Ragged Dick
Horatio Alger, Jr. (born Revere, Massachusetts, 1834; died Natick, Massachusetts, July 18, 1899) was an author. He wrote more than one hundred books where the young male hero fought tough times to find fame and fortune. Two of his most famous works were Ragged Dick, published in 1867, and From Canal Boy to President, published in 1881. Children can read his works at: Project Gutenberg.
Wendy Hart Beckman (born Overbrook, Pennsylvania, 1958) has written several books for young adults and at least one book for adults. She has also published over 300 articles. One of her books is Robert Cormier: Banned, Challenged and Censored. Young adults could check out her website: http://wendyonwriting.com/.
N. M. Bodecker (born Copenhagen, Denmark, 1922; died Hancock, New Hampshire, February 1, 1988) wrote and illustrated books for children and adults. One of his books is Miss Jaster’s Garden.
Michael Bond (born Newbury, Berkshire, England, 1926; died London, England, June 27, 2017) was an author. He wrote the Paddington Bear series (26 books), the Olga De Polga series (at least 19 books), the Monsieur Pamplemousse series (at least 21 books), and at least 18 other books.
Salmon Portland Chase (born Cornish, New Hampshire, 1808; died New York, New York, May 7, 1873) was a politician and senator. He was Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury from 1861 to 1864. During his tenure, he created a national banking system and introduced paper currency. He also had the words “In God We Trust” stamped on coins. From 1864 to his death in 1873, he was the sixth chief justice of the Supreme Court. He would have liked to be president, but his anti-slavery views put off many voters.
National Geographic Society was created in Washington, DC, in 1888. Around 33 founding members met at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, to sign the charter. Visit a website at: National Geographic. Children enjoy perusing the National Geographic site for kids at: National Geographic Kids. Do you want an easy activity that combines geography and good, hard thinking? Create a geography ABC: write the letters of the alphabet down on paper. Next to each letter children can write down places that begin with that letter. For example, “A” could list Albania, Alabama, Andes Mountains, Arno River…