Most Popular Books by Emily Arnold McCully

Mirette and the Great Bellini sweep all of Europe with their act on the high wire, but when Bellini is arrested after a performance in St. Petersburg, Mirette is challenged to master the Death Walk to save him from prison. The sequel to the Caldecott Medal-winning Mirette on the High Wire.

"Pete likes Bunny, the new girl in his class; and despite teasing from classmates, Bunny likes Pete too"--

This is the true story of a determined and resourceful young man whose intimate knowledge of two cultures later led him to play an important role in the opening of Japan to Western trade and ideas.

Witness the true story of how Mary Wilkins Ellis’ childhood passion for flying led to an exciting career in the air, written and illustrated by a Caldecott Medalist. As a child, Mary Wilkins Ellis longed to fly, but she had to wait until she was 16 before she could have her first lesson. She soon became the youngest licensed pilot in her English county, but then all civilian flight was banned when Germany launched its attacks on Britain in 1940. Mary was grounded. One day she chanced to hear a radio appeal for Britons with pilot’s licenses—even women—to join the Air Transport Auxiliary and ferry brand new fighter planes to Royal Air Force bases. Mary immediately applied, and spent the rest of the war delivering hundreds of different kinds of aircraft—most of which she’d never flown before—forming lifelong bonds with her colleagues, surviving many a close call, and helping to save her country from destruction. After the war she became a flight instructor, ran an air taxi service, then managed an airfield, the only woman in Europe to do so. In her spare time, she won rallies in her racing car. Mary’s childhood dream became a thrilling lifetime aloft, lasting until she died at 101. With watercolor and ink illustrations which perfectly capture the exhilaration of flying, Taking Off brings this little-known figure and her can-do spirit to life. Extensive material in the back of the book includes additional information about Mary Wilkins Ellis and the Airport Transport Auxiliary, as well as sources.

In this charming easy-to-read companion to Pete Won''t Eat, which earned starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal, Pete''s sister Rose is having a party. She promises Pete some cake if he will deliver invitations to her friends Nell, Don and Gert. What a good deal for Pete! Pete brings Nell and Don their notes, but he gets distracted and forgets all about Gert. On the day of the party, Pete''s mistake causes many hurt feelings. Can Pete save the party -- and will he still get cake? An I Like to Read® book. Guided Reading Level E.

Poor Sam! He wants to play with the big kids. "You are too small," they tell him. "Go home." But when the big kids need help, who saves the day? Sam, of course! New readers will relate to being excluded by older kids, and they''ll cheer for Sam when he shows that he can help, even though he''s not big. Watercolor illustrations with pen-and-ink highlight the subtle emotions in this charming book. An I Like to Read® book. Guided Reading Level E.

This illuminating biography reveals how the daughter of Lord Byron, Britain’s most infamous Romantic poet, became the world’s first computer programmer. Even by 1800s standards, Ada Byron Lovelace had an unusual upbringing. Her strict mother worked hard at cultivating her own role as the long-suffering ex-wife of bad-boy poet Lord Byron while raising Ada in isolation. Tutored by the brightest minds, Ada developed a hunger for mental puzzles, mathematical conundrums, and scientific discovery that kept pace with the breathtaking advances of the industrial and social revolutions taking place in Europe. At seventeen, Ada met eccentric inventor Charles Babbage, a kindred spirit. Their ensuing collaborations resulted in ideas and concepts that presaged computer programming by almost two hundred years, and Ada Lovelace is now recognized as a pioneer and prophet of the information age. Award-winning author Emily Arnold McCully opens the window on a peculiar and singular intellect, shaped — and hampered — by history, social norms, and family dysfunction. The result is a portrait that is at once remarkable and fascinating, tragic and triumphant.

The world''s most beloved wire walkers are back! In this adventure, Mirette and Bellini sail to America, where they have accepted an invitation to cross Niagara Falls. Mirette soon discovers that the usual risks of high-wire walking are intensified by cutthroat competition. It''s courage and skill that bring Mirette and Bellini through even the toughest challenges and make both Mirette and this book a winner.

Discover the nineteenth-century woman who became one of America’s first investigative journalists in this “lively” biography (Booklist, starred review). A YALSA-ALA Finalist for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Born in 1857 and raised in oil country, Ida M. Tarbell became widely known for her series of articles on the Standard Oil Trust—a complicated business empire run by tycoon John D. Rockefeller—that revealed to readers the underhanded, even illegal practices that had led to Rockefeller’s success. Rejecting the term “muckraker” to describe her profession, she went on to achieve remarkable prominence for a woman of her generation as a writer and shaper of public opinion. This biography from a Caldecott Medal winner offers an engrossing portrait of a trailblazer in a man’s world who left her mark on America. “Well-written and thoroughly researched.” —School Library Journal Includes photos, bibliography, and index

"A picture book biography about Lizzie Murphy, the first woman to play in a major league exhibition game and the first person to play on both the New England and American leagues'' all-star teams"--

Recounts the true story of how four boys looking for buried treasure in the south of France in 1940 stumbled upon something much more valuable--a sealed cave whose walls were covered with prehistoric paintings and engravings.

This fascinating, informative, and touching picture book by a Caldecott Medalist is based on the true story of an eighteenth-century rhino who toured Europe and started a sensation! Clara is a book sure to fascinate young animal lovers, history buffs in the making, and kids interested in geography, as they follow a rhinoceros on her journey across Europe. In detailed illustrations, McCully shows Clara being introduced to Louis XV of France, Frederick the Great of Germany, and others willing to pay for a chance to stroke her soft lip. Her owner, a Dutch sea captain, keeps Clara fed (she eats 100 pounds of hay and 30 loaves of bread a day!) and watered (she drinks 14 buckets of water and beer) and takes loving care of her until her death 17 years later. Winner of the National Parenting Product Award

When a new bridge is built over the river, the happiest person in the town must be the first to cross it.

Simplified Chinese edition of Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully. In Simplified Chinese. Annotation copyright Tsai Fong Books, Inc. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

Alice Cogswell was a bright and curious child and a quick learner. She also couldn''t hear. And, unfortunately, in the early nineteenth century in America, there was no way to teach deaf children. One day, though, an equally curious young man named Thomas Gallaudet, Alice''s neighbor, senses Alice''s intelligence and agrees to find a way to teach her. Gallaudet''s interest in young Alice carries him across the ocean and back and eventually inspires him to create the nation''s first school for the deaf, thus improving young Alice''s life and the lives of generations of young, deaf students to come./DIVDIV

Three books bound together.

A walk in town turns into a harrowing adventure for six little ducklings in this early reader, now in Spanish! Following their mother down the street, the baby ducklings are swept up in a gush of water and washed down a storm drain. "Quack!" says their mother. "Cheep cheep!" call the babies. Sailing through the sewer pipes, the little ducks go, as mother duck chases them from drain to drain, trying to keep them calm. When her quacks attract the attention of a kind-hearted man, the little ducks are rescued! With warm, nostalgic watercolor paintings, Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully takes readers on a journey, chasing the little ducklings and their mother through the streets of a small town and a busier city. Perfect for young readers, this is a satisfying story of accidental adventure--with a happy ending. ¡Me gusta leer! provides emerging Spanish language readers with translations of popular I Like to Read® books. The award-winning I Like to Read® series focuses on books for kindergarten through first grade. Acclaimed author-illustrators--including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors--create original, high quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read with parents, teachers, or on their own!

An outstanding book for young naturalists Floy Hutchings, also known as Squirrel, is the daughter of the man who opened the first hotel in the Yosemite Valley in the 1860s. She has to fend for herself much of the time and is considered wild by her family and her father''s guests. When the future naturalist John Muir is hired as a carpenter, Floy becomes his inquisitive shadow as he builds himself a cabin over a stream, talks to flowers, and listens to snow. Floy, determined never to grow up because she''d have to be a lady, and Muir, searching nature for a way to live free of society''s expectations, are primed to find common ground. In this story set against a backdrop of watercolor paintings that vividly capture the beauty of Yosemite, Floy learns to see the world through John Muir''s eyes.

"An awe-inspiring picture book biography about Albert Einstein and the story of how he proved his Theory of Relativity during the 1919 solar eclipse"--

First published in the US in 1997, this picture book is the sequel to the Caldecott Medal Winner ''Mirette on the High Wire''. Set in the 19th century, this is the story of Mirette, a Parisian girl who performs highwire walks with the Great Bellini. On their trip to Russia, Bellini is imprisoned for his beliefs and Mirette must overcome her fears in order to rescue him. For children aged 4-8.

A 1993 Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator and the author of Itchy, Itchy Chicken Pox come together in a lively first-level reader about a jubilant party of kids making a pizza. Original.

"Caroline Herschel was the first woman to discover a comet and the first woman to be paid as a scientist."--

A cat wanders into the church garden and children in the congregation name him Leo the Magnificent. Leo spends many happy years in the garden. When it''s time for him to go, everyone remembers their magnificent friend. Full-color illustrations.

Young Pip doesn''t know what to do when two very different grandmothers come to baby sit, each with her own way of doing things.

Recounts the life of the renowned sixteenth-century Irish woman pirate.

In the War of 1812, Caroline, the fastest runner in town, carries word about a plan to ward off bombardment by the British fleet from house to house. But when the battle begins, her courage, not her speed, is tested. Includes colorful illustrations, an author¿s note and a note to caregivers.

Mirette learns tightrope walking from Monsieur Bellini, a guest in her mother''s boarding house, not knowing that he is a celebrated tightrope artist who has withdrawn from performing because of fear.

John has been practicing a magic trick instead of the piano and is worried about disappointing his musician father, but then he gets to be a hero in the castle where his father is performing.

A daddy tickles a tiny baby as he lies on the bed.

A Paris, les artistes (acrobates, jongleurs, etc.) logeaient chez la veuve Gâteau. C''est alors que sa petite fille Juliette fut séduite par les activités d''un funambule. Elle décida de faire comme lui et même qu''elle lui vint en aide. Des illustrations recherchées où se juxtaposent ombres et clairs.

Grâce à Mr Laval, son instituteur, un collectionneur passionné d’os et d’outils, Jacques s’intéresse à la préhistoire depuis toujours. Aussi, quand, un jour de septembre 1940, en jouant avec ses amis Marcel, Jojo et Simon à chercher l’entrée d’un souterrain secret, il découvre une grotte gigantesque couverte de peintures de vaches rouges et de rennes noirs, Jacques identifie aussitôt des animaux préhistoriques, et les rituels sacrés de leurs ancêtres humains. Le trésor ? Il est là, sur les parois. C’est le plus bel exemple d’art préhistorique connu à ce jour, dans un état de conservation parfait. Ce que les jeunes gens sont les premiers à voir, c’est la grotte de Lascaux, sur laquelle ils se promettent de veiller jalousement...

Young Oney Judge risks everything to escape a life of slavery in the household of George and Martha Washington and to make her own way as a free black woman.