Part of the colorful history of Texas includes legends of outlaw loot, pirate hoards, buried mines, and Santa Anna's lost pack-train carrying gold. This book contains 31 legends ranging from lost fortunes of Native Americans, French pirates, Spanish explorers, and Mexican soldiers to the early exploits of German and Scotch-Irish settlers. These unique tales from the people of the Lone Star State highlight their adventures and struggles in search of lost mines and forgotten treasures.
Maybe it's because his mother was a teacher. Or maybe it's because he has spent most of his life in classrooms - as a wide-eyed first grader, a naive college student, a seminarian, and now as a visiting writer in residencies across the country. There's something about school that infuses the work of Donald Davis and he has collected his all-time favorite school stories in the book. Whether we're traveling around the world with Miss Daisy, the fourth grade teacher who was integrating arithmetic, geography and English before the term whole language ever surfaced; or watching in awe as a classmate conjugates malaprops in Miss Vergilius Darwin's Latin class; or driving a school bus and learning about segregation - we experience flashes of recognition in moments that transcend Donald Davis's childhood stories.
Tales of outlaws and desperadoes are one of the few types of folklore that are peculiarly American. The myths and legends surrounding such people as Belle Starr, Frank and Jesse James, and Wild Bill Hickock grip the national imagination just as tightly today as they did a century ago.
The author presents eight short stories about his mother and other family members as they grew up in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.
The fourteen personal stories in this delightful coming of age book apply universal elements with characters and situations that everyone will recognize so that only the names, places and times change from our own childhood stories.
Jim May writes the stories of his youth, growing up in the rural Midwest between the Truman and the JFK eras, where trading stories was as common as trading horses, and frequently required the same skills. Neighboring, as his mother called it, was part of the social fabric. These 18 poignant and humorous stories of life's joys and trials told with the freshness of youth, yet tempered with the wisdom of age evoke a simpler time in our nation's history without romanticizing the inherent hardships.
Highly acclaimed, award winning author Donald Davis wants us all to remember and share our family stories. Among other tall tales, he writes about how his uncle hung onto the multitudinous Democratic votes of the Ratherton clan while at the very same time keeping them from shooting Davis' squirrels in a lean year; how he got Phyleete, wife Jolly, their eleven sub-natural sons and one forgettably natural daughter to move their log house from the unlikely place they'd built it; and how he tried to solve the problem of the chatty Misses Lena and Lucy Leatherwood, who clogged up the eight-party telephone line so badly that Uncle Frank paid for his new phone four months before he ever got the chance to talk on it. Davis offers seventeen vintage family stories, including Rainy Weather, The Southern Bells, and Old Man Hawkins' Lucky Day.
This two-part book program offers activities to supplement standard U.S. history classroom textbooks. Lessons can stand-alone or coordinate with any text. Activity pages include basic concepts, graphs, maps, vocabulary comprehension, and nonfiction informational excerpts that help make meaningful connections with historical concepts, facts, and ideas.
An eye-opening exploration of the history of the 1909-founded SIS and other British espionage agencies, investigating their typical training and tools as well as the escapades of famous spies.
An eye-opening exploration of the history of the 1942-founded CIA and other American espionage agencies, investigating their typical training and tools as well as the escapades of famous spies.
An eye-opening exploration of the history of the 1951-founded Mossad and other Israeli espionage agencies, investigating their typical training and tools as well as the escapades of famous spies.
An eye-opening exploration of the history of the 1954-founded KGB and other Russian espionage agencies, investigating their typical training and tools as well as the escapades of famous spies.
A survey of the highlights and legendary athletes--such as Cuban Teófilo Stevenson--of the Olympic sport of boxing, which officially became a part of the modern Summer Games in 1904.
A survey of the highlights and legendary athletes--such as American Michael Phelps--of the Olympic sport of swimming, which officially became a part of the modern Summer Games in 1896.
A survey of the highlights and legendary athletes--such as Romanian Nadia Comaneci--of the Olympic sport of gymnastic, which officially became a part of the modern Summer Games in 1896.
An examination of some of the most prominent people in the ongoing war against Islamic extremists, spotlighting such figures as George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein.
A survey of the highlights and legendary athletes--such as Brazillian Oscar Schimdt--of the Olympic sport of basketball, which officially became a part of the modern Summer Games in 1936.
A survey of the highlights and legendary athletes--such as Soviet Yuri Chesnokov--of the Olympic sport of volleyball, which officially became a part of the modern Summer Games in 1964.
An examination of events that helped create the ongoing war against Islamic extremists, from early-20th-century Western imperialism in the Middle East through escalating terrorist attacks.
A history of the bathyscaphe Trieste's 1960 descent to the bottom of the ocean, detailing the challenges encountered, the individuals involved, the discoveries made, and how the expedition left its mark upon the world.
A history of America's famed Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969, detailing the challenges encountered, the individuals involved, the discoveries made, and how the expedition left its mark upon the world.
A history of Roald Amundsen's successful 1911 trip to the South Pole, detailing the challenges encountered, the individuals involved, the discoveries made, and how the expedition left its mark upon the world.
A compelling look at the Mongols, including how they built the most widespread empire in history, their lifestyle, their weapons, and how they remain a part of today's culture through books and film.
A history of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's 1953 summit of Mt. Everest, detailing the challenges encountered, the individuals involved, the discoveries made, and how the expedition left its mark upon the world.
A history of David Livingstone's 19th-century excursions into the African interior, detailing the challenges encountered, the individuals involved, the discoveries made, and how the expeditions left their mark upon the world.
