American Library

Growing up the youngest of seven children in Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente had a talent for baseball. His incredible skill soon got him drafted into the big leagues, where he spent 18 seasons playing right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Who Was Roberto Clemente? tells the story of this remarkable athlete: A 12-time All-Star, a World Series MVP, and the first Latin American inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great - the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of one of America's icons in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction listeners and that always includes the hero's childhood influences. This volume features Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Supreme Court Justice.

Ernest Hemingway wasn't just a novelist. He was a hunter and a fisherman; he became an ambulance officer in Paris, France, during World War I; and he worked as a reporter during the civil war in Spain in the 1930s. All of these experiences had such an important impact on Ernest's life that he used them as inspiration for some of his most notable works of fiction, including The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

A long time ago, a girl named Carla lived on a goat farm with her father, Hector. One night, a goat disappeared from the farm and turned up flat as a pancake. Only one creature could do that - El Chupacabras, the goatsucker! Legend has it that El Chupacabras is a fearsome beast, but you can't believe everything you hear...and sometimes the truth is even more interesting.

Join the American journalist Henry Morton Stanley on his amazing quest to find David Livingstone, England's most celebrated explorer, in this new addition to the number one New York Times best-selling series!

On June 26, 2018, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a bartender from New York City, became the youngest woman ever elected to serve on Congress. Her win shocked the political world, and she became a celebrity overnight. Soon, everyone knew her by her initials: AOC. As soon as she was sworn into office, AOC became a vocal champion for healthcare for all and the fight against climate change. This exciting story details the defining moments of what led to her victory and all the monumental ones since that have shaped her into a smart politician willing to fight for others.

Meet Shirley, a little girl who asks way too many questions! After spending her early years on her grandparents' farm in Barbados, she returns home to Brooklyn and immediately makes herself known. Shirley kicks butt in school; she breaks her mother's curfew; she plays jazz piano instead of classical. And as a young adult, she fights against the injustice she sees around her, against women and Black people. Soon she is running for state assembly...and winning in a landslide. Three years later, she is on the campaign trail again, as the first Black woman to run for Congress.

In this chapter book biography by award-winning author Atia Abawi, listeners learn about the amazing life of Sally Ride - and how she persisted. As the first American woman in space, Sally Ride broke barriers and made her dreams come true. But she wanted to do even more! After leaving NASA, she created science and engineering programs that would help other girls and women make their dreams come true as well.

Born enslaved, Harriet Tubman rose up to become one of the most successful, determined, and well-known conductors of the Underground Railroad. With her family's love planted firmly in her heart, Harriet looked to the North Star for guidance - and its light helped guide her way out of slavery. Her courage made it possible for her to help others reach freedom, too.

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 35 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 18th-century Europe.

From his childhood in rural Illinois to movie-making days in Hollywood and on to a career in politics that took him all the way to the Oval Office, Ronald Reagan kept an abiding faith in America and in what our country stood for. The oldest president ever, he survived a near-fatal assassination attempt and lived to be 93. Who Was Ronald Reagan? covers his life and times in a balanced, entertaining way for children.

For a long time, the main role of First Ladies was to act as hostesses of the White House...until Eleanor Roosevelt. Born in 1884, Eleanor was not satisfied to just be a glorified hostess for her husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Eleanor had a voice, and she used it to speak up against poverty and racism. She had experience and knowledge of many issues, and fought for laws to help the less fortunate. She had passion, energy, and a way of speaking that made people listen, and she used these gifts to campaign for her husband and get him elected president - four times!

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.

It’s the early 1960s, and Anna has never seen a person with dark skin before. At first, she is afraid of her new second-grade teacher. But Anna quickly finds there’s no reason to be scared. Sister Anne is wonderful. She likes jokes, and she makes math and reading fun. But then someone sails a paper airplane to her, with a cruel message written on its wings. Sister Anne’s wise way of turning a painful incident into a powerful learning experience has a profound impact on Anna and her classmates.

When a killing drought threatens the existence of the tribe, a courageous little Comanche girl sacrifices her most beloved possession - and the Great Spirit's answer results not only in much needed rain but a very special gift in return.