Showing titles in Biographies

Tony Hawk, also known as "Birdman," knew from an early age that he was special. Using skateboarding as an outlet for his excess energy, he became a professional skateboarder by age fourteen. He then went on to be named the National Skateboard Association world champion for twelve consecutive years. Among other notable "firsts," Tony Hawk became the first skateboarder to land a "900" trick, earning him the title as the pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding.

He was just a kid from Lubbock, Texas, sporting black horn-rimmed glasses, blue jeans, a white T-shirt, white socks, and loafers. And he changed the course of music history. Today, more than five decades after his tragic death, Buddy Holly still affects lives around the world.

Jerry Pinkney drew everywhere, all the time. It was how he made sense of the world—how he coped with the stress of being a sensitive child growing up in crowded spaces, struggling with a learning disability, in a time when the segregation of Black Americans was the norm. Only drawing could offer him a sense of calm, control, and confidence. When friends and siblings teased him about having the nickname “Jerry” as his only name, his mother always said, “Just ‘Jerry’ is enough.

Siete chicos coreanos: Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V y Jungkook, que bailan, rapean, cantan y lideran las listas de records de todo el mundo. ¿Alguna novedad?. Los chicos de BTS alcanzaron la fama en su natal Corea del Sur en 2013 y aunque casi todas sus canciones son en coreano, ahora mismo son la sensación en Estados Unidos, Reino Unido y el resto del mundo. El K-pop es el nuevo fenómeno de la música en el mundo Occidental, y en los últimos años se ha convertido en el género global más consumido.

¡Rivales! Amienemigos que cambiaron al mundo es una exclusiva de audio, como si Monty Python enseñara dar clase de historia. Cada volumen de cuatro historias de 30 minutos profundizará en los mezquinos insultos y los rencores que llevaron a muchos de los mayores avances del mundo, llevados al audio con un descarado sentido del humor.

Ethelred's mother stood behind him. The archbishop smeared holy oil on Ethelred's shoulders and hands. He gave Ethelred a heavy sword and placed a gold crown on his head. The crown was too big—it fell over his eyes, and Ethelred almost dropped the sword on the archbishop's foot. How did Ethelred become king when he was only ten years old?

Alan Shepard's boyhood fascination with flight led him from constructing model airplanes in his grandfather's basement to attaining national hero status in the race to space. Rooted in hard work and education, this pioneer's dreams of flight came true as he became not only the first American launched into space but, later, one of the privileged few to walk on the moon. When he wasn't soaring above the clouds, astronaut Alan Shepard used his expertise to benefit others, raising money to fuel the dreams of science students and guiding NASA missions.

Have you ever heard of the “Mercury 13” women? Did you know that nearly twenty years before the first women were let into NASA’s astronaut program, there were others who tried? What are the requirements for being shot into space, piloting a hunk of metal while carrying the hopes and fears of your nation? Mastery of flying, as well as courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, and fitness – any checklist would certainly include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was an unspoken rule in place....

Learn how a young girl who lived on a Christmas tree farm grew up to become one of the most celebrated musical artists of the twenty-first century in this addition to the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Series—now in Spanish.

Ryan Smithson joined the Army Reserve when he was 17. Two years later, he was deployed to Iraq as an Army engineer. In this extraordinary and harrowing memoir, readers march along one GI's tour of duty. It will change the way you feel about what it means to be an American.

Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America to be enslaved, eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis was then the only person alive to tell the story of his capture and bondage—fifty years after the Atlantic human trade was outlawed in the United States. Cudjo shared his firsthand account with legendary folklorist, anthropologist, and writer Zora Neale Hurston.

Before Isaac Newton became the father of physics, an accomplished mathematician, or a leader of the scientific revolution, he was a boy living in an apothecary's house, observing and experimenting, recording his observations of the world in a tiny notebook. As a young genius living in a time before science as we know it existed, Isaac studied the few books he could get his hands on, built handmade machines, and experimented with alchemy.

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.

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.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson became the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2019. It was only his second year in the league. Listeners will learn how Jackson overcame a difficult childhood and went on to become one of the NFL’s rising stars and the youngest quarterback to ever start in a playoff game!

How did Jon Scieszka get so funny, anyway? Growing up as one of six brothers was a good start, but that was just the beginning. Throw in Catholic school, lots of comic books, lazy summers at the lake with time to kill, babysitting misadventures, TV shows, jokes told at family dinner, and the result is Knucklehead. Part memoir, part scrapbook, this hilarious trip down memory lane provides a unique glimpse into the formation of a creative mind and a free spirit.

Lionel Messi has taken the soccer world by storm. He scored the most goals in a season. He’s racked up championships. There was even a statue built in his honor. Despite the accolades, he’s still hungry for more goals, more championships, more opportunities to shine on the soccer pitch. Messi’s drive to succeed has motivated him ever since he first stepped on his local, worn-down field as a kid. Yet his success didn’t come without bumps in the road.

Fuel your child's passion for soccer with this dynamic duo of biographies a must-have for 9-12 year-olds who dream of scoring goals like their idols! Introducing "Cristiano Ronaldo And Lionel Messi—The Boys Who Dreamed of Being Champions," a unique 2-in-1 book that unfolds the incredible journeys of the two greatest soccer players ever.

Billie Jean King grew up in a family of athletes. It was no surprise when she quickly began to excel at tennis. She became the top female singles player in the world and won 129 career singles titles, including Wimbledon and the US Open. Beyond being an excellent athlete, Billie Jean King used her voice to stand up for other women playing tennis who were not paid nearly as much as male players. In 1973, Billie Jean captured the world's attention when she beat Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes," proving women were just as good at tennis as men.

When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa routinely captured American sailors and held them as captives demanding ransom and tribute far beyond what the new country could afford.