"Three years after his death at ninety-one, J.D. Salinger remains our most mythic writer. The Catcher in the Rye (1951) became an American classic, and he was for a long time the writer for The New Yorker. Franny and Zooey and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters introduced, by way of the Glass family, a new type in contemporary literature: the introspective, voluble cast of characters whose stage is the Upper East Side of New York. But fame proved...

"This beautiful picture book tells the little-known story of Raven Wilkinson, the first African American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company and an inspiration to Misty Copeland. When she was only five years old, her parents took her to see the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Raven perched on her crushed velvet seat, heard the tympani, and cried with delight even before the curtain lifted. From that moment on, her passion for dance only...

"In a crowded Chicago airport, an incident at TSA impacts twelve young Asian Americans, all strangers to one another before this day. As events cause their journeys to intertwine, they discover the challenges of friendship, the perils of younger siblings, the power or words, and the unexpected significance of a blue Stratocaster electric guitar. Twelve virtuoso authors draw from their own experiences to explore themes of identity and belonging in...

Introduces the life of renowned children's author and illustrator Ted Geisel,popularly known as Dr. Seuss, focusing on his childhood and youth in Springfield, Massachusetts. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel (better known under his pseudonym "Dr. Seuss") was probably the best-loved and best-selling children's book writer of all time....

"Now, in his own words, "Irish" Micky Ward tells his inspirational life story as only he can. From his first bout at the age of seven, Micky Ward was known foremost for giving as good as he got and for leaving absolutely everything he had in the ring. When he fought, quitting was never an option. It was that indomitable spirit that would allow him to survive, battle against, and overcome the harsh realities that he faced every day of his life. For...

Historical documentarian Harriet Reisen presents a vivid, energetic account of the life of Louisa May Alcott, the first complete biography of the beloved author whose work has delighted millions of readers.

Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocked to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art work had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers...

Experiences of a correspondent of the New York Tribune within the Confederate lines in 1861, and later with the Union armies and in southern prisons.

Following her retirement from Princeton University, celebrated historian Dr. Nell Irvin Painter surprised everyone in her life by returning to school--in her sixties--to earn a BFA and MFA in painting. In Old in Art School, she travels from her beloved Newark to the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design; finds meaning in the artists she loves, even as she comes to understand how they may be undervalued; and struggles with the unstable balance...

My Three Years with Eisenhower could have been written only by the man who lived with Dwight D. Eisenhower day and night; who acted as his friend and confidant; whose duties ranged from opening the General's car door to handling such ticklish jobs as the battle between General Patton and Sergeant Bill Mauldin; who saw Dwight Eisenhower, in his intimate day by day life, develop from a relatively unknown staff officer to the Commander of the greatest...