Their Stories: Biographies on Influential Figures of Interest to Children

Ages 4-Up

One Giant Leap: The Story of Neil Armstrong
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Don Brown  
Houghton Mifflin Children's Books, $16.00 (Hard Cover)   

This engaging biography of Neil Armstrong relates the story of the first moon landing as a child's dream come true.

Vision of Beauty: The Story of Sarah Breedlove Walker
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Kathryn Lasky   Illustrator: Nneka Bennett  
Candlewick Press, $16.99 (Hard Cover)   

The inspirational life story of Sarah Breedlove Walker (1867-1919) -- a chemist, business owner, community leader, and advocate for the rights of black women.Black Cowboy Wild Horses: A True Story
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Julius Lester   Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney  
Penguin Putnam Inc./Dial Books for Young Readers, $16.99 (Hard Cover)   

This spectacular biography of Bob Lemmons, a former slave and a cowboy with legendary tracking ability, will appeal to a wide range of readers. George Washington's Teeth
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Deborah Chandra   Author: Madeleine Comora   Illustrator: Brock Cole  
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $16.00 (Hard Cover)   

In jaunty verse, authors Chandra and Comora chronicle Washington’s crossing of the Delaware with nine teeth in his mouth, only to arrive at the other side of the river with just seven. All ends well when a now toothless George helps his faithful dentist construct a set of false teeth carved from a “strong hippo tusk.”  Frida
Ages: 4 - 10 yrs.
Author: Jonah Winter   Illustrator: Ana Juan  
Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books, $16.95 (Hard Cover)   

A minimal text provides listeners and readers with the pivotal events in the life of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954). This offbeat biography is a compelling labor of love.  Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ages: 4 & Up
Author: Doreen Rappaport   Illustrator: Bryan Collier  
Hyperion Books for Children, $15.99 (Hard Cover)   

This large format picture biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. focuses on King's resounding words, and the forceful illustrations give the reader/viewer an uncanny sense of Dr. King's charisma. George Washington's Cows
Ages: 5 - 7 yrs.
By: David Small  
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $6.95 (Paperback)

Coddled cows upstairs, pigs running the household, and lecturing sheep-- is it any wonder that George Washington fled home to brave the frosty Delaware? Told in rollicking verse and virtuoso watercolors, Small's book is a model of economy of line and narrative moving so fast you don't have time to wonder or stop chuckling. Rachel
Ages: 5 - 8 yrs.
Author: Amy Ehrlich   Illustrator: Wendell Minor  
Harcourt Trade Publishers/Silver Whistle, $16.00 (Hard Cover)   

Rachel Carson was always curious about the world around her. As a girl she loved being outside, always exploring and wanting to know more about the universe. As an adult Rachel wrote books about what she loved--including Silent Spring, a book that changed the world.  Mother to Tigers
Ages: 5 - 8 yrs.
Author: George Ella Lyon   Illustrator: Peter Catalanotto  
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Richard Jackson Books/Atheneum, $16.95 (Hard Cover)   

This excellent biography tells the story of Helen Frances Theresa Delaney Martini, the first woman keeper in the history of the Bronx Zoo - who raised twenty-seven baby tigers as well as innumerable other zoo babies.  Romare Bearden: Collage of Memories
Ages: 6 - 10 yrs.
Author: Jan Greenberg   Illustrator: Romare Bearden  
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., $17.95 (Hard Cover)   

For the first time, children have their own book where they can discover the life and work of Romare Bearden, one of the most important American artists of the 20th century. Award-winning author Jan Greenberg tells the intriguing story of the collagist who made "visual jazz." Book Description

Ages 7-Up

Hokusai: The Man Who Painted a Mountain
Ages: 7 & Up
By: Deborah Kogan Ray  
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $18.00 (Hard Cover)   

A well-researched and informative picture book biography of the renowned Japanese artist Hokusai.Edna St. Vincent Millay
Ages: 8 - 12 yrs.
Author: Frances Schoonmaker   Illustrator: Mike Bryce  
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., $14.95 (Hard Cover)   

An short biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay and thirty-four carefully chosen poems introduce the poet through her own words.Through My Eyes: Autobiography of Ruby Bridges
Ages: 8 - 12 yrs.
Author: Ruby Bridges  
Scholastic Inc., $16.95 (Hard Cover)   

Ruby Bridges chronicles her role in the history of civil rights in this moving autobiography. Handel: Who Knew What He Liked
Ages: 8 - 12 yrs.
Artist: Kevin Hawkes   Author: M.T. Anderson  
Candlewick Press, $16.99 (Hard Cover)   

With a tongue-in-cheek irreverence that is rarely associated with Baroque music and the monumental works of George Frideric Handel in particular, this charming picture book tells the story of the life of one of the greatest composers of all time. This is Handel-lite, but Handel-right.Abraham Lincoln
Ages: 9 - 12 yrs.
Author: Amy Cohn   Author: Suzy Schmidt   Illustrator: David A. Johnson  
Scholastic Inc., $16.95 (Hard Cover)   

Beginning with his birth on a cornhusk mattress in Kentucky, nineteen vignettes of Abraham Lincoln's life form this seemingly simple biography. The authors pick very telling events from his life that depict his character-including his humor.  B. Franklin, Printer
Ages: 9 & Up
By: David Adler  
Holiday House, Inc., $19.95 (Hard Cover)   

In 1728, when Benjamin Franklin wrote his own epitaph, he modestly decided he wanted to be remembered as "B. Franklin, Printer." Respecting his subject and his wishes, the author has written a straightforward account of Franklin's life with few flashbacks and digressions. 

Ages 10-Up

Double Luck: Memoirs of a Chinese Orphan
Ages: 10 - 12 yrs.
By: Lu Chi Fa   Writer: Becky White  
Holiday House, Inc., $18.95 (Hard Cover)   

A moving memoir of the author's struggles in Communist China after being orphaned at the age of three and how he held on to his dream of coming to the United States.Amazing Scientists: A Book of Answers for Kids
Ages: 10 - 14 yrs.
Author: Jim Callan  
The Stonesong Press, Inc., $12.95 (Paperback)

Short biographies focus on issues of interest to young people, and the subsequent descriptions of the scientists' achievements are written in question and answer format.Ben Franklin's Almanac
Ages: 10 - 14 yrs.
Author: Candace Fleming  
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Anne Schwartz Books/Atheneum, $19.95 (Hard Cover)   

Modeled on his own Poor Richard's Almanack, this unique scrapbook captures Franklin's countless accomplishments. Biography and anecdote, cartoon and etching mesh to create a fascinating portrait of this most fascinating man. Book Description  A Strong Right Arm
Ages: 10 & Up
Author: Michelle Y. Green  
Penguin Putnam Inc./Dial Books for Young Readers, $15.99 (Hard Cover)   

This five-foot-two, ninety-eight pound young woman's strong right arm led her all the way to three years of professional baseball play with the Negro League's Indianapolis Clowns. Her struggles against the injustices of racism and sexism are told as matter-of-fact asides to her joy in playing baseball. Savion: My Life in Tap
Ages: 10 & Up
Author: Savion Glover   Author: Bruce Weber  
Morrow, $19.95 (Hard Cover)   

A lively biography of Savion, an acknowledged genius of tap-dancing who has won over the younger generation. We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History
Ages: 10 & Up
Author: Phillip Hoose  
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $26.00 (Hard Cover)   

Inspiring, well-written biographical vignettes of extraordinary children put a human face on U.S. history.Bad Boy: A Memoir
Ages: 12 - 16 yrs.
Author: Walter Dean Myers  
HarperCollins Children's Books / Amistad, $15.95 (Hard Cover)   

This autobiographical coming of age story offers readers a revealing, fascinating glimpse into the heart of a premiere author.  Escape from Botany Bay: The True Story of Mary Bryant
Ages: 12 & Up
Author: Gerald Hausman   Author: Loretta Hausman  
Scholastic Inc./Orchard Books, $16.95 (Hard Cover)   

Caught stealing a lady's bonnet in Cornwall, England, in 1786, 19-year-old Mary Broad is sentenced to seven years' incarceration on a prison ship bound for Australia. Amid squalid, dangerous conditions below decks, Mary fights for her life and her dignity. Book Description 

Frederick Douglass

Ages: 12 & Up

Author: Peter Burchard  
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $18.95 (Hard Cover)   

This new biography presents Douglass as he lived through the misery, tragedy, and heartbreak of his early years, as he escaped from slavery only to endure anxiety and outrage in the free states of the North. He eventually made his way to Great Britain, where he lectured forcefully against slavery. Book Description

Imagine the Possibilities
In a tribute to some of our most celebrated visionaries, we offer this reading list to inspire children to look beyond what is, and to imagine what could be.