Ages 4-8; Gr.1-5; Sydney Taylor Book award, honor 2022.
Eliza Davis believed in speaking up for what was right. Even if it meant telling Charles Dickens he was wrong. In Eliza Davis's day, Charles Dickens was the most celebrated living writer in England. But some of his books reflected a prejudice that was all too common at the time: prejudice against Jewish people. Eliza was Jewish, and her heart hurt to see a Jewish character in Oliver Twist portrayed as ugly and selfish. So she wrote a letter to Charles Dickens. What happened next is history.

Ages 4-7; PrK-Gr.3.
Honoring the path of a slave, this dramatic picture-book biography and concise anthology of Aesop's most child-friendly fables tells how a child born into slavery in ancient Greece found a way to speak out against injustice by using the skill and wit of his storytelling--storytelling that has survived for 2,500 years.

Ages 4-8; K-Gr.3.
From the Newbery Honor-winning author of Genesis Begins Again comes a shimmering picture book that shines the light on Zora Neale Hurston, the extraordinary writer and storycatcher extraordinaire who changed the face of American literature. Zora was a girl who hankered for tales like bees for honey. Now, her mama always told her that if she wanted something, "to jump at de sun", because even though you might not land quite that high, at least you'd get off the ground.

Ages 5-10
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) is known for her poems about "real life." She wrote about love, loneliness, family, and poverty--showing readers how just about anything could become a beautiful poem. Exquisite follows Gwendolyn from early girlhood into her adult life, showcasing her desire to write poetry from a very young age. This picture-book biography explores the intersections of race, gender, and the ubiquitous poverty of the Great Depression--all with a lyrical touch worthy of the subject.

Ages 5-10
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) is known for her poems about "real life." She wrote about love, loneliness, family, and poverty--showing readers how just about anything could become a beautiful poem. Exquisite follows Gwendolyn from early girlhood into her adult life, showcasing her desire to write poetry from a very young age. This picture-book biography explores the intersections of race, gender, and the ubiquitous poverty of the Great Depression--all with a lyrical touch worthy of the subject.

Ages 6-9; Gr.1-4.
A celebration of August Wilson's journey from a child in Pittsburgh to one of America's greatest playwrights August Wilson (1945-2005) was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who had a particular talent for capturing the authentic, everyday voice of black Americans.

Ages 4-8; Gr.1-5.
An exceptional picture book biography of Margaret Wise Brown, the legendary author of Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and other beloved children's classics, that's as groundbreaking as the icon herself was.

Ages 5-8; K-Gr.3.
The inspiring story of the girl behind one of the greatest novels -- and monsters. Sometimes it begins with a dream, and a dreamer. Mary is one such dreamer, a little girl who learns to read by tracing the letters on the tombstone of her famous feminist mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, and whose only escape from her strict father and overbearing stepmother is through the stories she reads and imagines.

Ages 4-8; K-Gr.2.
A gorgeous and inspiring picture book biography of Jane Austen, one of the most beloved writers of all time, from award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is one of our greatest writers. But before that, she was just an ordinary girl.

Lexile measure 920; Ages 8-12; Gr.3-6.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra finds refuge from his difficult childhood by imagining the adventures of a brave but clumsy knight. This fictionalized first-person biography in verse of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra follows the early years of the child who grows up to pen Don Quixote, the first modern novel.

Lexile measure 620; Ages 6-8; Gr.2-4.
A celebration of the extraordinary life of Ezra Jack Keats, creator of The Snowy Day. Andrea Davis Pinkney's lyrical narrative tells the inspiring story of a boy who pursued a dream, and who, in turn, inspired generations of other dreamers.

Lexile measure 590; Ages 5-8; Gr.1-4; Schneider family book award, 2017.
Sweet mixes White's personal letters, photos, and family ephemera with her own exquisite artwork to tell the story of this American literary icon.

Lexile measure 590L; Ages 5-8; K-Gr.3; Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Younger Readers, 2016.
The tree in the courtyard was a horse chestnut. Her leaves were green stars; her flowers foaming cones of white and pink. Seagulls flocked to her shade. She spread roots and reached skyward in peace. The tree watched a little girl, who played and laughed and wrote in a diary. When strangers invaded the city and warplanes roared overhead, the tree watched the girl peek out of the curtained window of the annex.

Lexile measure 730; Ages 7-10; Gr.2-5.
In the nineteenth century, North Carolina slave George Moses Horton taught himself to read and earned money to purchase his time though not his freedom. Horton became the first African American to be published in the South, protesting slavery in the form of verse.

Ages 5 to 10.
All her life, Beatrix Potter loved to paint. From a young age, she painted the bunnies, mice, and other pets who populated her family home. These characters later populated her stories, which are beloved the whole world over.

Lexile measure 790; Ages: 5-9; Book Level: 5.5; Gr. K-3.
Give me your tired,  your poor Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free... In 1883, Emma Lazarus, deeply moved by an influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe, wrote a sonnet that was to give voice to the Statue of Liberty.