MORE 'PICTURE-BOOK-BIOGRAPHIES' POSTS
When asked to cite the most popular up-and-coming trend in books for children and teens my answer for 2012 is always the same: Keep an eye on the twins and clones. Walk into any children’s room this year, throw a dart, and you’ll hit about twenty new books for kids that feature boy/girl twins, girl/girl […]
It Jes’ Happened By Don Tate Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie Lee & Low Books ISBN: 978-1-60060-260-3 Ages 5-9 On shelves April 1st Teaching kids about outsider art feels like a no-brainer to me. Which is to say, why doesn’t it happen more often? Perhaps there’s a feeling that educating kids on the self-taught is […]
Jazz Age Josephine By Jonah Winter Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman Atheneum (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $16.99 ISBN: 978-104169-6123-9 Ages 6 and up On shelves now When we try to name the biggest and best picture book biography authors out there, two names spring immediately to mind. The first is David Adler. Mr. Adler […]
Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina By Carmen T. Bernier-Grand Illustrated by Raul Colon Marshall Cavendish $19.99 ISBN: 978-0-7614-5562-2 Ages 8-11 On shelves now When I was a kid I took a fair amount of ballet. I liked it. Kept me on my toes (yuk yuk yuk). I retain fond memories of that time in my life, […]
The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont By Victoria Griffith Illustrated by Eva Montanari Abrams Books for Young Readers $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-4197-0011-8 Ages 6-10 On shelves now The American publishing industry is good at a lot of things. They produce some pretty delightful fare for children on a variety of different topics. If you want […]
Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero By Marissa Moss Illustrated by John Hendrix Abrams Books for Young Readers $18.95 ISBN: 978-0-8109-9735-6 Ages 6-12 On shelves now. If I want to depress myself on a given day I’ll compare the list of biographical subjects that kids in school are handed […]
Vincent van Gogh and the Colors of the Wind By Chiara Lossani Illustrated by Octavia Monaco Eerdmans Books for Young Readers $18.99 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5390-5 Ages 7-10 On shelves now The art of the children’s biography is not for the faint of heart. If you think it consists of merely shuffling a few facts on a […]
Me . . . Jane By Patrick McDonnell Little Brown and Company $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-316004546-9 Ages 4-8 On shelves April 5th Pity the picture book biographer. Theirs is not an easy lot. Seems to me that if you want to introduce a six-year-old to a famous person there are two ways of going about it. […]
She Sang Promise: The Story of Betty Mae Jumper, Seminole Tribal Leader By Jan Godown Annino Illustrated by Lisa Desimini Afterword by Moses Jumper, Jr. National Geographic $17.95 ISBN: 978-1-4263-0592-4 Ages 4-8 On shelves now. I’m tired of Einstein. I’m tired of Edison too. Heck, I’m even tired of Martin Luther King Jr., Marie Curie, […]
Dark Fiddler: The Life and Legend of Nicolo Paganini By Aaron Frisch Illustrated by Gary Kelley Creative Editions $17.95 ISBN: 978-1-56846-200-4 Ages 9 and up On shelves now The picture book biographer is often a limited soul. If you are churning out biography after biography for a large company then I’m sure the job must […]