Library History

She Persisted, She Persisted Around the World, She Persisted in Sports, and She Persisted in Science each give listeners a collection of remarkable, diverse, and tenacious women. Chelsea Clinton's words and narration bring the women to life, showing how they struggled and ultimately persevered, inspiring and empowering people across the US and the entire world. Now together for the first time, this collection is a perfect gift for feminists of all ages.

Power...love...scandal...there’s never enough to go around. In the city that never sleeps, Lorraine Dyer is wide awake. Ever since she exposed Clara Knowles for the tramp she was - and lost her closest confidante in the process - Lorraine has spent every second scheming to make her selfish, lovesick ex-best friend pay for what she did. No one crosses Lorraine. Not even Gloria. True love conquers everything - or so Gloria Carmody crazily believed. She and Jerome Johnson can barely scrape together cash for their rent, let alone have a moment to whisper sweet nothings in the dark.

In this chapter-book biography by award-winning author Christine Day, listeners learn about the amazing life of Maria Tallchief - and how she persisted. Maria Tallchief loved to dance but was told that she might need to change her Osage name to one that sounded more Russian to make it as a professional ballerina. She refused and worked hard at dancing her best, becoming America's first prima ballerina. Many famous American ballets were created for Maria!

For more than 100 years, a submarine lay buried beneath the ocean floor near Charleston, South Carolina. This Civil War stealth weapon, the H.L. Hunley, made history in 1864 as the first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship. But something went wrong during that daring mission. The Hunley never returned to port.

Discover the extraordinary stories behind everyday things! Did you know that the ice cream sundae was invented because of a law forbidding the sale of ice cream on Sundays? Or that the first motorcycle was really just a tricycle with a motor? Would you believe that Mickey Mouse started out as a rabbit? Arranged in alphabetical order, this fascinating book is packed with the stories behind these and over 100 more inventions.

Castles may conjure up a romantic fairy tale world; however, in real life, during the Middle Ages, castles were fortresses, providing shelter and protection for the lord as well as for the peasants who lived on his land. For an army, a lord depended on young soldiers in armor called knights who spent years at the castle learning the skills of warfare.

Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.

The remarkable story of an overlooked map archive that reveals how maps have helped inspire some of the greatest scientific discoveries, but also led to terrible atrocities.

Eduardo F. Calcines was a child of Fidel Castros Cuba; he was just three years old when Castro came to power in January 1959. After that, everything changed for his family and his country. When he was 10, his family applied for an exit visa to emigrate to America and he was ridiculed by his schoolmates and even his teachers for being a traitor to his country. But even worse, his father was sent to an agricultural reform camp to do hard labor as punishment for daring to want to leave Cuba.

Charles (otherwise known as Sparky) Schulz always loved drawing from the time he was a young child, and as he grew older, he turned this passion into a phenomenally successful career. His early doodles of his mischievous dog and of a shy boy inspired two of his most familiar and beloved characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Here's the story about Peanuts gang and Charles' life that's sure to excite all listeners but especially those who love the classic cartoon series.

Zenji Wgraduates from high school in Hawaii and is recruited into the army as a translator because he speaks perfect Japanese. He is sent to Manila undercover as a civilian to gather information on the Japanese in the Philippines. If they discover his identity, he’ll be executed as a traitor. When captured, he maintains that he is an American civilian despite unthinkable torture. He also survives being lost in the jungle for months.

As a child he dreamt of changing South Africa; as a man he changed the world. Nelson Mandela spent his life battling apartheid and championing a peaceful revolution. He spent 27 years in prison and emerged as the inspiring leader of the new South Africa. He became the country’s first Black president and went on to live his dream of change.

Traces the progression of the civil rights movement and its effect on history through biographical sketches of four prominent and influential African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X.

Over a long, turbulent life, Picasso continually discovered new ways of seeing the world and translating it into art. A restless genius, he went through a blue period, a rose period, and a Cubist phase. He made collages, sculptures out of everyday objects, and beautiful ceramic plates. True Kelley's engaging biography is a wonderful introduction to modern art.

From Gold Star father and beloved Democratic National Convention speaker Khizr Khan comes a book for young people about the Constitution - what it says and why it matters for everyone. Our Founding Fathers created the US Constitution and Bill of Rights as a blueprint for American government and the rights of American citizens. This document is not merely a piece of parchment but a living, breathing promise of our deepest democratic values.

Sacagawea was the only girl, and the only Native American, to join Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, which explored the United States from the Mississippi River all the way to the Pacific Ocean in the early 1800s. As a translator, she helped the team communicate with members of the Shoshone tribe across the continent, carrying her child on her back the whole way. By the time the expedition arrived at the west coast, Sacagawea had proved that she truly was a trailblazer.

During World War II, black Americans were fighting for their country and for freedom in Europe, yet they had to endure a totally segregated military in the United States, where they weren't considered smart enough to become military pilots. After acquiring government funding for aviation training, civil rights activists were able to kickstart the first African American military flight program in the US at Tuskegee University in Alabama. While this audiobook details thrilling flight missions and the grueling training sessions the Tuskegee Airmen underwent, it also shines a light on the lives of these brave men who helped pave the way for the integration of the US armed forces.

This book spotlights female scientist Temple Grandin, whose experience being on the autism spectrum has informed her advocacy and her work as an animal behaviorist. Temple Grandin's pride in being different and how it shaped her world is celebrated in this biography.

At fourteen years old, Carlotta Walls was the youngest member of the Little Rock Nine. The journey to integration in a place deeply against it would not be not easy. Yet Carlotta, her family, and the other eight students and their families answered the call to be part of the desegregation order issued by the US Supreme Court in its 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case.

Edyth grew up in a quiet village with a loving family, before losing everything she holds dear in the blink of an eye. Suddenly sent to live in a priory and work with ancient texts, Edyth must come to terms with her new life and the gifts she discovers in herself. But outside the priory, something much worse is coming. With the reappearance of a boy from her past and the ominous Great Plague creeping closer and closer to the priory, it will be up to Edyth to rise above it all and save herself.