Synopsis: Jane Yolen's Emily Writes is an imagined and evocative picture book account of Emily Dickinson’s childhood poetic beginnings, featuring illustrations by Christine Davenier.As a young girl, Emily Dickinson loved to scribble curlicues and circles, imagine new rhymes, and connect with the natural world around her. The sounds, sights, and smells of home swirled through her mind, and Emily began to explore writing and rhyming her thoughts and…

Synopsis: Equal parts adventure and STEM, Rebecca E. F. Barone's Race to the Bottom of the Earth: Surviving Antarctica is a thrilling nonfiction book for young readers chronicling two treacherous, groundbreaking expeditions to the South Pole―and includes eye-catching photos of the Antarctic landscape."Riveting! I raced to the end of this book!" ―Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of RefugeeIn 1910, Captain Robert Scott prepared his crew for a…

Synopsis: Relive the moments when African Americans fought for equal rights, and made history.Even though slavery had ended in the 1860s, African Americans were still suffering under the weight of segregation a hundred years later. They couldn't go to the same schools, eat at the same restaurants, or even use the same bathrooms as white people. But by the 1950s, black people refused to remain second-class citizens and were willing to risk their lives to…

Synopsis: Nelson Mandela, one of the most famous freedom fighters in the world, is a powerful symbol of hope for oppressed people everywhere.This is his story, revised and updated.Nelson Mandela hardly needs an introduction. However, this powerful biography provides an in-depth look at the man who grew up in a rural village in South Africa under racist apartheid rule--a regime he ultimately helped overthrow.Denenberg explores the history of South Africa…

Synopsis: Newbery medalist Jerry Spinelli has penned his early autobiography with all the warmth, humor, and drama of his best-selling fiction. And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!"A master of those embarrassing, gloppy, painful, and suddenly wonderful things that happen on the razor's edge between childhood and full-fledged adolescence" --The Washington PostFrom first memories through high school, including first kiss…

Synopsis: The inventions and inspiration of Benjamin Franklin and how they've stood the test of timeWhat would you do if you lived in a community without a library, hospital, post office, or fire department? If you were Benjamin Franklin, you'd set up these organizations yourself. Franklin also designed the lightning rod, suggested the idea of daylight savings time, and invented bifocals-all inspired by his common sense and intelligence. In this…