Who Was Frida Kahlo?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 26 December 2013
You can always recognize a painting by Kahlo because she is in nearly all--with her black braided hair and colorful Mexican outfits. A brave woman who was an invalid most of her life, she transformed herself into a living work of art. As famous for her self-portraits and haunting imagery as she was for her marriage to another famous artist, Diego Rivera, this strong and courageous painter was inspired by the ancient culture and history of her beloved homeland, Mexico. Her paintings continue to inform and inspire popular culture around the world.

Who Is Gloria Steinem?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 26 December 2014
As a field reporter in the 1960s, Gloria Steinem worked hard to dig up important stories. She went undercover to expose the grim realities of gender inequality in America. As her message continued to grow, she became the spokeswoman of the women’s liberation movement and created the feminist publication, Ms. magazine. Steinem continues to speak and write about women and women’s roles in media and politics.

Who Was Fidel Castro?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 22 August 2017
When Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016, many people around the world responded with mixed emotions. Learn all about the man who shaped Cuba for more than half a decade.

After overthrowing Fulgencia Batista in 1959, Fidel Castro became the leader of an island country only ninety miles away from Florida. While in power, Castro outlasted ten US presidents and turned the small nation into a one-party state with influence over the entire world. Called a leader by some and a dictator by others, Castro defined not one but several eras in world politics.

Who Was Norman Rockwell?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 2 April 2019
Brush up your knowledge on popular American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell with this exciting Who Was? title.

Norman Rockwell often painted what he saw around him in nostalgic and humorous ways. After hearing President Franklin Roosevelt's address to Congress in 1943, he was inspired to create paintings that described the principles for universal rights: four paintings that portray iconic images of the American experience. Over the course of his lifetime, he painted 322 covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Of his work, he has said: "Maybe as I grew up and found the world wasn't the perfect place I thought it to be, I consciously decided that if it wasn't an ideal world, it should be, and so painted only the ideal aspects of it."

Who Was Beatrix Potter?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 21 July 2015

Who Was Ida B. Wells?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 2 June 2020
The story of how a girl born into slavery became an early leader in the civil rights movement and the most famous Black female journalist in nineteenth-century America.

Born into slavery in 1862, Ida Bell Wells was freed as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Yet she could see how just how unjust the world was. This drove her to become a journalist and activist. Throughout her life, she fought against prejudice and for equality for African Americans. Ida B. Wells would go on to co-own a newspaper, write several books, help cofound the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and fight for women's right to vote.

Who Was Rachel Carson?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 30 October 2014
Though she grew up in rural Pennsylvania, Rachel Carson dreamed of the sea. In 1936 she began work with the Bureau of Fisheries and soon after published Under the Sea Wind, her first of many nature books. Her 1962 bestseller, Silent Spring, sent shockwaves through the country and warned of the dangers of DDT and other pesticides. A pioneering environmentalist, Rachel Carson helped awaken the global consciousness for conservation and preservation.

Who Was Jane Austen?

by Sarah Fabiny and Jerry Hoare

Published 5 December 2017
Step into the world of Georgian England and learn more about the genteel life of this beloved author.

Although Jane Austen's works were first published anonymously and brought her little personal recognition, today they are rarely out of print and have inspired movies, television shows and mini-series, literary anthologies, and many other adaptations all around the world. Her writing—principally her five novels—is a critique of the British landed gentry at the end of the eighteenth century, and often a comment on the pursuit of a "good match" in matters of marriage. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Northhanger Abbey remain her most famous works. Who Was Jane Austen? reveals the life of this most private author.

Who Was A. A. Milne?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 1 June 2021
Find out how stories about his son's stuffed bear, famously known as Winnie the Pooh, made A. A. Milne one of the world's best-known children's authors in this informative biography from the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Series, Who Was?.

Born in England in 1882, Alan Alexander Milne grew up with a love for exploring the woods with his brother and writing poems about their adventures. Alan carried that love into his adult life by exploring the woods with his son, Christopher Robin. Well known for his articles, plays, and novels, Alan considered himself a "serious" author. But one story about a stuffed bear changed his image forever. Inspired by his son and their time playing in the woods, Alan wrote a story about Christopher Robin and his stuffed bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, on a hunt for honey. The story was an instant success, and soon everyone wanted to hear more about the boy, his bear, and the magical Hundred Acre Wood. Today, children all around the world still read his stories in the classic books Winnie-the-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner, Now We Are Six, and When We Were Very Young.

Who Was Georgia O'Keeffe?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 13 September 2022
Discover how a little girl raised on a dairy farm grew up to become the first woman ever to have an exhibition of their entire life’s work at the Museum of Modern Art in this addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling Who Was series.

Georgia O'Keeffe is famously known for her colorful, large paintings of flowers, but this artist's portfolio expands far beyond Jack-in-the-pulpits. In this book, young readers will learn about O'Keeffe's childhood in Wisconsin and her years as a talented art school teacher. Her years as an artist in both New York and New Mexico, two areas that are heavily represented in her artwork, reveal O'Keeffe's influences. Explore the adventures that inspired O'Keeffe's paintings of skyscrapers, barns, skulls, flowers, and made her into an American art icon of the twentieth century.

Who Is Billie Jean King?

by Sarah Fabiny

Published 6 August 2024
Learn about the amazing life of the former world No. 1 tennis player who fought for gender equality in sports! Billie Jean King's legacy as a tennis star, a feminist, and an LGBTQ+ trailblazer shines through in this addition to the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Series.

Billie Jean King grew up in a family of athletes. It was no surprise when she quickly began to excel at tennis. She became the top female singles player in the world and won 129 career singles titles, including Wimbledon and the US Open. Beyond being an excellent athlete, Billie Jean King used her voice to stand up for other women playing tennis who were not paid nearly as much as male players. In 1973, Billie Jean captured the world's attention when she beat Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes," proving women were just as good at tennis as men. She went on to found the Women's Tennis Association, and thanks to her efforts, women athletes worldwide were finally able to be taken seriously and paid fairly.