Autobiographies Fiction Title: King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiograph Author: Chris Crutcher Summary: This popular author for teens seems to have no qualms about embarrassing himself by relating many hilarious and poignant incidents from his childhood as a misfit crybaby without much athletic ability! Non-Fiction Title: A Journey: The Autobiography of Apolo Anton Ohno Author: Apolo Anton Ohno Summary: One of the stars of the 2002 Winter Olympics in speed skating, Ohno writes in an informal, casual style about how he became a champion. Call Number: B OHNO Title: Abracadabra Kid Author: Sid Fleischman Summary: Fleischman writes about how he began his career as a magician, became a Hollywood scriptwriter, and finally emerged as the award-winning writer for youth that he is today. Call Number: B FLEISCHMAN Title: Autobiography of Malcolm X Author: Malcolm X Summary: The outspoken and controversial black civil rights activist tells the story of his life from his humble roots, to his militant attitudes about racism, to his association with the Nation of Islam. Call Number: B X Title: Bad Boy: A Memoir Author: Walter Dean Myers Summary: The popular young adult author paints a fascinating picture of his childhood growing up in Harlem in the 1940s. Call Number: B MYERS Title: Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter Author: Adeline Yen Mah Summary: Considered "bad luck" after her mother dies in childbirth, Adeline is treated cruelly by her family, but through intelligence and perseverance she rises above her unjust circumstances. Call Number: B MAH Title: Fire on Ice: Autobiography of a Champion Figure Skater Author: Sasha Cohen Summary: The young skater, who gained international attention with her short but spectacular program in the 2002 Olympics, writes about her career in figure skating and her hopes for the future. Call Number: B COHEN Title: Foley is Good: And the Real World is Faker than Wrestling Author: Mick Foley Summary: An intimate look at the World Wrestling Foundation, told by one of its stars- including the inside scoop on the infamous "I-Quit" match against "The Rock". Call Number: B FOLEY Title: Going Solo Author: Roald Dahl Summary: The author of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory recounts his adventures in Africa as a young man, and his later service as a British Royal Air Force pilot in World War II. Call Number: B DAHL Title: Hawk: Occupation, Skateboarder Author: Tony Hawk Summary: The Grand Master of extreme skateboarding shares his story of struggle to reach the top of his craft. Call Number: B HAWK Title: How Angel Peterson Got His Name: And Other Outrageous Tales of Extreme Sports Author: Gary Paulsen Summary: The prolific writer for teens tells all about his 13th year when he and his friends tried to shoot a waterfall in a barrel, break the world record for speed skiing, hang glide using an Army surplus parachute and perform other dare-devilish stunts! Call Number: B PAULSEN Title: I am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action Author: Jackie Chan Summary: Sent away to a Hong Kong drama school, Chan endures extraordinary hardships, including regular beatings and near starvation, while learning how to become the super stunt actor we all now know. He even includes a list of his many injuries throughout his career! Call Number: B CHENG Title: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Author: Maya Angelou Summary: Despite a traumatic childhood of abandonment, prejudice and rape, Maya emerges triumphant, to become poet laureate of the United States. Call Number: B ANGELOU Title: In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer Author: Irene Gut Opdyke Summary: During World War II, a young Polish nurse rescues Jews from the Nazis, even at great personal cost. Call Number: B OPDYKE Title: Knots in my Yo-yo String: The Autobiography of a Kid Author: Jerry Spinelli Summary: The popular author for young people writes about his childhood in rural Pennsylvania, and his route to becoming a great writer. Call Number: B SPINELLI Title: Looking Back: A Book of Memories Author: Lois Lowry Summary: Using family snapshots, author Lois Lowry recounts moments from her own life and connects them to her novels for young people. Call Number: B LOWRY Title: Mandela: An Illustrated Autobiography Author: Nelson Mandela Summary: A handsome oversized book with nearly 200 photographs abridges Mandelas 1994 story when he struggled against apartheid in South Africa. Call Number: B MANDELA Title: My Own Two Feet: A Memoir Author: Beverly Cleary Summary: The popular children's author of the "Ramona" books writes about her newfound independence as a young adult attending school during the Depression, becoming a children's librarian, and getting married. Call Number: B CLEARY Title: Pigman and Me Author: Paul Zindel Summary: The author of the teen classic, The Pigman, relates the happenings of a single year in his early adolescence on Staten Island when he met the mentor who would forever change his life. Call Number: B ZINDEL Title: Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution Author: Ji-li Jiang Summary: In 1966, Ji-li was devoted to the Communist Party in China, but with the advent of the Cultural Revolution, her life became endangered and she was faced with difficult decisions about her future. Call Number: 951.056 Title: Rocket Boys: A Memoir Author: Homer H. Hickam, Jr. Summary: Inspired by the "race to space" in the late 1950s, 14-year-old Homer Hickam of rural West Virginia decides to build his own rockets. Later turned into the popular movie, October Sky. Call Number: B HICKAM Title: Rosa Parks: My Story Author: Rosa Parks Summary: The famous civil rights activist tells her life story, including the day in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus, leading to the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Call Number: B PARKS Title: Royal Road to Romance Author: Robert Halliburton Summary: The 1920s American adventurer traveled the world with almost no money, getting in and out of numerous hijinks, from swimming in the forbidden pools of the Taj Mahal to climbing the Matterhorn despite no hiking experience, and rediscovering the forgotten palaces of Cambodia's fabled Angkor Wat. Call Number: 910.4 Title: Tarantula in My Purse and 172 Other Wild Pets Author: Jean Craighead George Summary: The craziness never ends in a naturalist's house filled with kids, raccoons, skunks, wolverines, bats, and (of course) tarantulas. Call Number: 639.9092 Title: Within Reach: My Everest Story Author: Mark Pfetzer Summary: Eighteen-year-old Pfetzer relates his climbing exploits on some of the world's highest mountains- including his version of the fatality-filled 1996 expedition up Everest told by Krakauer in his book, Into Thin Air. Call Number: 796.522092 Title: Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo Author: Zlata Filipovic Summary: Called by some a "modern-day Anne Frank," Zlata records how her life drastically changes when war breaks out in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia in 1992. Call Number: 949.742 Title: Zoya's Story: An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom Author: Zoya Summary: As a young girl, Zoya watched the atrocities the Taliban committed when they took over her country, and later joined RAWA, "The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan," to fight for womens rights. Call Number: B ZOYA