The landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Dred Scott v. Sandford, in which the slave Dred Scott was denied freedom for himself and his family, raised the ire of abolitionists and set the scene for the impending conflict between the northern and southern states. While most people have heard of the Dred Scott Decision, few know anything about the case's namesake. In this meticulously researched and carefully crafted biography of Dred Scott, his wife, Harriet, and their daughters, Eliza and Lizzie, award-winning children's book author Gwenyth Swain brings to life a family's struggle to become...

The Plains Indian Wars of the nineteenth century garnered enduring fame for certain Indian leaders, their names echoing powerfully even today: Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud. Just as significant but less often mentioned is Taoyateduta, known to whites as Little Crow, the reluctant leader of Dakota warriors during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, the opening salvo of the U.S.-Indian Wars.

In this carefully researched biography of the Dakota leader, the first ever written for children, author Gwenyth Swain presents a compelling portrait of the leader, warrior, and politician at the...

Famous for her elegantly written and whimsically illustrated children's books Millions of Cats, The Funny Thing, Snippy and Snappy, and Tales from Grimm, Wanda Gag (1893-1946) lived a life not unlike that of the characters in the German fairy tales that her grandparents told her as a girl.

In a new biography for young readers, award-winning author Gwenyth Swain brings the visionary and eccentric artist to life. Swain takes readers into Wanda's girlhood in rural Minnesota, where, from an early age, her artistic talents flourished. Yet Wanda, the eldest of seven siblings, was pushed...