Sonia Sotomayor: Supreme Court Justice Enslow Publishing, 2016

Overcoming health and financial problems, Sotomayor went on to become a lawyer, a judge, and eventually the first Latina to serve in the United States Supreme Court. A very short biography for the youngest readers. 

Sergey Brin and Larry Page: Founders of Google A USA TODAY Lifeline Biography Lerner Publishing Group, 2011

Maxing out their credit cards, abandoning their graduate studies, and trusting their vision of the future, Sergey Brin and Larry Page opened Google in a rented garage. The company’s rise from humble beginnings to international powerhouse makes for exciting reading. 

Tim Berners-Lee: Inventor of the World Wide Web A USA TODAY Lifeline Biography Lerner Publishing Group, 2011

As a young computer engineer working at the CERN particle physics lab in Switzerland, Tim Berners-Lee was required to keep track of numerous items. But he didn’t have a good memory for details. So he invented a new way to store information on the Internet that he would later develop into the World Wide Web. Tim’s continuing adventures in growing and developing the web are fascinating and inspiring. “The Web,” he says, “Is far from done.”

Coretta Scott King Twenty-First Century Books, 2007

Remembered as the wife of a civil rights icon, Coretta Scott King was an activist and human rights advocate in her own right as well as a gifted singer. 

Stephen Hawking Twenty-First Century Books, 2007

One of the most famous scientists in the world, Stephen Hawking kept working on his theories about black holes and the Big Bang even after disease confined him to a wheelchair and robbed him of his voice. Hawking used his celebrity to increase public awareness of the needs of people with disabilities.

Theodore Roosevelt Lerner, 2005

Despite a childhood plagued by asthma, Theodore Roosevelt lived a vigorous, energetic life. The first U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize, he pushed for reforms such as anti-trusts laws and for strong foreign policy.  A staunch environmentalist, he protected forty million acres of national forests and five national parks and fifty-one national wildlife refuges. 

Wilbur and Orville Wright: Taking Flight Carolrhoda, 2004. With Joseph Sammartino Gardner

Years of work and determination culminated in the Wright brothers’ historic twelve-second flight in a motor-powered flyer on December 17, 1903.

Liberty or Death: A Story about Patrick Henry Carolrhoda, 2003

A powerful speaker, Patrick Henry used all his skill to convince the American colonies to declare independence from England. 

Jonas Salk: Conquering Polio Lerner, 2002

An NSTA CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children. A Society of School Librarians International (SSLI) Honor Book, 2003. Chosen as one of the Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2003.

After his years of dedicated work led to the creation of a vaccine against the crippling disease polio, Dr. Salk wanted all children to be immunized for free. When a famous newscaster asked him who owned the patent to his vaccine, Salk famously replied, “Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”