Before they were American women, Lyons they were American girls. A Girl Nam Strong. Brave. Inspiring. ed Growing up, Misty Copeland was a shy girl who loved to dance. Ballet opened up a whole new world where Misty was able to shine. Because ist she was African American, Misty faced barriers to M y becoming a dancer. Through a lot of hard work, determination, and incredible talent, Misty became a star at one of the top ballet companies in the A Girl Named Misty Named Girl A world and helped change the face of dance. The True Story of ou can dream b “Y ig and MISTY tter w it oesn’t ma hat you l COPELAND d ook l where you come f ike rom.” , —Misty Copeland by Kelly Starling Also available: Lyons Paley Before they were American women, rl Na they were American girls. A Gi med Strong. Brave. Inspiring. la When Hillary Clinton was a young girl, her il ry parents taught her to be strong and brave. She H worked hard at everything she did, from getting good grades to earning merit badges as a Girl Scout. When Hillary grew up, she became a lawyer, a Senator, and even ran for president! Hillary’s de- A Girl Named Hillary termination showed little girls they can do anything they set their minds to. The knocked do True Story of n you’re wn, get Whe right HILLARY “ er listen p and nev to anyon ack u e wh CLINTON b or sho o you can’t uldn’t go says on.” —Hillary Clinton by Rebecca Paley Also available: Before they were American women, they were American girls. A Girl Named Strong. Brave. Inspiring. s When Rosa Parks was a young girl, she Ro a had to walk to school. Only white children were allowed to ride the bus. When Rosa grew up, she was told to give up her bus seat to a white person. She decided the time had come to stand up for fairness by staying seated. What happened next Rosa Named A Girl Illustrated by Melissa Manwill changed America. ™ A Gi The rl N must li person ve thei True Story of a ch r “Ea life m l for Discover online games, as a mode others.” ROSA $4.99 US / $6.99 CAN / £5.99 UK e —Rosa Parks PARKS quizzes, activities, d and more at americangirl.c om/play Also available: FEB 1, 2018 FEB Before they were American women, l Na they were American girls. A Gir med Strong. Brave. Inspiring. la When Hillary Clinton was a young girl, her il ry parents taught her to be strong and brave. She worked H hard at everything she did, from getting good grades to earning merit badges as a Girl Scout. When Hillary grew up, she became a lawyer, a Senator, and even ran for president! Hillary’s determination showed Hillary A Girl Named Written by Denise Lewis Patrick little girls all over America they can do anything they ™ set their minds to. The Illustrated by Melissa Manwill knocked do True Story of n you’re wn, get Whe right Discover online games, “ er listen HILLARY p and nev to anyon ack u e wh CLINTON b or sho o you can’t uldn’t go quizzes, activities, says on.” $5.99 US / $7.99 CAN / £5.99 UK —Hillary Clinton and more at americangirl.c om/play Also available: Before they were American women, they were American girls. A Girl Named Strong. Brave. Inspiring. osa Written by Rebecca Paley When Rosa Parks was a young girl, she R had to walk to school. Only white children were allowed to ride the bus. When Rosa grew up, she Illustrated by Melissa Manwill was told to give up her bus seat to a white person. She decided the time had come to stand up for A Girl Named Rosa fairness by staying seated. What happened next changed America. $5.99 US / $7.99 CAN / £5.99 UK The person must live thei True Story of ™ “Each r lif l for e ISBN 978-1-338-19302-2 as a mode o thers.” ROSA —Rosa Parks PARKS Discover online games, 50499 quizzes, activities, Also available: and more at EAN americangirl.com/play Written by Denise Lewis Patrick Illustrated by Melissa Manwill ™ Discover online games, ISBN 978-1-338-22347-7 quizzes, activities, 50499 and more at americangirl.com/play EAN 9 781338 193022 9 781338 223477 This book is available as an e-book. This book is available as an e-book. Rosa ™ Illustrated by Melissa Manwill Discover online games, quizzes, activities, The True Story of ROSA and more at $4.99 US / $6.99 CAN / £5.99 UK PARKS americangirl.com/play by Denise Lewis Pat rick This book is available as an e-book. GN_9781338193053_Cover.indd 1 12/17/18 4:56 PM ™ A Girl Named Misty The True Story of MISTY COPELAND By Kelly Starling Lyons Illustrated by Melissa Manwill Scholastic Inc. GN_9781338193053_Pages.indd 1 11/15/18 11:57 AM ABOUT THE AUTHOR . Kelly Starling Lyons grew up in Pittsburgh. She is the award-winning author of several books for children, including Ellen’s Broom; a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award book, and Hope’s Gift. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, daughter, and son. GN_9781338193053_Cover.indd 2 12/17/18 4:56 PM Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. scholastic and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. The story on pages 47-48 first appeared inAmerican Girl magazine in the July/ August 2016 issue, page 5. Photos ©: 43: Kevin Karzin/AP Images; 44 top: Andrea Mohin/The New York Times/Redux; 44 bottom left: Alastair Muir/REX/Shutterstock; 44 bottom right: Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images; 45: Andrea Mohin/The New York Times/Redux; 46 left: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images; 46 top: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images; 46 bottom: Henry Leutwyler/Getty Images; 47: Jorge Narvaez. Book design by Suzanne LaGasa © 2018 American Girl. All American Girl marks are trademarks of American Girl. Used under license by Scholastic Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Number: 2017049440 ISBN 978-1-338-19305-3 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 18 19 20 21 22 Printed in the U.S.A. 23 First printing 2018 GN_9781338193053_Pages.indd 2 11/15/18 11:57 AM Contents Introduction . .5 Chapter 1: Finding Her Shine . 6 Chapter 2: Stepping Out . 12 Chapter 3: Putting in the Work . 18 Chapter 4: The Making of a Star . 24 Chapter 5: City of Dreams . .30 Chapter 6: Dancing in the Spotlight . 36 Glossary . 42 Timeline . 43 A Girl Named Alexa . .47 GN_9781338193053_Pages.indd 3 11/15/18 11:57 AM Introduction GN_9781338193053_Pages.indd 4 11/15/18 11:57 AM Introduction Misty Copeland loved to dance. Growing up, Misty was a shy African American girl who blended into the background of her big family. Little did she know that one day she would be a star. From the start, the passion inside Misty shone through each twirl and leap. Dancing made her feel free and strong. This quiet little girl’s talent would lead her to become a groundbreaking dancer at one of the top ballet companies in the world. 5 GN_9781338193053_Pages.indd 5 11/15/18 11:57 AM Chapter 1 Finding Her Shine GN_9781338193053_Pages.indd 6 11/15/18 11:57 AM Change was part of Misty’s childhood. Born on September 10, 1982, in Kansas City, Missouri, she moved with her mom, Sylvia DelaCerna, and siblings to Southern California when she was two. Over the years, they moved between apartments and houses. Sometimes Misty’s family had to make do with little money. GN_9781338193053_Pages.indd 7 11/15/18 11:57 AM 8 GN_9781338193053_Pages.indd 8 11/15/18 11:57 AM With two big brothers, a big sister, and a younger brother and sister, Misty had to share her mom’s attention. Misty lit up when her mom complimented something she had done. She pushed herself to be perfect in school, but worries nagged her. What if her best wasn’t good enough? What if they moved again? At home in San Pedro, California, seven- year-old Misty was watching TV when a movie about Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci came on. Her flips, spins, and leaps across the floor amazed Misty. Watching Nadia’s mix of acrobatics and dance made her want to move like that, too. In the yard, Misty taught herself how to do cartwheels and handstands. She was able to master gymnastic moves with little effort. Misty pretended to perform for an audience and imagined their roaring applause when she did all her moves just right. GN_9781338193053_Pages.indd 9 11/15/18 11:57 AM Something special filled Misty’s heart when she heard Mariah Carey songs, too. She felt a connection to Mariah, who was biracial like she was. Misty’s mom and dad were both half black and half white. Seeing someone who looked like her being successful and achieving her own dream inspired Misty.