Three-time Newbery Honor author Gary Paulsen recounts the remarkable experiences that shaped his life and inspired his award-winning novels in this vividly detailed nonfiction middle grade book.Gary Paulsen is no stranger to adventure. He has flown off the back of a dogsled and down a frozen waterfall to near disaster and waited for a giant bear to seal his fate with one slap of a claw. He has led a team of sled dogs toward the Alaskan Mountain Range in an Iditarod—the grueling, 1,180-mile dogsled race—hallucinating from lack of sleep but determined to finish. Discover the true stories behind his thrilling books in this incredible book. Read more

From the bestselling author Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG comes an autobiographical account of his exploits as a World War II pilot! Superb stories, daring deeds, fantastic adventures! Learn all about Roald Dahl's encounters with the enemy, his worldwide travels, the life-threatening injuries he sustained in a plane accident, and the rest of his sometimes bizarre, often unnerving, and always colorful adventures. Told with the same irresistible appeal that has made Roald Dahl one of the world's best-loved writers, Going Solo brings you directly into the action and into the mind of this fascinating man. Read more

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From the bestselling author Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG comes an autobiographical account of his exploits as a World War II pilot! Superb stories, daring deeds, fantastic adventures! Learn all about Roald Dahl's encounters with the enemy, his worldwide travels, the life-threatening injuries he sustained in a plane accident, and the rest of his sometimes bizarre, often unnerving, and always colorful adventures. Told with the same irresistible appeal that has made Roald Dahl one of the world's best-loved writers, Going Solo brings you directly into the action and into the mind of this fascinating man. Read more

It's no secret that Beethoven went deaf, that Mozart had constant money problems, and that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote musicals. But what were these people—and other famous musicians—really like? What did they eat? What did they wear? How did they spend their time? And—possibly most interesting of all—what did their neighbors think?Discover the fascinating and often humorous stories of twenty famous musicians—people of all shapes, sizes, temperaments, and lifestyles, from various countries and historical periods. Beginning with Vivaldi and ending with Woodie Guthrie, Lives of the Musicians brings musical history to life! Read more

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“Both timely and terrifying.” ―Gregory Macguire, New York Times–bestselling author of WickedPairing free verse with over three hundred pages of black-and-white watercolor illustrations, Mary’s Monster is a unique and stunning biography of Mary Shelley, the pregnant teenage runaway who became one of the greatest authors of all time.Legend is correct that Mary Shelley began penning Frankenstein in answer to a dare to write a ghost story. What most people don't know, however, is that the seeds of her novel had been planted long before that night. By age nineteen, she had been disowned by her family, was living in scandal with a married man, and had lost her baby daughter just days after her birth. Mary poured her grief, pain, and passion into the powerful book still revered two hundred years later, and in Mary's Monster, author/illustrator Lita Judge has poured her own passion into a gorgeous book that pays tribute to the life of this incredible author.A 2019 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade BookA 2019 Amelia Bloomer Project BookThis title has Common Core connections. Read more

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NOW IN PAPERBACK!WINNER, AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD HONOR, MICHAL L. PRINTZ AWARD LONGLIST, NATIONAL BOOK AWARDTIME 10 Best YA and Children's Books of the Year NPR Best of the Year Shelf Awareness Best of the YearPublishers Weekly Big Indie Books of Fall Amazon Best Book of the Month ​American Indians in Youth Literature Best of the Year​ CSMCL Best Multicultural Children's Books of the Year "Stirring…. Raw and moving."—TIME "Beautiful imagery and with words that soar and scald."—The Buffalo News "Easily one of the best books to be published in 2020. The kind of book bound to save lives."— LitHub "A powerful narrative about identity and belonging." —Paste Magazine ★ "Timely and important." —Booklist (starred) ★ "Searing yet dryly funny." —The Bulletin (starred) ★ "Exceptional." —Shelf-Awareness (starred) ★​ "Captivating​." —S​chool Library Journal (starred)The term "Apple" is a slur in Native communities across the country. It's for someone supposedly "red on the outside, white on the inside." In Apple (Skin to the Core), Eric Gansworth tells his story, the story of his family—of Onondaga among Tuscaroras—of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist who balances multiple worlds. Eric shatters that slur and reclaims it in verse and prose and imagery that truly lives up to the word heartbreaking. Read more

Powerful plays, deadly plagues, and chamber pots… Shakespeare lived in a world vastly different from our own. This nonfiction text breathes life into the pages of history, and gives students a sense of what life was like in Shakespeare's time. Developed by Timothy Rasinski and featuring TIME content, this biography includes essential text features like an index, captions, glossary, and table of contents. The intriguing sidebars, fascinating images, and detailed Reader's Guide prompt students to connect back to the text. The Think Link and Dig Deeper sections develop students' higher-order thinking skills. The Check It Out! section includes suggested books, videos, and websites for further reading. Aligned with state standards, this title features complex and rigorous content appropriate for students preparing for college and career readiness. Read more

Guess what -- Gary Paulsen was being kind to Brian. In Guts, Gary tells the real stories behind the Brian books, the stories of the adventures that inspired him to write Brian Robeson's story: working as an emergency volunteer; the death that inspired the pilot's death in Hatchet; plane crashes he has seen and near-misses of his own. He describes how he made his own bows and arrows, and takes readers on his first hunting trips, showing the wonder and solace of nature along with his hilarious mishaps and mistakes. He shares special memories, such as the night he attracted every mosquito in the county, or how he met the moose with a sense of humor, and the moose who made it personal. There's a handy chapter on "Eating Eyeballs and Guts or Starving: The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition." Recipes included. Readers may wonder how Gary Paulsen survived to write all of his books -- well, it took guts. Read more

Winner of the American Indian Youth Literature AwardPrintz Honor WinnerNational Book Award LonglistTIME 10 Best YA and Children's Books of the YearNPR Best of the YearShelf Awareness Best of the YearPublishers Weekly Big Indie Books of FallAmazon Best Book of the MonthAICL Best YA Books of the YearCSMCL Best Multicultural Children's Books of the Year"Stirring.. Raw and moving."—TIME"Beautiful imagery and with words that soar and scald."—The Buffalo News"Easily one of the best books to be published in 2020. The kind of book bound to save lives."—LitHub"A powerful narrative about identity and belonging."—Paste Magazine★ "Timely and important."—Booklist, starred review★ "Searing yet dryly funny."—The Bulletin, starred review★ "Exceptional."—Shelf-Awareness, starred review★ "Captivating."—School Library Journal, starred reviewThe term "Apple" is a slur in Native communities across the country. It's for someone supposedly "red on the outside, white on the inside."In Apple (Skin to the Core), Eric Gansworth tells his story, the story of his family—of Onondaga among Tuscaroras—of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist who balances multiple worlds.Eric shatters that slur and reclaims it in verse and prose and imagery that truly lives up to the word heartbreaking. Read more

"When a war ends it does not go away," my mother says."It hides inside us . . . Just forget!" But I do not want to do what Mother says . . . I want to remember.In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family; the harshness of life in the Middle East as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home.Transcending the particulars of politics, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood is an illuminating and timely book that provides a telling glimpse into a part of the Middle East that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace.Winner of the Arab American National Museum Book Award for Children's/YA Literature“In vivid, beautiful prose, Ibtisam Barakat transports readers into a place few Westerners have ever seen―the interior life of a young girl and her family in the occupied West Bank. This book, appropriate for readers young and old, holds literature’s great power: the power to humanize the ‘other,’ and to therefore change the way we understand our world.” ―Sandy Tolan, author of The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East Read more

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A mesmerizing memoir from three-time Newbery Honor–winning author Gary Paulsen―whose books have sold over 35 million copies worldwide―giving readers a new perspective on the origins of his blockbuster contemporary classic Hatchet and other famed survival stories.“Leaves you gritting your teeth and clutching the pages . . . Haunted me as a reader.” ―The New York Times Book Review★ “This literary treasure is written for book lovers of any age.” ―Shelf Awareness, starred reviewHis name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival adventures. Now, beloved author Gary Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood as his own original survival story. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller.An entrancing and critically lauded account of grit and growing up, perfect for newcomers and lifelong fans alike, Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood is literary legend Gary Paulsen at his rawest and most real.Don’t miss Gary Paulsen’s other acclaimed books from Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers: the father-son comedy How to Train Your Dad and the page-turning survival adventure Northwind. Read more

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This intriguing biography examines the life of the writer who brought us the magical world of Harry Potter. Featuring TIME content, this nonfiction reader builds critical literacy skills while engaging students and enriching content-area instruction. Developed by Timothy Rasinski-a leading expert in reading research-this purposefully leveled text guides students to increased fluency and comprehension of nonfiction text. The complex text structure adds rigor and allows students to delve deeply into the subject matter. The images support the text in abstract ways to challenge students to think more deeply about the topics and develop their higher-order thinking skills.Informational text features include a table of contents, sidebars, captions, bold font, an extensive glossary, and a detailed index to further understanding and build academic vocabulary. The Reader's Guide and Try It! culminating activity require students to connect back to the text, and provide opportunities for further language-development activities. Aligned with state standards, this text connects with McREL, WIDA/TESOL standards and prepares students for college and career. Read more

From aspiring writer to convicted drug smuggler: a young man's journey of self-discovery behind bars.In the summer of 1971, Jack Gantos was an aspiring writer looking for adventure, cash for college tuition, and a way out of a dead-end job. For ten thousand dollars, he recklessly agreed to help sail a sixty-foot yacht loaded with a ton of hashish from the Virgin Islands to New York City, where he and his partners sold the drug until federal agents caught up with them. For his part in the conspiracy, Gantos was sentenced to serve up to six years in prison.In Hole in My Life, this prizewinning author of over thirty books for young people confronts the period of struggle and confinement that marked the end of his own youth. On the surface, the narrative tumbles from one crazed moment to the next as Gantos pieces together the story of his restless final year of high school, his short-lived career as a criminal, and his time in prison. But running just beneath the action is the story of how Gantos – once he was locked up in a small, yellow-walled cell – moved from wanting to be a writer to writing, and how dedicating himself more fully to the thing he most wanted to do helped him endure and ultimately overcome the worst experience of his life.Hole in My Life is a raw and honest memoir that explores themes of ambition, incarceration, and the transformative power of writing. A Michael L. Printz and Robert F. Sibert Honor book, it offers a unique perspective on the consequences of youthful mistakes and the resilience of the human spirit. This title has Common Core connections. Read more