History Storytellers

Naval bombardment of the island began on June 14. By late July, once the southern portion of Saipan had been secured, heavy US Army artillery bombed the northern half of Tinian. The landing forces - elements of two Marine divisions and an army regimental combat team - were drawn from those already engaged on Saipan.

The invasion of Okinawa was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater. Codenamed Operation Iceberg, it was also one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific, lasting ninety-eight days. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies planned to use Kadena Air Base on Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands.

The war for the Pacific rages on. The US has set their sights on the Tarawa atoll - a small yet vital island which, if captured, would give the Allies a powerful stepping stone into the heart of Japanese waters and the rest of the Gilbert Islands. Through a coordinated assault of carefully planned beach landings, the Marines made their attack on November 20, 1943...and encountered a resistance so fierce and violent it shook the Allies to the core.

Determined to capture a pivotal island in their war against the Japanese, the US 1st Marine Division was faced with a challenging task: to land on the fortified peninsula of Cape Gloucester and capture its two vital airfields. Taking the peninsula and the island of New Britain would give them a vital stepping stone in their campaign to push the Japanese out of New Guinea and the Bismarck Sea.

From an award-winning author comes this biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children’s services at all branches of the New York Public Library. Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story...