by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema, Illustrated by Diane Stanley

HarperCollins Publishers

This legendary king began his life as an outcast, banished by his father from their tiny Zulu clan. When his father died and Shaka returned to his people, he taught his soldiers a new way to fight. Soon he had turned his little band of Zulus into the greatest warriors in Africa. Through courage, determination, and sheer military genius, Shaka conquered a mighty empire and founded the Zulu Nation.

Recognition & Awards

A New York Times Best Illustrated Book; a New York Times Notable Book; Booklist Editor’s Choice; Notable Children’s Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies; featured in a Smithsonian Museum Film Display; featured in the PBS series Long Ago and Far Away; The Library of Congress, Recommended Books For Children; ALA World Book Partners in Excellence Reading Program; nominee for the Texas Bluebonnet Award.

by Diane Stanley

HarperCollins Publishers

Crowned Tsar of Russia at the age of ten, Peter was granted his every wish.  When he felt like playing soldier, he was given his own regiment of child soldiers, with uniforms, horses, and weapons.  But he didn’t make himself commander-in-chief as you might expect.  He assigned himself the lowest rank and worked his way up.  He believed that honors should be earned through learning and hard work, not handed out to people because they were rich or important.

Later he would aspire to more extraordinary things—and he would get them, too.   Most of all he wanted a modern Russia, and so he traveled to Europe (in disguise), the first Tsar to ever leave his country.  He went abroad to learn, and when he returned he began changing everything from the wearing of beards and long robes to marriage customs.  Peter was a peculiar man, demanding, humble, ambitious, cruel, brilliant—and great.

Recognition & Awards

ALA Notable Book; Booklist Editor’s Choice; American Bookseller Pick of the Lists; Bookselling This Week Pick of the List; Golden Kite Award Honor Book for Nonfiction, SCBW; Notable Children’s Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies; nominee for the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the William Allen White Children’s Book Award, and the South Carolina Children’s Book Award.

by Diane Stanley, Illustrated by Holly Berry

Joanna Cotler Books, HarperCollins Publishers

Liz and Lenny, along with their time-traveling grandmother and her talking dog, Moose, visit Plymouth Plantation. They discover that life among the Pilgrims was hard, and strange, but sometimes lots of fun. And they arrive just in time to sit down with the Pilgrims and the Native Americans for a three-day harvest festival—though it was not a real Thanksgiving. They return home just in time for a modern Thanksgiving with mom and dad and a nice, roast turkey with “puddings in the belly.”

by Diane Stanley, Illustrated by Holly Berry

Joanna Cotler Books, HarperCollins Publishers

Liz, Lenny, Grandma and Moose are back for another time-traveling adventure. With the Fourth of July fast approaching, there’s only one thing for them to do—join the Boston Tea Party!  With the help of Grandma’s magic hat, they journey back to Boston in 1773.  From powdered wigs and petticoats to Indian pudding and chamber pots, the twins get a first-hand look at life in colonial America and join the “Mohawks” as they dump tea into the Boston Harbor and help begin the American Revolution.

Recognition & Awards

International Reading Association/Children’s Book Council, Children’s Choices.

by Diane Stanley, Illustrated by Holly Berry

Joanna Cotler Books, HarperCollins Publishers

Covered wagons and moving villages are not what Liz and Lenny had in mind when they arrived at Grandma’s house. But they don’t have your average grandmother. With the help of her magic hat, Grandma takes the twins—and her talking dog, Moose—all the way back to 1843 to join their great-great-great-great grandmother Elizabeth as she travels along the Oregon Trail. From scaling mountains and fording rivers to cooking slam-johns and sowbellies over buffalo chips, the twins discover that living history can be pretty exciting!