Kids Library

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.

Entire books have been written about the causes of the American Revolution. This isn't one of them. What it is, instead, is utterly interesting, anecdotes, from the inside out close-up narratives filled with little-known details, lots of quotes that capture the spirit and voices of the principals, and action. It's the story of the birth of our nation, complete with soldiers, spies, salmon sandwiches, and real facts you can't help but want to tell to everyone you know.

By the time the United States joined the Second World War in 1941, the fight against Nazi and Axis powers had already been underway for two years. In order to win the war and protect its soldiers, the US Marines recruited 29 Navajo men to create a secret code that could be used to send military messages quickly and safely across battlefields. In this new book within the number one New York Times best-selling series, author James Buckley Jr. explains how these brave and intelligent men developed their amazing code.

Eleven-year-old Tom was bit by a vampire, a werewolf, and a zombie right before the first day of middle school. It was a weird and crazy day. And he didn't even get excused from sixth grade! Now he's being hunted down by the werewolf that bit him. Should Tom join a wolf pack? On the one hand, he could give up school and homework forever. (He really doesn't want to do his history report.) On the other hand, he'd miss his band, his friends, and Annie, his maybe-possibly-someday girlfriend. He might even miss his big sister, Emma.

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.

The hunt is on! Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose are spending Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They can't wait to see the sights and have a Thanksgiving dinner, just like the Pilgrims would have eaten. Then the kids learn about a sapphire necklace that went missing on the real Mayflower. Could the 400-year-old treasure be hidden somewhere nearby? And will someone else find it before they do?

Families will relate to the last minute scramble to create special valentines for classmates in this Llama Llama Step 2 Reader. Gilroy Goat is stumped about what to create. But in the end, he comes up with an idea that is all his own!

French bulldog Billy the Kid was born with an ear for music. And not just any music. He loves barking to the beat of country music! So Billy sets out to Nashville to sing his heart out. But when he meets some big bullies at the Battle of the Bow-wows, Billy worries he's barking up the wrong tree. He'll need his favorite songs ("Jowlene" and "I Will Pawlways Love You," of course), a group of scrappy new friends, and his favorite country music star to regain self-confidence and be the star he always knew he could be.

Miles has been waiting forever to be part of a city-wide science competition. Now his dream is finally coming true, and he's even part of an all-star team that includes his good friend, Jada. He should be in his element, so he can't seem to figure out why he feels like the weak link instead. While everyone else is rocking the project, Miles keeps messing up, and the team bickers and loses momentum. Miles is filled with self-doubt, and he has to wonder: Is he really a whiz at science, or is he actually a flop?

It's a new day, and Ayaan has woken up on the wrong side of the bed where nothing feels quite right. What if he doesn't know the answer at school? What if he messes up? But as he sets out that morning, all it takes is a few reminders from his mom and some friends in the neighborhood to remind him that a new day is a good day because...he is smart, he is blessed, and he can do anything!

Milo is on a long subway ride with his older sister. To pass the time, he studies the faces around him and makes pictures of their lives. There's the boy in the suit with the bright white sneakers; Milo imagines him arriving home to a castle with a drawbridge and a butler. But when the boy in the suit gets off on the same stop as Milo - walking the same path, going to the exact same place - Milo realizes you can't really know anyone just by looking at them.

Kate's school is having their first-ever STEM Night and the prizes are incredible! Kate is determined to win and comes up with the perfect experiment. But as she and her best friend, Birdie, start preparing, they find that Kate's project keeps getting messed up. Will Kate be able to use her science know-how to find out who is behind the STEM night sabotage? And will she fix her project before it's too late?

Throughout history, women have been told that they couldn't achieve their dreams, no matter how hard they tried. Women athletes have faced their own unique set of challenges, across countless sports and levels of play. In this third She Persisted book, Chelsea Clinton introduces listeners to women who have excelled in their sports because of their persistence.

Jake cracks up the crowd as a budding comedian at the Music and Art Academy talent show, but his new ego is no laughing matter. And when he starts blowing off his friends to pursue his "art", Jake's big head becomes a huge bummer. Plus, being the funny man is way tougher than it looks. Luckily, Jake has his mentor Maury Kovalski, a retired comedy showstopper, to teach him the ropes about humor - and humility - before Jake loses all his biggest fans and best friends!

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.

Clover O'Reilly is super psyched to run for class president. As the second oldest of five sisters, she struggles to be heard in her ginormous family. But when you are president of the seventh grade, everyone has listen to you! Comedy magician Mike the Unusual feels confident onstage. Offstage, life can be tricky. It's okay that his classmates don't understand him, but it bugs him when his dad suggests he needs more friends. Is he willing to give up his passion to win friends...and votes? Clover and Mike compete to rule their school in this uproariously funny sequel.

Flight. Loneliness. Fear. Danger. Courage. Charles Lindbergh considered all these things and more when he set out for Paris on the morning of May 20, 1927, with only two compasses and the stars for his guides. Experience all the drama of Lindbergh's history-making flight with startling intimacy as you travel along with the first pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic, and follow the courage and endurance of one man who dared to make his dream come true.

Rockhopper penguin Freya has always craved - and feared - adventure. When she hears about Captain Salomon August Andrée's hot-air balloon expedition to the North Pole, Freya packs her copy of Hints to Lady Travellers and hops on board. Only moments after leaving land, Freya discovers a fellow stowaway! Meet Zoose, the scrappy, uncouth mouse whose endless wisecracks and despicable manners make him a less-than-ideal travel companion. When the hot-air balloon is forced to land in the Arctic, these polar opposites must learn how to get along. Their very survival depends on it.

One day, a mysterious stranger arrives at a boardinghouse of the widow Gateau - a sad-faced stranger, who keeps to himself. When the widow’s daughter, Mirette, discovers him crossing the courtyard on air, she begs him to teach her how he does it. But Mirette doesn’t know that the stranger was once the Great Bellini - master wire-walker. Or that Bellini has been stopped by a terrible fear. And it is she who must teach him courage once again.

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.