8 INTRODUCTION How quickly can you name 60 American heroes They can be young or old from the past or present living or dead and any gender but they all must have made an exceptional positive contribution to our world How'd you do Were you able to come up with 60 names Who's on your list Chances are a few names popped right up George Washington Abraham Lincoln Martin Luther King Jr. Then maybe you mentioned people you are studying in school such as Thomas Jefferson Eleanor Roosevelt or Harriet Tubman After that perhaps you listed a few important people in the news Jimmy Carter Dr. Anthony Fauci even Oprah Winfrey But you still didn't have 60 names so you moved on to sports stars rock singers and other celebrities who may or may not deserve to be called heroes Maybe you even filled out your list with imaginary heroes such as your favorite TV or movie characters Coming up with a list of 60 wasn't easy was it We didn't think so either and that's why we wrote this book Every kid needs great people to admire and imitate but how can you look up to them if you don't know who they are Among our heroes are architects and aviators activists and scientists entrepreneurs and advocates They are teachers musicians inventors and athletes Some are well known Others deserve to be Some of our heroes lived long ago Others continue to enrich our world today Our heroes share admirable qualities exceptional talent fierce determination and indomitable spirit They are courageous and confident and possess an unwavering commitment to being the best they can be Can only an American be a hero Of course not But America is like no other place in the world Here heroes can be rich or poor young or old and of any race religion or national origin under the sun The opportunities open to us are almost endless We're free to follow any dream that enters our heads and we have every right to expect fair treatment from others as we do so It's as simple as that Our goal is to provide you with a launching pad to discover new heroes Then you can have fun learning more as you decide which heroes interest you the most So what do these 60 American heroes have to do with you Everything They might be what you want to be when you grow up Although their shoes may seem impossible to fill you'll find that many of our heroes were a lot like you when they were young They had families homes classmates part time jobs Many had doubts about their own abilities to make a difference in this world
9 in Read about them Hear their stories We've given you a few good books to get you started on finding out more about each of our heroes Heroes usually seem larger than life They are so great as to seem almost unreal to us But all of them are real people Reading their biographies can help you learn more about their childhoods their friends and families their hobbies and all the other things that make them just like you Because they are real people these heroes are not perfect Sometimes they made dreadful choices and did things that harmed others Some of our greatest heroes our country's founders made the terrible decision to enslave others While we wish our heroes always did everything perfectly they are real people who can make serious mistakes To add a little action to your search for heroes we've included a number of activities this book We give you lots of places museums foundations national parks to contact Website addresses are listed or you can just search online and check out the always growing list of links to your favorite heroes You'll have a great time exploring new ideas and you won't be alone As you explore this book you'll see that we have made it possible for you to interact with us the authors Are our heroes the only ones you need to know about No way We can name hundreds more people who have done great things In fact we want you to find more heroes using our Hero Hunt On page 134 we give you clues about individuals similar to the featured heroes It's up to you to solve the mysteries of who they are The answers are listed on page 142 but please NO PEEKING until you have done some digging If you believe that some of your heroes should have made our list of 60 we would like to hear from you Perhaps you know of an accomplished ballet dancer a brilliant scientist or a courageous humanitarian that was not on our roster of heroes Or maybe you admire your grandfather your teacher or even an exceptional member of your church synagogue mosque or other house of worship It's time for real heroes
10 Mother Teresa the JANE ADDAMS SEPTEMBER 6 1860 MAY 21 1935 THE FIRST LADY OF PEACE HUMANITARIAN AUTHOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER You've probably heard of Roman Catholic nun who devoted her life to helping the world's poor people But did you know that more than one hundred years ago an American born woman did the same Her name was Jane Addams and she almost always knew that she wanted to help people Jane Addams was a woman of action In Europe she learned of a program in which educated young men moved into a poor section of London and offered classes and activities to people right there in the neighborhood She thought it was such a great idea that she brought it home and founded Hull House in Chicago In a huge mansion surrounded by the crowded homes of poor people Jane Addams and her friends created a haven There they taught their neighbors job skills cared for their children started a kindergarten and formed a boys club which called itself the Young Heroes Club Food friendship financial help you could find them all at Hull House Jane Addams saw it all very simply neighbors helping neighbors In 1979 Mother Teresa an hororary US citizen won the Nobel Peace Prize She followed in the footsteps of the first American woman ever to be awarded that prize Jane Addams Jane Addams posed for this photograph in 1914. She supported reforms benefiting children such as the first state child labor law and the first juvenile court EXPLORE Another cause that got Jane Addams moving and called her to action was world peace She was the founder and first president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom WILPF Just as she worked hard at Hull House to help the poor she worked hard to promote world harmony Because Jane also wrote numerous books each year the Jane Addams Children's Book
11 POWER WORDS Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics Ethics is knowing right from wrong -Jane Addams Awards honors children's books that promote peace and social justice We think you will find these books to be great reading Some of the award winning books are biographies of heroes some are stories of young people struggling for freedom and many are stories of incredible courage If you would like to read about the events and people who stand for the same values of peace and community that Jane Addams stood for visit www.janeaddamschildrensbookaward.org EXPLORE SOME MORE Pay a virtual visit to the Jane Addams Hull House Museum at www.hullhousemuseum.org DIVE IN Jane Addams Champion of Democracy by Judith Blood Fradin and Dennis Brindell Fradin Clarion Books 2006 216 pages Jane Addams interacts with children at Hull House around 1930
