"Not Charity, But Justice": The Story Of Jacob A. Riis by Edith Patterson Meyer

Before I read this, I had absolutely NO idea who Jacob Riis was. Then after reading it I knew just who he was and what he did. Jacob Riis grew up in Denmark, but in the year of 1870 when Riis was 21 years of age he traveled to New York City to work as a carpenter there. In New York Jacob discovered what he called "Mullberry Bend", which is a street full of poor people. There were old hags and starving babies. Jacob pitied them greatly and decided to take action. He wrote many articles about Mullberry Bend and submitted them to the New York Sun to be published for all the public to see. Apart from writing, Jacob Riis was an excellent photographer and took many pictures of the poor on Mullberry Bend to go along with his articles. Jacob soon became very famous for this, and consequently he met Theodore Roosevelt. Riis and Roosevelt were like brothers to one another. Jacob called Theodore, "Teddy" and Theodore called Jacob, "Jake" Soon, the two were known as The Brothers Of Mullberry Bend since Teddy started helping Jake with all the good he was doing for the poor on Mullberry Street. Jacob soon wrote a book called, "How The Other Half Lives" and this book became very famous. On May 25, 1914, Jacob Riis died. Long after Jacob Riis died, people still acknowledge all the good work he did :)

Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Palace of Mirrors is by Margaret Peterson Haddix and it's the BEST BOOK EVER!  It's about a poor peasant girl named Celia who is actually a princess in hiding. The day comes that Celia has to reveal her true self, but something unexpected comes up that changes her life forever. She, along with her best friend, Harper, sets out to the city of Coritha to tell the fake princess, Desmia, of the true princess's return. Celia's nanny, (Nanny Gratin) is so worried for Celia when Celia doesn't return back to the poor peasant town that she goes to Coritha herself along with Harper's mother only to find Celia and Harper completely missing. If you want to know what happens next, please read this book. It's one of my absolute favorites and I promise you it will also be your favorite once you get to reading this totally awesome book!!:)