Kids Library

Beginning in Italy, the Renaissance was a cultural movement that spread throughout Europe and affected art, science, technology, politics, and thought. From the 1300s to the beginning of the 1600s, scholars started to question what they knew and looked to literature and historical texts to develop new ideas for why things were the way they were. In just a short amount of time, the foundations for European life were uprooted and examined, leading people, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to explore new ways of thinking and being.

It’s picture day at school! Lots of people are dressed up, and Bea is even wearing a fluffy dress, which she’s not exactly excited about. When she tells Buddy that he should take his glasses off for the photo, he listens. Everything will be blurry without them, but he decides he won’t take them off for long. Except then his glasses go missing. Are they lost? Did someone take them? Bea volunteers to help track them down, though her “help” isn’t always helpful.

Who can run for president? What are the differences between America's two major political parties? Is the Electoral College really a college? The newly updated What Is a Presidential Election? answers these questions and many, many more. From stump speeches to campaign slogans, debates to nominating conventions, and finally to Election Night and Inauguration Day, listener will learn all about what it takes to run for—and win—the most powerful job on earth.

Alexandra, also known as Al, has been playing baseball with her older brothers for as long as she can remember. But when she ages out of Little League, it seems like it’s the end of the road for Al and the sport she loves. Until, that is, her friend Sammy suggests that Al try out for the middle school team—a team that has always been boys-only. Al is prepared to fight for her right to try out, but to her surprise, the coach is delighted by her interest.

Four hundred years ago, no one bothered to write down the exact words of stage plays. Characters’ lines were scribbled on small rolls of paper (as in, an actor’s role) and passed around, but no master script was saved for the future. The main reason we’ve heard of Romeo, Juliet, Hamlet, and Shakespeare himself is that a group of people made the excellent choice to preserve the plays after the Bard died. If they hadn’t created the book known as the First Folio, Shakespeare and his works would surely have been lost to history.

On November 24, 1971, an unidentified man hijacked an airplane that was flying from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington. He demanded $200,000 and told a flight attendant that he had weapons. After stopping in Seattle, the hijacker was given the money and he released the attendants. But he demanded that the pilots stay on-board, refuel, and fly him to Mexico City. Just thirty minutes after the plane took off, the man jumped out of the aircraft and parachuted away...never to be seen or heard from again. Did he escape with the money? Did he even survive the jump?

In 2005, a group of construction workers in Jerusalem made an incredible discovery. Underneath the parking lot they were digging up lay an ancient city that was built in the tenth century! Three years later, gold coins from an even earlier century were found at the site. The city of Jerusalem is like a layer cake of history—more than five thousand years of complicated history—all of which author Ellen Morgan explains clearly and objectively in this audiobook.

Second-grader Keena Ford loves writing in her journal. One day, Keena accidentally leaves her journal in the apartment of her mean classmate Tiffany Harris. The next day, Tiffany informs Keena that she's read the journal and is going to tell all of Keena's secrets! Well, unless Keena does everything Tiffany says, of course. With a little help from her brother, some classic fables, and a visiting author, Keena discovers what she must do to stand up to Tiffany and apologize to her friends.

Keena Ford is so excited to go on a field trip to the United States Capitol with her second-grade class! At school, she is running for a spot on the student council, and on the field trip she's going to meet a real live U.S. representative. The only trouble is, mean Tiffany Harris keeps teasing Keena and taking the best place in line. Keena doesn't mean to get into trouble, but trouble seems to find her anyway!

Keena Ford doesn't mean to be a troublemaker, but sometimes things get out of hand. Lucky for her, it's the beginning of the second grade and Keena's got a clean slate. So when her new second-grade teacher, Ms. Campbell, mistakenly thinks it's her birthday and brings in a huge chocolate cake, Keena realizes that she's gotten herself into a sticky situation. She knows she has to tell the truth, but it's not easy to turn down her very own birthday cake and a chance to wear a sparkly crown. How will Keena get out of this mess?

Most famous for his surrealist painting The Persistence of Memory and its melting clocks, Salvador Dalí combined his dreamlike ideas with his excellent technical skills to become one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. Beyond painting, Dalí pursued the arts in many other mediums including sculpture, film, fashion, photography, architecture, and more. He was friends with many of his famous contemporaries, including Picasso, Bunuel, Miro, and Duchamp.

THE TERRIBLES HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED to a game of CREEPOBALL, a sport that is played by all monsters on Creep's Cove Island (just don't ask them how to play it—nobody knows ALL the rules!). Their rivals? A horde of relentless, fierce, low-down GNOMES. Can THE TERRIBLES defeat these Gnomes without anyone DISAPPEARING into an ALTERNATE DIMENSION? Why are you asking me?

The gym is where Claire shines and she’s on her way to qualifying for the state championships. But at school, she’s known as a troublemaker—which is fine with her since it helps her hide her reading problem. Claire has never been able to make sense of the wobbling jumble of letters on a page. When a sympathetic principal wonders if she’s acting out because she may have dyslexia, she’s stunned. Claire has always assumed she’s dumb, so she’s eager to get evaluated. But her mother balks.

In the fourth book in the Frank Einstein series, Frank - along with his best friend, Watson, and Klink and Klank - once again finds himself in competition with his classmate and archrival, T. Edison, and his sign-language-speaking sidekick, Mr. Chimp, over Frank's newest invention: the EvoBlaster Belt, which allows the user to evolve and devolve into other forms of life, blasting from one species to another.

There's nothing scarier than a birthday party in the third book in a hilarious book series that tackles anxiety in a fun, kid-friendly way. Perfect for both beginning and reluctant listeners, and fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid! Alvin Ho, an Asian American second grader, is afraid of everything. For example, what could possibly be so scary about a birthday party? So when Alvin receives an invitation to a party—a girl’s party—how will he ever survive? A humorous and touching series about facing your fears and embracing new experiences—with a truly unforgettable character.

When Rufus, Murphy, Lurena, and their pets go camping, they meet Pedro, a shy boy who seems afraid of just about everything - especially the water. One thing leads to another and the kids go into a nearby town to buy him a pet to cheer him up - a guinea pig, naturally. Yet what they bring home may look like a guinea pig, but it can swim - like an otter.

What Do We Know About Bigfoot? lets curious young listeners explore what we actually know about the creature's mysterious history. Dive into the facts behind the most well-known footage of the cryptid, the Patterson-Gimlin film, and learn about actual scientific studies conducted to learn whether or not Bigfoot actually exists. Filled with accounts of over a century of potential sightings, this book will have every reader looking for footprints on their next hike. Bigfoot has been the star subject of movies, TV shows, books, and more... but is he really out there?

In the twelfth book of the Capital Mysteries—an early chapter book mystery series featuring fun facts and famous sites from Washington, D.C.—a legend says that on a dead president's birthday, his ghost haunts the famous retreat, Camp David. KC and Marshall are going there on October 14, President Eisenhower's birthday. They aren't worried, until strange things start happening. How did a bat get trapped in their cabin? Why is there blood-red dirt in the trunk by the couch? And what is making the weird thumping noise? It's not Eisenhower's ghost...is it?

Every year, the president pardons one turkey for Thanksgiving. One. But KC and her best friend, Marshall, think one isn't enough! This year, they want to gather lots of turkeys to be spared. The night before the holiday, the turkeys are in a big flock on the National Mall waiting to be set free. The next morning, they're gone! Who would steal 117 Thanksgiving turkeys? KC and Marshall have to ruffle some feathers to find out!

Due to his wide range of musical talent and an incomparable career spanning forty-nine years, Johnny Cash has been inducted into the Country, Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, and Gospel Halls of Fame. He also won 18 Grammys and 9 Country Music Association Awards. Who Was Johnny Cash? lets young listeners learn about every step in Johnny Cash's groundbreaking musical career. As one of the best-selling American musicians of all time, Cash, born JR Carter, was known for his rich, deep voice and musical style that featured a chugging, train-like beat.