Children's Biographies of Jane Austen

 A round-up of Children's biographies of Jane Austen:

Picture book biography - I loved it. 

I love the art on the cover, and the illustrations are just as charming.

She certainly did take the ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary. 

Although: This one says that she was not famous when she died, which is not true.

Loved this one - it talks a lot about what was "proper" behavior for young ladies at the time. Jane was clearly not proper. This one goes from her childhood to her death - it's quite informative. It does mention that she was famous.

I liked this one; it showcases that times were hard for the Austen family. It's very blunt about Bath, death, and poverty. This book does make good on it's promise of Jane Austen discovering her voice.

A biography for older kids - I really liked this but I didn't love it. 

I always thought I would love to write a Jane Austen biography. 

Do you think there's room for more?

Review: Pura Belpré

 Have you heard of the ALA Pura Belpré Award?

It's an award given to Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature.

And it's because of this woman here:

Pura Belpré grew up in Puerto Rico but came to the US for her sister's wedding. She never left. Instead, she found a job at a library where the head librarian was starting to admit children into the library. She wanted someone to engage them. 

Pura Belpré was a natural storyteller; she was very engaging. She spoke Spanish and brought cultural stories to a storytime. She created puppets to help elevate the storytime. She was a pioneer in the field of Librarianship. She wrote her own stories and wrote English versions of the Puerto Rician tales. 

My Thoughts: I've read a couple picture books biography about this amazing woman, but this book highlighted much more about her life. I loved learning about her. 

Library Recommendation: A must have book for your school and public library's collection

Book Review: Who is Jackie Chan

This series is super popular at my library, so I'm always on the lookout for new editions to the collection.

Of course, I had to read this one when it came it.

And I learned SO MUCH.

Did you know that Jackie Chan was a singer?

That his youth was spent studying to be a stunt man?

I did not, but now I do. This book was fascinating and I really enjoyed it.

Library Recommendation: A fantastic addition to your school and library book shelves!

Biographies for Teens

Do they actually exist?

I always have trouble buying biographies for teens - partly because they very quickly become outdated for current celebrities, partly because patrons need to have a certain number of pages for school assignments (but not too many pages), and partly because I don’t want to duplicate books in the children’s/adult departments.

This leaves me either buying popular, but soon to be outdated material or purchase biographies of dead people. While I’m not opposed to either, I primarily want the books to be interesting to teens. I have a small selection of biographies and I’m always on the lookout for more.

After watching Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, I wanted to learn more about Amelia Earhart.

I loved this book- which is an example of a cross over children/YA title. It's a photobiography of DK, which slightly copies the Eyewitness style on a grader scale. Tons of pictures fill the book along with Earhart's life: including her struggles, her difficult life with her parents, and her passion for flying. The book ends with an in depth look at her last flight and possible scenarios for her tragic end.

Amelia Earhart was a social worker, a nurse, a fashion designer, and a feminist.

Her life story amazed me.

I'm happy there is a series of these photobiographies. I plan on reading several of them. Next up for me: Princess Diana.

Others I've enjoyed:

Our Eleanor

John Lennon

Lincolns

There are other biographies that catch my eye, but I never seem to pick them up. I do try to have a handful of current athletes, pop stars, and rock stars, but it's unclear if teens actually like them.

I’m also not looking strictly at singular biographies. I’ve read some excellent group biographies including:

Almost Astronauts

Yankee Doodle Gals

Let Me Play: Story of Title IX

Harlem Hellfighters

But for me the question remains: Are there biographies published with teens in mind that they will enjoy? If there are, please let me know because I want to make every purchase count this year.