A dramatic historical novel rooted in early American frontier life.

Sheppard Lee, Written by Himself (1836) is one of the most inventive fictions of the American Renaissance before its canonical moment: a comic, satirical tale of a feckless New Jersey farmer whose spirit passes from body to body after death. Through these successive embodiments—among the wealthy, the ambitious, the enslaved, and the socially respectable—Bird constructs a picaresque meditation on identity, class, race, property, and moral self-deception. Its brisk, ironic prose belongs to t...

The story begins with Sheppard Lee, a somewhat lazy and dissatisfied farmer in New Jersey, who bemoans his fate and lack of prosperity. Lee's life takes an unexpected turn when he stumbles upon an old manuscript that supposedly grants him the ability to transfer his soul into other bodies. This discovery sets the stage for a series of fantastical and satirical adventures.Lee's first experiment with body-swapping occurs after a disastrous farming accident. He finds himself able to leave his...

Electric Ben is now a 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Book Award Winner, a Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book, a Horn Fanfare Book, and a Robert F. Sibert Honor book!“a true standout…bright, witty, informative and cleverly organized as the man himself.” – The New York TimesA true Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin was the first American celebrity. In pictures and text, master artist Robert Byrd documents Franklin's numerous and div...

"Hawks of Hawk Hollow A Tradition Of Pennsylvania Volume 2, The", authored by Robert Montgomery Bird. This edition delivers a compelling exploration of its central themes and offers readers an immersive and thought-provoking experience. It examines wide-ranging themes that will resonate with thoughtful readers. Readers can expect a clear structure: an engaging opening that establishes stakes, a sequence of scenes or essays that develop central ideas, and a concluding section that synthesiz...

A beautifully illustrated account of the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts with informative details from the award-winning author of Electric BenThe story of Jason and the Argonauts is one of the earliest recorded Greek myths. Here, master artist Robert Byrd has created a striking telling of the legend for a new generation of readers. Complete with explanatory notes and illustrated back matter, Jason and the Argonauts traces each step of our h...

For three hundred years the Society of Friends, or Quakers, has been forwarding to governments recommendations on foreign policy, and it has often been in the vanguard of thought in its social and political views. In this study, Dr. Byrd brings together and states carefully and accurately those beliefs, principles, attitudes, and practices which have been fundamental to the Quaker approach. He illustrates and verifies his statement by an analytical Friends acting in official and semi-offic...

"Anyone with an interest in archaeology or in liars and braggarts will be drawn in by this slim biography of the hyper-imaginative Schliemann." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)From Newbery Medal-winning author Laura Amy Schlitz comes an engaging illustrated biography of Heinrich Schliemann, a nineteenth-century archaeologist who most believe did find the ancient city of Troy. This engrossing tale paints a portrait of contradic...

The moment Angelique arrives in Paris, she is taken prisoner by the SS. In a lonely little room, she is put in a chair with leather straps and a bloodstained seat and ordered to tell her captors everything she knows about the resistance. But Angelique knows nothing. She cares only for Martin, the boy who has been unable to speak since the bombs first fell during the Blitzkrieg. He has a secret-and she will protect it until her dying breath. Though Angelique loves him like her own, Martin i...

The story of Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children encompasses the history of medicine in Boston. It was founded in 1796 as the Boston Dispensary, where district physicians provided free medical care to the poor through annual subscriptions from wealthy Boston families, including such luminaries as Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. Fueled by a huge influx of immigrants at the turn of the 20th century, the city of Boston rapidly expanded and diversified. So too did the hos...

Written by multi-hyphenate and One Voice Award-nominated voice-over actor Roberto V. Jolliffe III, this comprehensive "how-to" creates a road map for aspiring voice actors of any age to get started on their dream - from acquiring the right equipment to auditioning for jobs and elevating in the industry. The vibrant illustrations and storytelling make this work both functional and fun. He believes that knowledge of the Voice Over industry can be a powerful catalyst for personal growth and e...

60 Adventure Classics surveys the extraordinary vitality of adventure writing from the eighteenth through the early twentieth century, gathering sea tales, imperial romances, frontier narratives, detective exploits, voyages of discovery, and imaginative journeys. Its range extends from satire and historical romance to juvenile fiction, survival narrative, and proto-science fiction, revealing adventure as a capacious form in which danger, mobility, technology, and moral testing converge. Ta...