Picture book biographies are very approachable books that provide readers a great way to learn about interesting people. They give glimpses into the lives of individuals you may not be familiar with or provide facts you didn't know!
The Road to Oz by Kathleen Krull; Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)KATHLEEN KRULL’S LIVELY text traces the life of L. Frank Baum from his dreamy privileged childhood in mid-19th-century upstate New York through the many detours on his road to Oz. A failure as an actor, a breeder of prize chickens, a merchant in a wild west town, among other occupations, he finally made a success doing exactly what he had always loved to do: tell stories for children. Along the way, we see the antecedents of the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, green glasses, and other characters and attributes of the famous fantasy land.
ISBN: 9780375832161
Publication Date: 2008-09-23
Into the Woods by Robert Burleigh; Wendell Minor (Illustrator)As a young man, John James Audubon, the renowned American woodsman and artist, had to make a choice between following his father's dreams for him and discovering his own special destiny.In this beautifully conceived book, Robert Burleigh imagines a conversation in which Audubon tells his father why he has chosen to forgo the ordinary life of a shop-keeper and instead live out in nature to develop his art and his relationship with the world.
Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helaine Becker; Dow Phumiruk (Illustrator)"You've likely heard of the historic Apollo 13 [mission]. But do you know about the mathematical genius who made sure that Apollo 13 returned safely home? As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about math, about the universe. From Katherine's early beginnings as a gifted student to her heroic accomplishments as a prominent mathematician at NASA, this is the story of a groundbreaking American woman who not only calculated the course of moon landings but, in turn, saved lives and made enormous contributions to history
The Man Who Loved Libraries by Andrew Larsen; Katty Maurey (Illustrator)Reveals how the Scottish immigrant arrived in the United States at the height of the Industrial Revolution, made his fortune in by investing in the railroads before using his wealth to fund over 2,500 public libraries around the world.
ISBN: 9781771472678
Publication Date: 2017-08-15
Girl Running by Annette Bay Pimentel; Micha Archer (Illustrator)Because Bobbi Gibb is a girl, she's not allowed to run on her school's track team. But after school, no one can stop her--and she's free to run endless miles to her heart's content. She is told no yet again when she tries to enter the Boston Marathon in 1966, because the officials claim that it's a man's race and that women are just not capable of running such a long distance. So what does Bobbi do? She bravely sets out to prove the naysayers wrong and show the world just what a girl can do.
ISBN: 9781101996683
Publication Date: 2018-02-06
Susan B. Anthony by Alexandra Wallner (Illustrator)A brief biography of women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony that discusses her early years and her battle to earn women fair treatment and the right to vote.