Moderate Biographies
Daniel James Brown
207 pages
Out of the depths of the Great Depression comes the astonishing tale of the University of Washington's eight-oar crew was never expected to defeat the elite East Coast teams, going on to shock the world by challenging the German boat rowing for Adolf Hitler.
Adeline Yen Mah
205 pages
A riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s. Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair.
Phillip Hoose
116 pages
Like Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin refused to give her seat to a white woman on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Unlike Rosa Parks, Claudette found herself dismissed by community leaders. She later served as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South.
Francisco Jiménez
134 pages
Seen through the eyes of a boy, the author himself, who longed for an education and the right to call one place home. This is his story of working as a migrant worker with his family.
John Briley
104 pages
This is the story of a man’s fight with the government of South Africa. It is the story of all people who prefer truth to lies. It is the story of all people who cry ‘Freedom’, and who are not afraid to die.
Sarah L. & A. Elizabeth Delany
299 pages
Warm, feisty, and intelligent, the Delany sisters speak their mind in a book that is a vital historical record and a moving portrait of two remarkable women who continued to love, laugh, and embrace life after over a hundred years of living side by side.
Sarah L. & A. Elizabeth Delany
125 pages
Sadie Delaney and Bessie Delaney offer their fans a treasury of grandmotherly good sense: memorable aphorisms, engaging anecdotes, practical advice, etc.
Archie Willard
After losing his job, Archie, could no longer hide from the truth: he couldn't read. Last Reader Standing is the story of Archie's amazing--and often painful--journey of becoming literate at middle age, struggling with the newfound knowledge of his dyslexia.
Leon Walter Tillage
107 pages
Leon Tillage grew up the son of a sharecropper in a small town in North Carolina. Told in vignettes, this is his story about working to change an oppressive existence by joining the civil rights movement.
Fantasia
220 pages
Fantasia tells of her astonishing rise from hopeless high school dropout to American Idol superstar.
George Dawson
248 pages
George Dawson's extraordinary journey through the twentieth century and how he learned to read at age 98.
Gary Paulsen
137 pages
Gary Paulsen has owned dozens of unforgettable and amazing dogs. Each chapter describes each of his dogs and the impact they had on his life.
Marian Calabro
163 pages
On April 14, 1846, the Donner Party set out from Springfield, Illinois, in search of a better life in the largely unsettled California territory.This account, filled with selections from the survivors' letters and diaries, focuses on the children's experiences.
Rosa Parks
188 pages
In this straightforward, compelling autobiography, Rosa Parks talks candidly about her active role in the civil rights movement.
Joseph Bruchac
190 pages
At age sixteen, Sacajawea has been taken from her Shoshone people to join Lewis and Clark in their expedition to explore the land from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. This novel, which is told by Sacajawea herself and by William Clark, is a unique blend of history and humanity.
Yoko Kawashima Watkin
183 pages
As an eleven-year-old girl living with her Japanese family in northern Korea, Yoko is suddenly fleeing for her life with her mother and sister to Japan during WWII. It's a true story of courage and survival that highlights the plight of individual people in wartime.
Bich Minh Nguyen
253 pages
As a Vietnamese girl coming of age in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Nguyen is filled with a rapacious hunger for American identity. The allure of Pringles, Kit Kats, and Toll House Cookies becomes an ingenious metaphor for Nguyen's struggle to become a "real" American.
Barry Denenberg
116 pages
A biography that balances Robinson's life and significance on and off the baseball diamond.
Karen Blumenthal
267 pages
A biography of the groundbreaking innovator who was a giant in the worlds of computing, music, filmmaking, design, smart phones, and more.
Through My Eyes (New!)
Ruby Bridges
61 pages
In November 1960, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to go to a desegregated school in Louisiana. An icon of the civil rights movement, Ruby Bridges chronicles each dramatic step of this pivotal event in history through her own words. Complete with quotes and photos from historical documents.
Mitch Albom
192 pages
Mitch discovers his former professor is ill. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.
Alma Flor Ada
84 pages
Alma Flor Ada offers a collection of stories and reminiscences drawn from her childhood on the island of Cuba. Through those stories we see how the many events and relationships she enjoyed helped shape who she is today.