Nine-year-old Ron loves going to the Lake City Public Library to look through all the books on airplanes and flight. Today, Ron is ready to take out books by himself. But in the segregated world of South Carolina in the 1950s, Ron's obtaining his own library card is not just a small rite of passage—it is a young man's first courageous mission. Here is an inspiring story, based on Ron McNair's life, of how a little boy, future scientist, and Challenger astronaut desegregated his library through peaceful resistance.

One summer day in 1959, nine-year-old Ron McNair, who dreams of becoming a pilot, walks into the Lake City, South Carolina, public library and insists on checking out some books, despite the rule that only white people can have library cards. Includes facts about McNair, who grew up to be an astronaut.

On his first train ride, Michael meets a new friend from the “whites only” car—but finds they can hang together for only part of the trip—in the last story in a trilogy about the author’s life growing up in the segregated South. Michael and his granddaddy always stop working to watch the trains as they rush by their Alabama farm on the way to distant places. One day Michael gets what he’s always dreamed of: his first train journey, to visit cousins in Ohio! Boarding the train in the bustling station, Michael and his grandma follow the conductor to the car with the “colored only” sign. But when the train pulls out of Atlanta, the signs come down, and a boy from the next car runs up to Michael, inviting him to explore. The two new friends happily scour the train together and play in Bobby Ray’s car—until the conductor calls out “Chattanooga!” and abruptly ushers Michael back to his grandma for the rest of the ride. How could the rules be so changeable from state to state—and so unfair? Based on author Michael Bandy’s own recollections of taking the train as a boy during the segregation era, this story of a child’s magical first experience is intercut with a sense of baffling injustice, offering both a hopeful tale of friendship and a window into a dark period of history that still resonates today.

The heartwarming sequel to Same Kind of Different As Me! After Miss Debbie's death in 2000, her husband, Ron formed an even stronger bond with Denver, a homeless ex-con. Ron's touching memoir chronicles how their shared devotion to Debbie led them to work toward fulfilling her vision: to ease the pain associated with poverty, homelessness, and inequality. Workin’ Our Way Home describes the ten years Ron and Denver lived together after Miss Debbie’s death. Written in both Ron’s and Denver’s unique voices, their inspiring (and often hilarious) adventures include: Their sometimes-bizarre life together in the Murchison Mansion Denver accidentally almost burning the house down—twice The challenges involved with making a movie Two visits to the White House Traveling the country to raise awareness about homelessness And much more! With both wit and wisdom, these pages reveal God’s plan lived out through these men and those closest to them, including their passion to fulfill Debbie’s dream of mitigating the suffering and humiliation associated with homelessness and inequality. Denver said it best: “Whether we is rich or whether we is poor, or somethin' in between, this earth ain’t no final restin' place. So in a way, we is all homeless—ever last one of us—just workin our way home.”

The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks struck the nation on a clear, late summer morning on the East Coast. Hijackers used jet airliners as weapons, flying them into New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. One hijacked plane crashed in a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This terrorist attack was an unprecedented event in American history. At Ground Zero, thousands of first responders, including 2,400 National Guard soldiers, were activated into a search and rescue mission by Gov. George Pataki. The already-established Emergency Management Office - EMO - in New York City which included the presence of the Army National Guard, NYPD and NYFD, was located in Building 7. That building, which had existed within the World Trade Center site, was demolished. The first responders, Headquarters 53rd Troop Command, were given authority to be in command and control of the 2,400 National Guard soldiers who had been activated to duty on 9/11. Sept. 11, 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of this terrorist attack. Ron Sardanopoli, author of "Command and Control," allows you to hear from first responders - those who rushed to Ground Zero to serve on this horrific mission. Their recollections of 20 years ago are still branded on their memory banks, beginning when the first jetliner hit 1 World Trade Center building. The author takes the reader to the rigorous training our men and women in the Army National Guard had so they could function effectively in a chaotic catastrophic operation. "Command and Control" goes behind the scenes to the basic education that converts a civilian to a soldier with the United States Army. That behind-the-scenes look instituted many years ago and still working today. It includes the Army's remarkable methods of changing a civilian's mindset from being a civilian into being a soldier...a soldier who can operate in support of any military combat, humanitarian or disaster relief mission to include the search and rescue mission given to the Headquarters 53rd Troop Command at Ground Zero on 9/11.

Is there anything more splendid than a baby’s skin? For families of all stripes comes a sweet celebration of what makes us unique—and what holds us together. Look at you! You look so cute in your brand-new birthday suit. Just savor these bouquets of babies—cocoa-brown, cinnamon, peaches and cream. As they grow, their clever skin does too, enjoying hugs and tickles, protecting them inside and out, and making them one of a kind. Fran Manushkin’s rollicking text and Lauren Tobia’s delicious illustrations paint a breezy and irresistible picture of the human family—and how wonderful it is to be just who you are.

Out of Control chronicles the dawn of a new era in which the machines and systems that drive our economy are so complex and autonomous as to be indistinguishable from living things.