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In 1926, the very first Winnie-the-Pooh book was published. One hundred years later, generations of kids have grown up in the Hundred Acre Wood. How a Bear Became a Book tells the story of how writer, illustrator, and editor came together to craft Pooh's first adventure. But deeper than that, this book introduces our youngest listeners to how stories begin and where they can go. As Pooh's voice enters the text, he slowly comes to life in the art.

When Jules Verne was born in 1828, his family had his future planned out for him. They expected him to become a lawyer, but he dreamed of writing. He started out writing more traditional poetry and plays, but then he began to create a new, unconventional kind of fiction. It combined adventure, the modern world of science and invention, and his personal view of the future. With fantastical characters, spaceships to the moon, and deep-sea submarines, his books told of things that would not actually occur for decades.

More than a century after Louisa May Alcott wrote them, classics such as Little Women, Little Men, and Jo’s Boys continue to be read and treasured by readers around the world. Alcott began writing as a young girl and dreamed of becoming a rich and famous author. Despite supporting her entire family with the proceeds from her writings, she was able to achieve her dreams and became one of the best-known and admired writers of her time.

Growing up in China as the child of American missionaries, Pearl read and listened to stories from both the East and the West. A story, she thought, was a wonderful way to learn about people and places. Pearl had read and heard about America and her family there, but she had never met her American relatives. When, at the age of 10, she spent a year in America, Pearl came to understand that she was a part of two worlds. Between Two Worlds tells the story of how Pearl Buck worked to increase the understanding between the two worlds she knew.

As a small boy, Charles Dickens worked in a dark, musty London warehouse, pasting labels onto pots of boot polish. He tried not to listen to his grumbling stomach or the rats squeaking on the stairs. His dream was to escape that misery one day and become a fine, educated gentleman. Through his gift for writing, that day did come for Dickens. But he never forgot what it was like to be poor. He wrote stories about London's lower classes—tales that made people laugh, cry, and work to improve their social conditions.

Tea with a hedgehog and supper with a rabbit? Beatrix Potter entertained guests that most people—certainly Beatrix Potter's proper Victorian parents—would have thought belonged in a meadow, not in a London nursery. Such unlikely companions were company for lonely Beatrix, and she spent much of her time sketching and making up stories about these small creatures. Beatrix was so well acquainted with the characters of her various animal friends that when she was older it seemed natural to write and illustrate small books about their delightful adventures.

Young Pauline Baynes lives in India, a land of towering mountains, sparkling lakes, and bright flowers. She even has a pet monkey that joins her for tea. Then her life takes a turn, and Pauline is sent to dreary England. Books bring light and color to her world, so she sets out to paint the stories she loves. Years later, two iconic authors see her paintings and know she’s the illustrator for their stories—of fire-breathing dragons, towering giants, a golden lion, and four brave children.

In 1945, when Jella was tasked with what seemed like an insurmountable challenge―to create a haven of imagination and joy for the children of a Germany scarred by war—she turned to a steadfast companion: books. As a Jewish woman who had fled from the Nazis, Jella was determined to restore a sense of childhood to the young people who had only known conflict and violence. Despite constant obstacles, Jella persevered, and with the help of publishers and children from around the world, she amassed an extraordinary collection of 4,000 children’s books in pursuit of her mission to promote peace.

First-grader Tomie dePaola experiences uncertainty in the weeks following the attack on pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. What are the grown-ups talking quietly about at home and even at school? Why does his class have to go to the spooky furnace room for an air raid drill? Why does the family hang thick black curtains over the windows? Tomie's mother is there to comfort and explain the confusion, and Tomie feels better. but he's still scared.

Well-loved author Tomie dePaola brings his childhood memories to audio in this collection of the first four books from his 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE series.

Tomie keeps hearing the phrase, "For the duration." Gas is being rationed "for the duration." The Fourth of July fireworks will be the last show "for the duration." So many things will be different as long as the war goes on, but much of Tomie's life goes on as usual. He's excited about starring in a dance recital, taking the bus around town all by himself, and having his first Communion. But Tomie is also still getting over his cousin's death in the war, and he has to say good-bye to his uncle as he ships off to basic training.

Well-loved author Tomie dePaola brings his childhood memories to audio in this collection of books 5-8 from his 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE series.

From imaginative child to visionary storyteller, Toni Morrison was a fiercely inspiring writer that helped change the world. This poetic book is part love letter and part biography, praising the power of this Nobel Prize winner. With its tender refrain, readers will know how much Morrison's stories -- and their own -- mean to the world. She was loved -- and so are they!

Samuel Clemens grew up in a child's paradise--Hannibal, Missouri. There, mischief added humor to everyday events as Sam encountered the folks who would one day reappear as Huck Finn, Aunt Polly, and Becky Thatcher in his books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. At eighteen, Sam left Hannibal to seek his fortune. He became a newspaperman and story writer.

Taken from her family in Africa at the age of seven, Phillis Wheatley arrived in Boston as a slave in 1761. After she was purchased by the Wheatley family, Phillis quickly learned to speak and read English. The bright young girl soon began writing poetry. By 1771, her poems had been published in newspapers all over the colonies, and critics were praising the "extraordinary negro poetess." In this engaging biography, author Maryann Weidt tells the story of how a young slave girl in revolutionary Boston became an internationally famous poet and the first black American to publish a book.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary spent her entire lifetime fighting for justice and equality for African Americans. Born a free African American in the 1820s, Cary started schools for black children and wrote books and articles. She was also the first black woman to publish a weekly newspaper and to enter law school. Never afraid of offending anyone, Cary demanded justice for herself and for her fellow African Americans.

Walt Whitman is celebrated as an iconic American poet, but few know of the crucial and heroic role he played tending to the wounded and dying in Civil War hospitals. This nonfiction book highlights Whitman’s compassion and teaches an important lesson about empathy. New York Times-bestselling author Gary Golio and Caldecott Honor artist E. B. Lewis bring Whitman’s story and his passion for America to life.

Barbara Cooney set her mind to lots of things—none so dear as capturing the beauty of the world in her paintings. These paintings would form the settings for her award-winning picture books, including Chanticleer and the Fox, Ox-Cart Man, Miss Rumphius, Roxaboxen, and others. Follow Barbara from New York to Maine, from the shores of Greece to the mountains of Appalachia, as she captures their beauty and creates some of the most magnificent books for children ever published.

"All the world's a stage," William Shakespeare wrote. More than 400 years later, stages around the world still show Shakespeare's plays. But who was William Shakespeare? And what makes his plays so great?

Introducing the literary world to characters like Cat in the Hat and Charlie Brown has been noteworthy. Authors dream of having their stories read and appreciated. This series explores the lives of famous children’s storytellers and the mark they continue to make on many. This volume includes Jeff Kinney, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Shel Silverstein.