New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 2007. — 116 p. A high-spirited child always playing pranks A young Jewish girl forced into hiding for two years The author of one of the best-loved books in the world In her amazing diary, Anne Frank revealed the challenges and dreams common for any young girl. But Hitler brought her childhood to an end and forced her and her family into hiding. Who...
Random House, 2012. — 32 p. — (Step into Reading Level 1). For toddlers, mastering new skills is just a part of growing up, but sometimes they may find new challenges trying. That's where Elmo, Big Bird, and their Sesame Street friends (including Grover, Zoe, Bert, Ernie, Rosita, and Telly) come in--to show toddlers that when you get stuck, it's OK to ask for a helping hand....
Random House Children's Books, 2010. — 48 p. — (Step into Reading Level 3). When a hot-tempered dragon seizes the local bridge, the people of Berryville are cut off from their supply of beloved strawberries until they can correctly answer three questions related to weight. The grownups of the town are stumped, but one very smart little girl saves the day with some facts she...
Penguin Workshop, 2017. — 112 p. Learn about the Eiffel Tower, beloved and iconic symbol of Paris, France, and one of the most recognizable structures in the world! When the plans for the Eiffel Tower were first announced, many people hated the design of the future landmark, calling it ungainly and out of step with the beautiful stone buildings of the city. But once it went up...
Penguin, 2019. — 112 p. Who HQ rolls out the red carpet for Where Is Hollywood?—the film capital of the world. Developed in the 1880s by Midwesterners looking for a sunny winter getaway, Hollywood was a small housing development outside still-small Los Angeles. But everything changed in the early 1900s when filmmakers from New York flocked to the area, where they could make...
Penguin Random House, 2017. — 112 p. Discover the history and culture of one of the most famous waterways in the world: the mighty Mississippi! The most famous river in America runs like a spine between the eastern and western parts of the country, flowing through ten states before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The mighty Miss also flows through the history of America,...
Penguin, 2019. — 112 p. Who HQ brings you the stories behind the most beloved characters of our time. We're off to see the Wizard...along with Dorothy, Toto, and all of her friends as they make their way onto the What Is the Story of? list. When L. Frank Baum wrote about the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy and her pet dog in the magical Land of Oz in 1900, he...
Penguin, 2018. — 112 p. Learn how Judy Blume went from a stay-at-home mother to one of the most beloved American authors of the twentieth century. Readers adore Judy Blume for her personal stories about the journey from childhood to adolescence. She has always been an imaginative person and an avid reader. As a child, Judy spent time looking through library shelves for the...
Penguin Young Readers Group, 2014. — 112 p. Best known for his screen prints of soup cans and movie stars, this shy young boy from Pittsburgh shot to fame with his radical ideas of what art” could be. Working in the aptly named Factory,” Warhol's paintings, movies, and eccentric lifestyle blurred the lines between pop culture and art, ushering in the Pop Art movement and, with...
Penguin Random House, 2016. — 112 p. Meet the man behind the board games: Milton Bradley. Born in Maine in 1836, Milton Bradley moved with his family to the working-class city of Lowell, Massachusetts, at age 11. His early life consisted of several highs and lows, from graduating high school and attending Harvard to getting laid off and losing his first wife. These experiences...
Grosset & Dunlap, 2015. — 112 p. Enter a world of shrunken heads, mystic holy men, shriveled aliens, and bizarre relics in the delightfully odd tale of Robert Ripley. Born in California, Ripley began his career as a sports cartoonist. He went on to chronicle global records and oddities in his weekly column, Believe It Or Not! After publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst took...
Random House, 1997. — 31 p. — (Step into Reading. Level 1). The sun and the moon shine down on a young boy as he spends a day by the sea. "Sun shines on the mountains, sun shines on the sea. Sun shines on my pillow, and says wake up to me."
Random House, 1996. — 30 p. — (Step Into Reading Level 1). A small snowball gets bumped by a skier and rolls down the hill growing in size and picking up people as it goes.
London: Penguin Workshop, 2013. — 111 p. Did you know that Bell's amazing invention--the telephone--stemmed from his work on teaching the deaf? Both his mother and wife were deaf. Or, did you know that in later years he refused to have a telephone in his study? Bell's story will fascinate young readers interested in the early history of modern technology!
Penguin, 2016. — 112 p. Through this engaging Who Was? biography, kids will discover the woman behind the sunglasses. Private and bookish, Jackie Kennedy found herself thrust into the world spotlight as the young and glamorous wife of the President John F. Kennedy. As First Lady she restored the once neglected rooms of the White House to their former glory, and through her...
Penguin, 2007. — 112 p. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 25 when he helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was soon organizing black people across the country in support of the right to vote, desegregation, and other basic civil rights. Maintaining nonviolent and peaceful tactics even when his life was threatened, King was also an advocate for the poor and spoke out...
Penguin Group (USA), 2014. — 106 p. Robert E. Lee seemed destined for greatness. His father was a Revolutionary War hero and at West Point he graduated second in his class! In 1861, when the Southern states seceded from the Union, Lee was offered the opportunity to command the Union forces. However, even though he was against the war, his loyalty to his home state of Virginia...
Random House, 1991. — 96 p. — (Stepping Stones - Classic). Fly away with Peter Pan to the enchanted island of Neverland! This first chapter book adaptation of the classic novel, originally published in 1911, tells the story of the boy who never grows up. And when they join Peter on his magical island, Wendy and her brothers are in for exciting encounters with mermaids, an...
Random House Children's Books, 2010. — 48 p. — (Step into Reading Level 4). This book offers readers a bug’s-eye view into the strange and fascinating world of carnivorous plants. From the “jaws” of the Venus flytrap to the pretty sundew plant whose delicate tentacles entrap its prey, the unique anatomy and behaviors of meat-eating plants are detailed with clear, engaging text...
Random House Children's Books, 2009. — 96 p. — (Stepping Stones - Mystery). Liz is staying with her grandmother in her old house in the woods of northern Minnesota when one night a noise awakens her. It is someone calling her name, calling for Elizabeth. Liz opens her eyes. There is a blue ghost in her room! What does the ghost want from her? This exciting mystery by Newbery...
Random House, 2012. — 96 p. — (Stepping Stones - Mystery). Delsie knew it wasn't a good idea to dare her best friend Todd to explore the abandoned houses by the old mill. But she couldn't back down after the words slipped out of her mouth. Together the two friends bike to the mill and try the door of each abandoned house. They are all locked...except one. Delsie and Todd sneak...
Random House, 2010. — 74 p. — (Stepping Stones - Mystery). It's Christmas Eve, and Kaye’s family is on the way to her grandmother’s house in a swirling snowstorm. Suddenly the car hits a patch of ice. It slides across the road and skids into a snow-filled ditch! Through the car window, Kaye spots a light in the woods. Its glow leads her and her parents through the blizzard....
Random House Children's Books, 2009. — 96 p. — (Stepping Stones - Mystery). Have you ever had the feeling a doll was watching you? Jenna finds the perfect gift for her sister at a neighbor’s garage sale—a beautiful old doll dressed all in red velvet. Jenna can’t believe her luck. Not only does Mrs. Tate seem happy to be rid of the doll, she even gives it to Jenna for free! But...
Random House Children's Books, 2009. — 112 p. — (Stepping Stones - Mystery). When Emily finds a locked playhouse in the woods, she can't resist peeking through the windows. Inside, the walls are painted to look just like the surrounding woods, right down to an identical white playhouse with blue shutters. But the playhouse is not as deserted as Emily first thought. A girl...
Random House, 2012. — 128 p. — (Stepping Stones - Fantasy). Now in paperback, Marion Dane Bauer's tale of friendship, family, and fitting in, which recalls The Doll People, Rumer Godden, and Hitty, Her First Hundred Years. Regina is a princess. Her hair is gold. Her gown is pink. She's a three-and-one-quarter-inch-tall doll. Rose is not a princess or a doll. She's a real girl...
Random House, 2011. — 128 p. — (Stepping Stones - Fantasy). Regina is only 3-1/4 inches tall, but she knows from the moment she wakes up in her dollhouse bed that she is a princess. Why else would she have such a lovely pink gown? Why else would she have such golden hair and flawless skin? And why else would she have a four-foot, curly-haired human creature to wait on her?...
Random House, 2012. — 112 p. — (Stepping Stones - Classic). This classic Stepping Stone edition, brings the classic Wizard of Oz tale to first chapter book readers. Includes art from the original Wizard of Oz!
Random House Children's Books, 2012. — 64 p. — ( Stepping Stones - Mystery). Eleven-year-old Gilbert, self-styled private eye, takes on his toughest case when he finds a duck in the elevator of his housing project. In this easy-to-read mystery, "the solution is credible, the plot is fresh, the style casual and natural."
Random House Children's Books, 2014. — 32 p. — (Step into Reading Level 2). DreamWorks Animation brings Jay Ward's classic cartoon Mr. Peabody & Shermanto the big screen in an all-new comedy adventure for the whole family. Mr. Peabody is the world's smartest person who happens to be a dog. When his "pet" boy, Sherman, uses their time-traveling WABAC machine without permission,...
Random House, 2014. — 32 p. — (Step into Reading Level 2). Boys and girls 4-6 will love learning to read in this Step 2 Step into Reading leveled reader that retells some of Mr. Peabody and Sherman's most exciting time-travelling adventures from the DreamWorks Animation hit movie Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
Penguin, 2018. — 112 p. Discover why Selena, the Queen of Tejano music, became one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the twentieth century! As a young girl, Selena Quintanilla sang in a band called Selena y Los Dinos with her brother and sister. The family performed at fairs, weddings, quinceañeras, and on street corners in their native Texas. Selena...
London: Penguin Workshop, 2002. — 109 p. Amelia Earhart was a woman of many "firsts." In 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1935, she also became the first woman to fly across the Pacific. From her early years to her mysterious 1937 disappearance while attempting a flight around the world, readers will find Amelia Earhart's life a...
Random House Children's Books, 2013. — 48 p. — (Step into Reading Level 3). Dogerella spends her days scratching the fleas and fluffing the tails of her ungrateful stepdog mother and mean stepdog sisters. At night, she dreams of a home where she is loved. In a nearby castle lives Bea, a sweet, slightly spoiled princess whose fondest wish is for a loyal pet to call her own. A...
Disney Book Group, 2021. — 480 p. From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love, and redemption. Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals. They are hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all...
London: Penguin Workshop, 2002. — 108 p. Everyone has heard of Albert Einstein-but what exactly did he do? How much do kids really know about Albert Einstein besides the funny hair and genius label? For instance, do they know that he was expelled from school as a kid? Finally, here's the story of Albert Einstein's life, told in a fun, engaging way that clearly explores the...
Random House, 1990. — 32 p. — (Step into Reading Level 2). Illus. in full color. Nicky's mom is making so much stew that he is allowed to bring a friend home for supper. But his best friend Alec can't come, and Carla won't come — she hates beef stew. So Nicky begins a funny, frantic quest for someone to share his favorite dish.
Random House, 1994. — 48 p. — (Step into Reading. Level 3). Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, started out in life as an absent-minded frontier lawyer. How did he nudge his memory? He stuck letters, court notes, contracts, and even his checkbook in his trademark top hat. When he took off his hat, it was all there!
Random House, 1999. — 32 p. — (Step into Reading). Based on Raymond Briggs's classic, this beautiful illustrated Step into Reading book describes the exciting things that happen to James and his magical snowman.
New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 2015. — 114 p. A girl who risked her life for her beliefs A fearless leader fighting for the education of millions The youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize Malala Yousafzai was a girl who loved to learn but was told that girls would no longer be allowed to go to school. She wrote a blog that called attention to what was happening in...
Random House, 1999. — 32 p. — (Step into Reading Level 1). Black Bugs. Green Bugs. Fat Bugs. Buggy Bugs. I like bugs! It's time for you! Pick your favorite spot to read. This is going to be a great book!
Random House Children's Books, 2013. — 48 p. — (Step into Reading Level 5). In 1838, settlers moving west forced the great Cherokee Nation, and their chief John Ross, to leave their home land and travel 1,200 miles to Oklahoma. An epic story of friendship, war, hope, and betrayal.
Penguin, 2017. — 112 p. Young girls who learned to play tennis at an early age Champions who have both won Grand Slams and Olympic gold medals Sisters who have transformed the world professional women’s tennis with their power, strength, and style The dynamic story of the Williams sisters, both top-ranked professional tennis players. Venus and Serena Williams are two of the...
Penguin, 2014. — 112 p. Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. won the world heavyweight championship at the age of 22, the same year he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He would go on to become the first and only three-time (in succession) World Heavyweight Champion. Nicknamed “The Greatest,” Ali was as well known for his unique boxing style, consisting of...
Penguin, 2018. — 112 p. The story of a poor boy from Brazil who became the greatest soccer player of all time and one of the most important athletes of the twentieth century! His parents may have named him Edson Arantes do Nascimento, but to the rest of the world, he is known as Pelé. The now-retired professional soccer forward stunned Brazil when he began playing for the...
Penguin, 2015. — 112 p. Though much of his early life remains a mystery, Blackbeard most likely began his life as Edward Teach in the sailing port of Bristol, England. He began his career as a hired British sailor during Queen Anne’s War. He eventually settled in the Bahamas under Captain Benjamin Hornigold who taught the young sailor to go "a-pirating." Soon enough, Blackbeard...
Penguin, 2018. — 112 p. Learn how a slave became one of the leading influential African American intellectuals of the late 19th century. African American educator, author, speaker, and advisor to presidents of the United States, Booker Taliaferro Washington was the leading voice of former slaves and their descendants during the late 1800s. As part of the last generation of...
Penguin, 2013. — 112 p. As a boy he preferred reading sea stories to doing homework and, at age 16, became an apprentice seaman. Subsequently, Ernest Shackleton’s incredible journeys to the South Pole in the early 1900s made him one of the most famous explorers of modern times. His courage in the face of dangerous conditions and unforeseeable tragedies reveal the great leader...
Penguin, 2015. — 112 p. At the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, track and field star Jesse Owens ran himself straight into international glory by winning four gold medals. But the life of Jesse Owens is much more than a sports story. Born in rural Alabama under the oppressive Jim Crow laws, Owens's family suffered many hardships. As a boy he worked several jobs like delivering...
Penguin, 2016. — 112 p. Meet the father of science fiction, Jules Verne. Born in France in 1829, Jules Verne always dreamed of adventure. At age 11, he snuck onboard a ship headed for the Indies only to be discovered by his father and have his dreams dashed. After his father made him swear to only travel "in his imagination," Verne kept his promise for the rest of his life. He...