Picture Book Biographies

 Last week, I talked about our visit to Lousia May Alcott's Orchard House. 

And ironically, I had two books checked out from the library that I had forgotten about that fit with the day perfectly!

This picture book biography shares a lot of information about Louisa May Alcott- but not in an overwhelming way.  It's a lovely book that's needed in libraries - especially those in New England.

* I ordered this from another library to see if I wanted to purchase it for my library. And I do.

Daniel Chester French was a student of May Alcott's. He created the Minuteman Monument at Old North Bridge in Concord, MA. He also created the statue of Lincoln in Washington DC. This book shares his start as an artist, his teachings, and how he created art. 

While this book is a bit long, it's also not overwhelming. There's a significant amount of information. I love the black and white illustration. There's a timeline at the end of the book.

It's funny how life works out sometimes. 

Picture Book Review: The Apprenticeship of Andrew Wyeth

 

This book showcases the early years of Andrew Wyeth as he forms his painting style.

I confess, I didn't know much about Andrew Wyeth if anything. This was an interesting book and it did make me do a bit of research after reading it. I find it fascinating that his father was an illustrator. Several of his siblings were also painters. I do like it when picture books make me curious enough about the subject to do more research. I loved the illustrations in this book. 

Picture Books: Women's History Month

Some picture books perfect for Women's History Month and also the rest of the year

Someone else tried to take credit for her work, but Eunice Foot's curious nature led her to the discovery years prior.

Woman scientist getting her flowers. I love how the author asks questions of the reader. There's a timeline in the back of the book for readers.

A young girl is on her way to a march for Women's Rights with her mother, but after what happened at school, she's not feeling very hopeful.

I love how she learns to use her voice and makes a plan to stand up for herself. The signs are all fantastic in this book. I love how everyone comes together. 

Women's history through the alphabet. 

I particularly love K is for knowledge and for teachers and librarians. I love how this book is so inclusive and offers so much information - including the back matter of the people mentioned. This is a great book to share. 

Rose loved art; she worked at an art museum in France. But when the Nazis invaded, they stole art. Rose stayed, never letting them know that she spoke the language. She listened. She plotted. She wrote extensive notes about all the art she saw come through the museum. She did what she could to save the art and thanks to her notes, she knew where it belonged.

This is a fascinating story about WWII spies, art, and flying under the radar. It's a fantastic biography for older elementary school readers.

Paintings are still missing today.

* Book sent for review

Lilly found a job at Disney studios as an inker. She liked being behind the scenes and she liked being part of the team. She helped out wherever she could. She liked spending time with Walt too. After they were married, they worked together projects. But the studio was still in danger. No one liked the first Mickey Mouse movie. 

I really enjoyed this book about Lilly, although I'm sad there's not more knowledge about her. She really did keep to the background. I bet there are many more stories we don't know about her influences, ideas, and creations.

* Book sent for review

Mary Oliver loved nature; it spoke to her.

I didn't know anything about Mary Oliver, but this book inspired me to look up her poems. I wish there had been some poetry in this one. The story is sweet and illustrations are lovely.  I hope this book inspires readers to create their own poetry after being outdoors.

* book sent for review

Picture Book Review: Biographies for Black History Month

 

Here are a few great picture book biographies - for all year, but also for Black History Month 

Barbara lived in a world of can not cannot. She learned about the world from books and found big dreams. She learned how to make her dreams come true and she trained hard.

There's a great message here: never give up. She's so inspiring. A fantastic read about making your dreams happen. 

Carter Woodson did not have an easy life but he never stopped learning. He challenged a professor who said that Black people had no history and he spent the rest of his life sharing that history.

A great book about one person changing history and challenging the reader that they too can make a different. 

When Patrick Kelly was a boy, he lost a button on his shirt. His mother sewed another one on for him, but it didn't match. Then she sewed a bunch more on the shirt so that the other kids wouldn't laugh at him. Patrick Kelly realized the power of fashion and the importance of looking good makes you feel good. He decided he wanted to learn how to sew.

I loved this story - there's so much joy here. I confess, I didn't know about Patrick Kelly. I did a little more research on him and saw pictures of the clothes he made. And they do make people smile. Mission accomplished. 

Shay wants to be just like Tina Turner. When the town has a festival for Tina, she and her friends are going to perform. But when they're practicing, they get into a big fight. Luckily, Shay's grandmother shares some wisdom from Tina to help save the day.

While this isn't a biography of Tina Turner, it does share lots of information about her. Her life influences Shay to be the best she can be. 

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?

Picture Book Review: Biographies

Just a few picture book biographies new to my library:

I didn't know much about Yo-Yo Ma, so I was happy to read and learn about him. I didn't know that he started learning the cello at such a young age. Or that he came from a musical family. 

I really loved the messages shared in this book - everyone is born with a gift.

I have to ask, what's YOUR gift?

Two friends turned rivals try to figure out how to climb never before climbs in Yosemite National Park. They had different philosophies about climbing and the environment. I love how it ended.

I hike, but I've never scaled rocks like these two. There is some back matter, which is great. I really loved this book - about the differences between the two. The illustrations are fantastic.

I'm a big fan of Caitlin Clark and was so happy to read this one. I learned why she chose number 22. I didn't know that she's a baker. I'm also looking forward to her being back next season. This book has adorable illustrations. 

* I read the Taylor Swift book and loved it. And there are more books in the series.

Top Ten Tuesday: Taylor Swift

 This week's topic is a Freebie - so I'm using it to showcase Taylor Swift books. I love it when my fandoms overlaps.

Read:

Can't wait to read:

 

I love that there are so many Taylor books for readers! 

Picture Book Biographies

Just a few picture biographies that I enjoyed:

José Andres uses his love for cooking and sharing food with the world. He first learned out to become a chef. When disaster strikes around the world, he and his non-profit are there to help. They use volunteers to help and make a huge difference. 

* I first learned about World Central Kitchen from Selena + Chef

Jeanne Power lived on an island and the sea made her mind come alive. She decided to study the sea and its creatures even though women weren't allowed to be scientists. She created aquariums to study creatures - but her favorite creature to observe was the paper nautilus. Her findings were significant and groundbreaking. The illustrations are lovely.

If you're a cook or baker and you measure ingredients preciously - you have Fannie Farmer to thank. She took recipes that had been handed down from generations and confirmed the ratio of ingredients. She became a teacher and a principal of a school in Boston. She taught many women how to cook and produced a cookbook, which is still in print. 

This was a fascinating story. 

Clara Driscoll worked for Tiffany Glass Company - she was in charge of the Women's Glass Company. They created flower pieces of glass for the windows. She loved nature and sketched several ideas - including new ideas for lamps. The women's team took on jobs that the men turned down. They had a competition between then. This was a fascinating read! 

Picture Book Review: Sole Man

A last part of the shoe needed to be hand done, Jan couldn't see why a machine wouldn't work. He liked to tinker on machines. But every time he asked a question; the same answers were given. He created an invention. The machine is large and complicated, so complicated that the patent office sent someone to look at the machine.

This biography is great - I love the set up and then the flashback. I didn't know anything about his man, but his story is fascinating.

Picture Book Wednesday: Wildest Dreams

A picture book biography of Taylor Swift 

This biography showcases much of her childhood and early days. There isn't as much about her older years in terms of biographical moments. But there are nods to her songs and albums. This book talks about her love for fans and her political choices. But my favorite part is how it shares that she has so many stories left to tell. This book has gorgeous soft illustrations. 

This is a perfect read for any Swiftie.

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