What Are the Summer Olympics?
Back in 775 BC, athletes from all over Ancient Greece came together to compete in various games. The contests were held every four years and winning athletes brought honor and respect to their homelands. The tradition of the Olympic Games faded over time until 1896, when they were brought back to life. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, with over two hundred athletes from fourteen countries. Today, nearly three thousand years after the first Games, the Summer Olympics attract one hundred thousand top athletes from over two hundred countries. Billions of fans around the world cheer on their national teams to bring back the gold.
Who Was Coretta Scott King?
Here's a gripping portrait of a smart, remarkable woman. Growing up in Alabama, Coretta Scott King graduated valedictorian from her high school before becoming one of the first African American students at Antioch College in Ohio. It was ther...
What Is Climate Change?
The earth is definitely getting warmer. There's no argument about that, but who or what is the cause? And why has climate change become a political issue? Are humans at fault? Is this just a natural development? While the vast majority of scientis...
Who Was Leonardo da Vinci?
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 pa...
What Was the Bombing of Hiroshima?
Hiroshima is where the first atomic bomb was dropped. Now readers will learn the reasons why and what it's meant for the world ever since. By August 1945, World War II was over in Europe, but the fighting continued between American forces and the Japanese, who were losing but determined to fight till the bitter end. And so it fell to a new president--Harry S. Truman--to make the fateful decision to drop two atomic bombs--one on Hiroshima and one on Nagasaki--and bring the war to rapid close. Now, even seventy years later, can anyone know if this was the right choice? In a thoughtful account of these history-changing events, Jess Brallier explains the leadup to the bombing, what the terrible results of it were, and how the threat of atomic war has colored world events since.
Who Was Bruce Lee?
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American action film star, martial arts instructor, filmmaker, and philosopher. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim. Through such films as Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon, Lee helped to change the way Asians were presented in American films and, in the process, he became an iconic figure known throughout the world. Although he died at the young age of 32, Bruce Lee is widely considered to be the one of the most influential martial artists of all time.
Where Is Stonehenge?
Where is Stonehenge? That's an easy question to answer. It sits on the Salisbury Plain in Southern England. But what is the meaning of these strange circles of stones? Was Stonehenge a religious site to honour the dead? Or a sacred place of h...
Who Is Kamala Harris?
On November 7, 2020, Kamala Harris, a senator from California, became the first woman and the first African-American and South Asian-American person to be elected to the vice presidency. While her nomination for this position was not unexpected, her rise to national prominence was one filled with unexpected turns and obstacles. After failing her first bar exam to become a lawyer, she tried again and passed. From there, she quickly rose through the legal ranks, serving as district attorney of San Francisco, then California’s attorney general, and soon, senator. As a politician, Kamala Harris has been a vocal champion of progressive reforms and women’s rights. This exciting story details the defining moments of what led to her nomination and all the monumental ones since that have shaped her career and the future of America.
Who Was Queen Elizabeth I?
The life of Queen Elizabeth I was dramatic and dangerous: cast out of her father's court at the age of three and imprisoned at nineteen, Elizabeth was crowned queen in 1558, when she was only twenty-five. A tough, intelligent woman who spoke five ...
Who Was Charles Darwin?
As a young boy, Charles Darwin hated school and was often scolded forconducting "useless" experiments. Yet his passion for the natural world was so strong that he suffered through terrible seasickness during his five-year voyage aboard T...
Who Was Frank Sinatra?
Before Frank Sinatra became the international superstar that we remember him as today, he was just a young boy singing for spare change in his family's New Jersey tavern. Those small beginnings would be the start of an incredible career in which F...
Who Is Jane Goodall?
A life in the wild Jane Goodall, born in London, England, always loved animals and wanted to study them in their natural habitats. So at age twenty-six, off she went to Africa Goodall's up-close observations of chimpanzees changed what we know about them and paved the way for many female scientists who came after her. Now her story comes to life in this biography with black-and-white illustrations throughout.
Who Was King Tut?
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 ...
What Was the Boston Tea Party?
'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, and read about this act of rebellion from our history With black-and-white illustrations throughout and sixteen pages of photos, the Boston Tea party is brought to life
Who Is Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift always knew she wanted to be a country music artist, so at age thirteen, she convinced her parents to move their family out of Pennsylvania to Nashville. As a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Taylor wrote songs about teenage heartbr...
Who Was Anne Frank?
An easy-to-read biography looks closely at Anne Frank's life before the secret annex, what life was like in hiding from the Nazis, and the legacy of her diary. Original.
Who Is Malala Yousafzai?
Malala Yousafzai was a girl who loved to learn but was told that girls would no longer be allowed to go to school. She wrote a blog that called attention to what was happening in her beautiful corner of Pakistan and realized that words can bring a...
Where Is the Eiffel Tower?
When the plans for the Eiffel Tower were first announced, many people hated the design of the future landmark, calling it ungainly and out of step with the beautiful stone buildings of the city. But once it went up for the World's Fair in 1889, th...
What Was the Renaissance?
Beginning in Italy, the Renaissance was a cultural movement that spread throughout Europe and affected art, science, technology, politics, and thought. From the 1300s to the beginning of the 1600s, scholars started to question what they knew and l...
Who Was Albert Einstein?
Everyone has heard of Albert Einstein but what exactly did he do? How much do kids really know about Albert Einstein besides the funny hair and genius label? For instance, do they know that he was expelled from school as a kid? Finally, here's the...
Who Is Elton John?
How does a little boy from the London suburbs named Reginald Kenneth Dwight grow up to become one of the biggest pop stars of all time? A lot of talent and a lot of personality! Elton John, as he would later call himself, started playing piano at the age of three. Although he was trained to play classical music, Elton's real love was rock and roll. He cut his first album in 1969 and has dominated the airwaves ever since with songs like 'Your Song,' 'Crocodile Rock' and 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight.' Known for his outlandish stage costumes and giant glasses, Elton John continues to write songs for Broadway musicals, Hollywood soundtracks, and Top-40 hits.
Who Was George Washington?
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
Who Was Aretha Franklin?
Aretha Franklin is a musical and cultural icon who created an amazing legacy spanning six decades! Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1942, Aretha got her start singing in front of her father's Baptist congregation and found minor success as a go...
Who Was Maya Angelou?
Born in Missouri in 1928, Maya Angelou had a difficult childhood. Jim Crow laws segregated blacks and whites in the South. Her family life was unstable at times. But much like her poem, "Still I Rise," Angelou was able to lift herself ou...