Heroes and Heroines Heroes and Heroines > ordinary people
Alia's Mission
This graphic storybook/graphic novel is based on the true story of the chief librarian at the Central Library in Basra, Iraq. It tells the story of how she tried to save the books from destruction during the Iraq War.
Author: Stamaty, Mark Alan |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
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Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
When slaves on the ship Amistad rebelled and tried to return home to Africa, they were captured and embroiled in legal battles of slavery and abolition in the U.S. The book includes sections on Further Reading, Bibliography, Epilogue, and endpaper courtr
Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Angels of Mercy
This book is about the army nurses of WW II. Chapters about WW II in general, about nurses in Europe, and about nurses in the Pacific are loosely connected. Some text recounts important events of the war; other portions tell more personal recollections. I
Author: Kuhn, Betsy |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
The life of Bass Reeves, from slavery to US marshal, the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. This is a story of a remarkable African-American hero of the Old West. Actual photos, western vocabulary, timeline,further reading/websites, res
Author: Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
The life of Bass Reeves, from slavery to US marshal, the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. This is a story of a remarkable African-American hero of the Old West. Actual photos, western vocabulary, timeline,further reading/websites, res
Author: Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Bill Pickett: Rodeo Ridin' Cowboy
This book tells about the life of a rodeo-riding African American cowboy. The book ends with a two-page history of Black cowboys.
Author: Pinkney, Andrea Davis |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
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Bobbin Girl, The
Rebecca, a 10-year-old "bobbin girl" working in the textile factories in Lowell, Massachuesetts in the 1830's must decide if she will participate in the first workers' strike.
Author: McCully, Emily Arnold |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Bonyo Bonyo: The True Story of a Brave Boy from Kenya
Story of how a Kenyan boy sets a goal of becoming a doctor after his baby sister dies. He succeeds and is now a physician in Akron Ohio.
Author: Oelschlager, Vanita |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing | social studies | science
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Boy Who Saved Cleveland, The
During a malarial epidemic in the late 18th century Cleveland, Ohio, ten-year-old Seth Doan surprises his family, his neighbors, and himself by having the strength to carry and grind enough corn to feed everyone.
Author: Giblin, James Cross |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Brave Harriet
The story of Harriet Quimby, the first woman to earn a pilot's license and the first woman to fly across the English Channel, is told in the first person. An author's note adds historical facts.
Author: Moss, Marissa |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Butterfly, The
During the Nazi occupation of France, Monique discovers that her mother is a member of the Resistance, and that a secret trap door conceals a Jewish family in hiding. Monique and the secret "guest" become nighttime playmates until terror threatens.
Author: Polacco, Patricia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Christmas Menorahs, The
This picture book recreates the true story of how families and a community decided to stand together to combat bigotry and acts of hatred.
Daisy Bates: Civil Rights Crusader
Although she is best known for shepherding the "Little Rock Nine" through the dangers and stresses of the first school integration test, Daisy Bates pursued a life of community crusading despite obstacles and personal difficulties before and after Little
Author: Polakow, Amy |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Darkness over Denmark
Written in the form of snippets of interviews, this book tells the stories of the Danish Resistance and the rescue of Jews in WW II. This is an important and inspiring story, which may be unknown to many.
Author: Levine, Ellen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Dream of Freedom, A
This well written and comprehensive documentation of the Civil Rights Movement, its background, issues, and confrontations is told by a white Southern woman of privilege who grew up during that period. Photographs and fact boxes, index, bibliography, and
Author: McWhorter, Diane |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Fly High!
This is an illustrated biography of Bessie Coleman, whose interest in aviation and desire "to be somebody" led her to become the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license.
Author: Borden, Louise & Kroeger, Mary Kay |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Followers of the North Star
These poems present a profile of African-American heroes in an historical and cultural context. Heroes and heroines include Benjamin Banneker, Harriet Tubman, cowboy Deadwood Dick, George Washington Carver, Jackie Robinson, Leontyne Price, and Martin Lut
Author: Altman, Susan & Lechner, Susan |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Freedom Light
The book recounts the heroism of the people of Ripley, Ohio, both black and white, in their antislavery activities as a part of the Underground Railroad. Included are a timeline, biographical notes on John and Jean Rankin and John Parker, a glossary, and
Author: Gaines, Edith |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Freedom Rides: Journey for Justice
These are stories about the Freedom Riders during the early years of the Civil Rights movement. The detail and "human" perspective provided goes well beyond most written descriptions. This is an engaging account of the actions of incredibly brave heroes.
Author: Haskins, James |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Freedom Walkers
This detailed account of the Montgomery bus boycott that began the Civil Rights Movement includes material on the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy, but also focuses on other heroes like Rev. Robert Graetz, Joanne Robinson and
Author: Freedman, Russell |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Great Stone Face, The
The author retells a famous Hawthorne story about how a New England village interprets a mountain's "face" over the years as fulfilling the prophecy of revealing the noblest person of the time.
Author: Schmidt, Gary/Hawthorne Nathaniel |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
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Harriet and the Promised Land
The text, consisting of a single rhyming poem, is an accompaniment to Lawrence's contemporary and vivid paintings. The poem tells the story of Harriet Tubman, a slave who led other slaves to freedom.
Author: Lawrence, Jacob |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Heroes
Donnie, a Japanese American boy, finally escapes the role of "bad guy" in war games with his peers with the help of his father and uncle.
Heroes and She-roes
Twenty-one poems celebrate and chronicle the actions of real-life persons (and one dog) who have performed heroic acts in service to others.
Author: Lewis, J. Patrick |
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Heroes and She-roes
Twenty-one poems celebrate and chronicle the actions of real-life persons (and one dog) who have performed heroic acts in service to others.
Author: Lewis, J. Patrick |
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Hoop Kings
A dozen NBA stars provide the focus for these poems. In endnotes, the author describes his writing process.
Author: Smith Jr., Charles R. |
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Hoop Queens
This is a collection of 12 poems about stars of the WNBA. An afterword explains how the poet found a focus for each poem by considering the woman's play.
Author: Smith Jr., Charles R. |
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Independent Dames: What You Never Knew about the Women and Girls of the American Revolution
Brief biographies of women who played key roles in the Revolutionary War. Makes the facts of Early American history come alive with lives of women who don't usually get mentioned in history books. Below each illustration is a time line of events.
Author: Anderson, Laurie Halse |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
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Independent Dames: What You Never Knew about the Women and Girls of the American Revolution
Brief biographies of women who played key roles in the Revolutionary War. Makes the facts of Early American history come alive with lives of women who don't usually get mentioned in history books. Below each illustration is a time line of events.
Author: Anderson, Laurie Halse |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
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Jayhawker
With the U.S. on the verge of civil war, Elijah Tully and his father ride out of Kansas as Jayhawkers, guerrilla fighters against slavery. After his father is killed, Lije goes undercover among the proslavery bushwhackers to help the abolitionists and t
Author: Beatty, Patricia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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John Blair and the Great Hinckley Fire
This is a retelling of the effects of a firestorm in 1894 on a train and its 150+ passengers. John Blair, the train's porter, became a hero for his common sense and bravery in the face of extraordinary danger.
Author: Nobisso, Josephine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Little Ships, The
The book tells the story of an English girl and her father who participate in the real armada of fishing boats that evacuated allied soldiers from Dunkirk in World War II. A Foreword and an Author's Note provide supplementary historical information.
Author: Borden, Louise |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Luba, the Angel of Bergen-Belsen
This is the story of Luba Tryszynska, a prisoner at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp who hid 52 abandoned Jewish children until the camp was liberated. Front and back matter establish the historical context with a map and a bibliography. An epilogue tel
Author: McCann, Michelle R. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot
During the occupation of Germany after WW II, a young girl writes a letter to an American airlift pilot who drops chocolates to children. The author includes a biography of Col. Halvorsen, "the chocolate pilot" of the title.
Molly Bannaky
This is a biography of the grandmother of the famous mathematician, Banjamin Banneker, who came to America in 1683 as an indentured servant and married her freed slave. The author includes an historical note.
Author: McGill, Alice |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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More Spice Than Sugar: Poems about Feisty Females
All the poems in this collection are about women and girls, some famous and some not. The three sections of the book are "When I Am Me," "She's a Winner" (about sports), and "Against the Odds." Work from some famous poets is included.
Author: Morrison, Lillian (comp.) |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
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My Heroes, My People
Portraits of native American, Africans, and people of mixed race--both images and brief biographies--present a less well-known history of the American West. A Note on Sources and Further Reading and an index promote classroom use. The unusual illustratio
Author: Monceaux, Morgan & Katcher, Ruth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Nazi Olympics, The
Published by the U. S. National Holocaust Museum, this history documents the manipulation of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin by Hitler and the Nazi party and presents the controversy of whether to participate or not on the part of nations and individuals. Ar
Author: Bachrach, Susan |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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No Crystal Stair
Nelson combines research with family stories to document the life of her great-uncle Lewis Michaux, an extraordinary literary pioneer of the Civil Rights era and his Harlem bookstore's role in the Civil Rights movement.
Author: Nelson, Vauna, Micheaux |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
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North Star to Freedom
This book is subtitled "The Story of the Underground Railroad," and it is that, but it's also more-- the history of slavery is presented, biographies of key figures are provided, lesislation is discussed. The author is Canadian, so this provides an intere
Author: Gorrell, Gena K. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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On Board the Titanic
An account of the sinking of the Titanic told through the eyes of two of the survivors. Tanaka includes photographs, diagrams, and accurate facts.
Author: Tanaka, Shelley |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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On Board the Titanic
An account of the sinking of the Titanic told through the eyes of two of the survivors. Tanaka includes photographs, diagrams, and accurate facts.
Author: Tanaka, Shelley |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Passage to Freedom
Hiroki Sugihara tells the true story of how his father, who was Japanese consul to Lithuania during World War II, issued visas to Jews to escape the Nazis without the approval of his government. The afterword supplements the story with the consequences o
Author: Mochizuki, Ken |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Pearl Moscowitz's Last Stand
Pearl M., a long-time resident of her city street, refuses to let the city chop down the last gingko tree on the block. The book depicts the different ethnic groups that have moved on the street, but shows a real community of people interacting and livin
Author: Levine, Arthur A. |
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Pirate Queen, The
This story, based on historical fact and colorful legend, chronicles the life of Grania O'Malley, an Irish woman who became a sea captain and pirate during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Author: McCully, Emily A. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Queen of the Falls
An engaging story about the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel - a 63 year old school teacher. Van Allsburg combines sepia toned illustrations with a smooth and flowing text while using tension to hold the reader's interest.
Author: Van Allsburg, Chris |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
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September 11, 2001
A New York Times journalist has chosen to tell the chronology of September 11, 2001, through personal stories. Photographs, maps and diagrams, and a bibliography provide additional resources.
Author: Hampton, Wilborn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Seven Brave Women
A young girl recounts her family history passed down to her through stories and family artifacts of remarkable, ordinary women. Each of the seven women who lived at the time of a war "made history by not fighting in wars."
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Based on a true incident, this story tells of a young slave girl's brainstorm of sewing a map of the Underground Railroad onto a quilt so that others could find their way to freedom.
Author: Hopkinson, Deborah |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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They Called Her Molly Pitcher
This is an historical/legendary account of Molly "Pitcher" Hays McCauly, who followed her husband to fight in the Revolutionary War and was made a sergeant by General Washington for her courage and bravery. A biography and timeline accompany the colorful
Author: Rockwell, Anne |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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We Are the Ship: The Story of the Negro League Baseball
This book is about the beginnings and history of Negro League Baseball. The accomplishments of many of the better players are described. Paintings of the players are included. There is a bibliography and filmography at the end of the book.
Author: Nelson, Kadir |
HSE Descriptors:
| social studies
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Weave of Words, A
A young king uses his literacy and weaving skills to send a message to the queen who frees him from his captors. The copyright page contains information on the origins of this Armenian tale.
Author: San Souci, Robert |
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Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom
This is an enlightening text illustrating the importance of the bicycle as a way to change the world by cultivating independence. The photographs, newspaper articles, advertisements, etc., beautifully depict the history, ending with a timeline comparing w
Author: Macy, Sue |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
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