First Names

Before Harry Houdini (1874–1926) became the greatest magician in the world, he was just little Ehrich Weisz, a Hungarian-born immigrant who moved to America with his family and performed stage tricks for a little extra cash. He started off with card tricks and then eventually began performing the escape acts that would make him famous. Known for his daring and death-defying illusions, he would do some of the greatest tricks ever: escaping from a milk can, being buried alive, and being locked inside a crate and thrown into a river. He conquered each of these seemingly impossible feats and showed the world the power of a little magic. Fun and fast-paced, Harry Houdini tells the story of the curious boy who became the world's greatest magician and reveals how Houdini did some of his most stunning escapes.

Before Amelia Earhart (1897–1939) became a world-famous pilot, she was a little tomboy from Kansas with a taste for adventure. When she visited an airfield and took a short plane ride, she knew she had to be a pilot. She signed up for flying lessons and cropped her hair short so that the other pilots would take her seriously. She became the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. With each flight she took and each record she broke, Amelia became more and more of a celebrity. Her final flight was intended to be a trip around the whole world, but her plane disappeared after takeoff-and her disappearance is still a mystery today. Inspirational and full of adventure, Amelia Earhart tells the story of the feminist icon who changed the world of aviation.

Before she was a famous mathematician and the first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace (1815—1852) was the daughter of well-known poet Lord Byron. When he died, Ada was still very young, and her mother encouraged her interest in mathematics in an attempt to prevent her from turning into a melancholy poet like her father. As an adult, she married a count and, as countess, was given access to some of England's greatest scientists and authors, including Charles Babbage, who was working to develop an analytical engine. Seeing the potential in computers, Ada partnered with Charles and used her mathematical skills to create an algorithm that could make such a machine possible. Fascinating and lively, Ada Lovelace tells the story of the woman who helped pioneer computing.

Before Malala Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, she was a girl fighting for her education in Pakistan. Growing up, Malala's father encouraged her to be politically active and speak out about her educational rights. When she did, she was shot by a member of the Taliban, and the story received worldwide media coverage. Protests and petitions from around the world helped to pass an educational-rights bill in Pakistan, and Malala used this platform to continue her activism and fight for women's rights. Inspiring and moving, Malala Yousafzai tells the story of one girl's bravery in her fight for equality.

Before he led the first expedition to circumnavigate the Earth, Ferdinand Magellan (1480—1521) was a Portuguese sailor known for his incredible navigation skills. After years of sailing, he was chosen to lead a crew to circle the globe-a trip that no other ship had ever completed. Although Magellan died in combat in the Philippines before he could finish the voyage, his ship went on to complete the first circumnavigation of the world, and he is still known as one of the greatest explorers. However, as historians today note, many of the places that Magellan "discovered" already had people living there, rooting his fame in colonialism. This middle-grade biography, part of the First Names series, tackles the legacy-both good and bad-of this famous explorer.

Before she was an international superstar and feminist icon, Beyoncé was a girl from Texas who loved to sing and dance. As a member of Destiny's Child, she climbed the charts as one of the most famous girl groups in history. This launched her solo career, and since then, she's become an unstoppable force in music and pop culture. Beyond music, she is a successful businesswoman and activist who helps bring issues of race and gender into the global conversation.