Inspiring Biographies!

• The Fastest Drummer: Clap Your Hands for Viola Smith! by DEAN ROBBINS. Five girls played together in the Smith Sisters Orchestra, but when it came time for Viola, the youngest, to join, almost every instrument was taken... except one! Viola wasn't perfect at the drums at first, but with practice, she became one of the best! At one hundred years of age, Viola was still rocking out!
• Mr. Pei's Perfect Shapes: The Story of Architect I.M. Pei by JULIE LEUNG. Inspired by shapes and forms from a young age, Ioeh Ming Pei went on to become one of the world's most famous architects, creating iconic structures like the Louvre pyramid and the JFK Library!
• A Mind of Her Own: The Story of Mystery Writer Agatha Christie by ROBYN McGRATH. Before Agatha Christie became the greatest mystery writer of all time, she was a girl who loved books, make-believe, and puzzling out problems. Her family and teachers chided her for being lost in her head, but Agatha wasn’t lost… she had a mind of her own!
• Swinging Into History: Toni Stone: Big-League Baseball's First Woman by KAREN L. SWANSON. Nothing could stop Toni “Tomboy” Stone from playing baseball — not even her parents! She endured a series of obstacles to make it to not only the minor leagues, but to the big leagues!
• Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills by DONNA JANELL BOWMAN. Billy Mills was once an orphan on the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation. But before his father passed, he told Billy that the pursuit of a dream will heal him. Despite poverty, racism, and severe health challenges, Billy raced toward his goal of becoming an Olympic athlete and earned his place at the 1964 Olympics!