Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium Carla Killough McClafferty, 2006

Marie Curie, who came from a poor Polish family, worked hard to afford studying in Paris.

Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Remarkable Life Candace Fleming, 2005

In the style of a scrapbook or family photo album, Fleming presents the riveting life of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl Tonya Bolden, 2005

This captivating story covers the childhood and teen years of Maritcha Remond Lyons, born to a free black family in Manhattan in the mid-1800s.

Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini Sid Fleischman, 2006

Fleischman constructs an entertaining biography that examines the life and career of Harry Houdini—as a performer, illusionist, early pioneer in aviation and cinema—all without giving away his secrets.

Understanding the Holy Land: Answering Questions About the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Mitch Frank, 2005

Frank’s even-handed account uses a question-answer format to explain the reasons for the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Bodies from the Ash: Life and Death in Ancient Pompeii James M. Deem, 2005

Using stunning and detailed photographs, Deem tells the dramatic story of the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the annihilation of the city of Pompeii.

Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem Marilyn Nelson, 2004

Combining history and poetry, Nelson pays tribute to the life of Fortune, the slave of a Connecticut doctor, whose owner preserved his bones to teach anatomy after he died in 1798.

Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law that Changed the Future of Girls in America Karen Blumenthal, 2005

In 1972, legislation known as Title IX gave girls and women equal access to all areas of education—including sports, universities, and graduate schools.

Good Brother, Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth James Cross Giblin, 2005

In this fascinating narrative account, Giblin shows how the lives of the two Booth brothers—Edwin and John Wilkes—intertwined, with family, friends, acting, and opposing views on the Civil War.

Invisible Allies: Microbes That Shape Our Lives Jeanette Farrell, 2005

Farrell shows the important and interesting role many microbes play in the lives of humans.

The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students Suzanne Jurmain, 2006

In 1830s Connecticut, Prudence Crandall attempted to educate African-American girls, an act violently-resisted by others.

Up Before Daybreak: Cotton and People in America Deborah Hopkinson, 2006

Cotton has been an integral part of U.S. economy from its settlement and has helped shape its culture, from slavery to factories.

Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott Russell Freedman, 2006

The events surrounding and including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lead to the end of segregation on buses, is covered, as are key people in the movement.

Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement Ann Bausum, 2006

By exploring the lives of a black man and a white man who meet as Freedom Riders on a bus journey south, readers come to understand the segregated experience of the United States’ past.

Growing Up in Slavery: Stories of Young Slaves as Told By Themselves Yuval Taylor, 2005

Based on slave narratives published between 1745 and 1869, these ten accounts reveal what life was like as child slaves.

5,000 Miles to Freedom: Ellen and William Craft’s Flight From Slavery Judith Bloom Fradin and Dennis Brindell Fradin, 2006

Ellen and William Craft were two of the few slaves to escape from the Deep South.

John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth Elizabeth Partridge, 2005

Full of great photographs and interesting anecdotes, this nonjudgmental biography chronicles the life of rock-legend Lennon, from his Liverpool beginnings, his rocketing to fame with the Beatles and resulting highs and lows, through his life post-Beatles up to his murder and its impact on the world.

When I Was a Soldier: A Memoir Valérie Zenatti, 2005

Eighteen-year-old Valérie Zenatti was excited to begin her required two-year military service in the Israeli Army, even though she would miss her friends and was dealing with being dumped by her boyfriend.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow Susan Campbell Bartoletti, 2005

Using interviews, letters, diaries, oral histories, and photography, Bartoletti explores Hilter’s attempt to guarantee future Nazi control of Germany by involving Germany’s young people in the movement.

A Wreath for Emmett Till Marilyn Nelson, 2005

In 1955 Mississippi, fourteen-year-old Emmett Louis Till was lynched.  His murderers, who said he had whistled at a white woman, we set free.

Guinea Pig Scientists: Bold Self-Experimenters in Science and Medicine Leslie Dendy and Mel Boring, 2005

Ten fascinating—and sometimes gruesome—stories of scientists who advanced their fields by experimenting on themselves.

The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon, 2006

This accessible, accurate graphic novel adapts the report of the 9/11 Commission in its entirety.

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea Guy Delisle, 2005

Cartoonist Delisle became one of few Westerners allowed into North Korea.

Come Back to Afghanistan: A California Teenager’s Story Said Hyder Akbar and Susan Burton, 2005

Seventeen-year-old Said Hyder Akbar was an ordinary California teenager until the fall of the Taliban.

Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold Michael Benanav, 2006

For over 1000 years, a caravan of men and camels have journeyed from the city of Timbuktu to a far-away salt mine and back, living under very primitive conditions.

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game Michael Lewis, 2006

A chronicle of modern football, The Blind Side shows how changes in play strategies can dramatically change the game and its players.

Eagle Blue: A Team, a Tribe, and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska Michael D’Orso, 2006

D’Orso follows a six-time championship-winning high school basketball team through a season. 

Jesus Land: A Memoir Julia Scheeres, 2005

Julia Scheeres and her brother, who was adopted, grew up in a Christian fundamentalist home in the Midwest, in an area rife with racism—and one of them is white and the other black.

Glass Castle: A Memoir Jeannette Walls, 2005

Jeannette Wells spent her early life as a nomad around the desert Southwest with her creative, intelligent, loving, and wholly dysfunctional parents. 

Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny Harper Hill, 2006

The authoritative public speaker and star of "CSI: NY” provides straight talk and inspiring advice for America's youth.