Elephant was used for the first time to represent the Republican Party. Harper’s Weekly published a Thomas Nast cartoon using the elephant in 1874. Nast first used the donkey to represent the Democratic party in 1870. Children can see the original cartoon at: Elephant.
Jeannette Rankin
Jeannette Rankin was the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives in 1916. A Republican from Montana, she served two different times, from 1917 to 1919 and from 1941 to 1943. A pacifist, she voted against the United States entering both World War I and World War II. Children could read a good biography, Jeannette Rankin: Political Pioneer by Gretchen Woelfle. Children could also learn more at: Jeannette Rankin.
Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York, opened its doors in 1929. Children could view some of the artworks online at: MoMA.
Sneed B. Collard, III (born Santa Barbara, California, 1959) has written at least 65 books for children. His works include The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America’s Lost Grasslands and One Night in the Coral Sea. Children can visit his website at: Sneed B. Collard.
Marie Curie
Marie Sklodowska Curie (born Warsaw, Poland, 1867; died Savoy, France, July 4, 1934) was a physicist. She and her husband, Pierre, worked on radioactive substances. They isolated two new elements, radium and polonium. She, her husband, and a third scientist received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics. She was the first woman to receive any Nobel Prize. She also won the 1911 Nobel Prize in chemistry for her extended work on radium. Kathleen Krull wrote an excellent biography of the scientist, Marie Curie (Giants of Science).
Yuyi Morales (born Xalapa, Mexico, 1968) writes and illustrates book for children. Her book Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book received a 2004 Pura Belpre Medal. Viva Frida received a 2015 Pura Belpre Medal and a 2015 Caldecott Honor Award. In 2019 Dreamers/Sonadoras earned a Pura Belpre Medal.
Armstrong Sperry (born New Haven, Connecticut, 1897; died Hanover, New Hampshire, April 26, 1976) was a children’s author and illustrator. He wrote over 25 books, and his book Call It Courage was awarded the 1941 Newbery Medal. Children could visit his granddaughter’s website honoring her grandfather at: Armstrong Sperry