Perhaps no other figure in American history is more shrouded in myth and legend than David ("Davy") Crockett, the Tennessee frontiersman whose death at the Alamo in 1836 ensured his place in the Valhalla of American heroes.Crockett himself was responsible for much of the folklore about his life. A gregarious, fun-loving man, he was more than capable of spinning tall tales over a "horn" of liquor. The truth of his life, as William Groneman emphasizes in this book, was far more fascinating than the myth. David Crockett was a true self-made man who left home at the age of twelve. His adventures--hunting and exploring, serving as a soldier under Andrew Jackson in the Creek Indian War of 1813, a political career that took him to the United States Congress, an incessant search for "elbow room" that drew him to Texas-these were the real fabric of a heroic life.In writing of the "historical Crockett," Groneman, a world authority on the Alamo and its defenders, dispels the myths to uncover the genuine hero. He writes at length of the defense of the Alamo, describes how Crockett's reputation and heroism have been tainted by revisionist historians, and presents new evidence that the Tennessean actually left the Alamo during the siege to bring in reinforcements. Although safely outside the walls, he fought his way back in to rejoin his friends for the final, fatal, battle.

In 1939, hatred took root in South Africa, where the seeds of apartheid were newly sown. There a boy called Peekay was born. He spoke the wrong language–English. He was nursed by a woman of the wrong color–black. His childhood was marked by humiliation and abandonment. Yet he vowed to survive–he would become welterweight champion of the world, he would dream heroic dreams. But his dreams were nothing compared to what awaited him. For he embarked on an epic journey, where he would learn the power of words, the power to transform lives, and the mystical power that would sustain him even when it appeared that villainy would rule the world: The Power of One.

Time Period:  Jan. 1864 - April 1865  With the nation convulsed by civil war, Elise Brannon wants people to look past the depressing news that arrives daily from the battlefields: Through her love of acting, she'll make them laugh and forget-at least for awhile. But even her optimism is challenged when a family friend dies from battle wounds. . .she's captured by a band of deserters. . .and President Lincoln is assassinated. Elise the Actress uses actual historical events to tell the poignant fictional story of a ten-year-old girl growing up in very trying times. It's an excellent tool for teaching both history and the Christian faith!

Time Period:  July 1943 - June 1944  Ten-year-old Jennie Fleming is doing what she can to help win a war-she's hoeing weeds in her "Victory Garden." In 1944, with the United States battling both Germany and Japan in a worldwide conflict, everyone must play a part in the overall war effort. Jennie's War uses actual historical events to tell the intriguing fictional story of a young girl on the "home front"-and her suspicions that a new man in the neighborhood might be a spy. The compelling reading makes it a favorite of eight- to twelve-year-old girls.