Becoming Ben Franklin, by Russell Freedman

Summary: An introduction to the life of young Benjamin Franklin describes how, as a rebellious teen in 1732, he ran away from his family and a Boston apprenticeship to Philadelphia, and how throughout subsequent decades he rose to become a distinguished statesman, renowned author and world-famous scientist.

Holiday House

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From Hardships to Championships, by Glenn Stout

Good Sports series
Summary:  Baseball is a great sport, but not all players had the home life as kids that nurtured their talent. Babe Ruth, Jim Peirsall, Torii Hunter, Ron LeFlore, and Joe Torre dealt with poverty, abuse, and addiction when young, and had to turn their lives around to play the game they loved. A moving look at the lives of these four great players.

Sandpiper/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Etched in Clay, by Andrea Cheng

Summary:  The life of Dave, an enslaved potter who inscribed his works with sayings and poems in spite of South Carolina’s slave anti-literacy laws in the years leading up to the Civil War.

Lee & Low Books

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Zora!: the life of Zora Neal Hurston, By Dennis Brindell Fradin

Summary:  Zora Neale Hurston was confident, charismatic, and determined to be extraordinary. As a young woman, Hurston lived and wrote alongside such prominent authors as Langston Hughes and Alain Locke during the Harlem Renaissance. But unfortunately, despite writing the luminary work Their Eyes Were Watching God, she was always short of money. Though she took odd jobs as a housemaid and as the personal assistant to an actress, Zora often found herself in abject poverty. Through it all, Zora kept writing. And though none of her books sold more than a thousand copies while she was alive, she was rediscovered a decade later by a new generation of readers, who knew they had found an important voice of American Literature.

Clarion

Yes she can!: Women’s Sports Pioneers, by Glenn Stout

Summary: Brief biographies of Trudy Ederle, Louise Stokes, Tidye Pickett, Julie Krone and Danica Patrick.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Alexander Hamilton the Outsider, by Jean Fritz

Summary:  An acclaimed biographer writes the remarkable story of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s most influential and fascinating founding fathers, and his untimely death in a duel with Aaron Burr.

G.P. Putnam’s Sons

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Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart, by Candace Fleming

Summary:  Tells the story of Amelia Earhart’s life – as a child, a woman, and a pilot – and describes the search for her missing plane.

Schwartz & Wade Books

Sir Charlie by Sid Fleischman

Summary: A Newbery Medalist presents one of the most compelling rags-to-riches stories of modern times, in this biography of the legendary Little Tramp, Charlie Chaplin. Includes archival prints and photos.

Greenwillow, 268 pages

Henry Aaron’s Dream, by Matt Tavares

Summary: A picture book biography of African-American baseball player Hank Aaron. Candlewick Press

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Ernest Hemingway: A Writer’s Life by Catherine Reef

Summary: An introduction to the life and work of Ernest Hemingway, one of the most significant and notorious American writers of the 20th century. 183 p., Clarion Books.

Knucklehead: Tall Tales & Mostly True Stories About Growing Up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka

Summary: How did Jon Scieszka get so funny? He grew up as one of six brothers with Catholic school, lots of comic books, lazy summers at the lake with time to kill, babysitting misadventures, TV shows, and jokes told at family dinner. 106 p., Viking.

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Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola

Summary: Watercolor illustrations and lyrical prose combine to tell the true story of Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, who changed the fate of her village in the highlands of Kenya by teaching her people how to care for it. 32 p., Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

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Reaching Out by Francisco Jimenez

Summary: The author describes the many challenges he faced as the son of Mexican American migrant workers during his quest to continue his education and become an academic success, overcoming poverty, family turmoil, guilt, and self-doubt. 208 p., Houghton Mifflin.

Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen

Summary: Brief biographies of women pirates from around the world. 103 p., Charlesbridge.

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The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West by Sid Fleischman

Summary: Here, in high style, is the story of a wisecracking adventurer who came of age in the untamed West. A rebel who surprised himself by becoming the most famous American of his time. 224 p., Greenwillow Books.

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