Award Winning and Notable Children's Books PreK - 8

Discover a world of creativity and tradition in this fascinating picture book that explores the history and cultural significance of the color blue.

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in small town North Carolina, Nina Simone was a musical child. She sang before she talked and learned to play piano at a very young age. With the support of her family and community, she received music lessons that introduced her to classical composers like Bach who remained with her and influenced her music throughout her life. She loved the way his music began softly and then tumbled to thunder, like her mother's preaching, and in much the same way as her career. During her first performances under the name of Nina Simone her voice was rich and sweet but as the Civil Rights Movement gained steam, Nina's voice soon became a thunderous roar as she raised her voice in powerful protest in the fight against racial inequality and discrimination.

The story of Elgin Baylor, basketball icon and civil rights advocate, from an all-star team Hall-of-famer Elgin Baylor was one of basketball's all-time-greatest players--an innovative athlete, team player, and quiet force for change. One of the first professional African-American players, he inspired others on and off the court. But when traveling for away games, many hotels and restaurants turned Elgin away because he was black.

As a new generation of activists demands an end to racism, A Place to Land reflects on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and the movement that it galvanized.

A Caldecott-honor winning picture book biography of the mother of Emmett Till, and how she channeled grief over her son's death into a call to action for the civil rights movement.

A picture book biography celebrating the life and work of disability rights activist and icon Judith Heumann, highlighting one of her landmark achievements--leading the historic 504 Sit-in in 1977.

Celebrate seventy-five years of the NBA in this exciting and beautifully illustrated middle grade account of the legendary athletes, coaches, and teams that changed basketball forever and created a national phenomenon enjoyed by millions today.

This important work of nonfiction features powerful images of the Japanese American incarceration captured by three photographers--Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams--along with firsthand accounts of this grave moment in history.

With a striking glow-in-the-dark cover, this intriguing science book invites young readers to find light all around.

New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin presents a follow up to his award-winning book Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, taking readers on a terrifying journey into the Cold War and our mutual assured destruction. As World War II comes to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union emerge as the two greatest world powers on extreme opposites of the political spectrum.

Dream big with the Latinitas in Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers. Discover how 40 influential Latinas became the women we celebrate today!

Mary Golda Ross designed classified airplanes and spacecraft as Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and work.

Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter is a broad and powerful exploration of the history of Black Lives Matter told through photographs, quotes, and informative text by New York Times best-selling authors Veronica Chambers and Jennifer Harlan.

A moving and powerful introduction to the life and art of renowned artist, Judith Scott, as told by her twin sister, Joyce Scott and illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist, Melissa Sweet.

For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle. An eye-opening book that tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement--when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in the struggle.

When the sea otters disappear, why does their kelp forest habitat disappear, too? On the Pacific Coast of North America, sea otters play, dive, and hunt for sea urchins, crabs, abalone, and fish in the lush kelp forests beneath the waves. But there was a time when people hunted the otters almost to extinction.

Take to the sky with Apis, one honeybee, as she embarks on her journey through life! A tiny honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell. Driven to protect and take care of her hive, she cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!

Demonstrating the power of protest and standing up for a just cause, here is an exciting tribute to the educators who participated in the 1965 Selma Teachers' March. Reverend F. D. Reese was a leader of the Voting Rights Movement in Selma, Alabama. As a teacher and principal, he recognized that his colleagues were viewed with great respect in the city. Could he convince them to risk their jobs--and perhaps their lives--by organizing a teachers-only march to the county courthouse to demand their right to vote? On January 22, 1965, the Black teachers left their classrooms and did just that, with Reverend Reese leading the way.

A unique account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a heart-racing, you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight.

Told in dazzling maps and informative sidebars, Manhattan explores the 400+ year history of Manhattan Island. From before its earliest settlement to the vibrant metropolis that exists today, the island of Manhattan has always been a place of struggle, growth, and radical transformation.

Jos. de la Luz S.enz (1888-1953)--or Luz--believed in fighting for what was right. Although he was born in the United States, he and his family experienced prejudice because of their Mexican heritage. When World War I broke out, Luz volunteered to join the fight. Because of his ability to quickly learn languages, he became part of the Intelligence Office in Europe. However, despite his hard work and intellect, Luz often didn't receive credit for his contributions.

1919 was a world-shaking year. America was recovering from World War I and black soldiers returned to racism so violent that that summer would become known as the Red Summer. The suffrage movement had a long-fought win when women gained the right to vote. Laborers took to the streets to protest working conditions; nationalistic fervor led to a communism scare; and temperance gained such traction that prohibition went into effect. Each of these movements reached a tipping point that year.

"Formaldehyde, borax, salicylic acid. Today, these chemicals are used in embalming fluids, cleaning supplies, and acne medications. But in 1900, they were routinely added to food that Americans ate from cans and jars. Chemist Harvey Washington Wiley recognized these dangers and began a relentless thirty-year campaign to ensure that consumers could purchase safe food and drugs, eventually leading to the creation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA.

An inspiring picture book biography of storyteller, puppeteer, and New York City's first Puerto Rican librarian, who championed bilingual literature. When she came to America in 1921, Pura Belpré carried the cuentos folklóricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros (books) and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape as generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura's legacy.

Rivers wind through earth, cutting down and eroding the soil for millions of years, creating a cavity in the ground 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and more than a mile deep known as the Grand Canyon. Home to an astonishing variety of plants and animals that have lived and evolved within its walls for millennia, the Grand Canyon is much more than just a hole in the ground. Follow a father and daughter as they make their way through the cavernous wonder, discovering life both present and past.

Caldecott Honor winner  Sweet mixes White's personal letters, photos, and family ephemera with her own exquisite artwork to tell the story of this American literary icon. Readers young and old 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, a New York Times bestseller, includes an afterword by Martha White, his granddaughter.   

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage--and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality.

"[A] superb history.... In these thrilling, highly readable pages, we meet Rasputin, the shaggy, lecherous mystic...; we visit the gilded ballrooms of the doomed aristocracy; and we pause in the sickroom of little Alexei, the hemophiliac heir who, with his parents and four sisters, would be murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918."

As a child in the late 1800s, Horace Pippin loved to draw- He loved the feel of the charcoal as it slid across the floor. He loved looking at something in the room and making it come alive again in front of him.He drew pictures for his sisters, his classmates, his co-workers. Even during W.W.I, Horace filled his notebooks with drawings from the trenches . . . until he was shot. Upon his return home, Horace couldn't lift his right arm, and couldn't make any art. Slowly, with lots of practice, he regained use of his arm, until once again, he was able to paint--and paint, and paint! Soon, people--including the famous painter N. C. Wyeth--started noticing Horace's art, and before long, his paintings were displayed in galleries and museums across the country.

Marcel Marceau, the world's most famous mime, enthralled audiences around the world for more than fifty years. When he waved his hand or lifted his eyebrow he was able to speak volumes without ever saying a word. But few know the story of the man behind those gestures.

Everyone's a New Yorker on Thanksgiving Day, when young and old rise early to see what giant new balloons will fill the skies for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Who first invented these "upside-down puppets"? Meet Tony Sarg, puppeteer extraordinaire!

A picture book about the making of Martha Graham's Appalachian Spring, her most famous dance performance Martha Graham : trailblazing choreographer Aaron Copland : distinguished American composer Isamu Noguchi : artist, sculptor, craftsman Award-winning authors Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan tell the story behind the scenes of the collaboration that created APPALACHIAN SPRING, from its inception through the score's composition to Martha's intense rehearsal process.

Enter the fascinating world of reclusive nature-lover Walter Anderson -- perhaps the most famous American artist you've never heard of. Residents along the Mississippi Gulf Coast thought Walter Anderson was odd, rowing across twelve miles of open water in a leaky skiff to reach Horn, an uninhabited island without running water or electricity. But this solitary artist didn't much care what they thought as he spent weeks at a time on his personal paradise, sleeping under his boat, sometimes eating whatever washed ashore, sketching and painting the natural surroundings and the animals that became his friends. Here Walter created some of his most brilliant watercolors, work he kept hidden during his lifetime.

Chef Roy Choi calls himself a "street cook." He wants outsiders, low-riders, kids, teens, shufflers and skateboarders, to have food cooked with care, with love, with sohn maash. "Sohn maash" is the flavors in our fingertips. It is the love and cooking talent that Korean mothers and grandmothers mix into their handmade foods. For Chef Roy Choi, food means love. It also means culture, not only of Korea where he was born, but the many cultures that make up the streets of Los Angeles, where he was raised. So remixing food from the streets, just like good music--and serving it up from a truck--is true to L.A. food culture. People smiled and talked as they waited in line. Won't you join him as he makes good food smiles?

During World War I, British and American ships were painted with bold colors and crazy patterns from bow to stern. Why would anyone put such eye-catching designs on ships? Desperate to protect ships from German torpedo attacks, British lieutenant-commander Norman Wilkinson proposed what became known as dazzle. These stunning patterns and colors were meant to confuse the enemy about a ship's speed and direction. By the end of the war, more than four thousand ships had been painted with these mesmerizing designs.

If you had to name a statue, any statue, odds are good you'd mention the Statue of Liberty. Have you seen her? She's in New York. She's holding a torch. And she's in mid-stride, moving forward. But why? In this fascinating, fun take on nonfiction, Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris investigate a seemingly small trait of America's most emblematic statue. What they find is about more than history, more than art. What they find in the Statue of Liberty's right foot is the powerful message of acceptance that is essential to an entire country's creation.

In the rural community of Gee's Bend, African American women have been making quilts for generations. They use scraps of old overalls, aprons, and bleached cornmeal sacks--anything they can find. Their traditions have been passed down through the decades. Much to the women's surprise, a selection of the quilts was featured in an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in 2002. The exhibition then traveled to the Whitney Museum in New York City.

Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, and dreamed of designing her own cities. After studying architecture in London, she opened her own studio and started designing buildings. But as a Muslim woman, Hadid faced many obstacles. Determined to succeed, she worked hard for many years, and achieved her goals--and now you can see the buildings Hadid has designed all over the world.

How many species are there across the globe?   How much do all of the insects in the world collectively weigh?  How far can animals travel? Steve Jenkins answers these questions and many more with numbers, images, innovation, and authoritative science in his latest work of illustrated nonfiction. Jenkins layers his signature cut-paper illustrations alongside computer graphics and a text that is teeming with fresh, unexpected, and accurate zoological information ready for readers to easily devour. The level of scientific research paired with Jenkins' creativity and accessible infographics is unmatched and sure to wow fans old and new.

In 1847, a young African American girl named Sarah Roberts was attending a school in Boston. Then one day she was told she could never come back. She didn't belong. The Otis School was for white children only. Sarah deserved an equal education, and the Roberts family fought for change. They made history. Roberts v. City of Boston was the first case challenging our legal system to outlaw segregated schools. It was the first time an African American lawyer argued in a supreme court. These first steps set in motion changes that ultimately led to equality under the law in the United States. Sarah's cause was won when people--black and white--stood together and said, No more. Now, right now, it is time for change!

The giant squid is one of the most elusive creatures in the world. As large as whales, they hide beyond reach deep within the sea, forcing scientists to piece together their story from those clues they leave behind. An injured whale's ring-shaped scars indicate an encounter with a giant squid. A piece of beak broken off in the whale's belly; a flash of ink dispersed as a blinding defense to allow the squid to escape-- these fragments of proof were all we had . . . until a giant squid was finally filmed in its natural habitat only two years ago. In this beautiful and clever nonfiction picture book about the giant squid, Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann explore, both visually and poetically, this hidden creature's mysterious life. A Neal Porter Book

Get to know celebrated Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—in the first picture book about her life—as she proves that disagreeing does not make you disagreeable! Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spent a lifetime disagreeing: disagreeing with inequality, arguing against unfair treatment, and standing up for what’s right for people everywhere. This biographical picture book about the Notorious RBG, tells the justice’s story through the lens of her many famous dissents, or disagreements.

Bilingual English/Spanish. This bilingual alphabet book introduces readers to a cloud forest in the Andes; the plants, animals, and other organisms found there; and the newly-identified olinguito, a South American mammal.

Funny Bones tells the story of how the amusing calaveras--skeletons performing various everyday or festive activities--came to be. They are the creation of Mexican artist José Guadalupe (Lupe) Posada (1852-1913). In a country that was not known for freedom of speech, he first drew political cartoons, much to the amusement of the local population but not the politicians. He continued to draw cartoons throughout much of his life, but he is best known today for his calavera drawings. They have become synonymous with Mexico's Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival. Juxtaposing his own art with that of Lupe's, author Duncan Tonatiuh brings to light the remarkable life and work of a man whose art is beloved by many but whose name has remained in obscurity.

The love between brothers is key to Matt Tavares's tale of Dominican pitcher Pedro Mart#65533;nez, from his days of throwing rocks at mangoes to his years as a major-league star. Before Pedro Mart#65533;nez pitched the Red Sox to a World Series championship, before he was named to the All-Star team eight times, before he won the Cy Young three times, he was a kid from a place called Manoguayabo in the Dominican Republic. Pedro loved baseball more than anything, and his older brother Ramon was the best pitcher he'd ever seen. He'd dream of the day he and his brother could play together in the major leagues--and here, Matt Tavares tells the story of how that dream came true.

Discover how Benjamin Franklin's scientific method challenged a certain Dr. Mesmer's mysterious powers in a whimsical look at a true moment in history. The day Ben Franklin first set foot in Paris, France, he found the city all abuzz. Everyone was talking about something new--remarkable, thrilling, and strange. Something called . . . Science! But soon the straightforward American inventor Benjamin Franklin is upstaged by a compelling and enigmatic figure: Dr. Mesmer. In elaborately staged shows, Mesmer, wearing a fancy coat of purple silk and carrying an iron wand, convinces the people of Paris that he controls a magic force that can make water taste like a hundred different things, cure illness, and control thoughts! But Ben Franklin is not convinced. Will his practical approach of observing, hypothesizing, and testing get to the bottom of the mysterious Mesmer's tricks?

The world is big. Anna is small. The snow is everywhere, and all around. But one night . . . One night, her mother takes her to the ballet, and everything is changed--Anna finds a beauty inside herself that she cannot contain. So begins the journey of a girl who will one day grow up to be the most famous prima ballerina of all time, and who will inspire legions of dancers after her: the brave, the generous, the transcendently gifted Anna Pavlova.

What happens when a person's reputation has been forever damaged? With archival photographs and text among other primary sources, this riveting biography of Mary Mallon by the Sibert medalist and Newbery Honor winner Susan Bartoletti looks beyond the tabloid scandal of Mary's controversial life. How she was treated by medical and legal officials reveals a lesser-known story of human and constitutional rights, entangled with the science of pathology and enduring questions about who Mary Mallon really was. How did her name become synonymous with deadly disease? And who is really responsible for the lasting legacy of Typhoid Mary? This thorough exploration includes an author's note, timeline, annotated source notes, and bibliography.

A joyful portrait of an iconic writer and an inspiring blueprint for how to live your life. Before Ralph Waldo Emerson was a great writer, he was a city boy who longed for the broad, open fields and deep, still woods of the country, and then a young man who treasured books, ideas, and people. When he grew up and set out in the world, he wondered, could he build a life around these things he loved?

Capturing an engineer’s creative vision and mind for detail, this fully illustrated picture book biography sheds light on how the American inventor George Ferris defied gravity and seemingly impossible odds to invent the world’s most iconic amusement park attraction, the Ferris wheel.

For shy young Peter Mark Roget, books were the best companions -- and it wasn’t long before Peter began writing his own book. But he didn’t write stories; he wrote lists. Peter took his love for words and turned it to organizing ideas and finding exactly the right word to express just what he thought. His lists grew and grew, eventually turning into one of the most important reference books of all time. Readers of all ages will marvel at Roget’s life, depicted through lyrical text and brilliantly detailed illustrations. This elegant book celebrates the joy of learning and the power of words.

Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a "Whites only" school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

For every child who has ever looked up at the stars and asked, "What are they?" comes the story of a curious boy who never stopped wondering: Carl Sagan. When Carl Sagan was a young boy he went to the 1939 World's Fair and his life was changed forever. From that day on he never stopped marveling at the universe and seeking to understand it better.Star Stuff follows Carl from his days star gazing from the bedroom window of his Brooklyn apartment, through his love of speculative science fiction novels, to his work as an internationally renowned scientist who worked on the Voyager missions exploring the farthest reaches of space. This book introduces the beloved man who brought the mystery of the cosmos into homes across America to a new generation of dreamers and star gazers.

Locomotive is a rich and detailed sensory exploration of America’s early railroads, from the creator of the “stunning” (Booklist) Moonshot. It is the summer of 1869, and trains, crews, and family are traveling together, riding America’s brand-new transcontinental railroad. These pages come alive with the details of the trip and the sounds, speed, and strength of the mighty locomotives; the work that keeps them moving; and the thrill of travel from plains to mountain to ocean. Come hear the hiss of the steam, feel the heat of the engine, watch the landscape race by. Come ride the rails, come cross the young country!

Most people think of mathematicians as solitary, working away in isolation. And, it's true, many of them do. But Paul Erdos never followed the usual path. At the age of four, he could ask you when you were born and then calculate the number of seconds you had been alive in his head. But he didn't learn to butter his own bread until he turned twenty. Instead, he traveled around the world, from one mathematician to the next, collaborating on an astonishing number of publications.

The true story of the young immigrant who led the largest strike of women workers in U.S. history. This picture book biography about Ukrainian immigrant Clara Lemlich tackles topics like activism and the U.S. garment industry. When Clara arrived in America, she couldn't speak English. She didn't know that young women had to go to work, that they traded an education for long hours of labor, that she was expected to grow up fast. But that didn't stop Clara. She went to night school, spent hours studying English, and helped support her family by sewing in a shirtwaist factory. Clara never quit, and she never accepted that girls should be treated poorly and paid little. Fed up with the mistreatment of her fellow laborers, Clara led the largest walkout of women workers the country had seen. From her short time in America, Clara learned that everyone deserved a fair chance. That you had to stand together and fight for what you wanted. And, most importantly, that you could do anything you put your mind to.

Above the treetops of Puerto Rico flies a flock of parrots as green as their island home. . . . These are Puerto Rican parrots. They lived on this island for millions of years, and then they nearly vanished from the earth forever. Puerto Rican parrots, once abundant, came perilously close to extinction in the 1960s due to centuries of foreign exploration and occupation, development, and habitat destruction. In this compelling book, Roth and Trumbore recount the efforts of the scientists of the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program to save the parrots and ensure their future. Woven into the parrots' story is a brief history of Puerto Rico itself, from before the first human settlers to the present day.

World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by Hitler. Back on the home front, discrimination against African Americans plays out as much on Main Street as in the military. Tanya Lee Stone examines the little-known history of the Triple Nickles, America's first black paratroopers, who fought in an attack on the American West by the Japanese. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, in the words of First Sergeant Walter Morris, "proved that the color of a man had nothing to do with his ability."

Anyone can get involved in gathering data for ongoing, actual scientific studies such as the Audubon Bird Count and FrogWatch USA. Just get out into a field, urban park, or your own backyard. You can put your nose to a monarch pupa or listen for raucous frog calls. You can tally woodpeckers or sweep the grass for ladybugs. This book, full of engaging photos and useful tips, will show you how.

A true Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin was the first American celebrity. In pictures and text, master artist Robert Byrd documents Franklin's numerous and diverse accomplishments, from framing the Constitution to creating bifocals. The witty, wise, and endlessly curious Franklin is the perfect subject for Byrd's lively style and vibrant art. The pages pulse with facts, quotes, and captions, while the inventive design and intricately detailed illustrations make a striking tribute to the brilliant American.

The inspiring story of one of the greatest moments in civil rights history seen through the eyes of four young people at the center of the action. The 1963 Birmingham Children?s March was a turning point in American history. In the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, the fight for civil rights lay in the hands of children like Audrey Hendricks, Wash Booker, James Stewart, and Arnetta Streeter. We?ve Got a Job tells the little-known story of the 4,000 black elementary, middle, and high school students who voluntarily went to jail between May 2 and May 11, 1963. The children succeeded ?where adults had failed? In desegregating one of the most racially violent cities in America.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were very different. John Adams was short and stout. Thomas Jefferson was tall and lean. John was argumentative and blunt. Tom was soft-spoken and polite. But these two very different gentlemen did have two things in common: They both cared deeply about the American colonies, and neither cared much for the British tyrant, King George. With their signature wit, impeccable research, and inventive presentation style, award winners Barbara Kerley and Edwin Fotheringham masterfully blend biography and history to create a brilliant portrait of two American heroes who bravely set aside their differences to join forces in the fight for our country's freedom.

On June 10, 2003, a little rover named Spirit blasted off on a rocket headed for Mars. On July 7, 2003, a twin rover named Opportunity soared through the solar system with the same mission: to find out if Mars ever had water that could have supported life.A thrilling addition to the acclaimed Scientists in the Field series, The Mighty Mars Rovers tells the greatest space robot adventure of all time through the eyes--and heart--of Steven Squyres, professor of astronomy at Cornell University and lead scientist on the mission. This suspenseful page-turner captures the hair-raising human emotions felt during the adventures with two tough rovers.

Featured in the upcoming National Geographic documentary, Expedition Amelia! This is a critically acclaimed look at the life, disappearance, and search for the legendary aviatrix, Amelia Earhart. On May 21, 1937, the most famous female pilot of all time, Amelia Earhart, set out to do the impossible: circumnavigate the globe at its widest point--27,000 miles in all. Just six weeks later, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. Eighty years have passed since that fateful flight; and still, Amelia's plane has never been found.

Abraham Lincoln was devoted to his country--and to his family. President Lincoln called America a house divided, but he struggled to keep his own home united. It would prove to be an impossible task. Sickness, loss, and family tensions overwhelmed Abraham, Mary, and their four sons. Opening up the Lincoln family album, noted Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer highlights the family's heartaches and happiness.

Once there was a little boy named Neftalí who loved wild things wildly and quiet things quietly. From the moment he could talk, he surrounded himself with words. Neftalí discovered the magic between the pages of books. When he was sixteen, he began publishing his poems as Pablo Neruda. Pablo wrote poems about the things he loved--things made by his friends in the café, things found at the marketplace, and things he saw in nature. He wrote about the people of Chile and their stories of struggle. Because above all things and above all words, Pablo Neruda loved people.

Through inmates’ own voices and artwork, Terezín explores the lives of Jewish people in one of the most infamous of the Nazi transit camps. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany turned the small town of Terezín, Czechoslovakia, into a ghetto, and then into a transit camp for thousands of Jewish people. It was a "show" camp, where inmates were forced to use their artistic talents to fool the world about the truth of gas chambers and horrific living conditions for imprisoned Jews. Here is their story, told through the firsthand accounts of those who were there.

For a long time, the people of Hargigo, a village in the tiny African country of Eritrea, were living without enough food for themselves and their animals. Then along came a scientist, Dr Gordon Sato, who helped to change their lives for the better. And it all started by planting some special mangrove trees. This fascinating story of environmental innovation is a celebration of creativity, hard work and the ability of one man to make a positive difference in the lives of many.

Racial bombings were so frequent in Birmingham that it became known as "Bombingham." Until September 15, 1963, these attacks had been threatening but not deadly. On that Sunday morning, however, a blast in the 16th Street Baptist Church ripped through the exterior wall and claimed the lives of four girls. The church was the ideal target for segregationists, as it was the rallying place for Birmingham's African American community, Martin Luther King, Jr., using it as his "headquarters" when he was in town to further the cause of desegregation and equal rights. Rather than triggering paralyzing fear, the bombing was the definitive act that guaranteed passage of the landmark 1964 civil rights legislation.

"After World War II the United States and Britain airlifted food and supplies into Russian-blockaded West Berlin. US Air Force Lieutenant Gail S. Halvorsen knew the children of the city were suffering. To lift their spirits, he began dropping chocolate and gum by parachute.

What are the secrets of the ancient stone circle? Were the carefully placed stones a burial site, an ancient calendar, a place of Druid worship...or even a site of sacrifice? World-renowned archaeologist Mike Parker-Pearson has spent the last seven years on a quest to answer these and many other questions. Mike and his team have revolutionized our understanding of Stonehenge by exploring the surrounding landscape for clues about the stones -- an idea first suggested by a visitor from Madagascar. The results have been breathtaking: The team recently unearthed the largest Neolithic village ever found in England. Marc Aronson had total access to the site, the team, and their work over two seasons of digging and brings the inspirational story of the discoveries taking place at this World Historical Site to young readers.

Have you ever wondered what mysteries the ocean holds? Prepare to explore the ocean from sunlit shallows to the deepest, darkest depths. Along the way, you'll meet many incredible creatures that are brand new to science. Dive to a coral reef and spot a new species of pygmy octopus. Travel deeper and discover fragile, nearly transparent jellies as they drift past. Then head down into a world of eternal night. You'll encounter animals that make their own light and zombie worms that feast on the bones of dead whales. Your adventure is based on the real journeys of scientists involved in the Census of Marine Life. From 2000 to 2010, more than two thousand researchers from eighty-two countries carried out the most extensive investigation of ocean life ever attempted.

Mammoths and mastodons roamed the earth for more than a million years, and then suddenly went extinct. What was everyday life like for these colossal cousins of the modern elephant? What did they eat? How did they fit into their Ice Age landscape? Why did they disappear? These questions and more are answered in this fascinating book that presents the latest research, drawing on the recent discovery of a fully frozen baby mammoth--which has allowed scientists to learn more than they ever could have known just from studying bones and fossils.

They had the right stuff. They defied the prejudices of the time. And they blazed a trail for generations of women to follow. What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape -- any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did not lose, for their example empowered young women to take their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules.

Filled with the fascinating words of Charles Darwin--designed as handwritten entries--this picture book biography reveals the assembling of a profound idea: the survival of the fittest. Two hundred years after his birth, 150 years after the publication of his ORIGIN OF SPECIES, this thought-provoking, splendidly ilustrated account invites us into the private thoughts, hopes and fears of a soul who forever changed the way we see the world.

The critically acclaimed Scientist in the Field book about how one boy's interest in backyard science inspired a career in scientific discovery. When Tyrone Hayes was growing up in South Carolina, he didn't worry about pesticides. He just liked to collect frogs. Tyrone's interest in science led him to Harvard University, and though he struggled at first, he found his calling in the research lab of an amphibian scientist. Meanwhile, scientists discovered that all around the globe, frogs were dying. The decline has many causes, including habitat loss and disease. Tyrone discovered that the most commonly used pesticide in the United States, atrazine, may also play a role. Tyrone tested atrazine on frogs in his lab at Berkeley. He found that the chemical caused some of the male frogs to develop into bizarre half-male, half-female frogs. What was going on? That's what Tyrone wants to find out.

Baby pandas abound as readers learn how they live and grow. Science expert Sandra Markle bumps up the cuteness factor in this adorable photo essay featuring the eight panda pairs that were born during a baby boom at China's Wolong Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in 2005. Basic counting skills combine with panda facts to introduce readers to numbers and these cuddly cubs, from the moment they were born to the time they started climbing trees. Tracked as they play and grow in captivity, until they are strong enough to be released into the wild, these baby pandas will steal any reader's heart, whether it's one at a time or sixteen at once!

Most readers know Noah Webster for his dictionary masterpieces and his promotion of a living "American Language" that embraces words and idioms from all its immigrant peoples. But he was also the driving force behind universal education for all citizens, including slaves, females, and adult learners. Speaker of twenty languages, he developed the new country's curriculum, writing and publishing American literature, American history, and American geography. He published New York City's first daily newspaper. As editor, Webster conducted a study and linked disease with poor sanitation. He created the country's first insurance company, established America's first copyright law, and became America's first best-selling author.

Tonya Bolden brings words and pictures together to tell the life story of one of America's greatest figures: Martin Luther King, Jr. -- or M.L.K. Central to the story is King's belief that agape -- the selfless love for one's neighbor -- is the rope that binds all peoples together. This philosophy came forward in his sermons, in his daily practice, and especially in his support of nonviolent protests.

It looks like a bear, but isn't one. 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.

As he did for frontier children in his enormously popular Children of the Wild West, Russell Freedman illuminates the lives of the American children affected by the economic and social changes of the Great Depression.

Did you know that an African-American man participated in Lewis and Clark's famous expedition? Working alongside free men, Clark's slave York played an important role in the journey's success. This award-winning book draws on extensive research to give a gripping and insightful account of York's significant contribution to this landmark historical event.

1793, Philadelphia. The nation's capital and the largest city in North America is devastated by an apparently incurable disease, cause unknown . . . In a powerful, dramatic narrative, critically acclaimed author Jim Murphy describes the illness known as yellow fever and the toll it took on the city's residents, relating the epidemic to the major social and political events of the day and to 18th-century medical beliefs and practices.

Marian Anderson is best known for her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which drew an integrated crowd of 75,000 people in pre-Civil Rights America. While this momentous event showcased the uniqueness of her voice, the strength of her character, and the struggles of the times in which she lived, it is only part of her story.

In 1845, a disaster struck Ireland. Overnight, a mysterious blight attacked the potato crops, turning the potatoes black and destroying the only real food of nearly six million people. Over the next five years, the blight attacked again and again. These years are known today as the Great Irish Famine, a time when one million people died from starvation and disease and two million more fled their homeland.

Here for the first time in a book for young readers is the story of the African American forty-niners who went west to seek fortunes and freedom in the California Gold Rush.

In November 1960, all of America watched as a tiny six-year-old black girl, surrounded by federal marshals, walked through a mob of screaming segregationists and into her school. An icon of the civil rights movement, Ruby Bridges chronicles each dramatic step of this pivotal event in history through her own words.

Here is the true history of a friendship that almost wasn't. John Leahr and Herb Heilbrun grew up in the same neighborhood and were in the same third grade class together. They were classmates--not friends--because Herb was white and John was black.

Nic Bishop's signature up-close, stop-action photographs show spiders larger than life.

A biography, told using excerpts from her own writings, of the woman who successfully dealt with her own disabilities while trying to better the lives of other deaf and blind people.

Hold the presses! Here's the sensational story of the birth of investigative journalism in America. At the turn of the 20th century, news reporters and monthly magazines collaborate to create a new kind of journalism - in - depth, serialized ''exposes'' of corporate, labor, and political corruption.

The author of What Stinks? brings kids the coolest, newest information on creatures that can harm or even kill with a bite or sting.

Gregor Mendel explains to children the theory of heredity in simple-to-understand language and examples. Regarded as the world's first geneticist, Gregor Mendel discovered one of the fundamental aspects of genetic science: animals, plants, and people all inherit and pass down traits through the same process.

A riveting account of the civil rights boycott that changed history by the foremost author of history for young people.

John Muir loved the land. Born in 1838, he was a writer, a scholar, an inventor, a shepherd, a farmer, and an explorer. But above all, he was a naturalist.

Marie Curie's story has fascinated and inspired young readers for decades. The poor Polish girl who worked eight years to be able to afford to attend the Sorbonne in Paris, became one of the most important scientists of her day, winning not one but two Nobel Prizes.

"This excellent book will walk the reader step by step through man's first landing on the moon.

They can surgically remove an arrow in a cat's abdomen, repair a bird's broken wing, even save a tiny foal that is in a coma. How? With high-tech x-rays, endoscopes, and electrocardiographs--but most important, with a love of science and animals.

They threw rocks at the school windows. Villagers refused to sell Miss Crandall groceries or let her students attend the town church. Her schoolhouse was mysteriously set on fire. The town authorities dragged her to jail and put her on trial for breaking the law. Her crime? Trying to teach African American girls geography, history, reading, philosophy, and chemistry.

On the 100th anniversary of the publishing of the special theory of relativity, this National Geographic photobiography chronicles the life of one of the most brilliant scientists who ever lived. Through compelling text and stirring archival photographs, the author recounts Einstein's life from his privileged childhood in Austria through the crucial years during World War II, and his death 50 years ago in Princeton, New Jersey.

Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores the riveting and often chilling story of Germany's powerful Hitler Youth groups. "I begin with the young. We older ones are used up . . . But my magnificent youngsters! Look at these men and boys! What material! With them, I can create a new world." --Adolf Hitler, Nuremberg 1933.

""READY-OR-NOT-HERE-I-COME." The boy listens. The girl is getting closer. Suddenly, there's another sound. droning buzz. Something else is looking for the boy. The seeker is a mosquito.

Discusses and gives examples of the size and weight of various animals and parts of animals.

The tragedy of extinction is explained through the dramatic story of a legendary bird, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and of those who tried to possess it, paint it, shoot it, sell it, and, in a last-ditch effort, save it.

The Great Sphinx is one of the largest sculptures in the world. Six stories high and a city block wide, it has stood guard over the pyramids of Egypt's Giza Plateau for 4,500 years. Who built the Sphinx and why?

An analysis of Georges Seurat's famous painting, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, including where and when it was made, interesting details, and the techniques used to create a sense of stillness.

Carefully researched and expertly told, this Newbery Honor and Sibert Medal-winning book is a moving account of the life of a talented and determined artist who left her mark on musical and social history.

From start to finish, Mann tracks the wonders of architecture, engineering, and construction that went into the creation of the tallest building in the world for the time.

When the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution, they knew it was not perfect. They were concerned their government might be too powerful and not respect the rights of its citizens. So at the first session of the United States Congress in 1789, they voted on a set of ten amendments, aimed to preserve and protect the rights and liberties of all citizens.

Famous in his time as a painter, prankster, and philosopher, Leonardo da Vinci was also a musician, sculptor, and engineer for dukes, popes, and kings. What remains of his work-from futuristic designs and scientific inquiry to artwork of ethereal beauty-reveals the ambitious, unpredictable brilliance of a visionary, and a timeless dreamer.

Who would solve one of the most perplexing scientific problems of all time? This dramatic picture-book biography brings to life - with illustrations that glow with wit and inspiration - the fascinating story of the quest to measure longitude.

In a stunning nonfiction debut, award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson focuses on five immigrants' stories to reveal the triumphs and hardships of early 1900s immigrant life in New York.

America's premier biographer for young people illuminates the remarkable life and far-reaching influence of the famous Chinese philosopher.

Lintong County, People's Republic of China, March 1974. Three farmers are digging a well when suddenly their shovels hit something hard. It is a clay head of a man who stares back at them, open-eyed and amazingly real looking. The farmers have never seen anything like it; neither have the archeologists who arrive and being to uncover more and more pottery men--first dozens, then hundreds and eventually thousands!

Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain.

Life on the Lower East Side was bustling. Immigrants from many European countries had come to make a better life for themselves and their families in the United States. But the wages they earned were so low that they could afford only the most basic accommodations--tenements.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were a fascinating pair. Not only did they invent, build, and fly the first airplane, they were also idiosyncratic individuals who had a unique relationship, sharing a home, a bank account, and a business throughout their lives.

What was it that fed the Viking expeditions, spurred the Pilgrims on to moneymaking success, drove the settlement of North America, and has also been a staple food in every cafeteria since the 1950s? would you believe it was a fish? That's right The Codfish!

This extraordinary true story introduces readers to the unforgettable Waterhouse Hawkins: Victorian artist and visionary who built the world's first life-size models of dinosaurs!

This picture book biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. brings his life and the profound nature of his message to young children through his own words.

Benjamin Franklin was one of seventeen children, and the youngest of 10 sons. To help out with the family, he was put to work when he was 10 years old in his father's candle and soap-making shop. Ben hated making soap and candles. Since he was smart and a good speller and he loved to read, he later went to work in his brother's print shop as an apprentice.

Trudy Ederle loved to swim. And she was determined to be the best. At seventeen Trudy won three medals at the 1924 Olympics, in Paris. By the time she turned nineteen, Trudy had set twenty-nine U.S. and world records. But what she planned to do next had never been done--by a woman.

With her thoroughly researched, lively narrative and superbly detailed illustrations, Diane Stanley has captured the life of the artist Michelangelo, who towered above the late Renaissance--and whose brilliance in architecture, painting, and sculpture amazes and moves us to this day.

A sharecropper's daughter describes her childhood in Texas in the early years of the twentieth century.

Are you ready to go to places that are dark and strange? Eager to see animals, including alligators, snakes, and unusual birds? Jim Arnosky has created a picture-book excursion that gives you a feeling for the mystery of swamps.

Biography of the African princess saved from execution and taken to England where Queen Victoria oversaw her upbringing and where she lived for a time before marrying an African missionary.

A piano prodigy, Clara Schumann made her professional debut at the age of nine and had embarked on her first European concert tour by the time she was twelve. Clara charmed audiences with her soulful playing throughout her life.

Maps show us how to get from one place to another, but they have other stories to tell. By looking at a map, we can see which aspects of the world were most important to people in a particular time and place.

Dr. Robert Mason has been studying a mysterious phenomenon for over fifteen years: the reemergence of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes - the world's largest concentration of snakes - after a winter spent in a state of suspended animation in subterranean caverns.

In this stunning picture book, Steve Jenkins takes us to Mount Everest - exploring its history, geography, climate, and culture. This unique book takes readers on the ultimate adventure of climbing the great mountain.

Introduces the life cycle, feeding habits, migration, predators, and mating of the monarch butterfly through the observation of one particular monarch named Danaus.

A biography of the Italian Renaissance artist and inventor who, at about age 30, began writing his famous notebooks which contain the outpourings of his amazing mind.

The Great Fire of 1871 was one of most colossal disasters in American history. Overnight, the flourshing city of Chicago was transformed into a smoldering wasteland. The damage was so profound that few people believed the city could ever rise again.

Enter a world where tiny fish flit through forests of green-gold seaweed, neon blue and yellow clown shrimp scoot about on five pairs of legs, and huge male elephant seals blow their noses so loud that they can be heard a kilometre away!

An account of Robert Louis Stevenson's twelve day journey from New York to California in 1879, interwoven with a history of the building of the transcontinental railroad and the settling of the West.

Describes the plight of the migrant workers who traveled from the Dust Bowl to California during the Depression and were forced to live in a federal labor camp and discusses the school that was built for their children.

"The use of the present tense keeps the reader in suspense from the moment the plane takes off until the moment Lindbergh sets the plane down in Paris.

Traces the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from his birth in 1882 through his youth, early political career, and presidency to his death in Warm Springs, Georgia, in 1945.

In the days before microphones and TV interviews, getting people to listen to you was not an easy task. But James Madison used his quiet eloquence, intelligence and passion for unified colonies to help shape the Constitution, steer America through the turmoil of two wars, and ensure that our government, and nation, remained intact.

The most spectacular photographs ever created on the subject of water appear in this unique science book by Walter Wick. The camera stops the action and magnifies it so that all the amazing states of water can be observed -- water as ice, rainbow, steam, frost, dew.

Tells about the structure of trees and how they grow, as well as their uses.

Pilot Charles A. Lindbergh was one of the first Americans to be lionized by the news media. When Lindbergh made his nonstop transatlantic flight in 1927, radio and sound movies were just beginning to be popular, enabling people to learn of events almost as soon as they happened.

The astonishing story of a cub reporter who was there on the day that the President died. On November 22, 1963, the phone rang in the Dallas U.P.I. office. Wilborn Hampton, a cub reporter, answered and heard these words: "Three shots fired!" It was the voice of the U.P.I. White House reporter.

Chronicles the lives of the Native Americans of California from 1769 through the Gold Rush of the 1850s.

A realistic account that includes stories of the corruption, greed, exploitation, sacrifice, & heroism that went into the building of the first transcontinental railroad.

The heroic story of the Oglala Warrior who triumphed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Religious understanding is as important today than any other time in history. In this highly acclaimed book, Mary Pope Osborne introduces readers to the six major religions of the world.

A fascinating photo essay about the world of dolphins as explored by marine biologist Randall Wells in a dolphin community in the Sarasota Bay area of Florida.

Illustrated with black-and-white photographs. When America's men went off to war in 1942, millions of women were recruited, through posters and other propaganda, to work at non-traditional jobs.  In defense plants, factories, offices, and everywhere else workers were needed, they were--for the first time--well paid and financially independent. 

Describes the customs, recipes, poems, and songs used to celebrate Christmas in the big plantation houses and in the slave quarters just before the Civil War.

Photobiography of early twentieth-century photographer and schoolteacher Lewis Hine, using his own work as illustrations. Hines's photographs of children at work were so devastating that they convinced the American people that Congress must pass child labor laws.

A look at the day-to-day work at a wildlife rescue center in New Mexico.

Organized by the 5 senses, this book tells about the perception of several animals and how they communicate.

"This is a truly compelling and superbly photographed chronicle of a wildlife photographer's unique experience....Few will be likely to think of wolves in the same way again".

A great story about a group of elementary school students who reclaim a stream that was once a spawning ground for salmon, but has become a community dumping ground and no fish has been seen in it for more than 20 years.

Thirteen artists describe how they work & the media they use, with examples of their art work as children. .

In 1619 European traders first brought captured Africans to Virginia to provide the cheap labor that would bring prosperity to the South and tragedy to the nation.

A collection of photos and stories about photographer Solomon Butcher and turn-of-the-century Nebraska.

"The artist gives readers of any age glimpses into the Inuit culture which formed his childhood & youth.... The result is a work of integrity, an authentic representation of a culture that now mostly exists in memory."

The full-color graphics (most supplied by NASA) begin with the view of Earth from the moon, then move on to pictures taken by astronauts orbiting the planet and remote sensing images relayed from satellites.

Describes the emigration of people from the East Coast of the United States and from foreign countries to California to pursue the dream of discovering gold.

The author reveals the latest scientific discoveries and theories about the habitat, behavior, anatomy, characteristics, and other important aspects of the dinosaurs.