Anderson, Beth

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most famous founding fathers, but did you know that his mind was always on science? This STEM/STEAM picture book tells how Jefferson's scientific thinking and method battled against faulty facts and bias to prove that his new nation was just as good as any in the Old World. Young Thomas Jefferson loved to measure the natural world: plants and animals, mountains and streams, crops and weather. With a notepad in his pocket, he constantly examined, experimented, and explored. He dreamed of making great discoveries like the well-known scientific author, Count Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon. But when Buffon published an encyclopedia of the natural world, Jefferson was furious! According to the French count, America was cold and swampy, and filled with small and boring animals, nothing like the majestic creatures of the OId World. Jefferson knew Buffon had never even been to America. Where had Buffon gotten his information? Had he cherry-picked the facts to suit his arguments? Was he biased in favor of Europe? How could Jefferson prove Buffon wrong? By using scientific inquiry, of course!.

"Deborah Sampson longs to break free. To be much more than a girl is allowed to be. Caught up in her country's fight for independence, 18-year-old Deborah declares her own independence. She soon enlists in George Washington's Continental Army, signing on as Robert Shurtliff. A young lady can't battle the British--a man can! But being a soldier is hard, dangerous work. Can she keep her identity a secret? Can she prove herself in combat? Will she win her battle to choose her own path? Find out in this inspirational story of a true American rebel"--Provided by publisher.

"A biography about female Revolutionary War activist Prudence Wright, showing how she assembled the first and only group of "minute women" to fight the British, forever changing history"--Adapted from publisher description.

"This picture book introduces readers to the . . . first son who, forming a special and patient bond with his father, coped with a disability, and other challenges while showing compassion, intelligence and wisdom . . ."--BTCat.

"One hundred years before Rosa Parks took her stand, Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Jennings tried to board a streetcar in New York City on her way to church. Though there were plenty of empty seats, she was denied entry, assaulted, and threatened all because of her race--even though New York was a free state at that time. Lizzie decided to fight back. She told her story, took her case to court-- where future president Chester Arthur represented her-- and won! Her victory was the first recorded in the fight for equal rights on public transportation, and Lizzie's case set a precedent"--OCLC.

"James Kelly smelled EVERYTHING: rats in the shed; circus elephants a mile away; tomorrow's rain. His sense of smell was EXTRAORDINARY. But what good was a powerful nose? How could his super-sniffer make him special? In the New York City subway, James found his calling--and earned the nickname Smelly Kelly. Armed with his super-sniffer and the tools he invented, he tracked down leaks from the dangerous to the disgusting, from the comical to the bizarre. Then, he sprang into action to prevent cave-ins and explosions in the tunnels beneath the city. Smelly Kelly not only hunted leaks but also saved lives--and he discovered the truly extraordinary power inside him"--OCLC.

In 1854, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings, an African American schoolteacher, fought back when she was unjustly denied entry to a New York City streetcar, sparking the beginnings of the long struggle to gain equal rights on public transportation.

Details the origins of Noah Webster's first American English dictionary and the struggles of Webster and Ben Franklin to help unify the new country through language in the 1780s.