Showing results by narrator "Kevin Pariseau" in All Categories

Beyond his on-stage magic, Houdini also made his mark as an airplane pioneer, movie star, and debunker of frauds. His renown extended from his childhood home in Appleton, Wisconsin to Europe to Sydney, Australia. Children will thrill as they read about his seemingly superhuman successes - including when Houdini, hanging by his ankles and wrapped in a straightjacket, managed to free himself in less than three minutes.

Born to a family of farmers, Lincoln stood out from an early age - literally! (He was six feet four inches tall.) As 16th president of the United States, he guided the nation through the Civil War and saw the abolition of slavery. But Lincoln was tragically shot one night at Ford’s Theater - the first president to be assassinated. 

Every kid has heard of Harry Houdini, the famous magician who could escape from handcuffs, jail cells, and locked trunks. But do they know that the ever-ambitious and adventurous Houdini was also a famous movie star and the first pilot to fly a plane in Australia? This well-told biography is full of the details of Houdini's life that kids will really want to know about! 

Called the "Great Pathfinder", Daniel Boone is most famous for opening up the West to settlers through Kentucky. A symbol of America's pioneering spirit Boone was a skilled outdoorsman and an avid reader, although he never attended school. Sydelle Kramer skillfully recounts Boone's many adventures, such as the day he rescued his own daughter from kidnappers. 

From his childhood in rural Illinois to movie-making days in Hollywood and on to a career in politics that took him all the way to the Oval Office, Ronald Reagan kept an abiding faith in America and in what our country stood for. The oldest president ever, he survived a near-fatal assassination attempt and lived to be 93. Who Was Ronald Reagan? covers his life and times in a balanced, entertaining way for children. 

Did you know that John Adams had to coax Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence? It's true. The shy Virginia statesman refused at first, but then went on to author one of our nation's most important and inspiring documents. The third US president, Jefferson was also an architect, inventor, musician, farmer, and - what is certainly the most troubling aspect of his life - a slave owner. Finally, here's a biography for kids that unveils the many facets of this founding father's remarkable and complicated life. 

Having spent the past three decades' worth of summers on Nantucket, the Warners are as much a part of the island as the crust of salt on the ferry. But this year is different: Tripp is no longer the father he was, and it becomes clear that nothing - not the beams that hold the house together, and not the values the family clings to - can survive the ravages of time. When tradition turns to tragedy, the creaky old house swirls with suspicion. There are just so many reasons to want someone gone.

This Newbery Honor Book - from a three-time Newbery Honor author - paints an indelible portrait of the prairie president. Clara Ingram Judson presents Lincoln in all his gauntness, gawkiness, and greatness: a backwoods boy who became President and saved the Union. Judson's careful reading is enlivened by her visits to his home and vivid descriptions of the Lincoln family's pioneer life.

Research polls, media interviews, and everyday conversations reveal an unsettling truth: citizens, while well-meaning and even passionate about current affairs, appear to know very little about politics. Hundreds of surveys document vast numbers of citizens answering even basic questions about government incorrectly. Given this unfortunate state of affairs, it is not surprising that more knowledgeable people often deride the public for its ignorance.