Louis Braille lived in the French village of Coupvray. Born in 1809, he was the fourth child of a harness maker and his wife. Louis was a bright and curious child. He especially enjoyed watching his father at work.
One day, three-year-old Louis decided to try out his father’s awl, a very sharp tool. Unfortunately, he injured his eye. It became infected and when Louis touched the uninjured eye, the infection spread, blinding him.
Louis Braille House, Coupvray, France
Louis’s family and a village priest helped him. His father made a cane so that Louis could walk without assistance. His sisters made an alphabet from straw so that he could learn letters. And the priest read to Louis and taught him to listen to the sounds of birds to recognize them.
Louis later went to school with sighted children and listened to and remembered the lessons. But for Louis, that wasn’t enough. He wanted to read books.
When he was ten-years-old, he traveled to Paris to attend the Royal Institution for Blind Youth. The school’s founder had created books with raised letters. But the letters were enormous with only a few sentences or less on a page. The books were not practical.
Then a French army captain named Charles Barbier invented a system of sending messages to soldiers on the field. His system used raised dots so that the soldiers could read the messages without light and not give away their location to the enemy.
The army seemed unimpressed, so Barbier sent his system to the Royal Institution for Blind Youth. Louis and the other students recognized right away that this system was not practical. The dots represented sounds not letters. They were difficult for the students to read.
Louis Braille’s Six-Dot Braille System
Louis Braille decided to adapt Barbier’s system and make it practical. He worked for three years to perfect it. By the age of fifteen, he had developed the six-dot Braille System we know today. Each letter of the alphabet uses a different pattern of raised dots. Louis’s system is used in every country in the world.
Braille
If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author
By Walter Dean Myers, Illustrated by Christopher Myers
There’s a crazy syncopation/and it’s tearing through the nation/and it’s bringing sweet elation/to every single tune. It’s Jazz. From bebop to New Orleans, from ragtime to boogie, and every style in between, this collection of Walter Dean Myers’s energetic and engaging poems takes readers on a musical journey from jazz’s beginnings to the present day.
A Child’s Introduction to Jazz:
The Musicians, Culture, and Roots of the World’s Coolest Music
By Jabari Asim, Illustrated by Jerrard K. Polk
Welcome to jazz! Feel the music and rhythms of all the different styles of jazz, from swing and Dixieland to the blues and bebop, with this interactive introduction to the world’s coolest music.
Author Jabari Asim will take you on the journey through the history of jazz as you discover the most important musicians and singers while hearing some really cool sounds. You’ll learn all about the roots of jazz in Africa and New Orleans and how the music traveled to different parts of the United States and around the world. Along the way you’ll meet legendary trumpeter Louis Armstrong, who shaped a new form of jazz called improvisation; pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington, who helped create the big band sound of the swing era; and the singer Billie Holiday, whose songs such as “God Bless the Child,” “Don’t Explain,” and “Lady Sings the Blues” have become jazz standards. 8-12 years
Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald
by Roxane Orgill, Illustrated by Sean Qualls
When Ella Fitzgerald danced the Lindy Hop on the streets of 1930s Yonkers, people passing by said goodbye to their loose change. For a girl who was orphaned and hungry, with raggedy clothes and often no place to spend the night, small change was not enough. One amateur night at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, Ella made a discovery: the dancing beat in her feet could travel up and out of her mouth in powerful song — and the feeling of being listened to was like a salve to her heart.
Birth of Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound
By Kathleen Cornell Berman, Illustrated Keith Henry Brown
As a young musician, Miles Davis heard music everywhere. This biography explores the childhood and early career of a jazz legend as he finds his voice and shapes a new musical sound. Follow his progression from East St. Louis to rural Arkansas, from Julliard and NYC jazz clubs to the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival. Rhythmic free verse imbues his story with musicality and gets readers in the groove. Music teachers and jazz fans will appreciate the beats and details throughout, and Miles’ drive to constantly listen, learn, and create will inspire kids to develop their own voice.
Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
By Katheryn Russell-Brown, Illustrated by Frank Morrison
Melba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember. As a child she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family’s Majestic radio. At the age of seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument. By the time she was a teenager, Melba’s extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz. She joined a band led by trumpet player, Gerald Wilson, toured the country, and became famous.
Trombone Shorty
By Troy Andrews, Illustrated by Bryan Collier
Hailing from the Treme neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was tall. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today he headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane
By Carol Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls
Young John Coltrane was all ears. And there was a lot to hear growing up in the South in the 1930s. There were preachers praying, music on the radio, and the bustling sounds of the household. These vivid noises shaped John’s own sound as amusician. This picture book is a rich hymn to the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane.
Who Was Louis Armstrong?
By Yona Zeldis McDonough, Illustrated by John O’Brien
If not for a stint in reform school, young Louis Armstrong might never have become a musician. A teacher at Colored Waifs Home gave him a cornet, promoted him to band leader, and recognized talent in this tough kid from the even tougher New Orleans neighborhood of Storyville. It was Louis’s own passion and genius that pushed jazz into new and exciting realms.
This Jazz Man
By Karen Ehrhardt, Illustrated by R.G. Roth
SNAP! BOMP! BEEDLE-DI-BOP! In this toe-tapping jazz tribute, the traditional “This Old Man” gets a swinging makeover, and some of the era’s best musicians take center stage. The tuneful text and vibrant illustrations bop, slide, and shimmy across the page as Satchmo plays one, Bojangeles plays two…right on down the line to Charles Mingus, who plays nine, plucking the strings that sound divine.
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker
By Patricia Hruby Powell, Illustrated by Christian Robinson
Josephine Baker worked her way up from the slums of St. Louis to the grandest stages in the world. Her powerful story is one of struggle and triumph and is an inspiration.
Mister & Lady Day: Billie Holiday and the Dog Who Loved Her
By Amy Novesky, Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton
Billie Holiday—also known as Lady Day—had fame, style, a stellar voice, gardenias in her hair, and lots of dogs. She had a coat-pocket poodle, a beagle, Chihuahuas, a Great Dane, and more, but her favorite was a boxer named Mister. Mister was always there to bolster her courage, even at her legendary appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Stylish illustrations keep the story focused on the bond between Holiday and her dog. An author’s note addresses the singer’s troubled life, and includes a little-known photo of Mister and Lady Day.
How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz
By Jonah Winter, Illustrated by Keith Mallett
This unusual and inventive picture book riffs on the language and rhythms of old New Orleans and turns its focus to one of America’s early jazz heroes, Jelly Roll Morton.
Ella Queen of Jazz
By Helen Hancocks
Ella Fitzgerald sang the blues and she sang them well. Ella and her fellas were on the way up. It seemed like nothing could stop her, until the biggest club in town refused to let her play… and all because of her color. But when all hope seemed lost, little did Ella imagine that a Hollywood star would step in to help. This is the incredible true story of how a remarkable friendship between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe was born – and how they worked together to overcome prejudice and adversity. 4-8 years
The book descriptions used are primarily from the publishers.
If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author
Gene Barretta asks in his book Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare: “How much could these two presidents have in common?” The answer is: an amazing amount.
100 Years Apart
Abraham Lincoln was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1846. He was nominated to be a vice-presidential candidate in 1856. And he was elected president in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1946. He was nominated to be a vice-presidential candidate in 1956. And he was elected president in 1960.
Their vice-presidents were born one hundred years apart. Lincoln’s (second v.p) in 1808 and Kennedy’s in 1908.
Lincoln defeated Stephen A. Douglas born in 1813 and Kennedy defeated Richard M. Nixon born in 1913 in their respective presidential bids.
Names
Lincoln’s secretary was Mrs. Kennedy and Kennedy’s secretary was Mrs. Lincoln.
Lincoln’s second vice-president was Andrew Johnson. Kennedy’s vice-president was Lyndon B. Johnson.
Civil Rights
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation giving freedom to slaves living in the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Kennedy proposed civil rights laws to end segregation and discrimination of African-Americans. He gave a speech in 1963, a few months before his death, outlining these laws. Kennedy’s successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Death
Both presidents were assassinated on a Friday shortly before a major holiday — Lincoln before Easter and Kennedy before Thanksgiving.
We know the two assassins by three names: John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s assassin, and Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s assassin.
Booth shot Lincoln in a theater. He was captured in a barn that served as a warehouse storing tobacco. Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse, The Texas Book Depository. He was captured in a theater. Both men were killed soon after the assassinations.
Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare has more examples comparing these two great presidents.
If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author
Ada Lovelace is considered to be the world’s first computer programmer.
Ada was born in England on December 10, 1815, the daughter of the famous and reckless poet Lord Byron. Soon after she was born, her parent’s marriage ended. Ada never saw her father again.
Her mother, Anne Isabella Milbanke had a great interest in mathematics. Byron called her the Princess of Parallelograms. Anne Isabella steered her daughter away from poetry and into mathematics and science.
Ada Lovelace
Ada had a wonderful imagination. She decided that she would learn how to fly by studying birds’ anatomy. Ada made a set of wings. She wrote and illustrated her own book called Flyology and designed a flying mechanical horse.
Lord Byron
In 1829, Ada became temporarily paralyzed after having measles. She improved her math and science skills while bedridden. At age sixteen, restored to health, Ada was introduced to English society. She met famous scientists and became friends with the engineer Charles Babbage.
Babbage invented a machine called the Difference Engine. It worked like a giant calculator. He then designed a more complex machine he called the Analytical Engine. Babbage thought it would solve difficult mathematical calculations. The machine would then store these calculations. And it would also print them.
The Analytical Engine
Ada translated an article written about the Analytical Engine into English. She added her own notes. These notes contained an algorithm that would allow the machine to work. Ada’s algorithm is considered to be the first computer program.
The Analytical Engine was too expensive to build. But it is considered to be the first computer. And Charles Babbage is acknowledged as the “father of the computer.”
Charles Babbage designed his Analytical Engine to be capable of working with numbers. But Ada thought the machine had much greater possibilities. She envisioned it producing music, art, and writing, like modern computers.
Sadly, Ada died at age 36. Although she never met her father, she requested to be buried next to his grave in England.
If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell
As a kid, Jackie Robinson loved sports. And why not? He was a natural at football, basketball, and, of course, baseball. But beyond athletic skill, it was his strength of character that secured his place in sports history. In 1947, Jackie joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the long-time color barrier in Major League Baseball. It was tough being the first, not only did “fans” send hate mail but some of his own teammates refused to accept him.
Stealing Home: Jackie Robinson Against All Odds
By Robert Burleigh, Illustrated by Mike Wimmer
Man on third. Two outs. The pitcher eyes the base runner, checks for the signs. The fans in the jammed stadium hold their breath. Flapping his outstretched arms like wings, number 42 leads off again. It is September 1955, game one of the World Series, theYankees versus the Dodgers, and Jackie Robinson is about to do the unbelievable, attempt to steal home in a World Series game. Is it possible? Yes, it is, if you are Jackie Robinson.
My Little Golden Book About Jackie Robinson
By Frank John Berrios III, Illustrated by Betsy Bauer
This Little Golden Book captures the essence of Jackie Robinson for the littlest readers. Lively text and compelling artwork detail Robinson’s remarkable journey from childhood, to playing for the Negro Leagues, to then becoming the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era. Little ones will be inspired by the many challenges Robinson gracefully rose to, while they learn important baseball and civil rights history. 2-5 years
Jackie Robinson Breaking Barriers in Baseball
By Kurtis Scaletta
When Jackie Robinson stepped up to the plate for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, everything changed. He was the first black man to play in a major-league baseball game in the twentieth century! His brave act opened the door for more black players to achieve their own big-league dreams. But how did Jackie break baseball’s color barrier? Whether excelling at every sport he tried as a youngster or standing up for his civil rights as a soldier in the US Army, Jackie always focused on his goals. Find out how this boy who loved baseball became one of history’s greatest trailblazers! 8-12 years
The United States v Jackie Robinson
By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Jackie Robinson broke boundaries as the first African American player in Major League Baseball. But long before Jackie changed the world in a Dodger uniform, he did it in an army uniform.
As a soldier during World War II, Jackie experienced segregation every day—separate places for black soldiers to sit, to eat, and to live. When the army outlawed segregation on military posts and buses, things were supposed to change.
So when Jackie was ordered by a white bus driver to move to the back of a military bus, he refused. Instead of defending Jackie’s rights, the military police took him to trial. But Jackie would stand up for what was right, even when it was difficult to do. 4-8 years
The Hero Two Doors Down: Based on the True Story of Friendship Between a Boy and a Baseball Legend
By Sharon Robinson
Eight year old Stephen Satlow lives in Brooklyn, New York, which means he only cares about one thing, the Dodgers. Steve hears a rumor that an African-America family is moving to his neighborhood. It’s 1948, and some of his neighbors are against it.Steve knows this is wrong. His hero, Jackie Robinson, broke the color barrier in baseball the year before. And as it turns out, Steve’s new neighbor is Jackie Robinson. Written by Jackie Robinson’s daughter Sharon.
Jackie Robinson: He Led the Way
By April Jones Prince, Illustrated by Robert Casilla
Jackie Robinson became the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era when he stepped onto the field as a Brooklyn Dodger in 1947. This book follows Jackie from childhood through his career as an award winning baseball player and a hero of the civil rights movement.
When Jackie and Hank Met
by Cathy Goldberg Fishman, Illustrated by Mark Elliott
Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg were two very different people. But they both became Major League Baseball players and they both faced a lot of the same challenges in their lives and careers. For Jackie, it was his skin color, for Hank, his religion. On May 17, 1947, these two men met for the first time colliding at firstbase in a close play. While the crowd urged them to fight, Jackie and Hank chose a different path. This is the story of two men who went on to break the barriers of race and religion in America sports and became baseball legends in the process.
Teammates
by Peter Golenbock, Illustrated by Paul Bacon
This is the moving story of how Jackie Robinson became the first black player on a Major League baseball team when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s, and how on a fateful day in Cincinnati, Pee Wee Reese took a stand and declared Jackie his teammate.
I am Jackie Robinson
By Brad Meltzer, Illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos
Jackie Robinson always loved sports, especially baseball. But he lived at a time before the Civil Rights Movement. Even though Jackie was a great athlete, he wasn’t allowed on the best teams just because of the color of his skin. Jackie knew that sports were best when everyone, of every color, played together. He became thefirst black player in Major League Baseball, and his bravery changed history and led the way to equality in all American sports.
The book descriptions used are primarily from the publishers.
If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author
Leonardo da Vinci painted two of the best known paintings in the world: Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. In addition to his magnificent work as an artist, Leonardo designed inventions that are familiar to us today, almost 400 years later.
Leonardo sketched and wrote about his inventions in notebooks. Most of his ideas could not be made into working objects during his lifetime. Engineering was a new science and many of his designs were technically complicated.
These are six of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions:
In the Air:
Glider — Leonardo’s glider design looks similar to both a bird in flight and a modern hang glider. Leonardo studied birds as he worked on his design.
Helical Screw — This is Leonardo’s design for an early type of helicopter. Four men inside operated the screw. It would compress air to fly just like helicopters do today.
Parachute — Leonardo imagined floating through the air using a parachute. Designed to be made of linen and wood, his parachute had a triangular shape.
Anemometer — Leonardo designed this instrument to measure wind speed. Anemometers are used at weather stations today.
Under Water:
Scuba Gear — Leonardo designed a leather suit with a head covering attached to two tubes. The tubes connected to an above water diving bell. The diver would breathe air from the water’s surface through the tubes. Today, scuba divers breathe air from the tanks they carry underwater. Early divers used Leonardo’s method.
On Land:
Tank — Leonardo turned again to the natural world for this design. A turtle shell inspired it. The tank’s design provided for a 360 degree rotation. Four men inside would operate the tank with hand cranks while other men would fire the weapons. Modern tanks first appeared in World War I.
Lives of Artists: Masterpieces, Messes (and What the Neighbors Thought)
By Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
Most people can name some famous artists and recognize their best-known works. But what’s behind all the painting, drawing, and sculpting? What was Leonardo da Vinci’s snack of choice while he painted Mona Lisa’s mysterious smile? Why did Georgia O’Keeffe find bones so appealing? Who called Diego Rivera “Frog-Face”? And what is it about artists that makes both their work and their lives so fascinating?
The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse
By Patricia MacLachlan, Illustrated by Hadley Hooper
If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived in a dreary town in northern France, what would your life be like? Would it be full of color and art? Full of lines and dancing figures? Find out in this beautiful, unusual picture book about one of the world’s most famous and influential artists.
The Fantastic Jungle of Henri Rousseau
By Michelle Markel, Illustrated by Amanda Hall
Henri Rousseau wanted to be an artist. But he had no formal training. Instead, he taught himself to paint. He painted until the jungles and animals and distant lands in his head came alive on his canvases. He endured the harsh critics of his day and created the brilliant paintings that now hang in museums around the world.
Matisse’s Garden
By Samantha Friedman, Illustrated by Christina Amodeo
One day, the French artist Henri Matisse cut a small bird out of a piece of paper. It looked lonely all by itself, so he cut out more shapes to join it. Before he knew it, Matisse had transformed his walls into larger-than-life gardens, filled with brightly colored plants, animals, and shapes of all sizes.
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
By Javaka Steptoe
Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City.
Women Artists A to Z
By Melanie LaBarge, Illustrated by Caroline Corrigan
How many women artists can you name? From Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keeffe, to Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Xenobia Bailey, this illustrated alphabet picture book presents both famous and underrepresented women in the fine arts from a variety of genres: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and more.
Each spread features a simple line of text encapsulating the creator’s iconic work in one word, such as “D is for Dots” (Yayoi Kusama) and “S is for Spider” (Louise Bourgeois), followed by slightly longer text about the artist for older readers who would like to know more. Backmatter includes extended biographies and discussion questions for budding creatives and trailblazers.
My Name is Georgia
A Portrait by Jeanette Winter
From the time she was just a young girl, Georgia O’Keeffe viewed the world in her own way. While other girls played with toys and braided their hair, Georgia practiced her drawing and let her hair fly free. As an adult, Georgia followed her love of art from the steel canyons of New York City to the vast plains of New Mexico. There she painted all day, and slept beneath the stars at night. Throughout her life Georgia O’Keeffe followed her dreams and so found her way to become a great American artist.
The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen
By Susan Schaefer Bernardo, Illustrated by Courtney Fletcher
This story opens in modern-day France, when a little girl named Antoinette notices a little bronze cat in the window of her favorite antique store, and begs the shopkeeper Monsieur Arvieux and his clever cat Noir to tell her all about the artist. She learns that Steinlen moved to Paris in 1881 to pursue his artistic dreams, ultimately creating not just the Chat Noir posters but also more than 700 journal illustrations, famous posters, sculptures, cartoon strips and paintings, and even used his art to make the world a better place. Many of Steinlen’s artworks feature cats, his favorite subject.
Rembrandt and the Boy Who Drew Dogs: A Story About Rembrandt van Rijn
By Molly Blaisdell and Nancy Lane
Author Molly Blaisdell transports young readers to the city of Amsterdam in the 1650s. It is a time when world-renowned artist Rembrandt van Rijn is at the height of fame among his patrons — and when his young son Titus longs to imitate him father and become a great painter. At first, Rembrandt rebuffs Titus’s attempts at drawing, but gradually is won over by his son’s enthusiasm and persistence, and he begins to teach Titus the basic techniques of drawing from life.
A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin
By Jen Bryant, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
As a child in the late 1800s, Horace Pippin loved to draw. He drew pictures for his sisters, his classmates, his co-workers. Even during WWI, Horace filled his notebooks with drawings from the trenches…until he was shot. Upon his return home, Horace couldn’t lift his right arm. He couldn’t make any art. Slowly, with lots of practice, he regained use of his arm, until once again, he was able to paint, and paint, and paint. Before long, his paintings were displayed in galleries and museums across the country.
Sparky & Spike: Charles Schulz and the Wildest, Smartest Dog Ever
By Barbara Lowell, Illustrated by Dan Andreasen
The true story of young Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, and his dog Spike the inspiration for Snoopy. A Junior Library Guild Selection. Doggone fun! — Booklist Starred Review
Who Was Frieda Kahlo?
By Sarah Fabiny, Illustrated by Jerry Hoare
You can always recognize a painting by Frieda Kahlo because she is in nearly all — with her black braided hair and colorful Mexican outfits. A brave woman who was an invalid most of her life, she transformed herself into a living work of art. As famous for her self-portraits and haunting imagery as she was for her marriage to another famous artist, Diego Rivera, this strong and courageous painter was inspired by the ancient culture and history of her beloved homeland, Mexico.
The Noisy Paint Box
By Barb Rosenstock, Illustrated by Mary GrandPre
Vasya Kandinsky was a proper little boy: he studied math and history, he practiced the piano, he sat up straight and was perfectly polite. And when his family sent him to art classes, they expected him to paint pretty houses and flowers — like a proper artist.
But as Vasya opened his paint box and began mixing the reds, the yellows, the blues, he heard a strange sound — the swirling colors trilled like an orchestra tuning up for a symphony. And as he grew older, Vasya continued to hear brilliant colors singing and to see sounds dancing. But was Vasya brave enough to put aside his proper still lifes and portraits and paint…music?
Just Behave, Pablo Picasso
By Jonah Winter, Pictures by Kevin Hawkes
“One day the world is peaceful, lovely landscape painting…The next day — BLAM! — Pablo bursts through the canvas, paintbrush in hand, ready to paint something fresh and new.”
Pablo Picasso may have been one of the most famous artists of the 20th century, but that doesn’t mean he painted what people wanted him to paint. Some people hated his paintings and called them ugly and terrible. But Picasso didn’t listen to all those people. He kept on working the way he wanted to, until he created something new, so different, that people didn’t know what to say.
Action Jackson
By Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
One late spring morning the American artist Jackson Pollock began work on the canvas that would ultimately come to be known as Number 1. The authors use this moment as the departure point for a picture book about a great painter and the way in which he worked.
The book descriptions used are primarily from the publishers.
If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author
This beautifully written biography tells the story of E.B. White, the author of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little. Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet mixes White’s personal letters, photos, and family keepsakes with her own artwork to tell the story of this American literary icon. E.B White was a journalist, New Yorker contributor, and children’s book author who loved words his whole life.
Through the Wardrobe: How C.S. Lewis Created Narnia
By Lina Maslo
As a child, Clive Staples Lewis imagined many things . . . heroic animals, and knights in armor, and a faraway land called Boxen. He even thought of a new name for himself—at four years old, he decided he was more of a Jack. As he grew up, though, Jack found that the real world was not as just as the one in his imagination. No magic could heal the sick or stop a war, and a bully’s words could pierce as sharply as a sword. So Jack withdrew into books and eventually became a well-known author for adults.
But he never forgot the epic tales of his boyhood, and one day a young girl’s question about an old family wardrobe inspired him to write a children’s story about a world hidden beyond its fur coats . . . a world of fauns and queens and a lion named Aslan. A world of battles between good and evil, where people learned courage and love and forgiveness. A magical realm called Narnia. And the books he would write about this kingdom would change his life and that of children the world over.
Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen: The Story of Six Novels, Three Notebooks, a Writing Box and One Clever Girl
By Deborah Hopkinson, Illustrated by Qin Leng
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is one of our greatest writers. But before that, she was just an ordinary girl. In fact, young Jane was a bit quiet and shy; if you had met her back then, you might not have noticed her at all. But she would have noticed you. Jane watched and listened to all the things people around her did and said, and locked those observations away for safekeeping.
Jane also loved to read. She devoured everything in her father’s massive library and before long, she began creating her own stories. In her time, the most popular books were grand adventures and romances, but Jane wanted to go her own way…and went on to invent an entirely new kind of novel.
The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Suzy)
by Barbara Kerley, Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
Suzy Clemens thought the world was wrong about her papa. They saw Mark Twain as “a humorist joking at everything.” But he was so much more, and Susy was determined to set the record straight. In a journal she kept under her pillow, Susy documented her world-famous father from his habits (good and bad) to his writing routine to their family’s colorful home life. Her frank, funny, tender biography (which came to be one of Twain’s most prized possessions) gives rare insight and an unforgettable perspective on an American icon.
Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder
by William Anderson, Illustrated by Dan Andreasen
This picture book biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder tells the remarkable story of the pioneer girl who would one day immortalize her adventures in the beloved Little House books. This biography captures the essence of the little girl called “Half-pint,” whose classic books and pioneer adventures have made her one of the most popular literary figures in America.
A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creator of the Snowy Day
By Andrea Davis Pinkney, Illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
The story of The Snowy Day begins more than one hundred years ago, when Ezra Jack Keats was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. The family were struggling Polish immigrants, and despite Keats’s obvious talent, his father worried that Ezra’s dream of being an artist was an unrealistic one. But Ezra was determined. By high school he was winning prizes and scholarships. Later, jobs followed with the WPA and Marvel comics. But it was many years before Keats’s greatest dream was realized and he had the opportunity to write and illustrate his own book. For more than two decades, Ezra had kept pinned to his wall a series of photographs of an adorable African American child. In Keats’s hands, the boy morphed into Peter, a boy in a red snowsuit, out enjoying the pristine snow; the book became The Snowy Day, winner of the Caldecott Medal, the first mainstream book to feature an African American child. It was also the first of many books featuring Peter and the children of his — and Keats’s — neighborhood.
Will’s Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk
by Jane Sutcliffe, Illustrated by John Shelley
When Jane Sutcliffe set out to write a book about William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre, she ran into a problem: Will’s words keep popping up all over the place. What’s an author to do? After all, Will is responsible for such familiar phrases as “what’s done is done” and “too much of a good thing.” He even helped turn “household words” into household words. But — what better words are there to use to write about the greatest writer in the English language than his very own?
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams
by Jen Bryant, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
When he wrote poems, William Carlos Williams felt as free as the Passaic River rushing to the falls. His notebooks filled up, one after another. His words gave him freedom and peace, but he also knew he needed to earn a living. He became a doctor yet never stopped writing poetry. This biography celebrates the amazing man who found a way to earn a living and to honor his calling to be a poet.
Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People
By Monica Brown, Illustrated by Julie Paschkis
Once there was a little boy named Neftalí who loved wild things wildly and quiet things quietly. From the moment he could talk, he surrounded himself with words. Neftalí discovered the magic between the pages of books. When he was sixteen, he began publishing his poems as Pablo Neruda.
Pablo wrote poems about the things he loved―things made by his friends in the café, things found at the marketplace, and things he saw in nature. He wrote about the people of Chile and their stories of struggle. Because above all things and above all words, Pablo Neruda loved people.
Enormous Smallness: A Story of E.E. Cummings
by Matthew Burgess, Illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
Some of E.E. Cummings’s wonderful poems are integrating into a story that gives readers the music of his voice and a spirited, sensitive introduction to his poetry. This book emphasizes the bravery it takes to follow one’s own vision and the encouragement E.E. received to do just that.
Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig
By Deborah Hopkinson, Illustrated by Charlotte Voake
Deborah Hopkinson takes readers back to Victorian England and the home of budding young artist and animal lover Beatrix Potter. When Beatrix brings home her neighbor’s pet guinea pig so that she can practice painting it, well . . . it dies! Now what? Written in the form of a “picture letter,” this mostly true tale is a wonderful introduction to a beloved author/illustrator. An author’s note includes photographs and more information about Beatrix Potter’s life and work.
The book descriptions used are primarily from the publishers.
If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author
Author Ellen Levine and illustrator Kadir Nelson bring Henry “Box” Brown’s amazing story to life in Henry’s Freedom Box.
One of the most famous slaves on the Underground Railroad didn’t travel by foot. Henry Brown, with the help of two friends, mailed himself from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia. The wooden box he traveled in measured only 3 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet, 8 inches deep.
Henry Brown began his life as a slave in Louisa Country, Virginia in about 1815. In Henry’s Freedom Box, the author writes: “Henry and his brothers and sisters worked in the big house where the master lived. Henry’s master had been good to Henry and his family. But Henry’s mother knew things could change. ‘Do you see those leaves blowing in the wind? They are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families.'”
At age 15, his master gave Henry to his son. From then on, Henry worked in a tobacco factory away from his family.
Henry married Nancy, a slave owned by a different master. One day, he watched as pregnant Nancy and their three children were led away, sold to a North Carolina plantation. Henry knew he would never see them again.
With the loss of Nancy and their children, Henry decided to escape slavery and make his way to a free state. He devised a dangerous plan. He would travel by steamboat, train, and wagon in a wooden box. Henry asked his friend, a free black, James Smith, and Dr. Samuel Smith, a white man who opposed slavery, to help him.
On March 23, 1849, Henry was nailed shut in the box with only biscuits, some water, and a tool, called a gimlet, to make air holes. Dr. Smith shipped Henry to The Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society. He wrote on the box: “This Side Up With Care” hoping to keep Henry right side up during the trip. But Henry spent part of the trip upside down with blood rushing to his head. Once, Henry thought he would die that way, until two men on the steamboat moved Henry’s box and sat on top. Lucky for Henry the move put him right side up again.
Henry was delivered to the Anti-Slavery Society safely after spending 27 hours inside the box. Four men opened the wooden box and welcomed Henry to freedom. Newspapers reported Henry’s story and he became known around the world as Henry “Box” Brown, a free man.
Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Brian Pinkney
Born into slavery, Belle had to endure the cruelty of several masters before she escaped to freedom. But she knew she wouldn’t really be free unless she was helping to end injustice. That’s when she changed her name to Sojourner and began traveling across thecountry, demanding equal rights for black people and for women. Many people weren’t ready for her message, but Sojourner was brave and her truth was powerful. And slowly, but surely as Sojourner’s step-stomp stride, America began to change.
Martin and Mahalia His Words, Her Song
Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Brian Pinkney
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and his strong voice and powerful message were joined and lifted in song by world-renowned gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. It was a moment that changed the course of history and is imprinted in minds forever.
The Red Pencil
Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Shane W. Evans
Life in Amira’s peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when Janjaweed attackers arrive, unleashing unspeakable horrors. After losing nearly everything, Amira needs to find the strength to make the long journey on foot to safety at a refugee camp. She begins to lose hope, until the gift of a simple red pencil opens her mind — and all kinds of possibilities.
Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters
Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Stephen Alcorn
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus and sparked a boycott that changed America. Harriet Tubman helped more than three hundred slaves escape the South on the Underground Railroad. Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
The lives these women led are part of an incredible story about courage in the face of oppression; about the challenges and triumphs of the battle for civil rights; and about speaking out for what you believe in — even when it feels like no one is listening.
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down
Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Brian Pinkney
This picture book celebrates the momentous Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.
Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America
Andrea Davis Pinkney and Illustrator Brian Pinkney
Hand in Hand presents the stories of ten men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to modern day. Profiles of: Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B DuBois, A. Phillip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Barack H. Obama II.
Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound
Andrea Davis Pinkney
Berry Gordy began Motown in 1959 with an $800 loan from his family. He converted the garage of a residential house into a studio and recruited teenagers from the neighborhood, including: Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Diana Ross, to sing for his new label. The country was on the brink of a cultural revolution, and one of the most powerful agents of change in the following decade would be this group of young blackperformers from urban Detroit.
A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the
Creation of The Snowy Day
Andrea Davis Pinkney
and Illustrators Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
The story of The Snowy Day begins more than one hundred years ago, when Ezra Jack Keats was born in Brooklyn, New York. The family were struggling Polish immigrants. Despite Keats’ obvious talent, his father worried that Ezra’s dream of being an artist wasan unrealistic one. But Ezra was determined. For more than two decades, Ezra had kept pinned to his wall a series of photographs of an adorable African American child. In Keats’ hands, the boy morphed into Peter, a boy in a red snowsuit, out enjoying the pristine snow. The book became The Snowy Day, the first mainstream book to feature an African American child.
Andrea Davis Pinkney
The book descriptions used are primarily the publishers.
If you like this article, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author
