Books in Legendary African Americans series

Author Connie Plantz captures all the tension and excitement of Coleman’s soaring achievements. From an early age, Bessie Coleman dreamed of flying, but racial bigotry and gender bias threatened to keep her grounded. Denied entrance to flight training school in the United States, Coleman went to Europe. She returned, triumphant, with a pilot’s license and hopes of opening a flight school for African Americans. Raising funds as a stunt pilot, “Brave Bessie” thrilled her audiences with aerial tricks. Coleman’s life ended in a tragic accident, but not before her dream of flight made aviation history.

Benjamin Banneker, born in 1731, was a man ahead of his time. As a free African American in a time of slavery, Banneker was not welcome in white society, and he spent most of his life on his Maryland farm. There he harnessed his keen and curious intellect to teach himself complex mathematics and astronomy. Banneker secured a place in history with his role in surveying the site for the capital city, Washington D.C., and his published almanacs with precise tide calculations and weather predictions. Also, Banneker himself was one of the first African Americans to speak out against slavery. Banneker's accomplishments were used by abolitionists as proof of the intellectual powers of his race.

Author Catherine Reef paints a rich and memorable portrait of the first African American to earn his living as a writer. "I know why the caged bird sings," wrote Paul Laurence Dunbar in "Sympathy," one of his best-loved poems. Born in 1872 to former slaves, Dunbar touched the nation with poetry that portrayed the sorrows and the joys of African-American life. Dunbar's work spoke directly to the hearts of his readers, and his legacy inspired the generation of African-American poets who followed.

Despite being a slave, Douglass learned to read and write. At age 21, he escaped from slavery and forged a new life for himself as a free man. Intelligent and charismatic, Douglass became the leading voice against slavery in the 1800s. "There is no way a nation can call itself free and accept slavery," said Frederick Douglass. Middle-grade readers and up will respond to Anne Schraff's fresh, lively retelling of Douglass's story.

Benjamin Banneker, born in 1731, was a man ahead of his time. As a free African American in a time of slavery, Banneker was not welcome in white society, and he spent most of his life on his Maryland farm. There he harnessed his keen and curious intellect to teach himself complex mathematics and astronomy. Banneker secured a place in history with his role in surveying the site for the capital city, Washington D.C., and his published almanacs with precise tide calculations and weather predictions. Also, Banneker himself was one of the first African Americans to speak out against slavery. Banneker's accomplishments were used by abolitionists as proof of the intellectual powers of his race.

Author Connie Plantz captures all the tension and excitement of Coleman’s soaring achievements. From an early age, Bessie Coleman dreamed of flying, but racial bigotry and gender bias threatened to keep her grounded. Denied entrance to flight training school in the United States, Coleman went to Europe. She returned, triumphant, with a pilot’s license and hopes of opening a flight school for African Americans. Raising funds as a stunt pilot, “Brave Bessie” thrilled her audiences with aerial tricks. Coleman’s life ended in a tragic accident, but not before her dream of flight made aviation history.

Local storyteller Jonathan Kruk shares the mysterious lore of the Hudson Valley, best known among them Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman is one of America's best known fables, but what other stories does the Hudson Valley hold? Imps cause mischief on the Hudson River, a white lady haunts Raven Rock, Major Andre's ghost seeks redemption and real headless Hessians search for their severed skulls. These mysterious and spooky tales from the region's past that inspired Irving and continues to captivate the imagination to this day.

In the shadows of the quiet mountain towns of Western Maryland, strange creatures are said to lurk in the woods while phantoms wander the foothills. The Hagerstown clock tower is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a young artist killed during the Civil War, while the low summit of South Mountain was once host to a mysterious spell-caster, the Wizard Zittle. Farther west, tales of legendary hunter Meshach Browning echo among the Allegany Mountains while visitors to Deep Creek Lake may feel the chilling presence of monks who never left their former monastery. From the 1909 hoax of the monstrous Snallygaster that terrorized the Middletown Valley to the doglike Dwayyo that was spotted near Frederick in 1965, local historian Susan Fair rounds up the bizarre beasts, odd characters and unsolved mysteries that color the legends and lore of Western Maryland.

*Includes pictures. *Includes Day's quotes about her life and career. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. “I’ve been through everything. I always said I was like those round-bottomed circus dolls — you know, those dolls you could push down and they’d come back up? I’ve always been like that. I’ve always said, ‘No matter what happens, if I get pushed down, I’m going to come right back up.’” – Doris Day A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. It goes without saying that few people have a career spanning 8 decades, yet that claim to fame is occupied by the legendary Doris Day, who got her start in show business as a singer in a big band in 1939 and has not let up since. From there, Day went on to record dozens of albums and hundreds of songs, winning a countless number of awards on the way to being one of the 20th century’s most popular singers. One of those recognitions came just a few years ago in 2011, when Day, by that time nearing 90 years old, released a new album that charted 9th in the UK Top 40 Albums, making her the oldest singer ever with that distinction. Her musical career would’ve been impressive enough, but Doris Day is just as well known today for her film career, which wasn’t so bad itself. Though her time in Hollywood was much shorter in comparison to her music career, she nevertheless managed to reach the top in that industry as well. As one of the most popular actresses of the ‘60s, Day was the biggest box office draw in Hollywood in the early half of that decade, and the only woman among the Top 10. In the process of making nearly 40 movies, Day would eventually be recognized as the highest grossing actress in history, and at the same time she was good enough at her craft to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. Amazingly, despite her incredible success in both music and film, Day eventually found herself bankrupt due to the mismanagement of her money by her husband, compelling her to reinvent herself as the host of a popular television sitcom. Perhaps not surprisingly, Day excelled in this field as well, making The Doris Day Show one of the most popular shows on television for several years at the end of the ‘60s. American Legends: The Life of Doris Day examines the life and career of one of the entertainment industry’s biggest stars. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Doris Day like never before, in no time at all.