WASHINGTON, GEORGE - America’s First President

               It was a small, new country ruled by a king who lived far across the ocean. Not many of the country’s people had ever gone to school. Few could even read or write. Most families lived in small, crowded houses in settlements called colonies.

VERNE, JULES - Journey to Everywhere

                “Drop a sandbag before you hit the mountain!”

               Down goes the sandbag. Up goes the balloon.

                Imagine exploring a distant land and in a giant balloon. You could fly high over mountains and waterfalls, and from your seat in the basket hanging beneath the balloon, you could see the whole land stretched out below you like a giant and colorful bedspread.

VAN GOGH, VINCENT - The Man Who Painted Sunflowers

               Vincent Van Gogh was a poor Dutch artist who seldom sold a picture. But he didn’t care about money – he wanted only to paint life around him as it would look bathed in pure sunlight.