For use in schools and libraries only. Stories of recent immigrants reveal what it is like to face prejudice, language barriers, and homesickness along with common teenage feelings and needs.

First Crossing recounts an adventure of epic proportions -- in equal parts romantic, historically significant and compelling. It is the story of Canada's most famous explorer, Alexander Mackenzie, who in 1793 became the first person to cross the continent of North America north of Mexico. With a mix of wonderfully readable text, historical and contemporary photographs, and archival maps and illustrations, here is fresh insight into what drove Mackenzie to undertake his dramatic and dangerous quest for the Pacific Ocean, and how his daring secured Canada's legacy.

From the Newbery Award–winning, New York Times–bestselling author of Northwind. “A stark, moving portrait of Mexican poverty and street life.” —School Library Journal Fourteen-year-old Manny is an orphan in Juarez, Mexico. He competes with his bigger, meaner rivals for the coins American tourists throw off the bridge between Texas and his town. Across that heavily guarded bridge await a different world and a better existence. On the night when Manny dares the crossing—through the muddy shallows of the Rio Grande, past the searchlights and the border patrol—the young man encounters an old stranger who could prove to be an ally or an enemy. Manny can’t tell for certain. But if he is to achieve his dream, then he must be willing to risk everything—even his life. “Paulsen . . . is skilled at pace, incident and characterization, and he uses them to pull the reader to the memorable—and powerful—last scene . . . A book for older children and teenagers who will not want to put it down.” —Kirkus Reviews “Any work by such a proficient writer, who invokes a powerful sense of the tragic in readers young and old, is welcome indeed.” —Publishers Weekly

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Includes reading group guide and excerpt from the author's novel, Dry as rain.

Colin O’Brady’s awe-inspiring, New York Times bestselling memoir recounting his recovery from a tragic accident and his record-setting 932-mile solo crossing of Antarctica is a “jaw-dropping tale of passion and perseverance” (Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit). Prior to December 2018, no individual had ever crossed the landmass of Antarctica alone, without support and completely human powered. Yet, Colin O’Brady was determined to do just that, even if, ten years earlier, there was doubt that he’d ever walk again normally. From the depths of a tragic accident, he fought his way back. In a quest to unlock his potential and discover what was possible, he went on to set three mountaineering world records before turning to this historic Antarctic challenge. O’Brady’s pursuit of a goal that had eluded many others was made even more intense by a head-to-head battle that emerged with British polar explorer Captain Louis Rudd—also striving to be “the first.” Enduring Antarctica’s sub-zero temperatures and pulling a sled that initially weighed 375 pounds—in complete isolation and through a succession of whiteouts, storms, and a series of near disasters—O’Brady persevered. Alone with his thoughts for nearly two months in the vastness of the frozen continent—gripped by fear and doubt—he reflected on his past, seeking courage and inspiration in the relationships and experiences that had shaped his life. “Incredibly engaging and well-written” (The Wall Street Journal)—and set against the backdrop of some of the most extreme environments on earth, from Mt. Everest to Antarctica—this is “an unforgettable memoir of perseverance, survival, daring to dream big, and showing the world how to make the impossible possible” (Booklist, starred review).

A critical era in California's history and development—the building of the first roads over the Sierra Nevada—is thoroughly and colorfully documented in Thomas Howard's fascinating book. During California's first two decades of statehood (1850-1870), the state was separated from the east coast by a sea journey of at least six weeks. Although Californians expected to be connected with the other states by railroad soon after the 1849 Gold Rush, almost twenty years elapsed before this occurred. Meanwhile, various overland road ventures were launched by "emigrants," former gold miners, state government officials, the War Department, the Interior Department, local politicians, town businessmen, stagecoach operators, and other entrepreneurs whose alliances with one another were constantly shifting. The broad landscape of international affairs is also a part of Howard's story. Constructing roads and accumulating geographic information in the Sierra Nevada reflected Washington's interest in securing the vast western territories formerly held by others. In a remarkably short time the Sierra was transformed by vigorous exploration, road-promotion, and road-building. Ox-drawn wagons gave way to stagecoaches able to provide service as fine as any in the country. Howard effectively uses diaries, letters, newspaper stories, and official reports to recreate the human struggle and excitement involved in building the first trans-Sierra roads. Some of those roads have become modern highways used by thousands every day, while others are now only dim traces in the lonely backcountry.

The account of a couple’s voyage in a small sailboat from New York to Greece is unique. They best describe it themselves: “We are both writers, and we were aware that...the passage would affect us deeply and possibly change us in unforeseen ways, both as individuals and as a couple. “We agreed to meld the events, insights, and emotions recorded in our separate logs into one narrative. We realized that it is the internal, private voyage that one remembers long after the memories of dark wind and sunny wave crests have faded.”

The latter third of the twentieth century was a time of fundamental political transition across the South as increasing numbers of voters began to choose Republican candidates over Democrats. Yet in the 1980s and '90s, reform-focused policymaking—from better schools to improved highways and health care—flourished in Tennessee. This was the work of moderate leaders from both parties who had a capacity to work together "across the aisle." The Tennessee story, as the Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham observes in his foreword to this book, offers striking examples of bipartisan cooperation on many policy fronts—and a mode of governing that provides lessons for America in this frustrating era of partisan stalemate. For more on Crossing the Aisle and author Keel Hunt, visit KeelHunt.com.