North America Culture

Inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists insisting that Black Lives Matter. Elliott engages poets from the past two centuries to create a chorus of voices celebrating the creativity, resilience, and courage of Black women and girls.

The story of America has always been shaped by people from all corners of the Earth who came in search of a better life and a brighter future. Immigration remains one of the critical topics in 21st century America, and how our children learn the lessons of the past will shape all our futures. The patriotic stories of hope that shape most immigration books are supplemented here by the lesser-known stories of those denied, detained, and deported.

Welcome to the United States of America! The USA is the third largest country in the world and also, one of the most beautiful. It is full of lakes and rivers, mountains and canyons, beaches and deserts. It has many different trees and flowers and all sorts of different crops grown for use as food. And, of course, America has birds and animals of all kinds. Last, but not least, the United States has about 300 million people from many different backgrounds and cultures.

Building a New Nation chronicles the development of the new government following the signing of the Constitution. It explores the political views of the young nation’s leaders as they struggled to form a strong nation, despite the foreign and domestic dilemmas that they faced. The authors describe the beginnings of the two-party system, the administrations of the first three presidents, and key decisions by each branch of the government that shaped the future of the country.

On May 4, 1961, thirteen activists—black and white, young and old, male and female—board two buses in Washington, D.C., for New Orleans, Louisiana. Their Freedom Ride will last just twelve days. But their mission is clear. The laws prohibiting segregation on buses crossing state lines and at bus stations are being violated. These Freedom Riders are determined to draw attention to the laws’ lack of enforcement. But what starts as a peaceful protest turns violent as they travel deeper into the South. This is their story.

Katie Sandwina was the strongest woman the world had ever seen. In her circus performances, she bent steel bars, broke chains, and carried a cannon! She could lift men with one hand and twirl them around! In an era when “proper ladies” were expected to be helpless and frail, Katie showed everyone that women could be powerful. She also spoke up for women’s equality and the right to vote.

Inspired by the famous White House photograph of five-year-old Jacob Philadelphia touching then-president Barack Obama’s hair, Weatherford’s powerful text is an ode to all the things that make Black and brown kids beautiful. Young listeners will learn about many inspiring figures in Black history up to the present day, gaining confidence in their abilities and their cultural legacy as they learn.

Little Lobo is celebrating two big holidays this fall! On Halloween, Little Lobo and his friends dress up in costumes, trick-or-treat for candy, and share spooky stories. Then, everyone in the town prepares food, drinks, and other gifts and decorates the cemetery with ofrendas so they can enjoy Día de los Muertos with the spirits of the people they love. Join Little Lobo and his friends as they celebrate!

Famous founding father Benjamin Franklin was a proud subject of the British Empire—until he wasn’t. It took nearly seventy years and seven not-so-easy steps to turn Benjamin Franklin from a loyal British subject to a British traitor—and a fired-up American revolutionary. In this light, whimsical narrative, young listeners learn how Franklin came to be a rebel, beginning with his childhood lesson in street smarts when he buys a whistle at an inflated price

Learn bravery and independence with Luz. Luz stays strong on his journey by thinking of his family. His tale is truly a powerful representation of immigration and determination. His real-life adventure across the border will ignite hope in the hearts of every child who listens to this short Spanish story.

You are INVITED. To a most marvelous party. For a most marvelous man. A man who turned the alphabet into THUMP A BUMP. Who turned words into JAZZ into RIVERS into BUSTIN' A MOVE. All of his word-children will be there, uh-huh. Because it’s a party for LANGSTON. Langston Hughes. King o’ Letters. Renaissance Man. So don’t be shy. Come on in. To the Hoopla in Harlem. EVERYONE is welcome.

Overall, A Moccasin on One Foot and a Shoe on the Other: Being Native American in the 21st Century serves as a valuable guidebook for teenage listeners, promoting cultural understanding, challenging misconceptions, and empowering Native American youth to navigate their identity with pride in the 21st century.

Jovita dreamed of wearing pants! She hated the big skirts Abuela made her wear. She wanted to scale the tallest mesquite tree on her rancho, ride her horse, and feel the wind curl her face into a smile. When her father and brothers joined the Cristero War to fight for religious freedom, Jovita wanted to go, too. Forbidden, she defied her father's rules - and society's - and found a clever way to become a trailblazing revolutionary, wearing pants!

A young Aztec girl tells her little brother how their parents create beautiful painted manuscripts, or codices. She explains to him how paper is made from local plants and how the long paper is folded into a book. Her parents and others paint the codices to tell the story of their people’s way of life. Inspired by the pre-Columbian codices, this story tells how the Aztec and their neighbors in the Valley of Mexico painted books and records long before Columbus arrived, and continued doing so among their Nahua-speaking descendants for generations after.

With lyrical text, Their Great Gift explores the experiences of immigrants in the twenty-first century, focusing on the lives of children. Stories of families who came to the United States from many different parts of the world celebrate the diversity of our country and contain a vision of hope for the future.

Did you know that women once wore corsets under their bathing suits? Or that "semi-drowning" - the strip and plunge practice - was thought to be good for one's health? Or that Pudgy Stockton, the body-building queen of Muscle Beach, California, opened the country's first gym for women? From the bathhouses of the ancient Greeks to Venice Beach and Coney Island, Let's Go to the Beach takes a multifaceted and well-researched look at beaches and their attendant customs.

Zayd's been in Canada 10 days. He loves it here, but doesn't like winter. When the freezing Canadian wind blows Zayd's way, he feels cold and glum. But Zayd's discovered a magic potion that keeps him feeling warm and happy. It's Canadian Maple Syrup! Every time Zayd licks it, he feels like jumping up and down, and can't stop giggling. Join Zayd as he enters the Baldwin-Khan Sugar Bush in the heart of Ontario, Canada and discovers how this slimy candy-like syrup is made.

Following a bout with polio at the age of six, Frida Kahlo’s life was marked by pain and loneliness. In real life, she walked with a limp, but in her dreams, she flew. One day, her imagination took her on a journey to a girl in white who could dance without pain and hold her secrets, an indelible figure who would find her way into Frida’s art in years to come. Inspired by Frida Kahlo’s diary, Anthony Browne captures the essence of the artist’s early flights of fancy. A note at the end offers a brief biography of the artist who has intrigued art lovers the world over.

Explore the amazing state of Tennessee. Learn how it became a state, the explorers who founded it, the civil war, the culture, and the statehood. Discover some of the landmarks and find out fun facts about Tennessee. Great for five to 12 year olds, for book reports or SA's. Discover Tennessee today, and learn about a great state in the United States of America.

Explore the magic of Arizona and learn a little something along the way about the Southwest United States, the people, the natives, the monuments left in Arizona, and much, much more. A perfect book for to use in a book report for school. Best for ages five to 12.