Admiral Richard Byrd:
Alone in the Antarctic  

Paul Rink
Sterling Point Press; Paperback; 192 pp.

Although less well known than his famous flight over the North Pole, Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s adventures in Antarctica are just as remarkable. Wide-eyed youngsters will feel the excitement and danger as they read about the isolated and tight little manned station where Byrd lived, separated from his crew; the temperatures that plunged to 60 degrees below zero; and Byrd’s brush with death when a small stove he needed to keep warm—and stay alive—filled the air with carbon monoxide. It’s a tale of personal courage and dedication, all set against a backdrop of perhaps the harshest environment on earth.

Amelia Earhart:
Flying solo 

John Burke
Sterling Point Press; Paperback; 208 pp.

Earhart grew up at a time when many believed that men alone had the right to experience the thrill of adventure—but, from the moment she saw her first airplane, she knew it was her destiny to fly. She made record-setting flights across America, the oceans, and, ultimately, around the world, earning more fame and admiration with every boundary she broke. Even today, her tragic and mysterious disappearance over the Pacific remains one of the great unsolved mysteries. This fascinating biography captures Amelia Earhart’s grit and unwavering determination to chart her own path.

Children of the Dust Bowl: The true story of the school at Weedpatch Camp

Jerry Stanley
Crown Publishing; Paperback; 96 pp.

Illustrated with photographs from the Dust Bowl era, this true story took place at the emergency farm-labor camp immortalized in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Ostracized as "dumb Okies," the children of Dust Bowl migrant laborers went without school—until Superintendent Leo Hart and fifty Okie kids built their own school in a nearby field.

Eleanor Roosevelt:
Fighter for social justice  

Ann Weil
Aladdin; Paperback; 192 pp.

The childhood of the woman who became wife of a president and a great humanitarian. One of the most popular series ever published for young Americans, these classics of childhood have been praised alike by parents, teachers, and librarians. With these lively, inspiring, believable biographies - easily read by children of seven and up - today's youngster is swept right into history.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Russell Freedman
Clarion; Paperback: 208 pp.

Photographs and text trace the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from his birth in 1882 through his youth, early political career, and presidency, to his death in Warm Springs, Georgia, in 1945.

I have a Dream:
Story of Martin Luther King 

Margaret Davidson
Scholastic; Paperback: 128 pp.

I Have a Dream follows the standard juvenile biography format, tracing King's life from his childhood days in Atlanta to his tragic death in Memphis. The text is sprinkled with familiar black-and-white photographs of varying quality garnered from the wire services and newspaper photographers.

John F. Kennedy and PT 109 

Phillip Abraham
Children’s Press; Paperback; 48 pp.

Relates the courage of John F. Kennedy during World War II, especially in saving his crew when they were stranded in the South Pacific after their PT boat was rammed by a Japanese warship.

Miracles on Maple Hill  

Virginia Sorenson
Odyssey Classics; Paperback: 256 pp.

After her father returns from World War II moody and tired, Marly's family decides to move from the city to Maple Hill Farm in the Pennsylvania countryside where they share many adventures which help restore their spirits and their bond with each other.

Rascal

Sterling North
Puffin; Paperback; 189 pp.

The author recalls his carefree life in a small midwestern town at the close of World War I, and his adventures with his pet raccoon, Rascal.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry 

Mildred Taylor
Puffin; Paperback; 276 pp.

Why is the land so important to Cassie's family? It takes the events of one turbulent year--the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliates Cassie in public simply because she is black—to show Cassie that having a place of their own is the Logan family's lifeblood.

The Good Fight:
How World War II was won

Stephen Ambrose
Athenaeum; Hardcover: 96 pp.

In addition to Ambrose's accounts of major events during the war, personal anecdotes from the soldiers who were fighting on the battlefields, manning the planes, commanding the ships—stories of human triumph and tragedy— bring the war vividly to life.

The Watson’s Go to Birmingham—1963  

Christopher Paul Curtis
Laurel Leaf Press; Paperback: 224 pp.

A wonderful novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head south to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. They end up in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement.

The Yanks Are Coming

Albert Marrin
Beautiful Feet Books; Paperback: 249 pp.

The exciting story of the U.S. "coming over" to aid the Allies and turn the tide and the outcome of "the war to end all wars" in Europe. Comprehensive in scope while featuring courage and bravery at its finest. The author has written over two dozen award-winning books and three were named “Best Book of the Year”.

Titanic Tragedy 

Vincent McDonnell
Collins Press; Paperback; 154 pp.

The sinking of the Titanic is the world's most famous sea tragedy, with over 1,500 lives lost on that cold April night in 1912. The ship has since held a special mystery and fascination for young and old. This new account for children looks at why the ship was built and the dreams of those who built her. The book also paints a picture of society at the time. It shows that the sinking of the Titanic was a turning point for society as a whole, and the end of an era when man believed he could conquer nature.