Collection: Biography & Memoir

A star athlete shares her trailblazing account of triumph in the face of sexism, self-doubt, and injury, gives a remarkable global tour of the women's soccer world, and presents a stirring call-to-action to secure equal pay and conditions.

When Susie Petruccelli won a place on Harvard University's soccer team, she felt on top of the world--talented, strong, and worthy. Unfortunately, after sustaining injuries and developing health problems, she felt her worth slip away. In this remarkable memoir, Petruccelli reveals how she battled her way back onto the field and continued to fight even after she hung up her cleats. She distills the significance of not giving up on oneself and inspires players of all sports who've faced injuries to persevere. She also brings to light the inequities and discrimination female athletes face that she's traveled the world to see and document firsthand, and introduces the international athletes and activists fighting for equal pay and conditions. In so doing, she reveals the progress made, as well as the battles ahead and the force of the movement.

Raised a Warrior is the winner of the Vikki Orvice Prize and has been praised by a wide range of sports icons from Pelé to Billie Jean King.

A Nobel Peace Prize winner reflects on poverty, injustice, and the struggles of Mayan communities in Guatemala, offering "a fascinating and moving description of the culture of an entire people" (The Times)

Now a global bestseller, the remarkable life of Rigoberta Menchú, a Guatemalan peasant woman, reflects on the experiences common to many Indian communities in Latin America. Menchú suffered gross injustice and hardship in her early life: her brother, father and mother were murdered by the Guatemalan military. She learned Spanish and turned to catechistic work as an expression of political revolt as well as religious commitment. Menchú vividly conveys the traditional beliefs of her community and her personal response to feminist and socialist ideas. Above all, these pages are illuminated by the enduring courage and passionate sense of justice of an extraordinary woman.

"Little Seed is what I want the future of literature to be." --Sam Cohen, author of Sarahland

Little Seed is an experimental memoir that braids together the narrative of the author's relationship with her brother and family with a deeply personal field guide to ferns.

The chapters move associatively, commenting on each other indirectly and drawing out questions of assimilation, race, class, gender, nature and the general problem of being and knowing. When the author's brother has a psychotic break, the rigid structure of the book itself breaks apart and the protagonist adventures to the cloud forest of Oaxaca in order to truly live: to know the world by experiencing it rather than reading about it or following the direction of others. Some persistent themes throughout the book: What does it mean to be Chinese? What is love and how best to love? What really is a fern?

Dust off your mic and jam with this dynamic set of four board books that introduces music's biggest stars to the youngest fans!

Learn about the stars that defined musical genres throughout the generations! This slipcase includes four delightful board books: The Story of Rock, The Story of Rap, The Story of Country, and The Story of Pop. This collection will introduce little ones to the musical icons that started it all--from Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, and Prince--as well as recent favorites like Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé. The rhyming text and colorful illustrations are sure to inspire toddlers to put on a concert right in the living room!

Junior Library Guild Selection
Booklist Editors' Top 10 Arts Books for Youth
California Reading Assoc. Eureka! Gold Award
CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young Readers
Parents' Choice Gold Award
Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers
Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year
Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration

Meet the famous composer George Gershwin and learn about his remarkabke composition "Rhapsody In Blue" in this engaging nonficftion picture book biography,
George Gershwin heard music all the time--at home, at school, even on New York City's busy streets. Classical, ragtime, blues, and jazz--George's head was filled with a whole lot of razzmatazz! With rhythmic swirls of words and pictures, author Suzanne Slade and illustrator Stacy Innerst beautifully reveal just how brilliantly Gershwin combined various kinds of music to create his masterpiece, Rhapsody in Blue, a surprising and whirlwind composition of notes, sounds, and one long wail of a clarinet. Includes author's note, timeline, and bibliography.

Help kids ages 6 to 9 discover the life of Alexander Hamilton―a story about working hard, blazing trails, and fighting for freedom

Alexander Hamilton became one of the most important Founding Fathers in American history. He helped win the Revolutionary War against England and invented our nation's first banking system. Before that, he was a playful kid who loved to write and believed in hard work. Born on a Caribbean island, Alexander overcame many hardships to come to America and earn a name for himself.

Explore how Alexander Hamilton went from being a young immigrant boy with strong values to a celebrated American leader and icon.

This Alexander Hamilton chapter book for kids ages 6 to 9 includes:

• Helpful definitions―Discover a glossary with easy-to-understand definitions for the more advanced words and ideas in the book.
• His lasting legacy―Learn how Alexander shaped the world for future generations―including you!
• Test your knowledge―Take a quick quiz at the end of the book to make sure you understand the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of Alexander's life.

How will Alexander Hamilton's remarkable story inspire you?

In Bear Run, Pennsylvania, a home unlike any other perches atop a waterfall. The water's tune plays differently in each of its sunlight-dappled rooms; the structure itself blends effortlessly into the rock and forest behind it. This is Fallingwater, a masterpiece equally informed by meticulous research and unbounded imagination, designed by the lauded American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

This book guides young readers through Wright's process designing Fallingwater, from his initial inspirations to the home's breathtaking culmination. It is a exploration of a man, of dreams, and of the creative process; a celebration of potential. Graceful prose and rich, dynamic illustrations breathe life into the story of Frank and Fallingwater, a man and home utterly unlike any other.

A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 2017 Blue Ribbon Book
A National Council for the Social Studies Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People

The inspirational story of how Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus invented microcredit, founded the Grameen Bank, and transformed the fortunes of millions of poor people around the world.

Muhammad Yunus was a professor of economics in Bangladesh, who realized that the most impoverished members of his community were systematically neglected by the banking system -- no one would loan them any money. Yunus conceived of a new form of banking -- microcredit -- that would offer very small loans to the poorest people without collateral, and teach them how to manage and use their loans to create successful small businesses. He founded Grameen Bank based on the belief that credit is a basic human right, not the privilege of a fortunate few, and it now provides $24 billion of micro-loans to more than nine million families. Ninety-seven percent of its clients are women, and repayment rates are over 90 percent. Outside of Bangladesh, micro-lending programs inspired by Grameen have blossomed, and serve hundreds of millions of people around the world.

The definitive history of micro-credit direct from the man that conceived of it, Banker to the Poor is the moving story of someone who dreamed of changing the world -- and did.

The definitive biography of Cristiano Ronaldo, named Football Book of the Year at the Cross Sports Book Awards 2016

Fully updated to include the 2017-18 season and Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time, a dream he pursued from the age of just twelve when he left his humble origins on Madeira behind.

It wasn't long before he had the biggest clubs in Europe knocking on his door, but it was Manchester United who won the race for his signature. Under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo developed into the complete footballer and athlete, winning three league titles and a Champions League along the way.

He then became the biggest galáctico of them all when he transferred to Real Madrid for a record-breaking fee. Unprecedented success in the Champions League and a record-equalling five Ballons d'Or followed, before his sensational move to Juventus in the summer of 2018.

Guillem Balagué, respected football journalist and expert on the Spanish game, provides the definitive account of a twenty-first-century footballing icon.

The women have something to say. Are you listening?

In this powerful and needed collection, editor Angela P. Dodson brings together the voices of more than thirty-five accomplished women writers on the topic of violence and injustice against Black men. These writers are journalists, authors, scholars, ministers, psychologists, counselors, and other experts. They are also wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, aunties, and friends. Each lends her voice to shine a new light on the injustices and dangers Black men face daily, and how women feel about the vulnerability of our sons, husbands, brothers, fathers, uncles, friends, and other males we care about as they navigate a world that often stereotypes and targets them. Contributors include:

-Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, poet, and author of The Light of the World

-Brenda M. Greene, founder and executive director of the Center for Black Literature, director of the National Black Writers Conference, and professor of English at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York

-Goldie Taylor, former US Marine, MSNBC contributor, author, and an editor at large of The Daily Beast

-Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize winner, National Humanities Medal recipient, and author of Caste and The Warmth of Other Suns

-Charisse Jones, award-winning journalist and coauthor of eight books, including Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America and the New York Times bestselling memoir of Misty Copeland, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

-Audrey Edwards, former executive editor of Essence magazine and the author of seven books, including the award-winning American Runaway: Black and Free in Paris in the Trump Years

-Michelle Duster, author, public historian, and great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells

-Sonya Ross, managing editor of Inside Climate News, founder of Black Women Unmuted, AP's first Black woman White House reporter, and first Black woman elected to the board of the White House Correspondents Association

-Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, contributing writer at The New Yorker, Leon Forrest Professor of African American Studies at Northwestern University, author of Race for Profit, and editor of How We Get Free

-Donna Brazile, endowed chair of the Gwendolyn and Colbert King public policy lecture series at Howard University, member of USA Today's Board of Contributors, Fox News contributor, and author of Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House

-Darnella Frazier, citizen journalist awarded a Pulitzer citation for her role filming the murder of George Floyd

The catalyst for a national conversation, this collection offers historical context that is often missing from public discussions and media coverage, while demonstrating an ongoing pattern of demonizing Black men that is rooted deep in the history of our nation. The essays in this book engage with the emotional toll anti-Black violence takes on women in particular and cast a vision for future activism.

A rare, lucidly composed screenplay from one of America's greatest writers, based on the bestselling classic The Autobiography of Malcolm X. - "Sharp.... Precise.... There is no questioning the depth and sincerity of Baldwin's admiration for Malcolm X." --The Times Literary Supplement

Son of a Baptist minister; New York City hustler; honor student; convicted criminal; powerful minister in the Nation of Islam; father and husband: Malcolm X transformed himself, time and again, in order to become one of the most feared, loved, and undeniably charismatic leaders of twentieth-century America. No one better represents the tumultuous times of his generation, and there is no one better to capture him and his milieu than James Baldwin. With spare, elegant, yet forceful dialogue and fresh, precise camera directions, Baldwin breathes cinematic life into this controversial and important figure, offering a new look at a man who changed himself in order to change the country.

The extraordinary memoir of an orphan who danced her way from war-torn Sierra Leone to ballet stardom, most recently appearing in Beyonce's Lemonade and as a principal in a major American dance company.

"Michaela is nothing short of a miracle, born to be a ballerina. For every young brown, yellow, and purple dancer, she is an inspiration!" --Misty Copeland, world-renowned ballet dancer

Michaela DePrince was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a "devil child" for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life.

At the age of four, Michaela was adopted by an American family, who encouraged her love of dancing and enrolled her in classes. She went on to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre and is now the youngest principal dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She has appeared in the ballet documentary First Position, as well as on Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, and Nightline.

In this engaging, moving, and unforgettable memoir, Michaela shares her dramatic journey from an orphan in West Africa to becoming one of ballet's most exciting rising stars.

"Michaela DePrince is the embodiment of what it means to fight for your dream." --Today

"Michaela DePrince is a role model for girls on and off stage." --NYLON

See the world through Hokusai's eyes and be inspired to produce your own masterpieces.

Have you ever wondered exactly what your favorite artists were looking at to make them draw, sculpt, or paint the way they did? In this charming illustrated series of books to keep and collect, created in full collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, you can see what they saw, and be inspired to create your own artworks, too. In What the Artist Saw: Hokusai, meet groundbreaking Japanese artist Hokusai. Step into his life and learn what led him to create more than 30,000 works of art, including his famous woodcut views of The Great Wave off Kanagawa and Mount Fuji. Discover how he planned to live to 110 and even produced the first ever pieces of manga! Have a go at making your own printed artworks.

In this series, follow the artists' stories and find intriguing facts about their environments and key masterpieces. Then see what you can see and make your own art. Take a closer look at landscapes with Georgia O'Keeffe, or even yourself, with Vincent van Gogh. Every book in this series is one to treasure and keep - perfect for inspiring budding young artists to continue their own artistic journeys.

(c) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

From Paul Auster, author of the forthcoming 4 3 2 1: A Novel - his very first book, a moving and personal meditation on fatherhood

This debut work by New York Times-bestselling author Paul Auster (The New York Trilogy), a memoir, established Auster's reputation as a major new voice in American writing. His moving and personal meditation on fatherhood is split into two stylistically separate sections. In the first, Auster reflects on the memories of his father who was a distant, undemonstrative, and cold man who died an untimely death. As he sifts through his Father's things, Auster uncovers a sixty-year-old murder mystery that sheds light on his father's elusive character. In the second section, the perspective shifts and Auster begins to reflect on his own identity as a father by adopting the voice of a narrator, "A." Through a mosaic of images, coincidences, and associations "A," contemplates his separation from his son, his dying grandfather, turning the story into a self-conscious reflection on the process of writing.

"This book will make you want to ask your loved ones questions about their lives, while you still have them."

When Lucy Walsh was seventeen, she was given sixty-three of the love letters her Grandfather Dale wrote her Grandmother Wanda while he was overseas in World War II. A dozen years later, life changing events compelled Lucy to fly from Los Angeles to tiny Newman, Illinois, to spend three days talking with Wanda for what would be their final conversations. What began for Lucy as asking about the letters, became an unexpected master class in truly living.

This is the story, much of it conveyed in Wanda's inimitable voice, of Wanda's ninety-seven-year-long life, encompassing everything from her English ancestors to the residents in her nursing home. Through Lucy's candid questions and Wanda's soulful stories, we are swept up into one family's legacy that transports readers right into their own experiences and memories of family.

When Lucy isn't talking with Wanda, she visits other relatives and her own memories: the many trips over the years to Illinois and her mother's family; growing up in Los Angeles with two fathers, one a rock star; becoming a performer herself. Inevitably, in her effort to understand where and who she comes from, it becomes the story of Lucy's life as well, to which all readers can relate to in their own search for Self.

We fall in love with the unforgettable Grandma Wanda Mae, as she shares insights and confessions with plenty of comedic relief amongst the pain; making us laugh so hard we cry, and cry so hard we come back around to laughter. This book is a treasure trove of all Wanda has to teach us about what it truly means to be deeply, imperfectly, gloriously human, at every age.

Are you a Fearless enthusiast or a Reputation-era renegade? Discover which Taylor Swift era you truly belong to with the ultimate guide for any Swiftie.

Taylor has enchanted the world with her music and unapologetically authentic persona. This book explores the exciting tapestry of her career, from her country beginnings to her chart-topping pop anthems.

A love letter to the woman who created the soundtrack to so many of our lives, What's Your Era? is a deep dive into each album and what they mean in the wider scope of her career. If you're looking to incorporate more of Taylor's energy and style into your life, or simply want to brush up on your Taylor Swift knowledge, this book is your essential companion. With outfit inspiration for each era, quizzes, and Taylor-themed activities, you'll be all set, whether you're hosting the ultimate Taylor Swift party or prepping for one of her concerts.