugees who come to live in the camp. Full color.

Retells the story of King Christian X and the Danish resistance to the Nazis during World War II. Full-color illustrations.

Riveting! The drama surrounding Lincoln's assassination and the pursuit of Booth and his accomplices reads like a taut novel filled with an unbelievably colorful cast of characters. Historical retelling at its best!

This New York Times bestseller recounts the true story of the touching gift bestowed on the US by the Maasai people in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In June of 2002, a mere nine months since the September 11 attacks, a very unusual ceremony begins in a far-flung village in western Kenya. An American diplomat is surrounded by hundreds of Maasai people. A gift is about to be bestowed upon th ...

All Bessie wants is to go hiking with her father and brothers. But it's 1896 and girls don't get to hike. They can't vote either, which Bessie discovers when Susan B. Illustrations.

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 ...

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 ...

While this is primarily Pedro Martinez's biography, it is equally a celebration of the relationship he shared with his talented baseball-player brother, Ramon. A humble upbringing challenged them both to creatively pursue their love of baseball, and eventually dedicated practice and big dreams gave way to major-league contracts, friendly rivalry on national stages, and a championship win. Gorgeous ...

A love of words carries a young man from the shackles of slavery to poetic heights in this brilliant biography. The story is inspiring, and appropriately, the illustrations have a very upward and uplifting orientation. A beautiful tribute to a man who was indeed remarkable!

Poignant account of the moment in history when in 1947 India and Pakistan divide not only their land but also their Muslim and Hindi citizens. Nisha, the daughter of a Muslim mother and a Hindu father, must now leave the land of her birth forever as she crosses the new nation of Pakistan to reach a new home in India. She describes this move in an honest, emotional journal addressed to her deceased ...

When tragedy leaves you less than you were, how do you respond? Betty Robinson refused to let a horrible accident and a leg that would never be the same define the rest of her life. After an Olympic gold in 1928, Betty determined to return to the medal stand despite the seeming impossibility of getting there again. This true story of the first female track and field gold medalist will amaze and in ...