Kid Legends Series

Inspiring, relatable, and totally true biographies tell the childhood stories of a diverse group of musicians, including Taylor Swift, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Styles, Mariah Carey, Yo-Yo Ma, Paul McCartney, and 10 other influential performers.

Every superstar musician started out as a kid—and many discovered their love of music early on. Before leaving their mark on the world, these groundbreaking performers, songwriters, and musicians were regular kids. Tune in to the childhood stories of musical legends such as:

Beyoncé, who used to play truth or dare in the middle of the night with the rest of her music group. Dolly Parton, who sometimes made up her own stories for class book reports. Louis Armstrong, who played instruments in parades all over New Orleans.Taylor Swift, who grew up on a Christmas tree farm! 
Featuring kid-friendly text and full-color illustrations, Kid Musicians will inspire readers to express themselves and march to the beat of their own drum.

Featured in the New York Times

Triumphant, relatable, and totally true biographies tell the childhood stories of a diverse group of international athletes who have captured the world’s attention at the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, like Simone Biles, Jesse Owens, Naomi Osaka, Tatyana McFadden, and 12 other incredible olympians.

Athletes throughout history have dreamed of competing in the Olympics—
and some were kids themselves when those dreams and plans began! In Kid Olympians: Summer, discover the childhood stories of legends such as:

Usain Bolt, who used to skip practices to go to the arcade and play video games.Serena Williams, who sometimes hit her tennis ball over the fence on purpose!Tatyana McFadden, who had to fight to be allowed on her school’s track team
Featuring kid-friendly text and full-color illustrations, you’ll be inspired to dream bigger, faster, and higher than ever before! 

The diverse and inspiring group also includes Michael Phelps, Yusra Mardini, Dick Fosbury, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Gertrude Ederle, Nadia Comaneci, Ellie Simmonds, Tommie Smith, Wilma Rudolph, and Megan Rapinoe.

Looking for even more totally true and inspiring childhood stories? Check out Kid Athletes!

Inspiring, relatable, and totally true biographies tell the childhood stories of a diverse group of trailblazers including Kamala Harris, Greta Thunberg, Ai Weiwei, Benazir Bhutto, Elliot Page, and John Lewis, along with 10 other powerful figures.

Featuring kid-friendly text and full-color illustrations, Kid Trailblazers highlights contemporary figures who have led the way in government, social activism, environmental justice, and the arts. Middle-grade readers will learn how these figures got their start as kids just like them, with impactful stories and fun facts such as:

   • Angela Merkel once won a trip to Moscow, where she bought a Beatles album.
   • Stacey Abrams and her siblings played pretend as librarians for fun.
   • Al Gore lived in a hotel as a kid and liked to drop water balloons off the roof!

Kid Trailblazers explores the childhood stories of leaders who have taken on the most pressing issues of our time by expressing themselves and challenging the world.

Moving, funny, and totally true childhood biographies of Bill Gates, Madam C. J. Walker, Hedy Lamarr, Walt Disney, and 12 other international innovators.

Throughout history people have experimented, invented, and created new ways of doing things. Kid Innovators tells the stories of a diverse group of brilliant thinkers in fields like technology, education, business, science, art, and entertainment, reminding us that every innovator started out as a kid.

Florence Nightingale rescued baby mice. Alan Turing was a daydreamer with terrible handwriting.Alvin Ailey felt like a failure at sports.
Featuring kid-friendly text and full-color illustrations, readers will learn about the young lives of people like Grace Hopper, Steve Jobs, Reshma Saujani, Jacques Cousteau, the Wright Brothers, William Kamkwamba, Elon Musk, Jonas Salk, and Maria Montessori.

Moving, relatable, and totally true childhood biographies of Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Malala Yousafzai, and 12 other inspiring activists.
 
Every activist started out as a kid—and in some cases they were kids when their activism began! But even the world’s greatest champions of civil liberties had relatable interests and problems—often in the middle of extraordinary circumstances.

Martin Luther King, Jr. loved fashion, and argued with his dad about whether or not dancing was a sin. Harvey Milk had a passion for listening to opera music in different languages. Dolores Huerta was once wrongly accused of plagiarizing in school.  
Kid Activists tells these childhood stories and more through kid-friendly texts and full-color cartoon illustrations on nearly every page. The diverse and inclusive group encompasses Susan B. Anthony, James Baldwin, Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass, Alexander Hamilton, Dolores Huerta, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Iqbal Masih, Harvey Milk, Janet Mock, Rosa Parks, Autumn Peltier, Emma Watson, and Malala Yousafzai.

Funny and totally true childhood biographies and full-color illustrations tell tales from the challenging yet defining growing-up years of Albert Einstein, Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, and 12 other brilliant scientists.

Every great scientist started out as a kid. Before their experiments, inventions, and discoveries that changed the world, the world’s most celebrated scientists had regular-kid problems just like you.

Stephen Hawking hated school, and preferred to spend his free time building model airplanes, inventing board games, and even building his own computer. Jane Goodall got in trouble for bringing worms and snails into her house. And Neil deGrasse Tyson had to start a dog-walking business to save up money to buy a telescope. 
Kid Scientists tells the stories of a diverse and inclusive group—also including Temple Grandin, Nikola Tesla, Ada Lovelace, Benjamin Franklin, Isaac Newton, Rosalind Franklin, Sally Ride, Rachel Carson, George Washington Carver, and Vera Rubin—through kid-friendly texts and full-color cartoon illustrations on nearly every page.

Funny and totally true childhood biographies and full-color illustrations tell the tales from the growing-up years of Beverly Cleary, J. R. R. Tolkien, and 13 other great writers.
 
Every great author started out as a kid. Before the best sellers, fan clubs, and beloved stories we know today, the world’s most celebrated writers had regular-kid problems just like you. 

Sam Clemens (aka Mark Twain) loved to skip school and make mischief, with his best friend Tom, of course! A young J. R. R. Tolkien was bitten by a huge tarantula—or as he called it, “a spider as big as a dragon.” Toddler Zora Neale Hurston took her first steps when a wild hog entered her house and started chasing her! 

Kid Authors tells their stories and more—the diverse and inclusive cast that includes Roald Dahl, Beverly Cleary, J. K. Rowling, Jules Verne, Lewis Carroll, Stan Lee—through kid-friendly texts and full-color cartoon illustrations on nearly every page.

Hilarious childhood biographies and full-color illustrations reveal how Leonardo da Vinci, Beatrix Potter, Keith Haring, and other great artists in history coped with regular-kid problems.

Every great artist started out as a kid. Forget the awards, the sold-out museum exhibitions, and the timeless masterpieces. When the world’s most celebrated artists were growing up, they had regular-kid problems just like you. 

Jackson Pollock’s family moved constantly—he lived in eight different cities before he was sixteen years old. Georgia O’Keeffe lived in the shadow of her “perfect” older brother Francis. And Jean-Michel Basquiat triumphed over poverty to become one of the world’s most influential artists. 
Kid Artists tells their stories and more with full-color cartoon illustrations on nearly every page. Other subjects include Claude Monet, Jacob Lawrence, Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Beatrix Potter, Yoko Ono, Dr. Seuss, Emily Carr, Keith Haring, Charles Schulz, and Louise Nevelson.

Hilarious childhood biographies and full-color illustrations show how Tiger Woods, Gabby Douglas, Bruce Lee, Billie Jean King, and other budding sports champions faced kid-sized challenges growing up.
 
Forget the gold medals, the championships, and the undefeated seasons. When all-star athletes were growing up, they had regular-kid problems just like you. Baseball legend 

Baseball legend Babe Ruth was such a troublemaker, his family sent him to reform school. Race car champion Danica Patrick fended off bullies who told her “girls can’t drive.” And football superstar Peyton Manning was forced to dance the tango in his school play. 
Kid Athletes tells all of their stories and more with full-color cartoon illustrations on every page. Other subjects include Billie Jean King, Jackie Robinson, Yao Ming, Gabby Douglas, Tiger Woods, Julie Krone, Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, Bobby Orr, Lionel Messi, and more!

Excited for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics? Check out Kid Olympians: Summer!

Hilarious childhood biographies and full-color illustrations show how George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Barack Obama, and other presidents-to-be faced kid-sized problems growing up in America.
 
Every president started out as a kid! Forget the legends, tall tales, and historic achievements—before they were presidents, the future leaders of the United States had regular-kid problems just like you.

John F. Kennedy hated his big brother. Lyndon Johnson pulled pranks in class. Barack Obama was bothered by bullies. Bill Clinton was crazy clumsy (he once broke his leg jumping rope). 
Kid Presidents tells all of their stories and more with full-color cartoon illustrations on every page. History has never been this much fun!