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The great fire
By Jim Murphy. 1995
An account of the conflagration that levelled much of Chicago in 1871. Chronicles events from the fire's outbreak and rapid…
spread to its extinguishment by rain, as reported by survivors and in documents of the period. Examines the origins, circumstances, and official failures that contributed to the disaster. Grades 5-8. A 1996 Newbery Honor Book. c1995.The forgotten heroes: the story of the Buffalo Soldiers
By Clinton Cox. 1993
Relates the history of the 9th and 10th Cavalry--the "Buffalo Soldiers"--from 1867 to 1898. The units, composed of emancipated slaves,…
were used to subjugate and remove Native Americans onto reservations and for other hazardous duties in the American west. Junior and Senior High. c1993.The endless steppe
By Esther Rudomin Hautzig. 1995
During World War II, when she was eleven years old, the author and her family were arrested in Poland by…
the Russians as political enemies and exiled to Siberia. She recounts here the trials of the following five years spent on the harsh Asian steppe. Grades 5-8. 1995, c1968.The dead inside: a true story
By Cyndy Etler. 2017
All Cyndy wanted was to be loved and accepted. By age fourteen, she had escaped from her violent home, only…
to be reported as a runaway and sent to a "drug rehabilitation" facility that changed her world. To the public, Straight Inc. was a place of recovery. But behind closed doors, the program used bizarre and intimidating methods to "treat" its patients. Etler recounts her sixteen months in the living nightmare that Straight Inc. considered "healing." For senior high readers. 2017.The diary of Ma Yan: the struggles and hopes of a Chinese schoolgirl
By Lisa Appignanesi, Ma Yan, Pierre Haski. 2005
Ma Yan is a teenager from Ningxia, China, a drought-stricken rural area. Education can be the difference between a life…
of crushing poverty and a better future, but money is scarce. Ma Yan's diary chronicles her struggle to escape hardship and bring prosperity to her family, through her persistent, sometimes desperate, attempts to continue her schooling. Grades 4-7 and older readers. 2002, 2004. Uniform title: Journal de Ma Yan.The boys' war: Confederate and Union soldiers talk about the Civil War
By Jim Murphy. 1999
Although precise records do not exist, between ten and twenty percent of the soldiers who fought in the Civil War…
were boys sixteen and younger. Many kept diaries and journals and sent letters home. Some wrote memoirs and company histories. Through these primary sources the author presents a vivid portrait of their experiences. Junior and Senior High. 1999.The bite of the mango
By Mariatu Kamara, Susan McClelland. 2008
Sierra Leone. At the age of 12, Mariatu Kamara was raped by a family friend, then captured by rebels who…
cut off her hands. Despite her wounds, Kamara walked out of the bush and sought help, ending up in an amputee camp, where she gave birth to a son who died of malnutrition. When foreign journalists interviewed Kamara in the camp, her story garnered international interest and assistance, which eventually brought her to Toronto. Her autobiography testifies to Kamara's horrific trauma, but with the aim of fostering hope and reconciliation. Winner of the 2011 Red Maple Non-Fiction Award. For junior high and older readers. Some strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some descriptions of violence. c2008.Ten girls from history
By Kate Dickinson Sweetser, Amy Puetz. 2017
Whether facing a band of Indians with Madeleine; saving lives at sea with Ida Lewis; experiencing the battlefields of the…
Civil War with Clara Barton, or learning the life story of Louisa May Alcott, you will be inspired by the faith, courage, and devotion of these ten girls from history. Grades 4-7. 2017.Taking hold: my journey into blindness
By Sally Hobart Alexander. 2002
Swimming to Antarctica: tales of a long-distance swimmer
By Lynne Cox. 2004
At age sixteen, swimmer Lynne Cox achieved her lifetime goal of setting a new record for an English Channel swim.…
So she set her goals higher, becoming the first to swim the Strait of Magellan, crossing the Cape of Good Hope and New Zealand's Cook Strait, and swimming the 38 degree waters of the Bering Strait - in just a swimsuit, cap and goggles. She even swam a mile in the iceberg-choked seas of the Antarctic. 2004.Jean Lumb, a recipient of the Order of Canada, shares the story of her immigration to Canada, her contribution to…
the changing of Canada's immigration laws, and her efforts in saving Chinatown communities across Canada. Grades 5-8. 1997.In the 1950s and 1960s, the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission compiled secret files on more than 87,000 private citizens in…
the most extensive state spying program in U.S. history. Its mission: to save segregation. Junior and Senior High. 2011.She dared: true stories of heroines, scoundrels, and renegades
By Edward Butts. 2005
Details the lives of some of Canada's most famous and infamous women, showcasing explorers, spies, criminals, and pioneers in a…
variety of career fields. From Marguerite de la Roque de Roberval, a sixteenth-century aristocrat who dared to love a lowly commoner, to four women who flew military planes during World War II, these accounts introduce 15 women who ventured into behaviour considered inappropriate for women in their time. Grades 5-8. Some descriptions of violence. 2005.Sadako and the thousand paper cranes
By Eleanor Coerr. 2002
Hospitalized with the dreaded atom bomb disease, leukemia, a child in Hiroshima races against time to fold one thousand paper…
cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy. Based on a true story. Grades 4-7. 2002.From the age of eight, Roberta Bondar knew she wanted to be an astronaut. In January 1992 she made Canadian…
history when she became the first Canadian woman, and first neurologist, to go into space on board Discovery. The story of her journey to become a leading astronaut is a fascinating tale of dedication, commitment, and courage. Grades 4-7. 2004.Rethinking normal: a memoir in transition
By Ariel Schrag, Katie Rain Hill. 2014
Katie never felt comfortable in her own skin. She realized very young that a serious mistake had been made; she…
was a girl who had been born in the body of a boy. Suffocating under her peers’ bullying and the mounting pressure to be “normal,” Katie tried to take her life at the age of eight years old. After several other failed attempts, she finally understood that “Katie” - the girl trapped within her - was determined to live. She reflects on her pain-filled childhood and the events leading up to the life-changing decision to undergo gender reassignment as a teenager. She reveals the unique challenges she faced while unlearning how to be a boy and shares what it was like to navigate the dating world and experience heartbreak. For senior high readers and older. 2014.Biography of musical genius Ray Charles, who was left sightless by glaucoma as a child. While a student at the…
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, Charles learned to read and write music in braille. Describes his personal and professional struggles, including drug addiction, as well as triumphs. For Junior and Senior High readers. c1994.Radioactive!: how Irène Curie and Lise Meitner revolutionized science and changed the world
By Winifred Conkling. 2016
In 1934, Irene Curie, working with her husband and fellow scientist, Frederic Joliot, made a discovery that would change the…
world: artificial radioactivity. This breakthrough allowed scientists to modify elements and create new ones by altering the structure of atoms. Curie shared a Nobel Prize with her husband for their work. But when she was nominated to the French Academy of Sciences, the academy denied her admission and voted to disqualify all women from membership. Four years later, Curie's breakthrough led physicist Lise Meitner to a brilliant leap of understanding that unlocked the secret of nuclear fission. Meitner's unique insight was critical to the revolution in science that led to nuclear energy and the race to build the atom bomb, yet her achievement was left unrecognized by the Nobel committee in favour of that of her male colleague. Presents the story of two women breaking ground in a male-dominated field, scientists still largely unknown despite their crucial contributions to cutting-edge research. Grades 4-7. 2016.Madeleine de Verchères: la combattante en jupons (Bonjour l'histoire ; #3)
By Marie Roberge. 2012
La jeune Magdelon est habituée à la vie au fort et à la menace constante que font planer les Iroquois…
sur la petite seigneurie de Verchères et ses environs. Toutefois, elle ne pensait pas avoir à la défendre elle-même contre l'ennemi. Ainsi, par un beau jour d'octobre 1692, alors que ses parents se sont absentés pour affaires, Madeleine de Verchères doit agir avec ruse, courage et sang-froid pour diriger sa petite troupe et tenir tête aux assaillants. Cette longue bataille contre les Sauvages, qui dura plusieurs jours, forge tout l'avenir de Madeleine qui sera dès lors reconnue comme une héroïne par ses contemporains. Années 5-8. 2012. (Bonjour l'histoire ; 3)