On December 7, 1941, Japanese war planes appeared out of nowhere to bomb the American base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It was a highly secretive and devastating attack: four battleships sunk, more than two thousand servicemen died, and the United States was propelled into World War II. In a compelling, easy-to-read narrative, children will learn all about a pivotal moment in American history.

Which of these facts are true?

It divided the city of Berlin, separating families and friends for twenty-eight years
Thousands of East Berliners tried to cross into West Berlin, two people escaped by zip line
All around the world, people celebrated when the wall finally began to come down in 1989
All of the above!

The Berlin Wall finally came down in 1989. Now readers can find out why it was built in the first place; and what it meant for Berliners living on either side of it. Here’s the fascinating story of a city divided.

In 1961, overnight a concrete border went up, dividing the city of Berlin into two parts – East and West. . The story of the Berlin Wall holds up a mirror to post-WWII politics and the Cold War Era when the United States and the USSR were enemies, always on the verge of war. The wall meant that no one from Communist East Berlin could travel to West Berlin, a free, democratic area. Of course that didn’t stop thousands from trying to breech the wall – more than one hundred of them dying in the attempt. (One East Berliner actually ziplined to freedom!) Author Nico Medina explains the spy-vs-spy politics of the time as well as what has happened since the removal of one of the most divisive landmarks in modern history.

What Was the Bombing of Hiroshima?

Hiroshima is where the first atomic bomb was dropped. Now readers will learn the reasons why and what it’s meant for the world ever since.

By August 1945, World War II was over in Europe, but the fighting continued between American forces and the Japanese, who were losing but determined to fight till the bitter end. And so it fell to a new president–Harry S. Truman–to make the fateful decision to drop two atomic bombs–one on Hiroshima and one on Nagasaki–and bring the war to rapid close. Now, even seventy years later, can anyone know if this was the right choice? In a thoughtful account of these history-changing events, Jess Brallier explains the leadup to the bombing, what the terrible results of it were, and how the threat of atomic war has colored world events since.