Moss, Marissa

"One of the founders of United States cryptology who would eventually become one of the world's greatest code breakers, Elizebeth Smith Friedman (1892-1980) was a brilliant mind behind many important battles throughout the twentieth-century, saving many lives through her intelligence and heroism. Whip-smart and determined, Elizebeth displayed a remarkable aptitude for language and recognizing patterns from a young age. After getting her start by looking for linguistic clues to the true authorship of Shakespeare's writings, she and her husband William Friedman were tasked with heading up the first government code-breaking unit in America, training teams and building their own sophisticated code systems during the lead-up to World War I. Elizebeth's solo career was even more impressive. She became the Treasury Department's and Coast Guard's first female codebreaker and created her own top-notch codebreaking unit, where she trained and led many male colleagues. During Prohibition of the 1920's, her work solving and intercepting coded messages from mobsters and criminal gangs lead to hundreds of high-profile criminal prosecutions, including members of Al Capone's gang. Her crowning achievement came during World War II, when Elizbeth uncovered an intricate network of Nazi spies operating in South America, a feat that neither law enforcement nor intelligence agencies had been able to accomplish. Despite her unparalleled accomplishments, she was largely written out of history books and overshadowed by her husband"--Provided by publisher.

Starting her own all-girls mathlete team, Talia, who loves math puzzles and code-breaking, is determined to lead her team to victory while trying to break the social code of preteen life.

"As a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early 20th century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field, like having her name listed on her own research papers. Meitner made . . . strides in the study of radiation, but when Hitler came to power in Germany, she suddenly had to face not only sexism, but also life-threatening anti-Semitism as well. Nevertheless, she persevered and one day made a discovery that rocked the world: the splitting of the atom. While her male lab partner was awarded a Nobel Prize for the achievement, the committee refused to give her any credit. Suddenly, the race to build the atomic bomb was on--although Meitner was horrified to be associated with such a weapon. 'A physicist who never lost her humanity,' Meitner wanted only to figure out how the world works, and advocated for pacifism while others called for war"--Provided by publisher.

"In the late 19th century, there wasn't much hope for premature babies-- until Dr. Couney developed the incubator. The device was so new and strange, hospitals rejected it. So Dr. Couney set up a sideshow at Coney Island, taking care of the tiniest newborns as part of a display to convince the public that incubators worked. Thousands of babies grew into healthy children as Boardwalk Babies, including Dr. Couney's own premature daughter"--OCLC.

Ten-year-old Amelia keeps a journal of the summer car trip she takes with her mother and sister to the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and their California hometown, where they visit Amelia's best friend. Presented in Spanish.

Amelia provides advice--some of it humorous--about surviving homework, teachers, oral reports, and other things that make school annoying or frightening.

In the Russian shtetl where she and her family live, Hannah is given a diary for her tenth birthday and in it she records the dramatic story of her journey to America.

Did aliens build the pyramids? Will a magic love potion bring Mom and Dad back together? And what do school science, mummified apples, and alien erasers have to do with it? In a second zany, jam-packed graphic novel, Max jots down his worst fears and best brainstorms.

In her diary, Daphne Davis doodles, draws, and documents a series of disasters on her first two days of fourth grade, most of which result from her new teacher accidentally calling her Daffy.

Amelia receives a letter from her father and is invited to visit him and his new family.