Judith St. George

In 1776 Thomas Jefferson put his quill to paper and the Declaration of Independence sprang to life. Follow the Declaration's journey over the next two centuries, surviving eight wars and traveling through five states on horseback, boat, railcar, and tank to its current home in the National Archives.

Growing up poor in the backwoods of Kentucky and Indiana, Abraham Lincoln lost his mother before he was ten. But Sally Johnston, who married Abe's father a year later, brought a library of books to their log cabin home and turned young Abe's life around.

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were intertwined for some twenty-five years, with their resentments and misunderstandings culminating in a tragic duel.

As a young boy, "Teedie" Roosevelt was frequently ill, but worked hard to become strong and fit while also avidly reading and pursuing his love of natural history.

Zarafa is a beautiful and gentle giraffe, so wonderful, in fact, that the ruler of Egypt offers her as a gift to the king of France. But how to get her there? Why, she sails up the Nile by felucca, crosses the sea by brigantine, and, yes, walks the last five hundred miles to Paris. People love it. And they love her, meeting and greeting her along the way, cheering her on. Afterward, the grateful French king places Zarafa in his own royal garden, where...