Page-Turners—Based-on-True and True Tales

In the video I said you’d find 14 titles below, but I later remembered Mary Smith. We can’t forget about Mary Smith! So, without further ado, here are 15 great true or based-on-true tales.

	The Blessing Cup by Patricia Polacco A single china cup reminds a family of the most important things in life through generations of living in America.
	The Boo-Boos That Changed the World: A True Story About an Accidental Invention (Really!) by Barry Wittenstein An entertaining story of how Band-Aids came to be part of our everyday first-aid strategies.
	Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover by Markus Motum From the idea’s first conceptualization to its realization 350,000,000 miles away, we learn fascinating facts about the history of space travel and what this mission to Mars has meant to us on earth.
	Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible Alvin by Michelle Cusolito Filled with rich vocabulary and interesting details, this book lets us virtually spend the day in a deep-sea submersible that is barely big enough for three.
	The Goat Lady by Jane Bregoli We get a good reminder that our first impressions may be incorrect as we get to know an elderly French-Canadian woman who lived in Massachusetts and raised goats to provide milk for people who needed it.
	Goldfish on Vacation by Sally Lloyd-Jones Three children watch with rapt interest as the fountain outside their window is restored. The interest turns to delight when they discover it is being set up to serve as a summer home to all the pet goldfish in the community. Based on real events that happened at the Hamilton Fountain in New York City from 1992 to 2005.
	Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine A hold-your-breath, spine-tingling retelling of when Henry Brown mailed himself to freedom.
	The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein This tells the mind-bending story of Philippe Petit’s 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.
	Mary Smith by Andrea U’Ren How did people wake up before alarm clocks? They relied on people like Mary Smith, who walked the streets shooting peas through her peashooter at the windows of a sleepy town.
	Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot by Margot Theis Raven A young German girl’s life was brought hope and joy when Gail Halvorsen, an American pilot, dropped candy-filled parachutes to the children of West Berlin.
	My Name Is Blessing by Eric Walters A moving story about a Kenyan boy with a physical disability, who experiences poverty, hardship, love, and hope.
	The One Day House by Julia Durango Wilson’s promises to do considerate deeds for his grandma (or elderly friend) are met with moving responses and eventually lead to a community coming together to make them come true.
	Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock We get to tag along on a very suspenseful deep-sea dive that happened in 1930.
	Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin What amazing things curiosity and passion can lead to. In this book, we learn about a self-taught scientist who photographed individual snowflakes so we could all see how truly beautiful and unique they are.

Is there a true or based-on-true book that you love that we should know about? Add it to the discussion!