Kids Library

One early April morning in 1906, the people of San Francisco were jolted awake by a mammoth earthquake - one that registered 7.8 on the Richter scale. Not only was there major damage from the quake itself but broken gas lines sparked a fire that ravaged the city for days. More than 500 city blocks were destroyed, and more than 200,000 people were left homeless. But the city quickly managed to rebuild, rising from the ashes to become the major tourist destination it is today. Here's an exciting recount of an incredible disaster.

Although he started out as a teacher without aspirations to be an activist or politician, Harvey Milk found himself captivated by the history-making movements of the 1960s. He would eventually make history of his own by becoming the first openly gay elected politician in California. While in office, Harvey Milk advocated for equal rights for the gay community.

Born into slavery in 1862, Ida Bell Wells was freed as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Yet she could see just how unjust the world she was living in was. This drove her to become a journalist and activist. Throughout her life, she fought against prejudice and for equality for African Americans. Ida B. Wells would go on to co-own a newspaper, write several books, help cofound the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and fight for women's right to vote.

In Madam C. J. Walker Builds a Business, Sarah Breedlove (a.k.a. Madam C. J. Walker) reinvents and rebrands herself as a forceful entrepreneur whose products still dominate the black hair-care industry today. Born on the same plantation where her parents were once enslaved, Sarah is the first child in her family born free. When Sarah is just a girl, she learns the value of hard work.

Even though he's best known for his successful PBS series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Fred Rogers never dreamed of working in television. In fact, he hated the very first program that he ever watched! Join author Diane Bailey as she takes listeners through the journey that brought Mister Rogers into our living rooms. From his childhood interest in puppet-making and music, to his courageous visit to Russia during the Cold War, this audiobook details Mister Rogers' quest for kindness and his gentle appeal to be more neighborly.

Called the "Great Pathfinder", Daniel Boone is most famous for opening up the West to settlers through Kentucky. A symbol of America's pioneering spirit Boone was a skilled outdoorsman and an avid reader, although he never attended school. Sydelle Kramer skillfully recounts Boone's many adventures, such as the day he rescued his own daughter from kidnappers.

Born a slave in Maryland, Harriet Tubman knew first-hand what it meant to be someone's property; she was whipped by owners and almost killed by an overseer. It was from other field hands that she first heard about the Underground Railroad which she traveled by herself north to Philadelphia. Throughout her long life (she died at the age of 92) and long after the Civil War brought an end to slavery, this amazing woman was proof of what just one person can do.

When Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Spain in 1519, he believed he could get to the Spice Islands by sailing west through or around the New World. He was right, but what he didn't know was that the treacherous voyage would take him three years and cost him his life.

The man who saved the lives of his PT-109 crewmen during WWII and became the 35th US president fought - and won - his first battle at the age of two-and-a-half, when he was stricken with scarlet fever. Although his presidency was cut short, our nation's youngest elected leader left an indelible mark on the American consciousness and now is profiled in our Who Was...? series.

Lilly Etta didn't know the men, but she knew those yellow chairs. They were Tanya's, and they were being taken out of her building. Tanya was being put out - Tanya, her mother, her six brothers and sisters. Their things would be piled on the sidewalk and left there to be had for the taking. It didn't matter if nobody else in the city cared; Lilly Etta did. She knew what friendship was, and she wasn't going to let her friend be thrown out without a fight.

Abigail Adams was a strong woman far ahead of her time. She urged her husband, President John Adams, to "remember the ladies" and despite having no formal education herself, she later advocated for equal education in public schools for both boys and girls. She was also the first First Lady to live in the White House! This biography tells the story of Abigail Adams and her role in America's Revolutionary War period.

Aretha Franklin was a musical and cultural icon whose legacy spanned 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 gospel singer. She then set her sights on becoming a pop-music artist and used her powerful voice and impressive skills on the piano to get a record deal. Aretha released her first of many celebrated albums at the age of 18. In 1987, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, making her the first female artist to grace the prestigious list.

On Sunday, October 8, 1871, a fire started on the south side of Chicago. A long drought made the neighborhood go up in flames. And practically everything that could go wrong did. Firemen first went to the wrong location. Fierce winds helped the blaze jump the Chicago River twice. The Chicago Waterworks burned down, making it impossible to fight the fire. Finally after two days, Mother Nature took over, with rain smothering the flames. This overview of a stupendous disaster not only covers the fire but explores the whole history of fire fighting.

Fireworks and dragons and...a missing girl? Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose are in San Francisco, home of the biggest Chinatown outside Asia. They plan to watch the famous Chinese New Year parade and see Miss Chinatown ride by in a giant float. But during the parade, Miss Chinatown disappears, and so does her crown! Can the kids crack the case?

The A-team takes A-Town! Mike and Kate are in Atlanta, where Hammerin' Hank hit his legendary 715th home run. But Hank's historic bat and ball, which he used to break Babe Ruth's record, have been stolen! Good thing Mike and Kate are sleuthing pros. Can the cousins track down Hank Aaron's missing treasurs...before it's gone forever?

Wacky scientist Dr. Crisp loves to invite students to the her Maker Maze for a STEM-filled adventure! Just solve a riddle and the portal to the Maze will appear! But there's a catch...if the kids don't complete a challenge fast enough, they can never come back to the Maze!

Travel back in time to the 1920s and 1930s to the sounds of jazz in nightclubs and the 24-hours-a-day bustle of the famous Black neighborhood of Harlem in uptown Manhattan. It was a dazzling time when there was an outpouring of the arts of African Americans - the poetry of Langston Hughes; the novels of Zora Neale Hurston; the sculptures of Augusta Savage; and that brand-new music called jazz as only Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong could play it.

Junko is bad at athletics. Really bad. She struggles in gym class and on short hikes. Other students laugh because they think she is small and weak. In fourth grade, her teacher Watanabe-Sensei takes her class on a trip to a mountain. It's bigger than any Junko's ever seen, and she's determined to make it to the top. After the trip, Junko becomes a mountaineer in body and spirit.

You want girl power? Meet Annie Oakley! Born in 1860, she became one of the best-loved and most famous women of her generation. She amazed audiences all over the world with her sharpshooting, horse-riding, and action-packed performances. In an age when most women stayed home, she traveled the world and forged a new image for American women.

Did you know that John Adams had to coax Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence? It's true. The shy Virginia statesman refused at first, but then went on to author one of our nation's most important and inspiring documents. The third US president, Jefferson was also an architect, inventor, musician, farmer, and - what is certainly the most troubling aspect of his life - a slave owner. Finally, here's a biography for kids that unveils the many facets of this founding father's remarkable and complicated life.