Some Expectations:
• Continue to develop your skills in observation of the illustrations in picture books
• All picture book reflections should include comments about the art, style, medium,
design and how they connect to the literary elements of plot, theme, tone, voice and
writing style
• Consider the standards for evaluating the genre of the novels you read as well as the
plot, theme, tone, voice and writing style-you may have to use the children’s literature
textbooks in the CRC
• Use the reflections you submit as opportunities to develop your skills as a writer. Find
resources for improving you writing style and technical abilities. Use the studies in
various genre as an opportunity to expand your own reading horizons
• Use the journal entries to record your personal reader-responses to literature. Your
thoughts about the books you share with your future students will in large part
determine their willingness to broaden their own reading experiences.
Biographies and Life Stories
Complete life story, primary
sources, excellent documentation of
photographs
Limited to one aspect of his life
12.2 x 0.4 x 18 inches –What does
the size of the book indicate?
Note the illustrations. What do they
tell you about the author’s opinion
of the subject?
• Unattributed direct
quotes
Biography, form of literature, commonly considered nonfictional, the subject of which is
the life of an individual. One of the oldest forms of literary expression, it seeks to recreate in words the life of a human being—as understood from the historical or
personal perspective of the author—by drawing upon all available evidence, including
that retained in memory as well as written, oral, and pictorial material.
Autobiography, the biography of oneself narrated by oneself. Autobiographical works
can take many forms, from the intimate writings made during life that were not
necessarily intended for publication (including letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and
reminiscences) to a formal book-length autobiography.
Memoir, history or record composed from personal observation and experience. Closely
related to, and often confused with, autobiography, a memoir usually differs chiefly in the
degree of emphasis placed on external events; whereas writers of autobiography are
concerned primarily with themselves as subject matter
Are they complete life stories?
Are they accurate?
This fictionalized account of
Tubman's childhood on a
Maryland…. PW review
The authors use clear and plentiful
illustrations, maps, and diagrams to
explain the unfamiliar and extend
knowledge. SLJ review
Biography: Fictionalized biography
The books in this category belong to biographical literature only by courtesy. Materials
are freely invented, scenes and conversations are imagined; unlike the previous
category, this class often depends almost entirely upon secondary sources and cursory
research. Its authors, well represented on the paperback shelves, have created a
hybrid form designed to mate the appeal of the novel...
Checklist for Selecting Biography
Accuracy
• Does the biographer stick to the facts? (or invent dialogue or the subject's thoughts-when
there is no evidence or record?)
• Is the biographer's portrayal supported by the subject's own writings, speeches, essays,
letters?
• Are dates, names, and numbers accurate according to reliable reference sources?
Social Details: Setting and Plot
• Are facts and story line integrated?
• Are there connections between the social climate and the Individual's accomplishments?
• Is the social climate honestly portrayed?
• Does the plot revolve around authentic events?
Portrayal of the Subject
• Is the subject's character well developed?
• Are stereotypes avoided?
• Is the person a worthy subject for a biography?
• Does the writer show strengths and weaknesses of subject?
• Are people surrounding the subject developed adequately?
• Is their influence accurately portrayed?
Style
• Is the writing style comprehensible and engaging?
• Are complex topics explained adequately without misleading attempts to
oversimplify?
Theme
• Is there a unifying theme?
• Does the writer characterize the subject's life?
• Does the writer make the subject memorable?
Illustrations
• Do the illustrations enrich the interesting details?
• Do illustrations help visualize the time and place?
• Do the illustrations portrov- authentic scenes?
Some Considerations When Evaluating Picture Book Biographies
Viki Ash andThom Barthelmess published an excellent article in Horn Book Magazine
Nature
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola (Wangari
Maathai, environmentalist/leader). See also Seeds of Change by Jen Culleron Johnson.
Miss Ladybird’s Wildflowers by Kathi Appelt and Joy Fisher Hein (Lady Bird Johnson,
influential First Lady and champion of the Highway Beautification Act).
For the Birds: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson by Peggy Thomas and Laura Jacques (Roger
Tory Peterson, artist/naturalist and creator of the Peterson Field Guides).
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Mary Azarian (Wilson Bentley,
naturalist and photographer).
Science
Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola (Sylvia
Earle, scientist).
The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life With the Chimps by Jeanette Winter (Jane Goodall,
scientist). See also Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell.
The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse
Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer by Barbara Kerley and Brian Selznick (Waterhouse Hawkins,
sculptor and natural historian).
http://delightfulchildrensbooks.com/2012/10/21/30-picture-book-biographies/
Invention
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by Melissa
Sweet (Tony Sarg, puppeteer).
The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Brights Ideas and BrandNew Colors by Chris Barton and Tony Persiani (Bob and Joe Switzer, inventors).
Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor by Emily Arnold McCully
(Margaret E. Knight, inventor).
Justice
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney (Harriet
Tubman, civil rights leader).
Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
(Sojourner Truth, civil rights leader). For older kids, see also Only Passing Through: The
Story of Sojourner Truth by Anne Rockwell and R. Gregory Christie.
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni and Bryan Collier (Rosa Parks, seamstress and civil rights leader).
Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone
and Rebecca Gibbon (Elizabeth Cady Stanton, women’s rights leader).
Presidents
Abes Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Doreen Rappaport and Kadir
Nelson (Abraham Lincoln, U.S. president).
Teedie: The Story of the Young Teddy Roosevelt by Don Brown (Theodore Roosevelt,
U.S. president).
Sports
America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle by David Adler and Terry Widener
(Gertrude Ederle, swimmer).
Satchel Paige by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome (Satchel Paige, baseball
player).
Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man by David Adler and Terry Widener (Lou Gehrig, baseball
player).
Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull
and David Diaz (Wilma Rudolf, runner).
Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, a Sewing Needle and a Bicycle Changed
History by Sue Stauffacher and Sarah McMenemy (Tillie Anderson, cyclist).
Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path by Joseph Bruchac and S.D. Nelson (Jim Thorpe, decathlete).
See also Jim Thorpe Bright Path by Don Brown.
The Arts
Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum by Robert A. Parker (Art Tatum,
pianist)
What Charlie Heard by Mordicai Gerstein (Charles Ives, composer)
When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson by Pam Munoz
Ryan and Brian Selznick (Marian Anderson, singer)
Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa by Andrea Davis Pinkney and
Brian Pinkney (Ella Fitzgerald, singer)
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant and
Melissa Sweet (William Carlos Williams, poet)
Drawing From Memory by Allen Say (Allen Say, author/illustrator).
Frida by Jonah Winter and Ana Juan (Frida Kahlo, painter)
Alvin Ailey by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney (Alvin Ailey, dancer)
Isolate some intriguing facts about some of the people in those books and make a bulletin
board quiz out of it. For instance:
1. She hid in an attic and died in a prison camp.
2. She picked up a dead snake and thought it came to life.
3. When she was seven years old, her entire family was put into prison in America even
though not one of them had done anything illegal.
4. He was one of many orphans put on a train and taken out into the country to be adopted
by strangers.
5. He freed his own slaves and was responsible for freeing many others but he was not an
abolitionist.
6. He was sent to the Arctic to stop wolves from slaughtering caribou but ended up loving
the wolves.
Answers: 1. Anne Frank 2. Betsy Byars 3. Jeanne Houston 4. Lee Nailling 5. Ulysses S. Grant 6.
Farley Mowat
You’ll need these books: Diary of Anne Frank, The Moon and I, Farewell to Manzanar,
Orphan Train Rider, Unconditional Surrender, and Never Cry Wolf. (Booklist)
http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/biographies.html