Library History

Ben Franklin was the scientist who, with the help of a kite, discovered that lightning is electricity. He was also a statesman, an inventor, a printer, and an author-a man of such amazingly varied talents that some people claimed he had magical powers! Full of all the details kids will want to...

Get Up, Stand Up! for the king of reggae music! Bob Marley was a reggae superstar who is considered to be one of the most influential musicians of all time. Born in rural Jamaica, this musician and songwriter began his career with his band, The Wailing Wailers, in 1963. The Wailers went on to...

In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. This seemingly small act triggered civil rights protests across America and earned Rosa Parks the title "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement...

Myths! Lies! Secrets! Uncover the hidden truth about the Salem Witch Trials in the hit History Smashers nonfiction series. Perfect for fans of the I Survived books and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR In 1692, a few paranoid Puritans accused their...

Many of the political issues we struggle with today have their roots in the US Constitution. This book explores 21 of the fault lines that were created in 1787 and are still causing problems today. "Should be read by every single adult who lives in America.” —Laurie Halse Anderson Many of us...

Myths! Lies! Secrets! Smash the stories behind famous moments in history and expose the hidden truth. Perfect for fans of I Survived and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. In 1620, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and made friends with Wampanoag people who gave them corn. RIGHT? WRONG! It was...

Myths! Lies! Secrets! Uncover the hidden truth about history's pandemics, from the Black Death to COVID-19. Perfect for fans of I Survived! and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. During the Black Death in the 14th century, plague doctors wore creepy beaked masks filled with herbs. RIGHT? WRONG!...

Myths! Lies! Secrets! Uncover the hidden truth behind the infamous Pearl Harbor attack with beloved educator/author Kate Messner. Perfect for fans of I Survived! and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a completely unpredictable attack on the U.S. Navy base...

Myths! Lies! Secrets! Smash the stories behind famous moments in history and expose the hidden truth. Perfect for fans of I Survived and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. In 1920, Susan B. Anthony passed a law that gave voting rights to women in the United States. RIGHT? WRONG! Susan B. Anthony...

Can we crack the code to life itself? In the third volume in the Discovering Life’s Story series, scientists compete to decipher the genetic blueprint behind all life on earth. It’s the dawn of the twentieth century. Darwin has theorized that traits get passed down through generations, and...

From the three-time Coretta Scott King Honor winning author of The Skin I'm In comes a poignant story about a southern girl far from home at an elite girls boarding school in the north, who must find the courage to be herself and to dream of a brighter future, set against the backdrop of the...

A pioneer of the long-form sports story, W. C. Heinz wrote with a freshness of perception, a gift for characterization, and a finely tuned ear for dialogue. Here is a first of its kind audio edition of some of his finest work, selected and read by Bill Littlefield (NPR's "Only a Game")...

The What Do We Know About? series explores the mysterious, the unknown, and the unexplained. Are fairies supernatural helpers or mischievous tricksters? Find out everything we know about the history of these magical and mythical creatures. For centuries, the presence of fairies has been both...

An awe-inspiring audiobook about the origin and advancement of humans, from author and #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Nikkolas Smith. Fossil records show that the first humans were born in Africa. Meaning, every person on Earth can trace their ancestry back to that continent. The...

"No Taxation without Representation!" The Boston Tea Party stands as an iconic event of the American Revolution—outraged by the tax on tea, American colonists chose to destroy the tea by dumping it into the water! Learn all about the famed colonialists who fought against the British Monarchy...

Some scary stories are more than just tall tales. This spine-tingling collection of TRUE terrors and haunting legends is perfect for Halloween—and thrills and chills all year long. This book is not for the faint of heart…but for those brave enough, a bone-chilling, globe-trotting adventure...

Felipe Fernandez-Armesto is a world-renowned scholar, professor of history and geography at Queen Mary, University of London, and a member of the Faculty of Modern History of Oxford University. The Americas, part of the acclaimed Modern Library Chronicles series, offers an intriguing history of the world's western hemisphere.

This entertaining volume provides a concise history of one of the world's premiere cities. Acclaimed author A.N. Wilson starts at the beginning, when London was founded by the Romans, and continues to contemporary times, hitting all the historical highlights along the way. London is the perfect starter book for anyone wishing to understand this great city a little better, and even seasoned London fans will find new information here.

A Morris Award Finalist Longlisted for the National Book Award For fans of The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas comes a lushly illustrated novel about a teen Holocaust survivor who must come to terms with who she is and how to rebuild her life. "A tour de force. This powerful story...

You can sparkle, shimmer, shine – just like Marsha did. This vibrant and joyful audiobook celebrates the legacy of Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman and activist who played an instrumental role during the Stonewall Riots that lead to PRIDE month, written by award-winning filmmaker and...