Marty Rhodes Figley

In 1888, Sarah, her younger sister Annie, and their classmates survive a sudden Nebraska blizzard because of the actions of their schoolteacher. Based on the true story of schoolteacher Minnie Freeman.

The story of how President Madison's young slave Paul Jennings helped Dolley Madison save valuable items in the White House from the advancing British Army during the War of 1812.

"After cooking her first batch of perfect biscuits over an open fire, Clara gives them to a hungry Indian visiting their camp, in a book that includes a script and instructions for staging a theatrical performance of this adventure." --

James Forten knew how important freedom was. He was a free African American born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When the American Revolution started in 1776, James was too young to help fight for freedom from British rule. But in 1781, at age fifteen, he took a job on the Royal Louis, an American ship. A British warship soon captured the Royal Louis. James was taken prisoner. The British often sold African American prisoners into slavery. What would...

Something isn't right in New Madrid, Missouri. Nine-year-old Marie sees hundreds of birds flying across the sky like a black cloud. The animals in the barn are restless. Then, early in the morning of December 16, 1811, an earthquake strikes. Chimneys across town tumble to the ground. Can Marie and her family find their way to safety?

Long before canine YouTube stars, Missouri laid claim to the Smartest Dog in the World: Jim the Wonder Dog, a Great Depression Era hunting dog that many believed was either a genius or possessed of clairvoyant skills. Evidence existed for both claims: Jim predicted seven Kentucky Derby winners and the winners of the 1936 World Series and presidential race, but the setter could also take direction in foreign languages (Italian, French, German, Spanish),...

Captured at sea . . . a young man must choose between his country and his freedom. The Atlantic Ocean, 1781. James Forten is a free African American sailor on an American ship, the Royal Louis, during the Revolutionary War. After his ship is captured by the British, he becomes a prisoner on the Amphion. James worries that he will be sold as a slave. Will James ever see his home again?

In 1781, fifteen-year-old James Forten, a free African American from Philadelphia, is proud to be fighting for the American colonies, but when the British capture the ship on which he serves he fears for both his life and his freedom.