American Library

Shaquille O'Neal discovered his love of basketball while spending time in an afterschool program called the Boys & Girls Club of America. Standing over six feet tall by the time he turned 11 years old, Shaq—as he is affectionately known—continued to practice the game and stunned the country with his phenomenal skills. From leading his high-school team to its first-ever state title to becoming the first pick in the 1992 NBA draft and going on to win four NBA championships, Shaq proved that he could dominate almost any player.

As a young boy, Charles Darwin hated school and was often scolded for conducting “useless” experiments. Yet his passion for the natural world was so strong that he suffered through terrible seasickness during his five-year voyage aboard The Beagle. Darwin collected new creatures from the coasts of Africa, South America, and the Galapagos Islands, and expanded his groundbreaking ideas that would change people's understanding of the natural world. This audiobook will make Darwin and his theory of evolution an exciting discovery for every young listener.

In 1692, a few paranoid Puritans accused their neighbors of being witches sending the town flying off the (broomstick) handle. Before it was all over, dozens of women in Salem, Massachusetts were executed—burned at the stake. RIGHT? WRONG! There was some serious witch worry, but no one in the United States was put on a pyre (though the truth isn't much better). And women weren’t the only ones caught in crossfire…maybe don’t tell your dog about this one.

If not for a stint in reform school, young Louis Armstrong might never have become a musician. It was a teacher at the Colored Waifs' Home who gave him a cornet, promoted him to band leader, and saw talent in the tough kid from the even tougher New Orleans neighborhood called Storyville. But it was Louis Armstrong's own passion and genius that pushed jazz into new and exciting realms with his amazing, improvisational trumpet playing. His 70-year life spanned a critical time in American music as well as black history.

When Kong-sang was a young boy in Hong Kong, he enjoyed practicing martial arts with his dad but hated going to school. He was eventually enrolled in the China Drama Academy, where he improved his martial arts skills and became a stuntman. That training led to a successful career as an actor. Kong-sang, now known as Jackie Chan, never gave up on his passion for screwball physical comedy.

Put on your blue suede shoes and get ready for another addition to the Who Was…? series! The King could not have come from humbler origins: Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, during the Depression, he grew up with the blues music of the rural South, the gospel music of local churches, and the country-western classics. But he forged a sound all his own - and a look that was all his own, too. With curled lip, swiveling hips, and greased pompadour, Elvis changed popular music forever, ushering in the age of rock and roll.

Juniper is a young girl who dreams of making it big in the movies along with her horse, Able. In particular, Juniper is obsessed with getting Able onto her favorite television show, Castle MacAvoy, and will do anything, even slay dragons, to make that happen.

Born in 1860s Missouri, nobody expected George Washington Carver to succeed. Slaves were not allowed to be educated. After the Civil War, Carver enrolled in classes and proved to be a star student. He became the first black student at Iowa State Agricultural College and later its first black professor. He went on to the Tuskegee Institute where he specialized in botany (the study of plants) and developed techniques to grow crops better. His work with vegetables, especially peanuts, made him famous and changed agriculture forever.

Lila is a young girl attending Jewish summer camp. She doesn't initially connect with the other campers and finds herself alone in the forest, where she encounters Lonny, a beautiful brown horse with white spots on his face. In Lonny, Lila finds a friend who will listen to her problems as she develops the confidence she needs to befriend the other campers.

Established in 1857 as the first national park in the United States, Yellowstone has been drawing visitors to its beautiful landscape for over 150 years. Before it became a national park, the region was home to Native Americans for over 11,000 years, including the Shoshone, Lakota, Crow, Blackfoot, Flathead, Bannok, and Nez Perce tribes. Today, tourists come to the park from all over the world to camp and to visit the famous Old Faithful geyser and the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super volcano in North America.

Leif Erikson was born to be an explorer. His father, Erik the Red, had established the first European settlement in present-day Greenland, and although he didn't yet know it, Leif was destined to embark on an adventure of his own. The wise and striking Viking landed in the area known as Vinland almost five centuries before Christopher Columbus even set sail! "Leif the Lucky" and the other fierce, sea-fearing pirates were accomplished navigators who raided foreign lands for resources, hunted for their food, and passed down Old Norse myths from one generation to the next.

Born in the British West Indies, Hamilton arrived in New York as an "outsider". He fought in the Revolution and became Washington's most valuable aide-de-camp. He was there with Washington, Madison, and the others writing the Constitution. He was the first secretary of the treasury as the country struggled to become unified and independent.

From the moment Africans were first brought to the shores of the United States, they had a hand in shaping the country. Their labor created a strong economy, built our halls of government, and defined American society in profound ways. And though the Emancipation Proclamation wasn't signed until 300 years after the first Africans arrived, the fight for freedom started the moment they set foot on American soil.

Discover why Selena, the Queen of Tejano music, became one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the twentieth century!

When Ben's fortune cookie tells him that the best things in life are free, he believes he can get anything he wants without paying for it—as long as it's the best. But Ben’s dreams of free cookies and fancy scooters are quickly dashed when schoolyard bully Flegg McEggars steals his fortune.

The perfect biography to "bite into" at the start of a new school year! Children are sure to be fascinated by the eccentric and legendary Johnny Appleseed, a man who is best known for bringing apple trees to the Midwest. Over John Chapman’s lifetime, he saw the country grow and start to spread westward. Traveling alone - in bare feet and sporting a pot on his head! - Johnny left his own special mark planting orchards that helped nourish new communities.

His parents may have named him Edson Arantes do Nascimento, but to the rest of the world, he was known as Pelé. The soccer forward stunned Brazil when he began playing for the Santos soccer club at age fifteen. He then went on to captivate the world when he joined his country's national soccer team and helped them win three World Cup championships. Although he was hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in soccer, Pelé was also an influential person both on and off the pitch. His work with organizations like UNICEF helped improve conditions for children around the world.

Houston, we have a problem! Before a game at the Astros' ballpark, Mike and Kate get to meet astronaut commander Nick Rice at the nearby Houston Space Center. He's planning to display a very rare moon rock at an autographing event later. But just before the event, a nefarious outlaw knocks out the commander and steals the moon rock! Can Mike and Kate figure out who did it...when their only clue is a broken green feather?

On June 19, 1865, a group of enslaved men, women, and children in Texas gathered around a Union solder and listened as he read the most remarkable words they would ever hear. They were no longer enslaved: they were free. The inhumane practice of forced labor with no pay was now illegal in all of the United States. This news was cause for celebration, so the group of people jumped in excitement, danced, and wept tears of joy. They did not know it at the time, but their joyous celebration of freedom would become a holiday—Juneteenth.

Abigail Adams was a strong woman far ahead of her time. She urged her husband, President John Adams, to "remember the ladies" and despite having no formal education herself, she later advocated for equal education in public schools for both boys and girls. She was also the first First Lady to live in the White House! This biography tells the story of Abigail Adams and her role in America's Revolutionary War period.