Historical SEL
More Than Anything Else
By Marie Bradby, Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet
More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby is an award-winning children's book, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet, that tells the fictionalized story of a young Booker T. Washington and his intense desire to learn to read and write despite working long hours in a West Virginia saltworks after emancipation. Published in 1995, the book focuses on themes of hard work, goal-setting, and the struggle for literacy, capturing the young boy's hunger for knowledge through eloquent text and dramatic illustrations.
Emmanuel’s Dream
By Laurie Ann Thompson, Illustrated by Sean Qualls
Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people—but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing four hundred miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled.
