New Releases by Who HQ

The Great Pyramids of Egypt--all kids over the age of five recognize them instantly. These massive tombs were built thousands of years ago, and still no one knows exactly how the ancient Egyptians did it! In this informative account, Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler tell the story of the powerful pharaohs who commissioned the pyramids at Giza and offer a fascinating look at the culture of the afterlife in ancient Egypt, explaining exactly how mummies were made. Easy to read and scrupulously researched, this explores the mysteries that have attracted countless visitors to the pyramids for centuries.

When Derek Jeter was eight years old, he announced that he was going to play baseball for the New York Yankees. Jeter earned the attention of major league scouts in high school and was drafted to the New York Yankees in 1992. Named Rookie of the Year, he helped the Yankees win the World Series five times, and became team captain in 2003. With his good looks, easygoing personality, and sense of humor, Derek has always been a fan favorite. Retiring from baseball in 2014, Derek Jeter leaves behind a legacy.

Even as a kid, everyone thought Jeff Kinney was talented. People loved his drawings, and when he went to college, his comic strip Igdoof was so popular that it spread to other universities! Still, Jeff faced challenges. His cartoons were rejected by syndicates that claimed his art was unprofessional. Then, an idea struck: Jeff would write a journal from the perspective of a child, illustrated with doodles just like a kid might do. And so, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series was born--and it was a hit! In this biography, Jeff''s brother, Patrick Kinney, provides a knowledgeable look at the life of this best-selling author/illustrator. From Jeff''s childhood pranks to his job developing online games, kids will love the chance to learn more about the creator of the popular Wimpy Kid books.

At the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, track and field star Jesse Owens ran himself straight into international glory by winning four gold medals. But the life of Jesse Owens is much more than a sports story. Born in rural Alabama under the oppressive Jim Crow laws, Owens''s family suffered many hardships. As a boy he worked several jobs like delivering groceries and working in a shoe repair shop to make ends meet. But Owens defied the odds to become a sensational student athlete, eventually running track for Ohio State. He was chosen to compete in the Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany where Adolf Hitler was promoting the idea of “Aryan superiority.” Owens’s winning streak at the games humiliated Hitler and crushed the myth of racial supremacy once and for all.

New York City boasts one of the most famous skylines in the world, and the Empire State Building is undeniably the focal point of this incredible view. At 102 stories, the structure was no small feat. In fact, its construction coincided with the onset of the Great Depression, and so progress was met with numerous setbacks. Still, because of the efficiency that went into the building''s development, it only took a year and forty-five days to complete! In this informative, easy-to-read account, Janet B. Pascal describes the rise of skyscrapers in the United States, the intricacies of the groundbreaking construction process, and the effect the iconic Empire State Building continues to have today.

Born a humble girl in what is now Albania, Agnes Bojaxhiu lived a charitable life. She pledged herself to a religious order at the age of 18 and chose the name Sister Teresa, after the patron saint of missionaries. While teaching in India, where famine and violence had devastated the poor, Teresa shed her habit and walked the streets of Calcutta tending to the needs of the destitute. Her charity work soon expanded internationally, and her name remains synonymous with compassion and devotion to the poor.

This fascinating addition to the best-selling Who Was...? series does not settle questions of theology. Instead, it presents young readers with a biography that covers what is known historically about Jesus and places in his life in the context of his world when Jerusalem was part of the Roman Empire. In an even-handed and easy-to-read narrative, this title—illustrated with eighty black-and-white drawings—also explains the early origins of Christianity and how it became a major religion.

Best known for his screen prints of soup cans and movie stars, this shy young boy from Pittsburgh shot to fame with his radical ideas of what “art” could be. Working in the aptly named “Factory,” Warhol’s paintings, movies, and eccentric lifestyle blurred the lines between pop culture and art, ushering in the Pop Art movement and, with it, a national obsession. Who Was Andy Warhol? tells the story of an enigmatic man who grew into a cultural icon.

Stanley Lieber was just seventeen when he got his first job at Timely Comics in 1939. Since then, the man now known as Stan Lee has launched a comic book empire, made Marvel Comics a household name, and created iconic superheroes such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four. Stan Lee is still dreaming up caped crusaders and masked vigilantes in his nineties. Who Is Stan Lee? tells the story of a New York City kid with a superhero-sized imagination.

Named Temujin at birth by his nomadic family in early Mongolia, the great Genghis Khan used his skill and cunning to create the Mongol Empire and conquer almost the entire continent of Asia. As ruler of the largest empire in human history, he was as respected as he was feared. Learn more about the man and the legend in Who Was Genghis Khan?

Growing up the youngest of seven children in Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente had a talent for baseball. His incredible skill soon got him drafted into the big leagues where he spent 18 seasons playing right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Who Was Roberto Clemente? tells the story of this remarkable athlete: a twelve-time All-Star, World Series MVP, and the first Latin American inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Born on a small farm in rural Michigan, Henry Ford’s humble beginnings were no match for his ambition. Ford quickly created a manufacturing dynasty, bringing affordable cars to the masses and forever changing America and the American workplace. Who Was Henry Ford? details his meteoric rise, and explains how the genius behind the assembly line and the Model T shaped modern American industry.

Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. won the world heavyweight championship at the age of 22, the same year he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He would go on to become the first and only three-time (in succession) World Heavyweight Champion. Nicknamed “The Greatest,” Ali was as well known for his unique boxing style, consisting of the Ali Shuffle and the rope-a-dope, as he was for the catchphrase “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He was an uncompromising athlete who brought beauty and grace to a very rough sport and became one of the world’s most famous cultural icons. Read Who Was Muhammad Ali? and discover “The Greatest.”

Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian Era, a period of industrial, cultural, scientific, and political change that was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. But Victoria was raised under close supervision and near isolation until she became Queen of the United Kingdom at the young age of 18. She married her first cousin, Albert, and had nine children who married into families across Europe. By the time she had earned the nickname “The Grandmother of Europe” and the title “Empress of India” it was indeed true that the sun never set on the British Empire. Publicly, she became a national icon, but privately, Who Was Queen Victoria?

He was only 42 years old when he was sworn in as President of the United States in 1901, making TR the youngest president ever. But did you know that he was also the first sitting president to win the Nobel Peace Prize? The first to ride in a car? The first to fly in an airplane? Theodore Roosevelt’s achievements as a naturalist, hunter, explorer, author, and soldier are as much a part of his fame as any office he held as a politician. Find out more about The Bull Moose, the Progressive, the Rough Rider, the Trust Buster, and the Great Hunter who was our larger-than-life 26th president in Who Was Theodore Roosevelt?

As young boys, Orville and Wilbur Wright loved all things mechanical. As young men, they gained invaluable skills essential for their success by working with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and any sort of machinery they could get their hands on. As adults, the brothers worked together to invent, build, and fly the world’s first successful airplane. This is the fascinating story of the two inventors and aviation pioneers who never lost sight of their dream: to fly, and to soar higher!

Bruce Lee was a Chinese American action film star, martial arts instructor, filmmaker, and philosopher. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim. Through such films as Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon, Lee helped to change the way Asians were presented in American films and, in the process, he became an iconic figure known throughout the world. Although he died at the young age of 32, Bruce Lee is widely considered to be the one of the most influential martial artists of all time.

Born in a little cabin in Tennessee, Dolly Parton always dreamed big, and she was right to! She wrote her first song at age five and became a country music star by the time she was in her early twenties. Of course, her success didn''t stop there. Dolly Parton is also an actress, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist whose "Imagination Library" reading initiative reaches children throughout the US, Canada, and the UK. There is simply no one like Dolly Parton!

Laura Ingalls Wilder''s Little House books, based on her own childhood and later life, are still beloved classics almost a century after she began writing them. Now young readers will see just how similar Laura''s true-life story was to her books. Born in 1867 in the "Big Woods" in Wisconsin, Laura experienced both the hardship and the adventure of living on the frontier. Her life and times are captured in engaging text and 80 black-and-white illustrations.

Discover the man behind the chocolate bar! Milton Hershey’s life was filled with invention and innovation. As a young man, he was not afraid to dream big and work hard. Eventually, he learned the secret to mass-producing milk chocolate and the recipe that gave it a longer, more stable shelf life. He founded a school for those who didn’t have access to a good education and an entire town for his employees. Both his chocolate empire and his great personal legacy live on today.

You can always recognize a painting by Kahlo because she is in nearly all--with her black braided hair and colorful Mexican outfits. A brave woman who was an invalid most of her life, she transformed herself into a living work of art. As famous for her self-portraits and haunting imagery as she was for her marriage to another famous artist, Diego Rivera, this strong and courageous painter was inspired by the ancient culture and history of her beloved homeland, Mexico. Her paintings continue to inform and inspire popular culture around the world.

Davy Crockett, the King of the Wild Frontier, is a man of legend. He is said to have killed his first bear when he was three years old. His smile alone killed another, and he skinned a bear by forcing him to run between two trees. Fact or fiction? Find out the real story of this folk hero, who did love to hunt bears, served as a congressman for Tennessee, and fought and died at the Alamo.

It seems entirely fitting that Maurice Sendak was born on the same day that Mickey Mouse first made his cartoon debut--June 10, 1928. Sendak was crazy about cartoons and comic books, and at twelve, after seeing Disney''s Fantasia, he decided that he was going to become an illustrator. His love of childrens books began early: often sick and confined to bed, little Maurice read and read and read. Though many of his own stories were light and funny, the most important ones--Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There--dealt with anger, jealousy, abandonment, content that had never before been the subject of picture books. As well as covering career highlights, this easy to read, illustrated biography also describes the personal life of this genius. Who Was Maurice Sendak is perfect for kids wild about one of the most influential children''s book artists of the twentieth century!

A Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter, musician, and artist, Bob Dylan is an American icon. In the past five decades, Dylan''s work has influenced everyone from John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, and David Bowie to rapper Eminem. Young music lovers will be fascinated by this great artist''s life!

Bill Gates, born in Seattle, Washington, in 1955, is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. In this Who Was...? biography, children will learn of Gates'' childhood passion for computer technology, which led him to revolutionize personal computers. Through the success of his now-world-famous software company, Microsoft, Bill Gates became one of the wealthiest philanthropists in history.This fascinating story of a child technology genius is sure to captivate any audience!

"No Taxation without Representation!" The Boston Tea Party stands as an iconic event of the American Revolution—outraged by the tax on tea, American colonists chose to destroy the tea by dumping it into the water! Learn all about the famed colonialists who fought against the British Monarchy, and read about this act of rebellion from our history! With black-and-white illustrations throughout and sixteen pages of photos, the Boston Tea party is brought to life!

In 1848, gold was discovered in California, attracting over 300,000 people from all over the world, some who struck it rich and many more who didn''t. Hear the stories about the gold-seeking "forty-niners!" With black-and white illustrations and sixteen pages of photos, a nugget from history is brought to life!

Everyone loves Harry Potter. Now kids can learn about Harry''s creator! In 1995, on a four-hour-delayed train from Manchester to London, J. K. Rowling conceived of the idea of a boy wizard named Harry Potter. Upon arriving in London, she began immediately writing the first book in the saga. Rowling''s true-life, rags-to-riches story is as compelling as the world of Hogwarts that she created. This biography details not only Rowling''s life and her love of literature but the story behind the creation of a modern classic.

In 1789, George Washington became the first president of the United States. With over 100 black-and- white illustrations, the fascinating story of "the father of our country" comes to life in Spanish - revealing the real man, not just the face on the dollar bill!

Steve Jobs, adopted in infancy by a family in San Francisco, packed a lot of life into fifty-six short years. In this Who Was…? biography, children will learn how his obsession with computers and technology at an early age led him to co-found and run Apple, in addition to turning Pixar into a ground-breaking animation studio. A college dropout, Jobs took unconventional steps in his path to success and inspired the best and the brightest to come with him and “change the world.”