A humorist, narrator, and social observer, Mark Twain is unsurpassed in American literature. Best known as the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Mark Twain, not unlike his protagonist, Huck, has a restless spirit. He found adventure prospecting for silver in Nevada, navigating steamboats down the Mississippi, and making people laugh around the world. But Twain also had a serious streak and decried racism and injustice. His fascinating life is captured candidly in this enjoyable biography.
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 readers are presented with the facts in this entertaining, highly readable Who Was . . . ? biography with black-and-white artwork by John O’Brien.
As a young boy, Charles Darwin hated school and was oftenscolded forconducting "useless" experiments. Yet his passion forthe natural world was so strong that he suffered through terribleseasickness during his five-year voyage aboard The Beagle. Darwincollected new creatures from the coasts of Africa, South America,and the Galapagos Islands, and expanded his groundbreaking ideasthat would change people's understanding of the natural world.About 100 illustrations and a clear, exciting text will make Darwinand his theory of evolution an exciting discovery for every youngreader.
As the world now knows, Barack Obama has made history as ourfirst African-American president. With black-and-whiteillustrations throughout, this biography is perfect for primarygraders looking for a longer, fuller life story than is found inthe author's bestselling beginning reader Barack Obama: UnitedStates President.
Claude Monet is considered one of the most influential artistsof all time. He is a founder of the French Impressionist artmovement, and today his paintings sell for millions of dollars.While Monet was alive, however, his work was often criticized andhe struggled financially. With over one hundred black-and-whiteillustrations, this book unveils a true portrait of the artist!
Just how did Roald Dahl get into writing? Where did he get his ideas from? What ingredients in his life turned him into the kind of writer he was? Michael Rosen - poet, broadcaster and former Children's Laureate, comes up with some of the answers to these key questions in his lively biography of the world's No.1 storyteller. Full of stories and funny anecdotes from Roald Dahl's school days and family life, Michael Rosen's fascinating observations creates a vivid picture of one of the most famous writers of all time.
When Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Spain in 1519, he believed he could get to the Spice Islands by sailing west through or around the New World. He was right, but what he didn't know was that the treacherous voyage would take him three years and cost him his life. Black-and-white line drawings illustrate Magellan's life and voyage, with sidebars and a time line that enhance readers' understanding of the period
Almost everyone can sing along with the Beatles, but how manyyoung readers know their whole store? Geoff Edgers, a Boston Globereporter and hard-core Beatles fan, brings the Fab Four to life inthis Who Was...? book. Readers will learn about their Liverpudlianchildhoods, their first forays into rock music, what Beatlemaniawas like, and why they broke up. It's all here in an easy-to-readnarrative with plenty of black-and-white illustrations!
Marie Curie, the woman who coined the term radioactivity, wonnot just one Nobel Prize but two—in physics and chemistry, bothsupposedly girl-phobic sciences.
Amelia Earhart was a woman of many "firsts." In 1932, shebecame the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In1935, she also became the first woman to fly across the Pacific.From her early years to her mysterious 1937 disappearance whileattempting a flight around the world, readers will find AmeliaEarhart's life a fascinating story. Annotation Examines the life ofpioneer aviator Amelia Earhart, who mysteriously disappeared duringan around-the-world flight in 1937.
Born a slave in Maryland, Harriet Tubman knew first-hand what it meant to be someone's property; she was whipped by owners and almost killed by an overseer. It was from other field hands that she first heard about the Underground Railroad which she travelled by herself north to Philadelphia. Throughout her long life (she died at the age of ninety-two) and long after the Civil War brought an end to slavery, this amazing woman was proof of what just one person can do.
Here is a man with an imagination so large that just abythinking on it,a he invented calculus and figured out thescientific explanation of gravity. Kathleen Krull presents aportrait of Isaac Newton that will challenge your beliefs about agenius whose amazing discoveries changed the world.
Here is a man with an imagination so large that just “bythinking on it,” he invented calculus and figured out thescientific explanation of gravity. Kathleen Krull presents aportrait of Isaac Newton that will challenge your beliefs about agenius whose amazing discoveries changed the world.
Leonardo da Vinci was a gifted painter, talented musician, and dedicated scientist and inventor, designing flying machines, submarines, and even helicopters. Yet he had a hard time finishing things, a problem anyone can relate to. Only thirteen paintings are known to be his; as for the illustrated encyclopedia he intended to create, all that he left were thousands of disorganized notebook pages. Here is an accessible portrait of a fascinating man who lived at a fascinating time—Italy during the Renaissance
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. Black-and-white illustrations on every spread explore such topics as the history of opera and the evolution of musical instruments. There is also a timeline and a bibliography. Illustrated by Carrie Robbins. Cover illustration by Nancy Harrison.
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. Now, a two-and-a-half-year-long museum exhibit of Tut’s treasures is touring major cities in the U.S., drawing record crowds. This Who Was . . . ? is complete with 100 black-andwhite illustrations and 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.
You want girl power? Meet Annie Oakley! Born in 1860, shebecame one of the best-loved and most famous women of hergeneration. She amazed audiences all over the world with hersharpshooting, horse-riding, action-packed performances. In an agewhen most women stayed home, she traveled the world and forged anew image for American women.
One day in 1882, Thomas Edison flipped a switch that lit up lower Manhattan with incandescent light and changed the way people live ever after. The electric light bulb was only one of thousands of Edison’s inventions, which include the phonograph and the kinetoscope, an early precursor to the movie camera. As a boy, observing a robin catch a worm and then take flight, he fed a playmate a mixture of worms and water to see if she could fly! Here’s an accessible, appealing biography with 100 black-and-white illustrations.
Like Michelangelo, Galileo is another Renaissance great known just by his first name--a name that is synonymous with scientific achievement. Born in Pisa, Italy, in the sixteenth century, Galileo contributed to the era's great rebirth of knowledge. He invented a telescope to observe the heavens. From there, not even the sky was the limit! He turned long-held notions about the universe topsy turvy with his support of a sun-centric solar system. Patricia Brennan Demuth offers a sympathetic portrait of a brilliant man who lived in a time when speaking scientific truth to those in power was still a dangerous proposition.
In 1789, George Washington became the first president of the United States. He has been called the father of our country for leading America through its early years. Washington also served in two major wars during his lifetime: the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. With over 100 black-and-white illustrations, Washington's fascinating story comes to life - revealing the real man, not just the face on the dollar bill!
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 amazinglyvaried talents that some people claimed he had magical powers! Fullof all the details kids will want to know, the true story ofBenjamin Franklin is by turns sad and funny, but always honest andawe-inspiring.
Roald Dahl is one of the most famous children's book authors ever. Now in this Who Was . . . ? biography, children will learn of his real-life adventures. A flying ace for the British Air Force, he was married to an Academy Award-winning actress. He also wrote books and screenplays for adults. Entertaining and readable, this biography has 80 black-and-white illustrations.
