Picture Book Biographies are exactly what the title describes - a biography but in picture book format. Often these biographies read more like a memoir or story than a traditional biography you might find in the adult non-fiction section. There are pictures or illustrations that give children insight into who the person was and often there are specific elements of the story that are relatable for children, for example difficulty in school, relationships with animals or facing bullying. These books are growing in popularity, and quickly! It is especially common for these books to be written about people who have faced adversity, including racism or sexism, and for people who have made huge accomplishments in the world of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics).
I have recently had the opportunity to read and review several ARC electronic copies of picture book biographies that I think are awesome and definitely worth checking out if you are like me and teach in the early years! Whether you're planning a unit on biographies, studying someone famous or just want some great books with awesome role models in your collection, these are some great options coming in 2022!
Arthur Who Wrote Sherlock
By: Linda Bailey
This is the picture book biography of Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The story follows Arthur, a man who grew up book and endured many hardships in his childhood and early adult life. When he suddenly becomes famous for writing about a detective named Sherlock Holmes the wealth and fame quickly get out of hand and Arthur doesn't know what to do. Picture book biographies are great opportunities for young children to learn about historical people from the past through story and pictures. I like that this one focuses on an author, as many focus on scientists or inventors, and also appreciate that it demonstrates that while we might explore many different career paths, sometimes it takes time and perseverance before we find the right path for ourselves. As a grade 3 teacher I could definitely see this book in my classroom library. I would recommend this book for teachers and families of children in the 5-10 age range.
How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower
By: Emma Bland Smith
This is the true story of the building and preserving of the iconic landmark in France in picture book format. This book shows the challenges faced by the architect to build and prevent destruction of the Eiffel tower, meant to be a temporary installation. The theme of Science and really STEM is woven throughout this story. Sub-themes include weather, architecture, flight/physics, wind tunnels, measurement, radio communications and more. This book fits well into the recently expanding genre of children's biography and historical fiction picture books. I would recommend it for families, teachers and librarians serving children in the 5-12 age range.
Gaudi
By: Susan B. Katz
Gaudi is the story of Antoni Gaudi, a Spanish architect and artist well known for this UNESCO world heritage site buildings in Barcelona. The beautiful, somewhat abstract, very unique illustrations are beautiful and very inviting. This book, and the story within it, are both the true definition of STEAM, Science/Math meet Art. As a grade 3 teacher, I would definitely consider purchasing a copy of this book for my classroom library. The text is probably too difficult for most early years students to read themselves, but I could see reading this story to my class or using it with upper elementary students. I think that the illustrations are the perfect for inspiring children to create their own art. I would definitely recommend this book to teachers and families of children in the 5-12 age range. The number of connections to curricular content are infinite and the story itself is inspirational.
The Fossil Whisperer
By: Helaine Becker
This one gets all of my Anthropology and Archaeology senses tingling! I definitely went through a period (that even included some of my time in University) dreaming of becoming an archaeologist, and palaeontology was something I could definitely see being interested in as well. I even applied to work at the Fossil Discovery Center in Morden, Manitoba. I decided that commuting or living in Morden (an hour and a half drive from my city) was not something I was ready to commit to that summer - but later heard that a student in the position I applied for actually discovered a new type of dinosaur or something similarly ground breaking ... *insert side eye emoji here...*
Anyway, on to this awesome book!
The Fossil Whisperer is based on a real palaeontologist and dinosaur expert who works at the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta. This children's picture book biography would be interesting, inspiring and relatable for young dinosaur and fossil lovers. This book has wonderful STEM connections and features a female role model who discovered a dinosaur that is even named after her! I can't think of anything more exciting for young dino-lovers to dream of! The book also includes information about the real Wendy Sloboda, information about Wendiceratops and fossil hunting, a timeline, a glossary and other sources.
This book fits right in as another picture book biographies about leaders in the world of STEM. It is a relatively accessible book, with beautiful pictures and telling the story of a scientist who is also a trendsetter and role model for young children, and this case, especially girls. I would recommend this book to teachers, librarians and families of children in the 5-12 age range, especially those fossil and dino-lovers. It is also about a Canadian landmark and Canadian scientist!
The Astronomer who Questioned Everything
By: Laura Alray
This picture book biography tells the story of astronomer Maria Mitchell who pushed boundaries and set the stage for future female scientists to come. Demonstrating the importance of inquiry, STEM and following your dreams, Maria Mitchell is a role model for young girls everywhere and this picture book not only tells her story but shows the adversity women in science faced in the past, and still face today.
The illustrations are beautiful, they appear to be mixed-media or collage, and are a perfect example of texture in painting. As a teacher I could see using this book as an introduction to biography, for lessons on STEM, as inspiration for art and many other social studies and science outcomes. The book also concludes with several pages of historical information as well as support for young girls with aspirations and interests to explore. I think this would be a great book for teachers, librarians and families of children ages 4-12, especially young science lovers.
Blast Off!
By: Suzanne Slade
Blast Off! is a children's picture book biography of Mary Sherman, a female chemist who created the fuel to launch rockets into space! With her love of science, during WWII she was able to get a job in a lab designing rocket fuels, but when the men came back from war her job no longer existed. At a time when popular belief was that science was for men Mary persevered against adversity and it paid off. I think this book would be a great opening for lessons on STEM, growth mindset and biographies. I would recommend this book for teachers, librarians and families of children in the 4-12 age range, especially for young readers who could benefit from reading books about strong, female role models.
The Right to Fight – Planting Peace
By: Anika Christopher
This beautiful picture book biography tells the story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Muri Maathai. As the story explains, Wangari grew up in Kenya and learned to love and live off the land, after winning a scholarship to study in North America, she returns home years later to see that plantations had taken over her homeland. Wanting to support her family and home country she begins to plant trees and shows readers that change can start with something as small as a little seed. The story ends with a short timeline of Wangari's life.
The pictures in this book are beautiful, especially those that come together in almost a collage-like format, for example, near the end of the story there is a picture of an outline of the continent of Africa and it is filled with a variety of different flowers. These kind of pictures are throughout the story and are really beautiful to look at. There is also a really beautiful illustration around the quote "always respect the land" which I think draws readers attention to this important message about caring for our planet. As a grade 3 teacher I could definitely see this book in my classroom library. I think it would be an excellent introduction to lessons on plants, poverty in African countries due to over farming the land for commercial agriculture, as well as earth day and demonstrating how to make change. I would recommend this book to teachers, librarians and families of children in the 5-11 age range. Picture book story biographies are great because they allow readers at a variety of levels to access the pictures and/or the story and can inspire the reader to dig deeper about the concepts or people described, if they choose, and I feel this book is a perfect example of that.
Star: The Bird Who Inspired Mozart
By: Mereille Messer
This one is a bit different, but I have no doubt it will also be loved by kids! This picture book biography teaches readers about Mozart by telling the story of a bird that became his pet and inspired some of his music. The illustrations are beautiful and the concept, that the natural sounds of a bird could be the inspiration for famous pieces of music still celebrated today, is something that young people will enjoy. I could see Music teachers and classroom teachers sharing this story when teaching art history or about biographies that are slightly outside of the typical biographic information and genre. I would recommend this book to teachers and families of children in the 5-10 age range.
Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free
By: Alice Faye Duncan
This picture book tells the story of a Black activist, Opal Lee and her role in bringing awareness to the holiday Juneteenth, an important day which many Americans were not even aware of! With beautiful pictures, and a good amount of text on each page, readers can learn about the history of slavery, its abolishment, and the civil rights movement in age-appropriate descriptions.
The story alternates between Opal telling stories at a picnic and stories from these time periods, giving young readers short breaks from the difficult (but again, appropriate) content. I think that alternating helps introduce small bits of information and is an interesting way to tell the story.
As a grade 3 teacher (in Canada) I could definitely see having this book in my classroom, despite not being from the US. I think that this is a very important part of history and a good reminder that Black history can be covered outside of just February! I would recommend this book to teachers of students in grades K-5 and perhaps other grades as well. The end of the book also has timelines and information and would be a great source for research for young readers.
There are so many great new picture book biographies coming out in 2022! I hope some of these reviews will help you find the right new books for your classroom library!
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