Traces the progression of the civil rights movement and its effect on history through biographical sketches of four prominent and influential African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X.
2012 American Library Association Notable Children's Book. 2012 YALSA-ALA Award for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Nominee. Meet the inventors and innovators who defined American music history. A radio repairman named Leo Fender imagined a solid-body electric guitar. The inventor of 3-D glasses, Laurens Hammond, envisioned an electric organ in every home. And a German carpenter named Steinway immigrated to New York City with the dream of designing the greatest piano in the world. From Steinway's pianos, Bob Moog's synthesizers, and C.G. Conn's band instruments to Avedis Zildjian's cymbals, William Ludwig's drums, C.F. Martin's guitars, and more, noted music writer VanHecke offers a fascinating, insider view of the personalities and perseverance that led to some of music's most important innovations - from classical to jazz to rock.
Here are the stories of nine people whose energy, imagination, courage and determination changed the world. From Christopher Columbus, who set off into unknown seas in a small ship in the fifteenth century, to a young girl, Anne Frank, caught in the turmoil of the twentieth, who wrote a remarkable diary while in hiding in Amsterdam during the Second World War. Their personalities and their achievements make them heroes and heroines for our time also.
There is a need for accessible short biographies of key people for younger listeners. Following the success of Famous People, Volume I, Nicolas Soames presents another varied group of men and women who have changed the course of history. This is the second volume of popular histories of famous people.
Ever since Howard Carter uncovered King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, the young pharaoh has become a symbol of the wealth and mystery of ancient Egypt. This Who Was . . . ? explains the life and times of this ancient Egyptian ruler, covering the story of the tomb's discovery, as well as myths and so-called mummy curses.
Marco Polo was seventeen when he set out for China . . . and forty-one when he came back! More than seven hundred years ago, Marco Polo traveled from the medieval city of Venice to the fabled kingdom of the great Kublai Khan, seeing new sights and riches that no Westerner had ever before witnessed. But did Marco Polo experience the things he wrote about . . . or was it all made-up? Young listeners are presented with the facts in this entertaining Who Was . . . ? biography.
Amelia Earhart was a woman of many 'firsts.' In 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1935, she also became the first woman to fly across the Pacific. From her early years to her mysterious 1937 disappearance while attempting a flight around the world, readers will find Amelia Earhart's life a fascinating story.
Born in Austria in 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his first piece of music, a minuet, when he was just five years old! Soon after, he was performing for kings and emperors. Although he died at the young age of thirty-five, Mozart left a legacy of more than 600 works. This fascinating biography charts the musician's extraordinary career and personal life while painting a vivid cultural history of eighteenth-century Europe.
From his childhood in rural Illinois to moviemaking days in Hollywood and on to a career in politics that took him all the way to the Oval Office, Ronald Reagan kept an abiding faith in America and in what our country stood for. The oldest president ever, he survived a near-fatal assassination attempt and lived to be 93. Who Was Ronald Reagan? covers his life and times in a balanced, entertaining way for children.
You want girl power? Meet Annie Oakley! Born in 1860, she became one of the best-loved and most famous women of her generation. She amazed audiences all over the world with her sharpshooting, horse-riding, action-packed performances. In an age when most women stayed home, she traveled the world and forged a new image for American women.
At age two, Helen Keller became deaf and blind. She lived in a world of silence and darkness and she spent the rest of her life struggling to break through it. But with the help of teacher Annie Sullivan, Helen learned to read, write, and do many amazing things. This inspiring biography is perfect for young middle-grade listeners.
Did you know that John Adams had to coax Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence? It's true. The shy Virginia statesman refused at first, but then went on to author one of our nation's most important and inspiring documents. The third U.S. president, Jefferson was also an architect, inventor, musician, farmer, and-what is certainly the most troubling aspect of his life-a slave owner. Finally, here's a biography for kids that unveils the many facets of this founding father's remarkable and complicated life.
