Highlights From the Children's Collection: Totally True Tales

These books contain tales of bravery, adventure, humor, excitement and distant lands.  Most importantly - they are all true!

From childhood recollections of blizzards and facts about interesting places, to the lives of people who shaped the world around us.  These stories help children learn about, and connect with, their history and their world from a perspective similar to their own.  Not only will they open up a child's budding curiosity, even grown-ups will discover themselves learning something new!

Blizzard, by John Rocco

Blizzard is based on John Rocco's childhood experience during the now infamous Blizzard of 1978, which brought fifty-three inches of snow to his town in Rhode Island. Told with a brief text and dynamic illustrations, the book opens with a boy's excitement upon seeing the first snowflake fall outside his classroom window. It ends with the neighborhood's immense relief upon seeing the first snowplow break through on their street. In between the boy watches his familiar landscape transform into something alien, and readers watch him transform into a hero who puts the needs of others first. John uses an increasing amount of white space in his playful images, which include a gatefold spread of the boy's expedition to the store. This book about the wonder of a winter storm is as delicious as a mug of hot cocoa by the fire on a snowy day.

Grandad Mandela, by Zindzi, Zazi, and Ziwelene Mandela

Nelson Mandela’s two great-grandchildren ask their grandmother, Mandela’s youngest daughter, 15 questions about their grandad – the global icon of peace and forgiveness who spent 27 years in prison. They learn that he was a freedom fighter who put down his weapons for the sake of peace, and who then became the President of South Africa and a Nobel Peace Prize-winner, and realise that they can continue his legacy in the world today. Seen through a child’s perspective, and authored jointly by Nelson Mandela's great-grandchildren and daughter, this amazing story is told as never before to celebrate what would have been Nelson's Mandela 100th birthday.

Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain, by Cheryl Bardoe

For six years Sophie Germain used her love of math and her undeniable determination to test equations that would predict patterns of vibrations. She eventually became the first woman to win a grand prize from France's prestigious Academy of Sciences for her formula, which laid the groundwork for much of modern architecture (and can be seen in the book's illustrations).

 

Award-winning author Cheryl Bardoe's inspiring and poetic text is brought to life by acclaimed artist Barbara McClintock's intricate pen-and-ink, watercolor, and collage illustrations in this true story about a woman who let nothing stop her.

 

 

 

How Tickles Saved Pickles: A True Story, by Maddie Johnson

 

Pickles is a pig, rescued as a wee one and now living it up at his forever home.
But one day Pickles becomes very sick. His only hope?
One big sow with an even bigger heart on a faraway farm…but will she get to Pickles in time?
Learn the true story about one extraordinary pig and his savior in this inspiring photographic picture book!

Pickles the Pig (@LivingwithPickles) has been featured on The Dodo, Inside Edition, and People!

 

 

 

All That Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem With Stuff, by Megan McCarthy

 

Lowell Harrelson wanted to turn trash into methane gas so he rented a barge called Morbo 4000. His plan was to ship the garbage from New York to North Carolina, but as the barge floated down the coast, no state would let him dock because of smelly waste on board! The barge became a mockery and the butt of many jokes in the media. What started as an attempted business venture turned into quite the predicament for Mr. Harrelson.

Mobro 4000 roamed the seas for forty-five days and traveled a distance of 6,000 miles. While awaiting its fate, the trash floated in New York’s harbor, garnering much attention by onlookers. Green Peace activists put up a large banner across the barge that read, “NEXT TIME…TRY RECYCLING.”

Even though the garbage barge was a farce, the unintended consequence inspired America to find a new way to deal with its trash.

 

 

 

This is Britain, by M. Sasek

 

This is Britain, first published in 1974, encompasses the nation’s many facets, from the mystery of Stonehenge to the monuments of the British Isles. Among his stops are the White Cliffs of Dover; Brighton’s Prince Regent’s Royal Pavilion; the castles and Tintern Abbey in Wales; and Scotland’s four Royal Palaces and long lochs.

 

Sasek's vibrantn 1974 illustrations have been preserved, remaining true to his vision, and where applicable facts have been updated, appearing on a "This is...Today" page at the back of each book.

 

 

 

Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote, by Kirsten Gillibrand

 

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was inspired by her own great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother to be bold and brave--to stand up and fight for what she believes in. But who inspired them? The long chain of women before them who spoke out for what's right--women who taught each generation that followed how to be bold and brave.

Here are the stories of ten leaders who strove to win the right to vote for American women--a journey that took more than seventy years of passionate commitment. From well-known figures, such as Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth to lesser known women such as Alice Paul and Mary Church Terrell, these are heroes who dreamed big and never gave up. Senator Gillibrand highlights an important and pithy lesson from each woman's life--from "dare to be different" to "fight together."

On the eve of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women suffrage, Bold & Brave looks both backward and forward. It introduces children to strong women who have raised their voices on behalf of justice--and inspires them to raise their own voices to build our future.