Synopsis: When Mary McLeod was a girl in rural South Carolina, no school would accept her as a student, because she was black. But one day, a woman from the city came to open a mission school. "It changed my life overnight," Mary later wrote. Her lifelong goal was to improve the quality of life for black Americans. In the face of constant opposition, she showed that change was possible. Book jacket.

Synopsis: When Laura Ingalls Wilder was a little girl in the late 1800's, her family moved nine times in three years. The Wilders faced great hardships on the prairie. The crops they planted were destroyed by grasshoppers. Brutal snowstorms brought them close to starvation. But for Laura, who was born with her father's pioneer spirit, home wasn't a house--it was being with Ma, Pa, Mary, and baby Carrie. At the age of 65 she put pen to paper and wrote…

Synopsis: Susan B. Anthony: Champions of Women's Rights is the next installment in the Childhood of Famous Americans series.Using simple language that beginning readers can understand, this lively, inspiring, and believable biography looks at the childhood of Susan B. Anthony, who grew up to fight for women's equality and the right to suffrage.

Synopsis: Get to know runaway slave and American revolutionary Crispus Attucks in this middle grade nonfiction biography of his early years!Crispus Attucks was born into slavery around 1723, the son of an African American enslaved person and a Natick Indian. After years of forced labor in the Boston area, Crispus escaped and began working on trading ships and whaling vessels until his death in the Boston Massacre. This book is laced with numerous…

Synopsis: What would you do with a billion dollars? This question gets a definitive answer from billionaire Richard Branson: do everything! Born into a wealthy family in London, Branson suffered from dyslexia and was a poor student. Still, his knack for business started early with a successful parakeet-breeding enterprise at age 11.The charismatic entrepreneur launched his first major business, Virgin Records, at age 22 and spent the next few decades…

Synopsis: Thomas Edison was born in 1847, in a time without phonographs, moving pictures, or reliable electric light bulbs…because he hadn’t invented them yet!From his early beginnings in Ohioto his legendary lab in Menlo Park, the childhood and life of Thomas Edison are illuminated in this narrative biography.

Synopsis: Follow the amazing journey of Pope Francis, whose warmth and humility made him beloved around the world.Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis, from Argentina, was the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. During his time as pope, he used a humbler, less formal approach to his office than his predecessors: a warm style that was referred to as "no frills." His common touch and accessibility,…

Synopsis: Read the story of the Founding Father who inspired the smash Broadway musical.Born in the British West Indies and orphaned as a child, Alexander Hamilton made his way to the American Colonies and studied to become a lawyer. He joined a local militia during the American Revolution, rose to the rank of Major General, and became the chief aide to General George Washington. After the war, he became the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He…

Synopsis: Every kid has heard of Harry Houdini, the famous magician who could escape from handcuffs, jail cells, and locked trunks. But do they know that the ever-ambitious and adventurous Houdini was also a famous movie star and the first pilot to fly a plane in Australia? This well-told biography is full of the details of Houdini's life that kids will really want to know about and illustrated throughout with beautiful black-and-white line drawings…

Synopsis: You can always recognize a painting by Kahlo because she is in nearly all--with her black braided hair and colorful Mexican outfits. A brave woman who was an invalid most of her life, she transformed herself into a living work of art. As famous for her self-portraits and haunting imagery as she was for her marriage to another famous artist, Diego Rivera, this strong and courageous painter was inspired by the ancient culture and history of her…

Synopsis: Born and raised in Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, nicknamed “Jack” was the second oldest of nine siblings. Despite a preference for fun over schoolwork, he graduated from Harvard, joined in the Navy, and went on to earn recognition for “extremely heroic conduct.” He later served in both the House and the Senate before being elected thirty-fifth President of the United States, where he achieved much before his assassination in 1963. Discover…

Synopsis: The man who saved the lives of his PT-109 crewmen during WWII and became the 35th president fought-and won-his first battle at the age of two-and-a-half, when he was stricken with scarlet fever. Although his presidency was cut short, our nation's youngest elected leader left an indelible mark on the American consciousness and now is profiled in our Who Was...? series. Included are 100 black-and-white illustrations as well as a timeline that…

Synopsis: Stanley Lieber was just seventeen when he got his first job at Timely Comics in 1939. Since then, the man now known as Stan Lee has launched a comic book empire, made Marvel Comics a household name, and created iconic superheroes such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four. Stan Lee is still dreaming up caped crusaders and masked vigilantes in his nineties. Who Is Stan Lee? tells the story of a New York City kid with a superhero-sized…

Synopsis: Bruce Lee was a Chinese American action film star, martial arts instructor, filmmaker, and philosopher. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim.  Through such films as Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon, Lee helped to change the way Asians were presented in American films and, in the process, he became an iconic figure known throughout the world. Although…