This post all began when my son gave me It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way for Christmas. It had special meaning to us because I read Gyo Fujikawa books to him almost every night for years. There was something about her sweet, calming stories and illustrations we both loved. As I was reading the biography on Christmas day, an idea was forming. I had read so many wonderful picture book biographies recently and learned the life stories of so many people I knew of, but didn’t really know. I decided I wanted to share these remarkable people with you. In these books you’ll learn the stories behind some famous people and some not so famous, but all fascinating.

It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way

By Kyo Maclear @kyomaclear

Illustrated by Julie Morstad @juliemorstad

Published by Harper Collins @harpercollins @harperkids

When my son was a baby, we discovered some remarkable board books. They were charming stories full of sweet animals, diverse children with angelic expressions and gentle words that were perfect to hear before I tucked him in each night. I always remembered the author, Gyo Fujikawa, and her special books, which have been my “go to” baby shower gift for 25 years. So I was delighted when I learned there was a new picture book biography about her, and even more excited when I learned it was illustrated by Julie Morstad, one of my favorite illustrators.

Gyo Fujikawa was a Japanese American girl who loved to draw. Unfortunately, she was also a girl who was invisible to the white students in her school and to most of her teachers. Happily though, one teacher recognized her talent and gave Gyo the money to attend art school. This changed her life. It gave her the courage to face the discrimination she would encounter for years to come because she was Asian American, as well as because she was a woman. It gave her the courage to write a children’s book with multiracial children in the 1960’s and to insist her publisher break the rules and publish it. When the publisher finally agreed, Babies became a bestseller and is still in print today.  She went on to create 50 more picture books for children. 

This story of courage and determination gives you a glimpse into not only Gyo’s life, but also into the lives of Asian Americans during the last century. Julie Morstad’s illustrations will give you a glimpse into the charm you’ll find in all of Gyo’s books. You’ll see the rainbow of faces of naughty, nice and very busy babies which are similar to the little ones you’ll find in so many of Gyo’s books. And you’ll begin to understand why I’m such an admirer of Gyo Fujikawa, and why I’ll continue to tuck her books into every baby shower gift I give.

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown

By Mac Barnett @macbarnett

Illustrated by Sarah Jacoby 

Published by Balzer and Bray @balzerandbray @harpercollins_publishing

You may end your days tucking your little one in by reading Goodnight Moon or The Important Book, but do you really know anything about the author, Margaret Wise Brown? I certainly didn’t before I read this delightful picture book biography by award winning author, Mac Barnett. 

There are so many things I loved about this book. 

• I love how the author and the illustrator skillfully interweave the theme of The Important Book, as well as the covers of so many of her books into their story. 
• I loved learning that the New York Public Library, as well as many others, stamped Margaret Wise Brown’s books “NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PURCHASE BY EXPERT”!!
• I loved Sarah Jacoby’s gentle illustrations that filled every page, especially the fact that the children in the library circle are rabbits, the librarian is a rabbit and every book is being held by a rabbit!
• And most of all I loved that I learned a little bit more about the quirky, fascinating person who wrote some of our most beloved children’s books.
  

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Prairie Boy: Frank Lloyd Wright Turns the Hearland into a Home

By Barb Rosenstock @brosenstock

Art by Christopher Silas Neal @csilasneal

Published by Calkins Creek #calkinscreek

I’ve been fascinated with Frank LLoyd Wright since I was in grade school. it began when my parents explained why my classmate’s house was so very different than the usual suburban ranches that filled our neighborhood. The reason the house was so unique was that it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. When I was nine years old, I didn’t realize how special that was. All I knew was that I loved that house, wished it was my house. and from that moment on loved mid century design and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Barb Rosenstock’s story guides us on a tour through Wright’s life, beginning with his childhood on the Wisconsin Prairie and throughout his career as an architect; an architect who went against the norm of designing Victorian style mansions and rather chose to design houses to fit the modern family inside and out. Christopher Silas Neal’s illustrations, which utilize the shapes of the prairie landscape and reflect Frank Lloyd Wright’s style, further help the reader gain a better understanding of the prairie houses. 

I wish my nine year old self had this wonderful book so many years ago. I would have loved to understand more about Frank Lloyd Wright and the reason his houses were so unique.  I, too had a love of shapes and creating structures with wooden blocks. Perhaps I would have been inspired to study architecture. Maybe a child who reads this book today will be inspired to follow in Frank Lloyd Wright’s footsteps!

Little Libraries, Big Heroes 

By Miranda Paul #mirandapaul

Illustrated by John Parra @johnparaart

Published by Clarion Books #clarionbooks @hmhkids

Have you ever wondered about the Little Free Library @littlefreelibrary (LFB) phenomenon like I did? Well for myself, who always seems to make up stories every time I take a walk through my hometown, these are the questions bouncing around in my head. Where do all of these unique little houses come from? Why are there more and more of them? Who makes them? How did it begin? When I discovered this inspirational story, I was delighted to find the answers to my questions, plus a few more, too!

It all began with an ordinary hero who wanted to honor his mom’s memory and her love of reading. And it spread with the help of other ordinary heroes who worked together to spread their love of reading by building the little houses, filling them with books, labeling the containers with this motto “Take a Book, Share a Book” and placing them in yards throughout the U.S. And the phenomenon didn’t stop at the U.S. borders. Soon there were LFLibraries all around the world, such as at a hospital in Ireland, on a street corner in Pakistan and in a schoolyard in South Sudan.

This is a story of the amazing things that can happen when ordinary people work together to make a dream come true; a dream to help people across the world. This story offers a wonderful starting point for conversations and brainstorming with students about their dreams to help the world, and planning to make their dreams come true.

Just Like Rube Goldberg:

The Incredible True Story of the Man Behind the Machines

Written by Sarah Aronson 

Illustrated by Robert Neubecker 

Published by Simon & Schuster Kids  @simonkids

Every year Purdue (my Alma Mater) has a Rube Goldberg competition. It’s always fascinating to see what imaginative contraptions the teams create. But even though I’ve followed this for years, I never knew Rube Goldberg’s story. Happily, after reading this, I now do! I know that his true aspiration was to be a “great cartoonist for a big-time newspaper.” Unfortunately, his family had other ideas, so to please them he became an engineer. But since he was an engineer who dreamed of drawing, he soon quit his job and became a laborer at the San Francisco Chronicle. During the day he emptied wastebaskets and filed photos, and at night he drew cartoons. Finally a few were published. This gave him the courage to move to New York City where everything changed. He became a cartoonist, a political commentator and most importantly, a creator and illustrator of an alter ego, Professor Butts, who created crazy contraptions that solved problems in ridiculous and totally unexpected ways.

This story illustrates the success one can have, if you persevere and follow your dream. It also introduces the reader to the fun and creativity of inventing, whether it be a serious invention or a ridiculous one that has loads of surprises.

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons

By Natascha Biebow 

Illustrated by Steven Salerno

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt @houghtonmifflinharcourt

Do you remember opening a new box of crayons? If you were lucky, you got a new box every school year. If you were EXTRA lucky, it was a box of 64 shiny new crayons with pointy ends that had never touched a piece of paper.  That beginning of the school year excitement came back to me whenever my kids and I used to watch Mr. Roger’s segment on a trip to a crayon factory. We always wished we could be right there with him watching the thousands of crayons coming off the assembly line. But we never knew where crayons originated, or who invented them, or why? This delightful book answers all of those questions and more.  

Edwin Benny loved colors and knew children did, too. Sadly, though, most children couldn’t afford the dull, clumsy crayons, which were available in the late 1800s. Edwin Benny listened to what children wanted and began experimenting in his lab to create a strong, colorful, safe crayon. It took years of work, but at the 1904 World’s Fair the familiar green and yellow box of Crayola Crayons was introduced and children’s lives were never quite the same. 

I like this book so much because it shows what can be accomplished with perseverance, creativity and hard work. When Edwin Benny’s wife described a problem to him – crayons were expensive, dully colored, breakable and clumsy, he became determined to solve it, even though a solution wasn’t readily apparent. I also like the back material in the book including captioned photographs of a crayon factory, a brief biography and a list of websites and videos. 

If your children are fans of crayons (who isn’t?!), please add this to your list. It will be so much fun for all of you.

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As promised, here are two more of my favorites from the past month. Both are new picture book biographies that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. I hope you’ll like them as much as I do!

The Boo-Boos That Changed the World: A True Story about an Accidental Invention (Really!)

By Barry Wittenstein 

Illustrated by Chris Hsu 

#partner @charlesbridgepublishing

Thank you to Charlesbridge Publishing and Blue Slip Media for sharing this book. All opinions are my own. This book is released February 13, 2018.

I’ve always been intrigued about the stories behind everyday objects. I’m always asking myself, “How long ago was this invented? What prompted it to be invented? How is it made? Who invented it?” I think these questions were prompted partially by my storytelling, and partially by my frequent conversations with my father who had an endless curiosity about the world.

I can imagine just such a chat about about band-aids! And since he loved to research the answers to all our questions in library books or in our set of The World Book Encyclopedia, he would have absolutely loved The Boo-Boos that Changed the World, as I did! This marvelous book answers all of our questions about band-aids, and more, and does it with a great sense of humor. It tells the charming story of Earle Dickson who was concerned about his new bride’s constant “boo-boos”. He was worried that they might become infected or lead to more accidents, so he decided to solve the problem. Happily, he did and it led to the invention of band-aids that we all take for granted today. But really, though, can you imagine life without band-aids?!

Chris Hsu’s sweet illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the story that takes us from Earle and Josephine’s marriage through the actual invention and finally through Earle’s struggle to make band-aids a household item. He captures Earle’s expressions perfectly from the time when Earle first ponders the problem, to when Earle has his eureka moment and lastly when Earle joyfully tells Josephine that he has convinced his boss James Johnson (of Johnson & Johnson fame) to mass produce band-aids. Finally, be sure and notice Mr. Hsu’s playful endpapers – so much fun!

Another aspect of the book that I really like is the author’s note. In a very entertaining way, it tells us more of the story behind the invention of band-aids and how many aspects of Earle’s life came together perfectly to contribute to his invention. There’s also a great timeline of Earle Dickson’s life, as well as a timeline of medical inventions from the 1920’s and 1930’s, which gives us a better perspective about the world during those years.

This picture book biography is a great choice for anyone looking for a biography; especially if they are hoping to learn about a lesser known, but extremely interesting figure in history. In addition, it would also be of great interest to a child who is wanting to read more about the steps which lead to a successful invention. Lastly, it would also be a perfect read aloud to introduce a lesson about biographies or inventions. The Boo-Boos that Changed the World needs to be on every elementary library shelf!

 A boy, a mouse, and a spider: the story of e.b. white

By Barbara Herkert

Illustrated by Lauren Castillo

So many of us have a great love for E.B. White’s children’s books; Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan, which were a special part of our childhood. However, it’s always fascinating to me to learn about what inspires an author’s stories.  E.B. White was a little boy who had many fears, terrible hay fever, and a great love of the outdoors. There all of his senses would come alive and he would record his observations and create poetry for his mother. He grew up to be an editor and to write for The New Yorker, but he continued to yearn for a country life. When he finally moved his family to a farm in Maine, his dreams became a reality and there he created the stories which are a part of our childhood.  Barbara Herkert’s gentle biography helps even our youngest little ones get to know E.B. White when she describes his life beginning with his childhood through the time when he created his novels in A Boy, A Mouse and a Spider. Lauren Castillo’s charming illustrations pull us into the story and help us feel that we are a part of the Maine farm where our beloved Wilbur and Charlotte lived. This picture biography should be a part of the collection in every elementary school and public library. It will introduce your family to the amazing man, E.B. White as you cozy up to read one of E.B. White’s cherished novels together.

Have you found any new picture book biographies? I hope you’ll share with all of us in the comments! Look for another post soon about more new releases that have become favorites of mine.

I share new books on my Instagram feed several times a week, but I haven’t shared any new chapter books on Red Canoe Reader in a while. Here are five memorable middle grade chapter books that I don’t want you to miss!

Josephine

Words by Patricia Hruby Powell

Pictures by Christian Robinson

This story is a free verse biographical poem about the dancer and civil rights advocate, Josephine Parker. It is best for grade 3 and up and is a perfect choice for a reluctant reader who is looking for a biography. The colorful illustrations and the short free verse poems on each page entice the reader to keep reading and to learn about Josephine’s fight for fairness, her kindness, her persistence and her success. It tells of her struggles in the U.S. when the country wasn’t ready to accept an African American dancer, no matter how talented. A country where she had to enter the theater by the back door and couldn’t even try on hats in a department store. We learn that all of this injustice prompted Josephine to flee to Europe where she was welcomed with love and standing ovations. Josephine entertained the troupes during World War II and joined the French Resistance, which led to her being awarded France’s highest honor.

Nest

Tru and Nelle

By G.Neri

This middle grade novel is based on the true life childhood friendship of Nelle Harper Lee and Truman Capote in their hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Both Nelle and Tru, next door neighbors, were avid readers, lovers of Sherlock Holmes, misfits and motherless. One summer, Tru’s cousins built a treehouse for Sherlock (Tru) and Watson (Nelle) in between their houses, which became their secret clubhouse and the place where they met to solve the mysteries of their small town and plan their adventures. Nelle used both her strength and her brains, and Truman his creativity and determination to help them confront the town bullies, as well as face the trials in their daily lives.  Although these authors will be unfamiliar to your middle grader, the adventure and the humor in the story will definitely hold their attention. Personally, I was fascinated to learn about this childhood friendship between the two famous authors. Although the book is fictional, it is based upon the author’s research. I especially enjoyed reading the author’s note at the end of the book which told of Capote’s support of Harper Lee when she moved to New York City in 1956. He introduced her to a couple who sponsored her for one year, which enabled Lee to write To Kill a Mockingbird. Then In turn, Harper Lee’s research and support was instrumental to Capote’s when he wrote In Cold Blood.  

These are my latest favorite  middle grade chapter books. What have you read that you loved? Please let us all know in the comments!

It’s hard to believe that it is February and we’re already one month into 2017!  I’m so fortunate to have many, many happy memories from 2016. We’ve spent lots of time traveling to reconnect with old friends and to visit with family. We got to visit two national parks, Shenandoah and Cumberland, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Michigan, to see the deserts of Texas and New Mexico, as well as the mountains of Colorado. We got to spend lots of time with both of our sons (it’s so wonderful to have our older son living in Virginia and our younger son close by!), and to visit my brother and sister-in-law in New Jersey. And of course we had the opportunity to be part of the joy and love at two of our nieces’ weddings. Finally, we ended our year by adopting a greyhound named Brandy. She’s two years old, very sweet and certainly has a mind of her own. There are days when I’m ready to give her back, but most of the time we’re thrilled to have her in our family! So now it’s time to get back to my happy place of writing about kids’ books. There are so many new ones, as well as some older ones that I want to share with you. I’ll begin with 5 middle grade books.

middle Grade books: Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White

by Melissa Sweet

I knew that I greatly admired E.B. White, the author of many books including, Charlotte’s Web, The Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little, before I read this book, but now I have to admit I’m a little obsessed! And I definitely want to move to Maine and live on a farm! Melissa Sweet’s story and illustrations pulled me into Mr. White’s life from his early years when he won his first literary prize at age nine, throughout his almost sixty year career at the New Yorker. I learned that during his teenage years, he had stories published in St. Nicholas, a monthly children’s magazine, along with some other budding authors, Edna St. Vincent Millay, William Falkner and Rachel Carson. That fact, along with learning that his best friend was James Thurber, his office mate at the New Yorker, was fascinating to me, because it made me realize all of these amazing literary talents were of the same era and were indeed friends.  I learned about his farm in Maine, his barn where he was inspired to write, Charlotte, and about his love for his family.

Melissa Sweet’s illustrations are a combination of her watercolors, photographs and collages of “a box of vintage office supplies, which she imagined were akin to what might’ve been in stock at the New Yorker offices.” She has included many photographs from the White family albums, which were shared by Mr. White’s granddaughter, Martha White.

I flew through this book and felt a loss when I finished. It was inspirational and a real pleasure to get lost in the pages for a few hours. Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White would be a great choice for any of your kiddos who are looking for a biography for a school assignment, or for a family read aloud after sharing one of Mr. White’s novels. Mom and Dad would enjoy it just as much as the kids!

MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS: Gertie’s leap to greatness

by Kate Beasley

Gertie is a fifth grader who is on a campaign to be “100% Not-From Concentrate AWESOME!” Her mom, who abandoned her at birth, lives in the same small Alabama town, and refuses to acknowledge Gertie’s existence. However, Gertie is a spunky, creative and determined little girl that you can’t help but admire. She’s a great problem solver, and when an obstacle appears in her path to success, she always finds a way to overcome it. But your heart breaks a bit when she struggles unsuccessfully to win her mother’s love and admiration. The story is full of friendship, kindness and humor that will bring many smiles and a few tears, but will also fill your heart with joy.

MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS: half a chance

by Cynthia Lord 

Lucy has moved once again, and this time it’s to a small lakeside town in New Hampshire. Her dad, a famous photographer often feels the need to have a change in scenery, and as a result Lucy’s family has lived in many different towns in the ten years of her life. Lucy decides to make the most of her new home and becomes good friends with her next door neighbor, Nate. They spend their summer taking photos of the lake, the loons and Nate’s grandma, for their anonymous entry into a photography contest Lucy’s dad is judging. But will her pictures ever stand up to her dad’s high standards? And can Nate face what the photographs are showing about his precious grandmother and his summers at the lake? This is a very moving story. It would be especially helpful for any of your kids who are dealing with the struggle to understand a grandparent who’s memory is slipping away. Even if that is not the case, and hopefully that is not happening in your family, you won’t want to miss this warm, touching book.

MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS: confessions of an imaginary friend, a memoir of jacques papier

as told to Michelle Cuevas

I discovered this delightful book, because I was hunting for more books by Michelle Cuevas, after I read her magical book, The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles. I was so taken by the story, that I was hoping to find more like it and this chapter book didn’t disappoint. Jacques is eight years old and suspects that no one likes him. He is never chosen for the sports teams and even his parents have to be reminded by his sister to set his place at the table. So he’s feeling a little insecure when he meets a skating cowgirl on the school playground and she shares some astonishing news. Jacques is imaginary and so is she! In fact, the school playground is full of imaginary kids who have been forgotten by their human friends after they find a true person to be their buddy. You will be smiling throughout this book as Jacques meets many quirky, imaginary friends, as well as some fascinating real kids, but in the end learns that life is best, if you are yourself. Confessions of an Imaginary Friend can definitely be shared with your little ones as a read aloud, but your older kiddos will love it too.

MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS: raymie nightingale

by Kate Dicamillo

Raymie’s dad has run off with a dental hygienist and Raymie MUST win the Little Miss Florida Contest to insure his return. If she wins, he will realize just what he has left behind – a kind and talented girl (after all she IS going to learn how to twirl a baton) who is worth a lot more than the dental hygienist. However, Raymie has some competition and a few stumbling blocks in her summer plan, Louisiana Elefante and beautiful Beverly Tapinsky. They are determined to stop Raymie from achieving her goal, but as the summer progresses the three girls find themselves drawn together by loneliness, loss and their hope to save each other. This is a great book about friendship, which would make a wonderful read aloud with your elementary kids, or one for them to curl up with on their own.

Have you or your kids found some favorite new middle grade books? I’d love for you to share them in the comments!

A month ago, I heard from a friend and she was in a panic! Her third grader arrived home with his culminating project for the quarter, and it was a big one. He needed to choose a historical figure, read a biography about that person, AND write an ORAL presentation that he would present at the school’s living history museum IN COSTUME!! And to top it off, he needed to know enough about his person to be able to answer questions in the first person, when all third grade friends and families visit the museum!! She didn’t know how to begin to help him, and he refused to read nonfiction.

This made me think back to the Living History Museums I have visited over the years. What amazed me, and made me so proud of the kids, was not their elaborate costumes, but their enthusiasm and knowledge about their person. The kids might have been very quiet and unsure of themselves normally, but I saw again and again the transformation when they began to tell me about “their lives.” The kids’ eyes would shine and they were so proud. Of course, what helped these kids to reach this accomplishment was research. And I knew I could help with that!

I promised to compile a list of biographies which are interesting and easy to read, but include lots of information. They would even grab her attention! BUT I told my friend, the costume is up to you!

A KID’S BIOGRAPHY FOR OCEAN LOVERS

Manfish:  A Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne and illustrated by Eric Puybaret is a lovely biography of Jacques Cousteau written with language that is both poetic and lyrical. It describes Cousteau from the time he was a very young boy who loved the feel of water, who wondered why things float, and who dreamed of creating a machine that would allow him to explore the sea and breathe underwater. He also loved movies and with his own movie camera, filmed everything around him. From the day he borrowed his friend’s goggles, which allowed him to actually see what was below the sea, he knew his life was changed forever. The acrylic paintings are delicate and graceful and lend a dreamy feeling to the story. This is a wonderful book to introduce a biography unit or to introduce a remarkable man to your kids.

SOME KID’S BIOGRAPHIES THAT INSPIRE PEACE

                                                                                                             Grandfather Gandhi
by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus

Can you imagine being the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi? Can you imagine ever living up to such a great man? This is a biography of Gadhi, told by his grandson, Arun. When Arun was six years old, his father took him to visit his grandfather. Arun struggled. He didn’t know the language and worst of all, he had to share his grandfather with hundreds of followers. In fact, he rarely had a chance to speak to his grandfather privately. Things all came to a head for Arun, when he found himself about to strike a fellow soccer player with a rock, after he had been pushed and cut his lip. Arun was so shocked by his own behavior, that he rushed to see his grandfather. Arun confessed what he had almost done and his feelings that he would never be at peace. His grandfather interrupted his work to tell Arun a story about peace, about using his anger to illuminate and turn the darkness into light. He advised Arun to “use our anger for good, rather than letting our anger use us.” This picture book biography will clearly and simply introduce children to the peaceful teachings of a great man we need to remember today.

peaceful heroes by Jonah winter

At this time in our world, when we long for peace, this biography introduces us to fourteen people who risked their lives to achieve peace. They have worked to protect people from being killed or exploited and they accomplished this without ever using a weapon. The short, easy to understand biographies, only three pages in length, tell the stories of heroes from many parts of the world and many times in history. I learned about the amazing life stories of many people I was not familiar with. Perhaps this is a book your family could read together. It’s a great lead in to a discussion of the everyday peaceful heroes in your family’s lives.

KIDs’ BIOGRAPHIES FOR ASPIRING COOKS

I have greatly admired Julia Child for many years. I received The Joy of Cooking for a wedding gift, and unfortunately, because I was just learning to cook, I was a little intimidated. Through the years, however, I began to love her recipes and was a big fan of her TV shows on PBS. After reading her autobiography, My Life in France, I admired her even more, and most importantly I learned to NEVER apologize for your cooking mistakes! That is so reassuring to those of us who love to cook and experiment in the kitchen, and occasionally have that flat cake or burned sauce! Julia had a really remarkable life, even before she learned to cook in Paris. She was an extremely strong woman, who believed she could do anything! These two biographies are very different, but both are easy to read and are full of information. For kids who prefer graphic novels, Bon Appetit!, by Jessie Hartland, is a good choice. If kids prefer a chapter book, Who Was Julia Child? by Geoff Edgers and Charlene Hempel,  is the one for them! Both are full of facts and would be inspirational to the reader. And maybe you’ll end up having a cook in the family! How fun is that?

A KID’S BIOGRAPHY FOR POETRY LOVERS

enormous Smallness tells us that Edward Estlin Cummings (E.E. Cummings) grew up in a house filled with lots of family, lots of pets and lots of love from his parents. The story describes the support and encouragement that he received from both his family and his teachers, which helped him to have the courage to follow his dream of writing poetry.

We learn that Estlin loved nature, but most importantly he loved letters and words from a very early age. He was so curious about the world and so full of ideas about what he saw, that his mother would write down the poems that he dictated even before he could write. As he grew older, he not only wrote about what he saw and experienced, but he also drew pictures of what he witnessed out his window or in the woods of his farm.

This book describes Estlin’s experiences from childhood through his years as a poet in New York City. It includes many of E.E. Cummings poems seamlessly woven into the story, as well as a timeline of his life. The personal details in the story, as well as the whimsical collage illustrations which include letters floating across the pages, will catch children’s attention. It may even inspire them to play with words and letters and to begin to write their own poetry!

a kid’s biography for girls who want to make a difference

Ruth Bader Ginsberg learned very early in life that she could disagree, but not be disagreeable. She has made a big difference in the world by doing just that, both as an attorney who argued cases in front of The Supreme Court and as a Justice on The Supreme Court. Through the years she has fought for women’s rights and equality for all. Born in 1933 in Brooklyn, Ruth encountered prejudice very early in her life. She soon learned that because her family was Jewish, there were many places they were not welcome. Not only that, she learned that no one, including her own father, thought she should do any more in her life than be a wife and mother. However, Ruth’s mother wanted more for her daughter, so she frequently took Ruth to the library. There she read about strong, independent women who take charge. She soon had the idea that she could do anything! She went on to be a role model for women when she went to college in the 1950s, graduated at the top of her law school class at Columbia, got married and had a family. In 1993 she became a Justice on the United States Supreme Court, where she continues to fight for equality for all and to make a difference in our country.

Well, to finish the story from the beginning of my post… I recently visited my friend’s son’s Living History Museum. As I expected, it was amazing and the good news, was that both my friend and her son  survived the whole experience. In fact, she pulled me aside and whispered, “It was so much fun! Sam and I really enjoyed the whole process and now he wants to read more biographies!! Will wonders never cease?!”

Who does your child want to learn more about? Let me know, and I’ll help you to find some books that might be the perfect fit!

And here’s another post about biographies – Biographies Kids will Like and Read

There were so many biographies in my library that were never touched by the kids. Mostly those were the ones that were at least an inch thick and contained very few pictures. Although I had based my purchases on the respected reviews that I had read in a variety of library sources, these books were ignored. The
kids taught me very early in my career which biographies I should be buying or the books would simply sit on the shelf! They liked the to read the ones which gave them lots of facts, but not using too many words to relay the information. They liked indexes and table of contents. And most importantly they liked pictures!

 BIOGRAPHIES FOR YOUNG READERS

In the Common Core Curriculum, which is now found in schools across the country, children are being exposed to many more biographies. I found when I shared biographies with first and second graders, they were fascinated and rushed to check them out. A series that is great for this is First Biographies from Capstone Press.These books are available in public and school libraries, as well as from Capstone Press. The books are 32 pages in length, contain many pictures, as well as an index and table of contents. They are perfect for pleasure reading or research.

BIOGRAPHIES FOR oLDER rEADERS

Another publisher I really like for nonfiction is Bellwether Media and their Blastoff Readers. A great series for older readers, third grade reading level and above, who are looking for biographies about authors, is the Children’s Storytellers Series. These books are 24 pages in length and contain a table of contents, index, glossary, timeline and fun facts about the authors. They are perfect for both pleasure reading or research. 

JANE GOODALL BIOGRAPHIES for home and school

A new biography that I recently discovered is Untamed The Wild Life of Jane Goodall by Anita Silvey, with a foreword by Jane Goodall. Lexile Level 1100, Accelerated Reader 7.4

I was initially drawn to this book when I read a review on the site, The Nonfiction Detectives. I have been an admirer of Jane Goodall for many years. When my son was a freshman at Beloit College, he had the opportunity to attend a lecture given by Ms. Goodall. Immediately afterwards, he called me to tell me all about it. If you have ever been a mother of a college boy, you may recognize the importance of this call! First of all, he actually called me immediately after hearing the lecture and was extremely excited! He was very impressed and motivated after hearing about her work in Africa and her mission to make the world a better place for animals. He wanted to buy some of her books for me! His enthusiasm led me to read many books about her and to share picture biographies with the children in my elementary library every year to introduce the biography section of the library. This included early reader biographies, as well as Me, Jane by Patrick McDonnell and The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter.

However, I never had a Jane Goodall biography to offer to the older students. Untamed is that book! It reinforces the stories the children learned in the previous biographies, and then expands on that. It follows Ms. Goodall from childhood through the present as she travels the world to teach about conservation. It includes many photographs on every page with very descriptive captions. The vibrancy of these photographs and the engaging text will appeal to children and inspire them to continue reading.

What are some of your favorite biographies? Is your child looking for biographies about a particular person? Please let me know in the comments and I’ll try to help them find that “perfect book”!