Encounter: Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books

Bloody Bill is coming! The American Revolution is raging, and 14-year-old Dicey Langston overhears that a fierce Loyalist leader is heading for the Patriot camp where her brothers are secretly based. This gripping narrative tells the surprising true story of a brave young girl who saved many lives...and risked her own life for independence.

She grew up in a world where women were supposed to be quiet. But Malala Yousafzai refused to be silent. Discover Malala's story through this powerful narrative telling, and come to see how one brave girl named Malala changed the world.

September 11, 2001 was a black day in U.S. history. Amid the chaos, sea captains and crews raced by boat to the tragic Manhattan scene. Nearly 500,000 people on Manhattan Island were rescued that day in what would later be called the largest sea evacuation in history. In this rarely told story of heroism, we come to understand that in our darkest hours, people shine brightly as a beacon of hope.

It is 1941. Hedy and her family are Jewish, and the Jew-hating Nazi party is rising. Hedy's family is no longer safe in their home in Hungary. They decide to flee to America, but because of their circumstances, sixteen-year-old Hedy must make her way through Europe alone. Will luck be with her? Will she be brave? Join Hedy on her journey-where she encounters good fortune and misfortune, a kind helper and cruel soldiers, a reunion and a tragedy-and discover how Hedy is both lucky and brave. Hedy's Journey adds an important voice to the canon of Holocaust stories, and her courage will make a lasting impact on young readers.

Uses Common Core narrative nonfiction approach to tell the true story of a cat that becomes separated from his family when they flee Iraq for refuge in Europe. Their reunion will bring tears to the coldest heart.

Amid the horrors of World War II, Irena Sendler was an unlikely and unsung hero. While many people lived in fear of the Nazis, Irena defied them, even though it could have meant her life. This gripping true story of a woman who took it upon herself to help save 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust is not only inspirational-it's unforgettable.

This picture book tells the thrilling story of a woman from New Zealand who walked alone from Canada all the way to the magnetic North Pole; well, alone except for Charlie, the best and most protective dog on the globe.