Rosa Parks: Freedom Fighter (1913- ) by Devorah Major
About the Book:
People say that Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat to a white man on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama, bus in 1955 because she was "tired." This book explains what that "tiredness" really was: a fierce "tiredness" of segregation! Rosa is called the "mother of Civil Rights" for that action in Montgomery, but her activism began long before. Her grandfather was a black Alabaman who would sit up all night with a shotgun in his lap to ward off the KKK. Forced from high school by family illness, at age 19 Rosa married black civil rights organizer Raymond Parks, then went back to school and got her diploma. This book emphasizes Rosa's childhood, her role in the dangerous fight to free the Scottsboro Boys (nine young black men falsely sentenced to death for the rape of two white women in 1931), and Rosa's inspiring actions in Montgomery. The bus boycott began the end of segregated transit in the South and marked the emergence of Martin Luther King. After the boycott, Rosa and Raymond moved to Michigan to continue their work. At the end of the 20th century, Rosa Parks still traveled the country inspiring a younger generation.
About the Author:
Devorah Major is an award-winning poet and novelist. She has presented her work throughout the USA, and in England and Wales. She has taught poetry and creative writing as an artist-in-residence in schools, community centers, and social institutions for over 20 years. She also teaches creative writing as a college adjunct professor. She has edited several anthologies of pupil poetry, and had a number of essays on the teaching of poetry published. She has also written a number of children's stories and is currently working on her third novel.

Frederick Douglass: A Hero for All Times (1817-1895) by Devorah Major
About the Book:
This book asks, "What is a hero?" and answers with the life of Frederick Douglass. A great human rights advocate of the 19th century, Frederick began life as a slave in Maryland. Gifted and eager, he was beaten at a young age for learning to read but continued to educate himself in secret. A valuable shipyard worker, he fought with his owners and, at age 21, escaped to New York. Frederick married and settled in Massachusetts. He and his wife began a family and assisted the Underground Railroad. Within a few years Frederick became an inspiring orator and the founder of a leading abolitionist newspaper. As a leader of free blacks in the north, he urged Lincoln to end slavery during the Civil War. The all-black Massachusetts 55th regiment, which Douglass created, is the subject of Glory, an excellent film starring Denzel Washington. After the War, Frederick crusaded for the voting rights of blacks and women. This book covers mainly Frederick's early and middle life. Later he served as consul-general to Haiti.
About the Author:
Devorah Major is an award-winning poet and novelist. She has presented her work throughout the USA, and in England and Wales. She has taught poetry and creative writing as an artist-in-residence in schools, community centers, and social institutions for over 20 years. She also teaches creative writing as a college adjunct professor. She has edited several anthologies of pupil poetry, and had a number of essays on the teaching of poetry published. She has also written a number of children's stories and is currently working on her third novel.

Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People (1820?-1910) by Alan Venable
About the Book:
This book documents an amazing woman's struggle to end American slavery. Harriet Tubman was born in Maryland, a slave because her mother was a slave. Her father was a free black man. Harriet defied slavery early when, in her teens, she tried to help another slave escape his master. Wounded in the head in that incident, Harriet suffered lifelong unpredictable seizures of sleep. Despite this problem, around age 29, she escaped north to Pennsylvania. Illiterate, poor, but always immensely resourceful, Harriet returned to Maryland repeatedly in the 1850s to lead scores of other slaves north along the Underground Railroad. In the North she also befriended abolitionist John Brown and campaigned widely against slavery. Harriet was an unpaid spy, nurse, and organizer of escaped slaves in South Carolina during the Civil War. In later years she acquired a small farm and established a modest home for aged, destitute blacks around Auburn, New York. There may be no more heroic, historically revealing, and amazing life of the 19th century than that of Harriet Tubman.
About the Author:
Alan Venable was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1944. After graduating from Harvard, he taught socioogy in East Africa for several years and traveled in Africa and Asia. In later years, he studied and taught creative writing and children's literature at several colleges. In addition to his many books in the Start-to-Finish series, he has written several books of fiction for children, school curricular materials, and plays and novels for adults. He lives in San Francisco and is married to Gail Venable, a speech and language clinician and editor of the Start to-Finish series. He and Gail have two children, Morgan and Noe.

I Am Vallejo! by Belén Garcia-Alvarado and Alan Venable
About the Book:
More people should know about this astonishing Mexican-American hero of the Old West. This historical account begins with General Mariano Vallejo's childhood in Monterrey, California as the son of a Spanish soldier who had helped to found the Mission at San Francisco in 1776. Mariano had some great adventures growing up on the wild California coast. When he was 14, Mexico won its independence from Spain. Tutored by the Mexican governor of California, Mariano developed a strong respect for democracy and the founders of the U.S. republic. As a young officer in the Mexican army, Mariano went north to block the intrusion of European powers around San Francisco Bay. He built a huge ranch, raised a family, fostered positive relations with the Native Americans, and founded the city of Sonoma. In 1846, when rebellious Americans stole California from Mexico, Mariano put his own life on the line to prevent the outbreak of full-scale war. In this first-person narrative, he tells his own story right up through his funeral in 1890. Intelligent, proud, generous, and humorous, Mariano Vallejo recounts the founding of California and welcomes us all to its bounties.
About the Authors:
Belén Garcia-Alvarado is from Barcelona, Spain. She has worked in educational publishing for the past fifteen years, both in the United States and in Europe. For eight years she was the artistic director of a non-profit organization dedicated to interdisciplinary art. She has written stories for children as well as adults, and has also written and directed several multimedia theatre works. Belén loves languages and is fascinated by different cultures. Whenever she travels, she enjoys reading children's stories of the countries she visits as a way to better understand the local cultures. Belén lives in San Francisco with her husband, Jamie.
Alan Venable was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1944. After graduating from Harvard, he taught sociology in East Africa for several years and traveled in Africa and Asia. In later years, he studied and taught creative writing and children's literature at several colleges. In addition to his many books in the Start-to-Finish series, he has written several books of fiction for children, school curricular materials, and plays and novels for adults. He lives in San Francisco and is married to Gail Venable, a speech and language clinician and editor of the Start-to-Finish series. He and Gail have two children, Morgan and Noe.

Border Crossing by Belén Garcia-Alvarado and Alan Venable
About the Book:
This is the fictional but realistic story of a Mexican family that crosses the border illegally into Texas in the 1990s in search of a better economic life. Carlos Sanchez, the father, comes first after being laid off from a factory job in Mexico. Three years pass before he is able to bring his wife, Linda, and their children Rico, Ana, and Pedro. After a hazardous desert crossing by Linda and the children, the story explores culture shock and the positive and negative sides of immigration for the family. Here the story centers on 15-year-old Rico, a soccer player who feels angry and alienated in an American high school, and 12-year-old Ana, who, to her parents dismay, quickly begins to distance herself from her Mexican heritage and remake herself as an American girl. This book will help readers understand the challenges of immigration and some important differences between the United States and Mexico. The book is an evolving interpretation of the Spanish saying, "One bird in the hand is worth one hundred birds passing by."
About the Authors:
Belén Garcia-Alvarado is from Barcelona, Spain. She has worked in educational publishing for the past fifteen years, both in the United States and in Europe. For eight years she was the artistic director of a non-profit organization dedicated to interdisciplinary art. She has written stories for children as well as adults, and has also written and directed several multimedia theatre works. Belén loves languages and is fascinated by different cultures. Whenever she travels, she enjoys reading children's stories of the countries she visits as a way to better understand the local cultures. Belén lives in San Francisco with her husband, Jamie.
Alan Venable was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1944. After graduating from Harvard, he taught sociology in East Africa for several years and traveled in Africa and Asia. In later years, he studied and taught creative writing and children's literature at several colleges. In addition to his many books in the Start-to-Finish series, he has written several books of fiction for children, school curricular materials, and plays and novels for adults. He lives in San Francisco and is married to Gail Venable, a speech and language clinician and editor of the Start-to-Finish series. He and Gail have two children, Morgan and Noe.

The Story of Anne Frank by Alan Venable
About the Book:
Anne Frank was only thirteen years old when she started writing the diary that would become the most famous book ever written about World War II. Anne Frank and her family were Jews living in Nazi occupied Amsterdam. Facing Nazi persecution, Anne Frank's family went into hiding in the attic of the building where Otto has had his business. Sharing the hideout with the Frank family was another family with a young son named Peter, and a man named Mr. Dussel. In these cramped quarters, Anne wrote faithfully in her journal until the Nazis discovered the hideout in 1944, at which point Anne and her mother and sister were taken to Auschwitz where they all died. Anne's father, Otto, was the only one of the family who survived. This book excerpts Anne's diary, but it also puts the diary in its historical context. Your pupils will finish this book having gained an understanding of the events of World War II Europe.
About the Author:
Alan Venable was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1944. After graduating from Harvard, he taught sociology in East Africa for several years and traveled in Africa and Asia. In later years, he studied and taught creative writing and children's literature at several colleges. In addition to his many books in the Start-to-Finish series, he has written several books of fiction for children, school curricular materials, and plays and novels for adults. He lives in San Francisco and is married to Gail Venable, a speech and language clinician and editor of the Start-to-Finish series. He and Gail have two children, Morgan and Noe.

The Tuskegee Airmen by Godwin Chu
About the Book:
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the U.S. Army to form the 99th Fighter Squadron, which was to be the first squadron of black pilots. The story's main character, Henry Gooding, had always dreamed of becoming a pilot. He signed up right away for the 99th Fighter Squadron. But the road would be far from easy. Tuskegee Institute, where the pilots were to be trained, was located in the heart of the South, where there was still segregation. The pressure was on. This historical fiction story follows Henry Gooding through his training and into brave battles overseas. Despite the poor way they are treated at home, Henry and the other pilots of the 99th fight brilliantly for America during World War II. Their courage in the face of prejudice and war, and their incredible skill in the air make the Tuskegee airmen an important chapter in the history of the struggle for equal rights.
About the Author:
Godwin Chu is a San Francisco writer who recently moved to New York City. Born in Rangoon, Burma, in 1972, he immigrated with his family to the United States at the age of five. In addition to writing for Start-to-Finish, Godwin works as a manuscript editor at Columbia University Press.

The Japanese Americans: Prisoners at Home by Godwin Chu
About the Book:
Johnny Ohashi was living in San Francisco, California, when, in 1942, President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 mandated the internment of the Japanese Americans. The Ohashi family was taken to a work camp in the remote desert town of Topaz, Utah. Life at the camp was hard. Stripped of their most basic rights, the Ohashi family struggled to keep their courage in the face of great adversity. Based on actual experiences of Japanese Americans during World War II, Prisoners at Home brings to life many important pieces of Japanese American history; among them, No-No boys, the courageous 442nd regiment, and the Civil Rights act of 1988. This story also stresses the importance of learning from the mistakes of history.
About the Author:
Godwin Chu is a San Francisco writer who recently moved to New York City. Born in Rangoon, Burma, in 1972, he immigrated with his family to the United States at the age of five. In addition to writing for Start-to-Finish, Godwin works as a manuscript editor at Columbia University Press.

Sacagawea: The Trip to the West by Alan Venable
About the Book:
In 1803, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned army officers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find a suitable route of travel from the Mississippi River settlement of St. Louis westward to the Pacific Ocean. Sacagawea (sometimes spelled Sacajawea) was a young Shoshoni Indian woman who accompanied the expedition on its journey. Kidnapped in the Rockies as a young girl by an Indian raiding party, Sacagawea had been transported to an Indian settlement near what is now Bismarck, North Dakota. There, she was later given in marriage to a French Canadian trader named Charbonneau. When Lewis and Clark hired Charbonneau as an interpreter, Sacagawea was about 16 and had just given birth to a son, who would also become part of the epic journey. Although Sacagawea had no official role in the expedition, she quickly proved herself more courageous, dependable, and useful than her husband. Her greatest moment came when, on reaching the Rockies, she was reunited with a community of her tribe and enabled the explorers to negotiate with her brother, a Shoshoni chief, for horses and guides across the mountains. While always consistent with the historical record, this book portrays the expedition as it might have appeared to Sacagawea herself. It describes how she might have felt about joining the expedition to and from the Pacific Coast, enduring its hardships and joys, all the while raising her young son and exercising her own courage, intelligence, curiosity and sense of adventure.
About the Author:
Alan Venable was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1944 and has lived and traveled in various parts of America, Africa, and Asia. In addition to his many books in the Start-to-Finish series, he has written several books of fiction for children, school curricular materials, and plays and novels for adults. He currently lives in San Francisco. He is married to Gail Venable, a speech and language clinician and editor of the Start-to-Finish series. He and Gail have two children, one of whom also writes books for the series.

When the Horses Are Gone: A Story of the Nez Perce Indian Tribe by Godwin Chu
About the Book:
From their first contact with Lewis and Clark, the Nez Perce Indians tried to keep peace with the whites. By the 1870's, the Nez Perce still had never killed a white, while the whites had murdered many Nez Perce. Then warfare erupted as the last of the tribe was being forced onto an Idaho reservation. Suddenly 800 warriors, women, and children found themselves fleeing the U.S. Army across hundreds of miles of mountains and prairies. This book tells the story of heroic resistance through the eyes of a fictional Nez Perce boy whose duty lies in preserving his family's herd of horses. This is one story of the Old West that your pupils will never forget.
About the Author:
Godwin Chu was born in Rangoon, Burma. In 1972, at age 5, he immigrated with his family to the United States and now lives in New York. In addition to writing for Start-to-Finish, Godwin is a manuscript editor at Columbia University Press.

Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile by Alan Venable
About the Book:
Cleopatra VII (circa 70 B.C to 30 B.C) ruled Egypt from the Greco-Egyptian city of Alexandria for 20 years, just before Egypt was swallowed by the Roman Empire. Through personal and political alliances, first with Julius Caesar and then with Mark Antony, she maintained the independent power of Egypt as long as she was able to do so. But her luck ran out when Julius Caesar's nephew Octavian (later known as the emperor Caesar Augustus) forced Mark Antony into civil war after Julius Caesar's assassination.
No queen ever lived a more colorful or intriguing life than Cleopatra, and no ancient queen ever had as large an effect on Western and Middle Eastern history.
This book invites the reader to think about what is known about the ancient past and what can only be guessed. It tells the story of Cleopatra, from her first heady encounter with Caesar, through her bearing of Caesar's and Antony's children, to her suicide when young Octavian's legions finally marched into Egypt. Cleopatra is often imagined to have been a woman of astonishing beauty. In fact, there is no evidence that Cleopatra was beautiful - only that she was smart, romantic, energetic, ambitious, creative, ruthless, and fascinating!
Although this book stands on its own, readers may enjoy it even more if they first read Kings of the Nile: Gods and Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.

King Tut's Tomb by Alan Venable
About the Book:
In 1922, an archeologist named Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun. The result was a worldwide frenzy over "King Tut," and later an endless stream of excitement about supposed curses of the mummies. Eighty years later, still very little is known about Tutankhamun, but a lot is known about the exciting story that led to his exhumation. The discovery of King Tut's Tomb was an amazing and dramatic event in the history of archeology. This book tells the story of Howard Carter's career, beginning with his youthful excitement about ancient Egypt and continuing on through the moment when he finally opened the solid-gold coffin and saw the amazing golden mask of Egypt's "boy king" pharaoh.
Although this book stands on its own, readers will enjoy it more if they read Kings of the Nile: Gods and Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt first.
About the Author:
Alan Venable was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1944 and has lived and traveled in various parts of America, Africa, and Asia. In addition to his many books in the Start-to-Finish series, he has written several books of fiction for children, and plays and novels for adults. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Gail.

Liddy and the Volcano by Godwin Chu
About the Book:
Young Liddy Miller's father, a geologist, is always talking about volcanoes. Then, when Liddy is 14, she witnesses a volcanic eruption firsthand. Liddy is camping with her parents near Mount St. Helens when the sleeping giant erupts. This experience serves to peak Liddy's curiosity about volcanoes. Through kitchen sink lessons and science project experiments, Liddy learns about volcanoes. But Liddy's volcano education intensifies when she and her father pack their bags to visit volcanoes along the Pacific coast. Liddy goes on to study about volcanoes in college in Hawaii and complete fieldwork in the Philippines. Following the adventures of Liddy and her father, your pupils will learn the basics of plate tectonics, and will become familiar with some of the history and science of volcanoes.
About the Author:
Godwin Chu is a San Francisco writer who recently moved to New York City. Born in Rangoon, Burma, in 1972, he immigrated with his family to the United States at the age of five. In addition to writing for Start-to-Finish, Godwin works as a manuscript editor at Columbia University Press.

Hurricane! by Alan Venable
About the Book:
This book combines exciting history with simple science to tell the story of hurricanes and their impact on people. Beginning with the tale of how Japan was twice saved from invasions by typhoons (as hurricanes are called in that part of the world), it describes Columbus' encounters with hurricanes and how we have borrowed the word hurricane from the original West Indian people. The book shows how, over the past 300 years, amateur and professional scientists have unraveled the secrets of these devastating storms. It explains how and why--despite the science of the times--a hurricane destroyed most of Galveston, Texas in 1900. It ends with a family of survivors' tale of Hurricane Andrew, the single most damaging hurricane in western history, which destroyed tens of thousands of homes in Florida and Louisiana in 1992. Readers need little prior knowledge to enjoy this book. In learning about hurricanes, they will also learn the basic ideas about how all weather is created.
About the Author:
Alan Venable was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1944. After graduating from Harvard, he taught sociology in East Africa for several years and traveled in Africa and Asia. In later years, he studied and taught creative writing and children's literature at several colleges. In addition to his many books in the Start-to-Finish series, he has written several books of fiction for children, school curricular materials, and plays and novels for adults. He lives in San Francisco and is married to Gail Venable, a speech and language clinician and editor of the Start-to-Finish series. He and Gail have two children, Morgan and Noe.

Earthquake! by Godwin Chu
About the Book:
Your pupils are bound to enjoy learning about earthquakes from this action-packed, fact-filled book. The history of earthquakes is brought to life in exciting tales of people surviving famous earthquakes. The science of earthquakes comes to life in clear, compelling descriptions. Finally, your pupils will learn what to do in case of an earthquake. This book tells about many aspects of earthquake science and history, including the seismograph, the Richter scale, the Ring of Fire, and plate tectonics. It also explains how earthquakes can cause tsunamis and mudslides, and shows why earthquakes have fascinated and terrified people of all cultures for centuries. Four chapters tell the personal story of one family's experience in the great earthquake and fire that destroyed San Francisco in 1906. Other tales of destruction are used to illustrate the power of these natural disasters.
About the Author:
Godwin Chu is a San Francisco writer who recently moved to New York City. Born in Rangoon, Burma, in 1972, he immigrated with his family to the United States at the age of five. In addition to writing for Start-to-Finish, Godwin works as a manuscript editor at Columbia University Press.

Tales from Africa by Joan Stockbridge
About the Book:
These five stories, drawn from a wide variety of sources, touch on many of the themes and issues important in African and African American culture. Hunger and Anansi's Hat Dance address the importance of following social norms and the vital role of food in a culture that is familiar with scarcity. Hooked is a traditional African story about addiction, a topic deeply relevant to our times. How Man Got Strong and Woman Got Powerful is a humorous look at the relationships between the sexes. The concluding story, In His Own Words, The True Story of a Black Hero, is a slave narrative collected during the Depression as part of the Federal Writer's Project. In it, Arnold Gragston tells the inspiring story of his work as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
About the Author:
Joan Stockbridge was born in Boston in 1956. A former English teacher, she has been telling stories professionally since 1988. In addition to many articles and poems, her publications include Politics In the Purple Kingdom, Sheed and Ward, 1990.

Tales from Japan by Joan Stockbridge
About the Book:
These traditional Japanese tales are lively with ghosts, demons, and heroes. Each story raises interesting questions for discussion. The Storm God explores acceptable ways to express rage. In The Sacrifice, we see why one man would sacrifice his own interests for the sake of others. The Samurai's Daughter is the story of a smart young girl's brave response to injustice. Running Away looks at the consequences of a warrior's hasty and prideful decision to leave his loving wife. And in The Boy Who Drew Cats, a young farm boy, punished for indulging his artistic talent, uses that talent to save his village from ruin. Retold by professional storyteller Joan Stockbridge, these five traditional stories bring Japanese culture to life, while also raising universal questions about what it means to be a human.
About the Author:
Joan Stockbridge was born in Boston in 1956. A former English teacher, she has been telling stories professionally since 1988. In addition to many articles and poems, her publications include Politics In the Purple Kingdom, Sheed and Ward, 1990.

Tales from Mexico by Joan Stockbridge
About the Book:
These five fast-paced stories from Mexico are exciting, humorous, engaging, and informative. They will provide pupils with insights into various aspects of Mexican history and culture. The Weeping Ghost is the true story of La Malinche, the controversial Aztec woman who assisted Cortez in his conquest of Mexico. Lady Moon is a Mayan story that shows the Mayas' keen attention to the night sky. Stories such as Godmother Death and The Boy Who Was Never Afraid are drawn from the post-colonial period and reflect themes found throughout European folklore. Tricking Coyote is a favorite borderland story, pitting the large and unintelligent Coyote against a clever lamb, who tricks him over and over. The victory of the diminutive figure over a powerful adversary is a theme found throughout the world, but it is a special hallmark of Mexican folktales.
About the Author:
Joan Stockbridge was born in Boston in 1956. A former English teacher, she has been telling stories professionally since 1988. In addition to many articles and poems, her publications include Politics In the Purple Kingdom, Sheed and Ward, 1990.