Book Finder

1961. Nearly two decades before Sally Ride — there was Jerrie Cobb. Cobb was one of the top female pilots in the country and completed all the astronaut testing the Mercury 7 men did. She excelled at all the tests. Proved she had the Right Stuff. Twelve other female pilots followed her, passing the tests they took with flying colors. When they were told there was no room for women in the space program, they took they’re cause to Congress.

Amelia Earhart was a fiesty 11-year-old when she saw her first air show. Little did she know that a passing fancy for airplanes would develop into a full-throttled passion. As a committed social worker, feminist and record-breaking female pilot, Amelia’s disappearance while flying over the South Pacific remains one of our greatest mysteries.

Darwin is presented in a fresh and engaging way in the context of his marriage. Known for list-making, this unique and riveting biography begins with Darwin’s list of the pros and cons of marriage and proceeds to explore his life with Emma, the highly religious woman he married, and the evolution of his “Origins of the Species”.

In the midst of his mother’s struggle with cancer, fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold has the opportunity to take the trip of a lifetime. Accompanying his fearless grandmother, a magazine reporter for International Geographic, Alexander sets off on an expedition to the remote world of the Amazon. On this mission he meets Nadia, the young daughter of their local guide and together they begin a magical and mystical adventure.

In 13th Century Mongolia, Kublai Khan’s 15-year old granddaughter Emmajin dreams of becoming a brave warrior — not a wife. While dodging potential suitors, she’s dispatched by Khan to investigate the newly arrived Westerner, Marco Polo. Emmajin befriends Polo and the two fight dragons, lions, and enemy soldiers on a journey across China. This story has something for everyone: adventure, intrigue, romance, and history.

The murder of a young knight, a white wolfhound, and a faithful page in medieval France all come together to create a fast-paced, gripping mystery.

German author Funke is best known in the U.S. for The Thief Lord and Inkheart. Here, a heroic dragon and his boy sidekick fight Nettlebrand, a man-made dragon, and his spy, Twigleg.

Yep’s sweeping fantasy tells of Shimmer, an exiled dragon princess, who must team up with a boy to try to restore her dragon clan’s lost home.

This story of Robert Scott and his crew’s ill-fated expedition to reach the South Pole captures the hardships and dangers the adventurers faced. The inclusion of diary entries, letters, maps, and archival photography help capture the setting.

The author joins several field scientists to find the mysterious encantado, the pink dolphins of the Amazon said to seduce people to an enchanted city underwater. An informal narration draws readers into the rainforest travelogue to introduce amazing animals, environmental issues, and more. Full color photographs add rich detail. Montgomery’s experiences are also detailed for adults in Journey of the Pink Dolphins: An Amazon Quest .

Before the Civil War ended, enslaved African Americans sought ways north to freedom; explores how historians continue to dig up and learn more about the difficult trek to freedom.

Twelve-year old Oliver is kidnapped, pressed into service on a pirate ship, and finds adventure that includes outwitting a ghost who guards pirate treasure. Rich language is used in this fast-paced, exhilarating adventure tale.

Teenager Kip Russell dreams of space travel, but what happens when alien “Wormfaces”, hostile to Eerth and humanity, kidnap him and force him to stand trial for humanity’s disregard for peace and the environment?

Kate and her astrophysicist grandfather share a special bond, so when her grandfather disappears and his lab is attacked by an alien outsider, Kate must find him and the secret of his most important project. Book one of The Heroic Adventures of Kate trilogy.

“Young Quebrado’s name means ‘the broken one,’ a child ‘of two shattered worlds.’ The son of a Taíno Indian mother and a Spanish father, he is taken in 1510 from his village on the island that is present-day Cuba and enslaved on a pirate’s ship, where a brutal conquistador, responsible for thousands of deaths throughout the Americas, is held captive for ransom. When a hurricane destroys the boat, Quebrado is pulled from the water by a fisherman, Naridó, whose village welcomes him, but escape from the past proves nearly impossible.” — Gillian Engberg, Booklist

Jasper and his pals Lily and Katie journey to a mysterious land that time forgot… .Delaware!?

Matthew Henson, an African American, accompanied Robert Peary to the North Pole where together they placed a flag. The courage and perseverance of this remarkable man is revealed through his voice and luminous illustrations.

The letters and thoughts of Thomas Jefferson, members of the Corps of Discovery, their guide Sacagawea, and Captain Lewis’s Newfoundland dog, all tell of the historic exploratory expedition to seek a water route to the Pacific Ocean.

This inspiring memoir for young readers tells the story of Sylvia Acevedo, a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia’s family forever altered. As she struggled in the aftermath of loss, her life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science.

Sometimes the scariest stories are the true ones. After a whale disables their ship, several sailors from Nantucket are trapped at sea in small boats with dwindling food and resources. Readers will cringe at the gruesome decisions the sailors must make to stay alive, but will learn a great deal about the whaling world of the 19th century.

No matter how much is known, there’s always more to learn. In a fascinating re-examination of Stonehenge and recent discoveries, readers are introduced to new interpretations and thinking.

On board the Stormchaser, a young crew-member, drawn by destiny to join the sky pirates, is filled with excitement at the adventure ahead. Their quest is to collect stormphrax - a valuable substance created inside the heart of a great storm.

In the future, reality TV, like Survivor is not only entertainment but education as well. Several teenagers go to Antarctica to relive the Scott expedition. Is the danger real or for television?

A behind-the-scenes look at the people on the ground — engineers, safety inspectors, seamstresses, painters, doctors, electricians — who helped get a man on the moon. Also includes many fascinating photos.