"In the winter of 1846-47, a group of eighty-seven pioneers heading from the Midwest to California found themselves snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountain range with no way forward and no food or supplies. While forty-eight of the group members survived, the others perished due to extreme weather, starvation, and illness. To survive, the remaining people resorted to extreme measures . . . including cannibalism. Learn about the many miscalculations,...

"A curious child who always knew he wanted to be an inventor when he grew up, Frank spent much of his youth experimenting in his basement laboratory -- mixing and measuring, testing and inspecting, studying and scrutinizing. One of his favorite things to experiment with was soda water, and one day after discovering the perfect flavoring for his most recent invention, he left it outside on his back porch with a spoon in it. The next morning, the drink...

"When prisoner Elliott Michener began tending the gardens at Alcatraz, his thoughts of escape were replaced with new skills and a sense of dignity. Back matter discusses the history of Alcatraz and the US prison system today"--

"Although he started out as a teacher without aspirations to be an activist or politician, Harvey Milk found himself captivated by the history-making movements of the 1960s. He would eventually make history of his own by becoming the first openly gay elected politician in California. While in office, Harvey Milk advocated for equal rights for the gay community. Even though his life and career were cut short, Harvey is still seen by many as one of...

The daughter of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman describes her very difficult childhood and the psychological abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepmother.

"This lushly illustrated book by collage artist Andrea D'Aquino brings Asawa's creative journey to life, detailing the influence of her childhood in a farming family, and her education at Black Mountain College where she pursued an experimental course of education with leading avant-garde artists and thinkers such as Anni and Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller, Merce Cunningham, and Robert Rauschenberg. Delightful and substantial, this engaging title...

"A timely and important picture book that introduces readers to Wong Kim Ark, who challenged the Supreme Court for his right to be an American citizen"--

The autobiographical memoir of the first woman, African American, and South Asian American to become attorney general of the State of California, and the second black woman ever elected to the United States Senate. Harris discusses the impact that her family and community had on her life, and how she came to discover her own sense of self and purpose.

When she was only eight years old, Sylvia Mendez was part of a legal battle that ended segregation for Hispanic students in California. Seven years later, that barrier-breaking court case set a precedent for ending segregation across the country for students of all races and backgrounds. With this biography, readers will learn how Sylvia Mendez's parents fought for Hispanic students in California, how Mendez herself persevered through court cases...