Books in My name is Pisces series

This is the remarkable story of Phillis Wheatley, who is born into an African family of griots, or storytellers, but captured by slave raiders and forced aboard a slave ship, where appalling conditions spell death for many of her companions. Numerous sharks follow the ship, feeding on the corpses of slaves thrown overboard. Weakened by the voyage and near death in a Boston slave market, Wheatley is bought by a kind family who nurses her back to health and teaches her to read and write. Soon her mistress recognizes that the girl is a quick learner and talented. At the age of 12, a torrent of poetry begins to flow out of Wheatley. Proud of her achievements, her mistress organizes readings in Boston's finest parlors and drawing rooms, and Wheatley's fame spreads. But even when many in Boston are calling her a prodigy and a genius, some remain unsure that a slave should be able to write, much less write poetry. When Phillis travels to London she is a media sensation, feted by the cream of English society. A book of her poems is published, and she finally gains her freedom. This amazing story, wide in scope, is based on fact and told convincingly from young Wheatley's point of view.

Often shocking, always compelling, Afua Cooper's novel is based on the life of Henry Bibb, an American slave who after repeated attempts escaped in 1841 to become an anti-slavery speaker, author and founder of a Black newspaper. Cooper takes painstakingly researched details about slavery and weaves an intimate story of Bibb's young life, which is overshadowed by inconceivable brutality. At nine years old, Henry is separated from his mother and brothers and hired out, suffering abuse at the hands of cruel masters so severe he almost dies. Henry's courageous life is described in intimate detail and young readers will learn about everyday slave life on a plantation and in towns and cities, the coded language of slave escapes and the dangerous routes over land and water to safe houses. As Henry Bibb moves from boyhood to manhood, he knows that one day he will "fly away" as in the old legend of the Africans who flew away to freedom. The first-person narrative, convincingly told in Henry's voice, traces Bibb's boyhood, marriage, fatherhood and the developing awareness of his bondage and his determination to break free of it or die.

Leonardo was one of the greatest figures of the Italian Renaissance. Born in 1452 in the town of Vinci, he first made his reputation as an artist in Florence. But he was also a pioneer in modern science, a student of human anatomy, and an inventor of devices that were used in his day as military weapons. He is perhaps best known today for his painting of the Mona Lisa, which now hangs in the Louvre in Paris, and for his fresco of The Last Supper, located in Milan. Older boys and girls will find hours of reading pleasure in the very accessible biographies in the My Name Is ... series. The narratives are substantial, averaging roughly 7,500 words each, as they recount their subjects’ accomplishments in the context of their times and historical backgrounds. Each book’s narrative is supplemented with handsome full-color illustrations, including some of full-page size. Titles in this series make ideal additions both to school and home libraries, and can serve as supplementary reading for classroom discussion and essay projects. A two-page time line at the back of each book summarizes the subject’s life, as well as important cultural and historical events that occurred during his lifetime.

Vincent van Gogh was born in the Netherlands, but spent most of his life as an artist in Paris and the southern French town of Arles. His art, with its unusually vibrant colors and fantastic shapes, found very little acceptance during his lifetime, and he was supported in large part by his more practical brother, Theo, an art dealer. Vincent suffered from periods of clinical depression, which culminated with his suicide in 1890, when he was only 47 years old. His recognition as one of the great artists of his time came only after his death. Older boys and girls will find hours of reading pleasure in the very accessible biographies in the My Name Is ... series. The narratives are substantial, averaging roughly 7,500 words each, as they recount their subjects’ accomplishments in the context of their times and historical backgrounds. Each book’s narrative is supplemented with handsome full-color illustrations, including some of full-page size. Titles in this series make ideal additions both to school and home libraries, and can serve as supplementary reading for classroom discussion and essay projects. A two-page time line at the back of each book summarizes the subject’s life, as well as important cultural and historical events that occurred during his lifetime.

Here’s the story of one of the world’s greatest scientists. His parents thought he was rather slow in childhood, but perhaps he was merely keeping his thoughts to himself. Born in Germany in 1879, he published his famous theory of special relativity in 1905, which revolutionized science. Later as a refugee from Nazi persecution, he fled to America and spent many satisfying years at Princeton University. Older boys and girls will find hours of reading pleasure in the very accessible biographies in the My Name Is ... series. The narratives are substantial, averaging roughly 7,500 words each, as they recount their subjects’ accomplishments in the context of their times and historical backgrounds. Each book’s narrative is supplemented with handsome full-color illustrations, including some of full-page size. Titles in this series make ideal additions both to school and home libraries, and can serve as supplementary reading for classroom discussion and essay projects. A two-page time line at the back of each book summarizes the subject’s life, as well as important cultural and historical events that occurred during his lifetime.

The Spaniard, Pablo Picasso, is considered one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists. He spent most of his life in France, where he and his friend Georges Braque pioneered in the style called cubism. However, Picasso painted and sculpted in many different styles. Among his most famous works is Guernica, which he painted in 1937 as a statement of protest against fascists and the Spanish Civil War. Older boys and girls will find hours of reading pleasure in the very accessible biographies in the My Name Is ... series. The narratives are substantial, averaging roughly 7,500 words each, as they recount their subjects’ accomplishments in the context of their times and historical backgrounds. Each book’s narrative is supplemented with handsome full-color illustrations, including some of full-page size. Titles in this series make ideal additions both to school and home libraries, and can serve as supplementary reading for classroom discussion and essay projects. A two-page time line at the back of each book summarizes the subject’s life, as well as important cultural and historical events that occurred during his lifetime.

The Spaniard, Pablo Picasso, is considered one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists. He spent most of his life in France, where he and his friend Georges Braque pioneered in the style called cubism. However, Picasso painted and sculpted in many different styles. Among his most famous works is Guernica, which he painted in 1937 as a statement of protest against fascists and the Spanish Civil War. Older boys and girls will find hours of reading pleasure in the very accessible biographies in the My Name Is ... series. The narratives are substantial, averaging roughly 7,500 words each, as they recount their subjects’ accomplishments in the context of their times and historical backgrounds. Each book’s narrative is supplemented with handsome full-color illustrations, including some of full-page size. Titles in this series make ideal additions both to school and home libraries, and can serve as supplementary reading for classroom discussion and essay projects. A two-page time line at the back of each book summarizes the subject’s life, as well as important cultural and historical events that occurred during his lifetime.

Leonardo was one of the greatest figures of the Italian Renaissance. Born in 1452 in the town of Vinci, he first made his reputation as an artist in Florence. But he was also a pioneer in modern science, a student of human anatomy, and an inventor of devices that were used in his day as military weapons. He is perhaps best known today for his painting of the Mona Lisa, which now hangs in the Louvre in Paris, and for his fresco of The Last Supper, located in Milan. Older boys and girls will find hours of reading pleasure in the very accessible biographies in the My Name Is ... series. The narratives are substantial, averaging roughly 7,500 words each, as they recount their subjects’ accomplishments in the context of their times and historical backgrounds. Each book’s narrative is supplemented with handsome full-color illustrations, including some of full-page size. Titles in this series make ideal additions both to school and home libraries, and can serve as supplementary reading for classroom discussion and essay projects. A two-page time line at the back of each book summarizes the subject’s life, as well as important cultural and historical events that occurred during his lifetime.

Here’s the story of one of the world’s greatest scientists. His parents thought he was rather slow in childhood, but perhaps he was merely keeping his thoughts to himself. Born in Germany in 1879, he published his famous theory of special relativity in 1905, which revolutionized science. Later as a refugee from Nazi persecution, he fled to America and spent many satisfying years at Princeton University. Older boys and girls will find hours of reading pleasure in the very accessible biographies in the My Name Is ... series. The narratives are substantial, averaging roughly 7,500 words each, as they recount their subjects’ accomplishments in the context of their times and historical backgrounds. Each book’s narrative is supplemented with handsome full-color illustrations, including some of full-page size. Titles in this series make ideal additions both to school and home libraries, and can serve as supplementary reading for classroom discussion and essay projects. A two-page time line at the back of each book summarizes the subject’s life, as well as important cultural and historical events that occurred during his lifetime.