Showing titles in Biographical Fiction

Previously published as Nelson Mandela the Boy Called Troublemaker 2013 copyright Ellie Crowe This biographical novel brings to life Mandela’s childhood and his tribal initiation at sixteen when he resolved to live up to his name—Troublemaker—and fight for freedom for his people. As a child, Mandela dreamt of changing South Africa. As a man he changed the world.

Young Muhammad adores his home, and he loves waking up each day to the sound of birds singing. His father encourages him to keep singing through happy days as well as sad—just like the birds. And there are indeed sad days ahead when his family is forced to flee from Genghis Khan’s army, becoming refugees. As they travel, Muhammad takes many lessons from nature, and his positivity and spirit of largess lights the way.

Travel back in time to the boyhood of one of the most popular poets of the early 20th century. Author of "Little Orphan Annie", "The Old Swimmin' Hole", and hundreds more poems, "Bud" Riley spent his childhood in mid-nineteenth century Indiana, where stagecoaches were a common sight, rope swings were the only thrill rides, and telling spooky stories by firelight was the best entertainment of all.

Sam Kerr has only been playing soccer for a few months and now her team is playing in the finals! She can’t believe it! But when her best friend, Dylan, is appointed team captain, Sam is worried that his shyness might get in the way. Together with her other bestie, Indi, they must find a way to help him overcome his nerves. Meanwhile, Sam has become friends with her new neighbors Jake and Will. But strange things start happening: she loses her new water bottle, her soccer boots go missing, and her dog, Penny, disappears from the garden.

Roma è stata appena liberata dalle truppe americane, Lia ha tredici anni e, insieme alla sua famiglia, affronta il tentativo di ritornare a una vita normale, ma tutto è da ricostruire: la vecchia casa che non sembra più la stessa, gli esami da recuperare, le lezioni noiose dal rabbino, le amicizie di un tempo che si sfaldano e quelle nuove che nascono nel quartiere, il cuore che batte per qualcuno che non si conosce ancora.

It's the day before the big parade. Alta can think about only one thing: Wilma Rudolph, three-time Olympic gold medalist. She'll be riding on a float tomorrow. See, Alta is the quickest kid in Clarksville, Tennessee, just like Wilma once was. It doesn't matter that Alta's shoes have holes because Wilma came from hard times, too. But what happens when a new girl with shiny new shoes comes along and challenges Alta to a race? Will she still be the quickest kid?

This fictionalized first-person biography-in-verse of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra follows the early years of the child who grew up to pen Don Quixote, the first modern novel. The son of a gambling, vagabond barber-surgeon, Miguel looks to his own imagination for an escape from his family's troubles and finds comfort in his colorful daydreams. At a time when access to books was limited and imaginative books were considered evil, Miguel is inspired by storytellers and wandering actors who perform during festivals. He longs to tell stories of his own.

Raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the heart of Jim Crow, Dovey Johnson Roundtree felt the sting of inequality at an early age and made a point to speak up for justice. She was one of the first Black women to break the racial and gender barriers in the US Army when women were barely allowed to serve; a fierce attorney in the segregated courtrooms of Washington, DC; and a minister in Black churches, where women had never before had the chance to speak.

Ben Franklin loved to swim and, at the age of 11, he was determined to swim like a fish - fins and all! This fascinating and lively account of young Ben's earliest invention follows the budding scientist's journey as he tests and retests his swim fins. That first big splash led Ben to even more innovations and inventions.

In 1847, 10-year-old Eliza Spalding is growing up with her missionary family as the first white girl to be born in the Oregon Territory. Eliza loves seeing the Nez Perce Indians come to know Jesus, and she prays the Cayuse tribe will believe as well. But, when an epidemic ravishes the Cayuse and tensions rise, Eliza finds herself witnessing the historical episode known as the Whitman Massacre. Told with rich detail and cultural appreciation for Native Americans, this adventure story will thrill young listeners and encourage them in their faith.

"I looked up the word "scandal" in my dictionary last night. No wonder there has been such a fuss." It's December 11th 1936 and 10 year old Lilibet hears of some news that will change her and her family's life forever. She decides to keep a secret diary chronicling these extraordinary events. Will she fulfil her destiny, and also remember which the main course fork is and which the dessert fork is? Can Lilibet's younger sister Margaret end her mischievous ways, and become a worthy member of the League of Ovaltineys?

Alicia Alonso was born to dance. Her first big role came when she was only 10 years old, and she knew right then that she was going to be a ballerina one day. Only a few years later, she moved from Cuba to the United States to fulfill her dreams. As she danced, however, Alicia began to have trouble seeing. She was quickly going blind. How could a ballerina dance on stage if she couldn't see where she was going? Alicia worried. But she wouldn't let it stop her.

He won't let the children play in his garden. What can give him a change of heart?

George Henry Alexander is a huge fan of baseball. His favorite team is the New York Yankees and his favorite player is Babe Ruth. George plays baseball during his free time and he listens to the games on the radio with his dad. Everywhere he goes, he carries his Babe Ruth baseball card. On his birthday, George's parents surprise him with two tickets to watch the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees - his first real game!

For Carrie and her best friend, Zora, Eatonville - America’s first incorporated Black township - has been an idyllic place to live out their childhoods. But when a lynch mob crosses the town’s border to pursue a fugitive and a grave robbery resuscitates the ugly sins of the past, the safe ground beneath them seems to shift.

"Ce livre n'est pas une autobiographie. L'idée ne me viendrait pas d'écrire pareil ouvrage. Par ailleurs, durant mes jeunes années à l'école, et juste après, ma vie a été émaillée d'incidents que je n'ai jamais oubliés. Certains furent drôles. Certains douloureux. Certains déplaisants. C'est pour cette raison, je suppose, que je me les rappelle tous de façon si aiguë."

Little Ree trades in her city days for a country way of life when she moves with her family to her grandparents' ranch. She's excited to ride horses, swim in the pond, and help Grandma cook for everyone. But on her first day, she finds that living on a ranch can be tough. She has to get up at the crack of dawn, learn to herd cows, and make sure her horse, Pepper, doesn't eat everything in sight. And that's all before breakfast!

Jeska doesn't know why her mother keeps the curtains drawn so tightly every day. And what exactly is she trying to drown out when she floods the house with Mozart? What are they hiding from? When Jeska's grandmother accidentally calls her by a stranger's name, she seizes her first clue to uncovering her family's past, and hopefully to all that's gone unsaid. With the help of an old family photo album, her father's encyclopedia collection, and the unquestioning friendship of a stray cat, the silence begins to melt into frightening clarity.

Itzhak is a young teen in Hungary when the Nazis barge into his home one day and force him and his family to leave everything behind and get on a train to a concentration camp. When Itzhak is separated from his entire family, he is left feeling scared and alone. With no one to talk to and no one to look after him, Itzhak knows that he will have to be strong—and very brave—to survive the war and be reunited with his family. But can he manage to do it on his own?

A 70 ans, Voltaire est célèbre dans l'Europe entière et n'a plus rien à prouver. Il se passionne pour l'agriculture et emploie sa considérable fortune à mettre en valeur la seigneurie de Ferney près de Genève. Mais le vieux philosophe est plus pugnace que jamais lorsqu'il s'agit de combattre l'intolérance et l'injustice. Accusé d'avoir mutilé un crucifix de bois à Abbeville, le jeune chevalier de La Barre risque la torture et le bûcher. De sa lointaine retraite, Voltaire réussira-t-il à le sauver ?