Showing titles in Biographical Fiction

It features coming of age stories on the theme of closeness to home, deftly interwoven with illuminating autobiographical pieces on the inspirations behind the fiction. Stories include: "The Missing Link", "Joe Quinn's Poltergeist", "Harry Miller's Run", "Slog's Dad", "Klaus Vogel and the Bad Lads", "Mary Malone", "Half a Creature from the Sea", and, "When God Came to Kathleen's Garden".

Sarah is the first person in her family who wasn’t born into slavery in Delta, Louisiana. But being free doesn’t mean that Sarah doesn’t have to work. She cooks, she cleans, she picks cotton, she does laundry and she babysits. And when she works, she wraps up her hair. One day, Sarah’s hair starts to fall out! It’s itchy, crunchy, patchy and won’t grow. Instead of giving up, Sarah searches for the right products. And then she invents something better than any shampoo or hair oil she’s used before. 

At the front of a middle-school classroom in Oklahoma, a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls "Daniel") stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. To them he is a dark-skinned, hairy-armed boy with a big butt whose lunch smells funny; who makes things up and talks about poop too much.  

Inspired by a true story, Kafka and the Doll recounts a remarkable gesture of kindness from one of the world's most bewildering and iconic writers. In the fall of 1923, Franz Kafka encountered a distraught little girl on a walk in the park. She'd lost her doll and was inconsolable. Kafka told her the doll wasn't lost, but instead, traveling the world and having grand adventures! And to reassure her, Kafka began delivering letters from the doll to the girl for weeks. 

It's the day before the big parade. Alta can think about only one thing: Wilma Rudolph, three-time Olympic gold medalist. She'll be riding on a float tomorrow. See, Alta is the quickest kid in Clarksville, Tennessee, just like Wilma once was. It doesn't matter that Alta's shoes have holes because Wilma came from hard times, too. But what happens when a new girl with shiny new shoes comes along and challenges Alta to a race? Will she still be the quickest kid?

This heartwarming fictionalized autobiography tells the story of what it is like for a little girl to be growing up in an unfamiliar place. While other girls her age were enjoying childhood in America, Jean Fritz was in China in the midst of political unrest. During this time, foreigners were becoming more and more unpopular, and evacuation at a moment’s notice was imminent. Although Jean appreciated the beauty of China - the mountains, the countryside, the sea - she knew she belonged in America and longed to make her home there.

Alicia was born to dance. From the moment she slips on pointe shoes for the first time, she’s determined to become a professional ballerina. A few years later, Alicia moves from Cuba to the United States to follow her dreams. Then, Alicia begins to lose her sight. How can a ballerina dance if she can’t see where she’s going? Stuck in bed and only able to practice with her fingertips, Alicia doesn’t give up. She finds a way to get back on stage, dancing into the hearts of audiences as one of the world’s most famous prima ballerinas. 

Rachel was a girl who loved science and the sea, books and writing, and all the creatures of the world. Rachel was quiet, a listener by nature. But when she saw problems, she could not remain silent. Some people thought girls shouldn't be scientists or writers. They thought girls shouldn't use their voices to question or challenge, even to protect all the creatures of the world. Luckily Rachel didn't listen to them.

Iqbal, a 13-year-old boy, fights for children's liberation. Bravely, he speaks out against children working long hours in carpet factories in Pakistan.

For Hương, life in Saigon, Vietnam is mostly normal—at least, as normal as it can be while a war is going on. But when her family decides to take the last flight out of the country to build a new life in America, Hương worries about missing her home. Through new friends and old traditions, Hương learns that no matter where we go, the smell of home and the taste of love can be found anywhere, as long as we have our family.

Twelve-year-old Mary Jemison took for granted her peaceful days on her family's farm in eastern Pennsylvania. But on a spring day in 1758, something happened that changed her life forever. When a band of warriors invades the Jemisons' house and takes the family captive, Mary is separated from her parents and siblings. She travels with the Indians to southern Ohio and later to a Seneca village on the Genesee River in what is now western New York.

Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Kwame Alexander and James Patterson join forces to vividly depict his life up to age seventeen in both prose and verse, including his childhood friends, struggles in school, the racism he faced, and his discovery of boxing. Readers will learn about Cassius' family and neighbors in Louisville, Kentucky, and how, after a thief stole his bike, Cassius began training as an amateur boxer at age twelve.

Pollyanna, an expert at her favorite "Glad Game" of always looking at the bright side in her numerous trials, is one of the most popular and enduring characters in all of children's literature. As Pollyanna arrives in Beldingsville to live with her strict and dutiful maiden aunt, she exclaims, "Oh, Aunt Polly, I don't know how to be glad enough that you let me come to live with you!"

A young girl dreams of bringing clean drinking water to her African village. As a child in Burkina Faso, Georgie and the other girls in her village had to walk for miles each day to collect water. This vibrant, engaging story sheds light on this struggle that continues all over the world today, instilling hope for a future when all children will have access to clean drinking water. 

En 1848, le neveu de Napoléon Ier devient le premier président de la République. Quatre ans plus tard, il est couronné empereur sous le nom de Napoléon III. Sous son règne, la France connaît une période de prospérité et de progrès social. Découvrez la vie méconnue du monarque qui a profondément marqué l'histoire de France en la faisant entrer dans la modernité. Cette version sonore de ce récit est animée par dix voix et accompagnée de plus de trente morceaux de musique classique.

Le règne de Louis XIV est le plus long et le plus glorieux de l'histoire de France. Continuant l'œuvre de ses ancêtres, il agrandit le royaume au prix de nombreuses guerres. Du somptueux château de Versailles qu'il a fait construire, il encourage les arts et les lettres en soutenant, entre autres Lully, Molière et Racine. Cette version sonore de la vie extraordinaire de ce roi que l'on appela de son vivant le Roi Soleil est animée par dix voix et accompagnée de plus de trente morceaux de musique classique.

Jeska doesn't know why her mother keeps the curtains drawn so tightly every day. And what exactly is she trying to drown out when she floods the house with Mozart? What are they hiding from? When Jeska's grandmother accidentally calls her by a stranger's name, she seizes her first clue to uncovering her family's past, and hopefully to all that's gone unsaid. With the help of an old family photo album, her father's encyclopedia collection, and the unquestioning friendship of a stray cat, the silence begins to melt into frightening clarity.

A 70 ans, Voltaire est célèbre dans l'Europe entière et n'a plus rien à prouver. Il se passionne pour l'agriculture et emploie sa considérable fortune à mettre en valeur la seigneurie de Ferney près de Genève. Mais le vieux philosophe est plus pugnace que jamais lorsqu'il s'agit de combattre l'intolérance et l'injustice. Accusé d'avoir mutilé un crucifix de bois à Abbeville, le jeune chevalier de La Barre risque la torture et le bûcher. De sa lointaine retraite, Voltaire réussira-t-il à le sauver ?

Aspiring writer Aggie Morton is ready to enjoy a trip to a Yorkshire spa, where her widowed mother can take the waters and recover from a long mourning period. Having solved yet another murder and faced extreme peril with her best friend, Hector, over Christmas, Aggie’s Morbid Preoccupation is on alert when rumors abound about the spa's recently deceased former patient...and then another body appears under mysterious circumstances. Aggie and Hector take a closer look at the guests and staff of the Wellspring Hotel, and venture into the intriguing world of the local undertaker.

Everyone makes mistakes, and brilliant scientist Harry Coover is no different. But Harry keeps making the same extra-sticky mistake, and he begins to wonder whether it's such a mistake after all....