I Have Lived A Thousand Years: Growing Up In The Holocaust
by Livia Bitton-Jackson
from Simon Pulse
A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Soldiers, scientists, performers, writers, entrepreneurs, politicians, quilt makers, pilots... as author Lynne Cheney writes, "America's amazing women have much to teach our children--and much inspiration to offer us, as well." Coming on the heels of America: A Patriotic Primer (Cheney's previous collaboration with illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser), A Is for Abigail celebrates the achievements of women in American history, with a special emphasis on the individuals who helped win equal rights for women. As with America, Cheney uses an alphabet book format to introduce hundreds of remarkable real women: "O is for SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR and others who were first." In addition to the first woman Supreme Court Justice, the "O" page includes Wilma Mankiller, first woman chief of the Cherokee Nation; Jeannette Rankin, first female member of Congress; and Nellie Tayloe Ross, first woman governor. Glasser's playful illustrations are lively and busy, inviting readers to explore Abigail Adams's farm or the crowded city block that houses "V is for VARIETY," with its DNA lab, dance studio, dentist office, and "PERSONS at WORK" sign. Snippets of information about each featured woman give a taste; ideally, readers will seek more in-depth biographies about the historical figures who pique their interests. (Ages 6 to 9) --Emilie Coulter
Lynne Cheney and Robin Preiss Glasser collaborated on America: A Patriotic Primer, which captured the imagination of American children and became a national best-seller. Now they turn their hands to A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women and bring the great women of American history to life. Filled to the brim with words and pictures that celebrate the remarkable (although often unmarked) achievements of American women, this is a book to relish and to read again and again.
Mothers, daughters, schoolchildren, generations of families -- everyone -- will take Abigail Adams's words to heart and "remember the ladies" once they read the stories of these astonishing, astounding, amazing American women.
Archimedes and the Door of Science (Living History Library)
by Jeanne Bendick
from Bethlehem Books
Warriors Don't Cry
by Melba Patitllo Beals
from Simon Pulse
An innocent teenager. An unexpected hero.
In 1957, Melba Pattillo turned sixteen. That was also the year she became a warrior on the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Following the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, Melba was one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School.
Throughout her harrowing ordeal, Melba was taunted by her schoolmates and their parents, threatened by a lynch mob's rope, attacked with lighted sticks of dynamite, and injured by acid sprayed in her eyes. But through it all, she acted with dignity and courage, and refused to back down.
This is her remarkable story.
Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust
by Allan Zullo
from Scholastic Paperbacks
Ain't Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry
by Scott Reynolds Nelson
from National Geographic Children's Books
Who was the real John Henry? The story of this legendary African-American figure has come down to us in so many songs, stories, and plays, that the facts are often lost. Historian Scott Nelson brings John Henry alive for young readers in his personal quest for the true story of the man behind the myth. Nelson presents the famous folk song as a mystery to be unraveled, identifying the embedded clues within the lyrics, which he examines to uncover many surprising truths. He investigates the legend and reveals the real John Henry in this beautifully illustrated book.
Nelson’s narrative is multilayered, interweaving the story of the building of the railroads, the period of Reconstruction, folk tales, American mythology, and an exploration of the tradition of work songs and their evolution into blues and rock and roll. This is also the story of the author’s search for the flesh-and-blood man who became an American folk hero; Nelson gives a first-person account of how the historian works, showing history as a process of discovery. Readers rediscover an African-American folk hero. We meet John Henry, the man who worked for the railroad, driving steel spikes. When the railroad threatens to replace workers with a steam-powered hammer, John Henry bets that he can drive the beams into the ground faster than the machine. He wins the contest, but dies in the effort.
Nelson’s vibrant text, combined with archival images, brings a new perspective and focus to the life and times of this American legend.
The Story Of Ruby Bridges (Scholastic Bookshelf)
by Robert Coles
from Scholastic Paperbacks
Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History
by Richard M. Hannula
from Canon Press
"Thus says the LORD: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls"(Jer. 6:16). Christianity is a faith in love with history. God took on human flesh and dwelt among us. The Spirit carried that divine work over the centuries, providing courage and maturity even amid our imperfections.
Christians find their true family line not through tribes and ethnic blood but in the bond of faithfulness and shed blood that has united our family for millennia. We too often view Church history as the story of obscure aliens instead of the lives of brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers.
In this collection of forty-six brief biographies for children, Hannula sketches the stirring trials and triumphs of many famous and some lesser known figures in our family of faith—including Augustine, Charlemagne, Anselm, Luther, Bunyan, and C.S. Lewis. Through them we can begin to enjoy the old paths and find rest for our souls.
Journey Into Mohawk Country
by George O'Connor
from First Second
Through My Eyes
by Ruby Bridges
from Scholastic Press
Surrounded by federal marshals, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first black student ever at the all-white William Frantz Public School in New Orleans, Louisiana, on November 14, 1960. Perhaps never had so much hatred been directed at so perfect a symbol of innocence--which makes it all the more remarkable that her memoir, simple in language and rich in history and sepia-toned photographs, is informed mainly by a sort of bewildered compassion. Throughout, readers will find quotes from newspapers of the time, family members, and teachers; sidebars illustrating how Ruby Bridges pops up in both John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley and a Norman Rockwell painting; and a fascinating update on Bridges's life and civil rights work. A personal, deeply moving historical documentary about a staggeringly courageous little girl at the center of events that already seem unbelievable. (Ages 6 and older) --Richard Farr
In November 1960, all of America watched as a tiny six-year-old black girl, surrounded by federal Marshall's, 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.
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