Social Studies

A true crime thriller -- the first book for teens to tell the nearly unknown tale of the brazen attempt to steal Abraham Lincoln's body!

For most children these days it would come as a great shock to know that before 1967, they could not marry a person of a race different from their own. That was the year that the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loving v. Virginia.

Christopher Ludwick is a German-born American patriot with a big heart and a talent for baking the best gingerbread in Philadelphia. No one goes hungry if he can help it--"Not in my America!" he says. When cries of "Revolution!" begin, Christopher marches off to feed General George Washington and his hungry troops. But Washington never expects his favorite baker to sneak off on a risky secret mission across enemy lines...

Typhoid fever is running rampant across America, striking down tens of thousands of people. Dr. George Soper must get to the root of the problem fast. He knows that it takes just one person carrying the bacteria for the fever to spread. When Soper traces an outbreak to Mary Mallon, a New York City cook, he is determined to prevent her from infecting others. But Mallon refuses to cooperate.

Twelve-year-old Ella Mae Higbee is a sensible girl. She eats her vegetables and wants to be just like Sergeant Friday, her favorite character on Dragnet. So when her auntie Mildred starts spouting nonsense about a scientist who can bring her cousin Robby back to life, Ella Mae doesn't believe her - until a boy steps out of the scientist's pod and drips slime on the floor right before her eyes.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of a world free of hate, prejudice, and violence. "I have a dream," he said in one of his speeches. "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they won't be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Eleanor Roosevelt went from being a sad, shy child to becoming an adult who reached out to people everywhere. She married Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1904. She became America's first lady, while he served as president from 1932-1945. During the years of the Great Depression, she visited towns, cities, and farms all over the country and brought hope to millions of people. She made many speeches, had a radio program, and wrote a newspaper column.

When Susan B. Anthony was young, white men had more rights than other people. Susan believed everyone should have equal rights. As an adult, she shared her ideas about equality. She gave many speeches. She started a newspaper. She worked to change laws. In doing so, Susan changed the lives of all Americans.

My name is Michel Chikwanine. the story you are about to read is true.

It's 1993, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is going through major political changes. Five-year-old Michel is playing with friends one day when, without warning, a group of rebel soldiers pulls up to the school grounds. Forced onto trucks, the frightened boys are taken to a camp in the hills. There they are thrust into a terrifying and violent world.

The author of My Name Is María Isabel offers an inspiring look at her childhood in Cuba in this collection that includes Where the Flame Trees Bloom, Under the Royal Palms, five new stories, and more.

In 1770, the slave Esperança Garcia bravely penned a letter to the governor of Piauí state, in Brazil, describing how she and her children were being mistreated and requesting permission to return to the farm where the rest of her family was living. Before she wrote her letter, Esperança Garcia lived on a cotton farm run by Jesuit priests, where she learned to read and write — a rare opportunity for a woman, especially a slave.