Showing results by author "Who HQ" in All Categories

Born in 1729, Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbs was never supposed to come to power. But at age 16, she married the heir to the Russian throne. By 1762, Sophie, known now as Catherine, overthrew her immature and incompetent husband, Peter III, to lead the nation. Catherine became the sole ruler of Russia. This exciting Who Was? title explores how Catherine was able to turn Russia into one of the great powers of Europe by expanding its borders, helping improve its educational system, and advocating for the arts. Her three-decade reign is considered the Golden Age of Russia.

In 1789, George Washington became the first president of the United States. He has been called the father of our country for leading America through its early years. Washington also served in two major wars during his lifetime: the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Washington's fascinating story comes to life - revealing the real man, not just the face on the dollar bill!

Shaun White, known as “The Flying Tomato" because of his bright red hair, received his first snowboarding sponsorship by age seven. This was just the first of a lifetime of athletic achievements. He has won a medal every year since 2002 at the Winter X games and won gold at the 2006, 2010, and 2018 Olympics. White has been dazzling audiences for years. Learn all about this snowboarding legend’s life from his childhood skateboarding days to his illustrious Olympic career, and the creation of his own brand of snowboarding gear.

Travis Kelce was born an athlete—he played football, basketball, and baseball in high school. He excelled at football, and served as Cleveland Heights High School's quarterback—though he'd one day become a famous tight end because of his impressive skills on the field. Travis was offered a scholarship to play football at the University of Cincinnati. After being drafted in the NFL to play for the Kansas City Chiefs, Travis got his first Super Bowl win. Travis won his second Super Bowl in 2022, when the Chiefs defeated his brother's team, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Before Frank Sinatra became the international superstar that we remember him as today, he was just a young boy singing for spare change in his family's New Jersey tavern. Those small beginnings would be the start of an incredible career in which Frank became one of the best-selling musicians of all time—selling over 150 million records worldwide. More than just a musician, Frank also went on to win an Academy Award and a Golden Globe during his career as an actor.

In 1947, an unusual object crashed in the New Mexico desert and was recovered by the Roswell Army Airfield officers. People everywhere began to speculate what the object could be. Could it possibly be a flying saucer? Would that be proof of aliens and life beyond Earth? Even decades later, some people still believe that the Roswell Incident is the most famous UFO sighting ever.

When he was nine years old, Neil deGrasse Tyson went on a trip that would change his life. While visiting the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, he discovered the world of astronomy and felt like the universe was calling to him. He answered that call by diving deep into astronomy courses. After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science, he went on to earn a doctorate in astrophysics and eventually found his way back to the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist and, later, as its director.

On January 12, 1888, a surprise blizzard broke out in the middle of the day across the Midwest. In its path, hundreds of children and teachers found themselves stranded inside schoolhouses with no food, no heat, and very few options. Days passed, and over 235 people died as result of the harsh snow of the Schoolhouse Blizzard, but many were able to survive thanks to the bravery of others in their communities. Learn all about the disastrous weather conditions and the people who were affected by it in this book for young listeners.

In the early 1500s, Ponce de Leon was one of the most important Spanish military figures in the Caribbean. He made his first voyage across the Atlantic with Christopher Columbus and then, after years of battle with the native Taino, became the first governor of Puerto Rico. Although the story of his search for the Fountain of Youth is entirely fictional, his noteworthy expedition to—and naming of—Florida is one of his greatest legacies.

On June 26, 2018, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a bartender from New York City, became the youngest woman ever elected to serve on Congress. Her win shocked the political world, and she became a celebrity overnight. Soon, everyone knew her by her initials: AOC. As soon as she was sworn into office, AOC became a vocal champion for healthcare for all and the fight against climate change. This exciting story details the defining moments of what led to her victory and all the monumental ones since that have shaped her into a smart politician willing to fight for others.

On October 29, 1929, life in the United States took a turn for the worst. The stock market – the system that controls money in America – plunged to a record low. But this event was only the beginning of many bad years to come. By the early 1930s, one out of three people was not working. People lost their jobs, their houses, or both and ended up in shantytowns called “Hoovervilles”, named for the president at the time of the crash. By 1933, many banks had gone under.

Even when he was 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 the early 1980s, the first cases of a devastating and fatal new disease appeared, a disease that at first struck only gay men and was later identified as HIV/AIDS. It was the beginning of what became a worldwide health crisis that the US government ignored for years and that unfairly heightened prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community. To this day, the AIDS Crisis continues to disproportionately affect both the LGBTQ+ community and people of color.

"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 listen to this audiobook about this act of rebellion from our history! The Boston Tea party is brought to life!

In 2022, Nathan Chen dazzled the world when he won the gold medal in men's figure skating to Elton John's "Rocketman" at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Though this was his first Olympic gold, Nathan was not new to big victories. He was already a six-time US national champion and had already won the World Figure Skating Championship three times! Nicknamed the "Quad King," Nathan is known for his thrilling quadruple jumps on the ice and is considered one of the greatest male figure skaters of all time.

Leif Erikson was born to be an explorer. His father, Erik the Red, had established the first European settlement in present-day Greenland, and although he didn't yet know it, Leif was destined to embark on an adventure of his own. The wise and striking Viking landed in the area known as Vinland almost five centuries before Christopher Columbus even set sail! "Leif the Lucky" and the other fierce, sea-fearing pirates were accomplished navigators who raided foreign lands for resources, hunted for their food, and passed down Old Norse myths from one generation to the next.

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?

Starting in the 1960s, John Lewis began his activism alongside civil rights legend and good friend Martin Luther King Jr. He participated in many now-historic events, including the 1963 March of Washington, the Freedom Rides, and the Selma to Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. John continued his impactful career when he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1986. He went on to serve seventeen terms until his death in 2020.

Shirley Chisholm showed interest in politics early on, majoring in sociology at Brooklyn College in New York City. During this time she was awarded for her debate skills, became a champion for inclusion in the Harriet Tubman society, and graduated cum laude. She dedicated much of her career to fighting for the rights of Black people and women, eventually becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968. Remarkably, Shirley represented New York's 12th district, including the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, from 1969 to 1983.

Early one morning in 1995, a rancher in Humacao, Puerto Rico, found three of his goats dead. The blood seemed to have been drained from their bodies. As dozens more farm animals were found dead across the island, the fear of the so-called Chupacabra—the "goat sucker"—grew. But was a mysterious cryptid really responsible for all of these deaths? And if so, where would it go next? Follow the trail of the Chupacabra in this exciting new title.