by K.M. Koystal and Benjamin Franklin, Illustrated by Fred Harper
Discover history through the eyes of one of the smartest, funniest, and coolest figures from America’s past. Ben gives sage advice on everything from good citizenship, manners, friendship, and being happy.
Ben Franklin & the Magic Squares
By Frank Murphy, Illustrated by Richard Walz
A funny, entertaining introduction to Ben Franklin and his many inventions, including the story of how he created the “magic square.” A magic square is a box of nine numbers. They are arranged so that any line of three adds up to the same number, even on the diagonal.
What’s the Big Idea Ben Franklin
By Jean Fritz, Illustrated by Margaret Tomes
A fun historic tale by Newbery Honor-winning author, Jean Fritz! No matter how busy he was, Ben Franklin always found time to try out new ideas. A man of many talents, he was an ambassador, a printer, an almanac maker, a politician, and even a vegetarian (for a time.)
Ben Franklin Thinks Big
By Shelia Keenan, Illustrated by Gustavo Mazali
Ben Franklin was a famous inventor, statesman, and writer who helped the thirteen colonies become the United States. From inventing the lightning rod to helping write the Declaration of Independence, his big ideas had a lasting impact on American history.
Beginning readers will learn about the milestones in Ben Franklin’s life in this Level Two I Can Read biography. This biography includes bonus materials, complete with a timeline and historical illustrations, including Franklin’s electrical machine invention and his leaf print money that couldn’t be counterfeited. 4-8 years
When I Grow Up: Benjamin Franklin
By Annmarie Anderson, Illustrated by Gerald Kelley
Benjamin Franklin is one of America’s most beloved Founding Fathers and a man of many talents. He is most well-known for discovering electricity. But he was also an author, and editor, a printer, and a diplomat. And he invented many things we still use today. This book takes the reader on an exciting journey from Ben’s childhood to his adulthood as a famous American.
Who Was Ben Franklin
By Dennis Brindell Fradin, Illustrated by John O’Brien
Ben Franklin was the scientist who, with the help of a kite, discovered that lightning is electricity. He was also a statesman, an inventor, a printer, and an an author. He was a man of such amazingly varied talents that some people claimed he had magical powers.
Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
By Gene Barretta
What would you do if you lived in a community without a library, hospital, post office, or fire department? If you were Ben Franklin, you’d set these up yourself. Franklin also designed the lightning rod. He suggested the idea of daylight savings time. And he invented bifocals. All were inspired by his common sense and intelligence.
Benjamin Franklin: Inventor of the Nation
By Mark Shulman, Illustrated by Kelly Tindall
Benjamin Franklin has been called one of the most accomplished and influential Americans in history, and his role in shaping the United States has had a lasting impact that is still felt today. From his birth in Boston in 1706 to his days as a printer, inventor, and politician.
Benjamin Franklin: Inventor of the Nation! tells the story of “the First American” in an accessible graphic novel format. Franklin’s research into topics as varied as electricity, meteorology, demography, and oceanography were as wide-ranging and important as his travels, which took him across the globe as a diplomat for the newly founded United States toward the end of the 18th century.
Benjamin Franklin (Giants of Science)
By Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Benjamin Franklin was a famous inventor and multitasker. He’s best remembered as one of America’s Founding Fathers. But he was also a scientist. His experiments led to important discoveries about the nature of electricity. He famously demonstrated that electricity and lightning are one in the same.
A Ben of All Trades: The Most Inventive Boyhood of Benjamin Franklin
By Michael J. Rosen, Illustrated by Matt Tavares
Young Benjamin Franklin wants to be a sailor, but his father won’t hear of it. The other trades he tries — candle maker, joiner, boot closer, turner — bore him through and through. Curious and inventive, Ben prefers to read, swim, fly his kite, and fly his kite while swimming. But each time he fails to find a profession, he takes some important bit of knowledge with him.
That tendency is exactly what leads him to become the astonishingly versatile genius we remember today. Inspired by The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Michael J. Rosen’s tale captures Ben’s spirit in playful language, while illustrations by Matt Tavares follow Ben from the workbench to the water in vivid detail.
The Remarkable Benjamin Franklin
By Cheryl Harness
No one could have thought up a more amazing character than the living, breathing Benjamin Franklin. He was everything from a “soapmaker, candle dipper, and printer” to a “postmaster, political activist, community reformer, revolutionary, statesman, international diplomat, and first great citizen of a nation which he, as much or more than anyone, helped to create.”
John, Paul, George & Ben
By Lane Smith
Once there were four lads…John [Hancock], Paul [Revere], George [Washington], and Ben [Franklin]. Oh yes, there was also Tom [Jefferson], but he was annoyingly independent and hardly ever around. These lads were always getting into trouble for one reason or another. In other words, they took a few…liberties. And to be honest, they were not always appreciated. This is the story of five little lads before they became five really big Founding Fathers.
The book descriptions used are primarily from the publishers.
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“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
Poet Emma Lazarus wrote these famous words as part of a sonnet for a fundraising auction.
As a girl, Emma wrote poetry and translated poems from German and French into English. Her father, recognizing her talent, published her first book of poems, Poems and translations by Emma Lazarus, written between the ages of Fourteen and Seventeen.
Emma met and then wrote to one of America’s best known poets, Ralph Waldo Emerson, when she was nineteen. She and Emerson worked together as student and mentor. Emma continued to write and publish books of poetry.
Emma also dedicated herself to helping Russian Jewish refugees escaping persecution in their homeland. The refugees lived in poor conditions on Ward’s Island in New York Harbor. Emma brought them clothing and food, set up English classes, and a trade school. She wrote about their plight hoping they would be accepted into American society.
In 1883, a committee invited Emma to participate in a fundraising campaign to provide a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. The committee asked her to write a sonnet to be auctioned to help raise money for the pedestal.
The statue, a gift from France, sat disassembled in crates on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. The people of France paid for the statue. Now Americans raised money to pay for the pedestal to support it. But an economic depression made fundraising difficult.
At first, Emma declined the invitation to write a sonnet. Not only was the auction a week away, but as she told a pedestal committee member, Ms. Harrison, “A poem written to order would be flat.” Ms. Harrison asked Emma to think about the Russian Jewish refugees she had been helping. They could inspire her poem.
Emma thought it over. It seemed to her that the statue would light the way for immigrants entering New York Harbor. The Statue of Liberty would welcome them to their new home. She decided to write the poem and called it “The New Colossus.”
Joseph Pulitzer, the publisher of The New York World, asked people around the country to contribute money to build the pedestal. To help with the cause, he published Emma’s poem in his newspaper.
Pulitzer raised over $100,000. Most of the contributions were less than $1.00. The pedestal was built and the statue reassembled. President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty on October 28, 1886.
In 1903, words from Emma’s “The New Colossus” were inscribed on a plague placed in the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. Unfortunately, Emma had died in 1887. She never knew that her words, inspired by refugees, welcomed generations of new immigrants seeking freedom in America.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”
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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
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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
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
Amelia Earhart was a woman of many firsts. In 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1935, she became the first woman to fly across the Pacific. From her early years to her mysterious 1937 disappearance while attempting a flight around the world, readers will find her life a fascinating story. 8-12 years
Daring Amelia
By Barbara Lowell, Illustrated by Jez Tuya
Even as a kid, Amelia Earhart was always looking for adventures. She had mud ball fights, explored caves, and even built a roller coaster in her backyard. The adventures continued as she grew up.
Amelia took flying lessons and was soon performing stunts in the sky. She became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Still, Amelia wanted to achieve more. She set out to fly around the world. Tragedy struck when Amelia was unable to find the smallisland in the Pacific Ocean she needed to land on. Amelia Earhart is remembered today as a daring explorer who loved to fly. 6-8 years. Teacher Guide available at:https://barbaralowell.com/teacher-guide-2/
Trailblazers: Amelia Earhart, The First Woman Over the Atlantic
By Sally J. Morgan, Illustrated by David Shepard
On June 19, 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to cross the Atlantic in an airplane. From building her own roller coaster as a child, to climbing to the roof of her boarding school, Amelia was a born daredevil. Find out how the girl who loved watching air shows blazed a trail in aviation! 8-12 years
Amelia Earhart: Pioneer of the Sky!
By James Buckley, Jr., Illustrated by Kelly Tindall
When Amelia Earhart became the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. She immediately became an American icon and a subject of endless fascination for generations to come. This book is the story of the bold and daring aviator’s life presented in graphic novel format, with full-color illustrations and historically accurate details. From her hardscrabble childhood to her final flight—and mysterious disappearance—Earhart’s journey will entertain, captivate, and inspire readers of all ages. 8-12 years
It’s Her Story — Amelia Earhart, A Graphic Novel
By Kim Moldofsky, Illustrated by Alan Brown
Amelia Earhart was the first women to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She piloted many record-breaking flights, became an author, advised engineers, taught college students, and defended women’s rights. And then somewhere in the South Pacific, she disappeared on an attempted flight around the world. This is her story. 7-10 years
Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride
By Pam Munoz Ryan, Illustrated by Brian Selznick
Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt were birds of a feather. Not only were they two of the most admired and respected women of all time, they were also good friends.
On a brisk and cloudless evening in April 1933, Amelia and Eleanor did the unprecedented: They stole away from a White House dinner, commandeered an Eastern Air Transport jet, andtook off on a glorious adventure, while still dressed in their glamorous evening gowns. 7-10 years
Amelia Earhart: The Legend of the Lost Aviator
By Shelley Tanaka, Illustrated by David Craig
Ever since Amelia Earhart and her plane disappeared on July 2, 1937, people have wanted to know more about this remarkable woman. This book follows the charismatic aviator from her first sight of an airplane at the age of ten to the last radio transmission she made before she vanished. 8-12 years
Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic
By Robert Burleigh, Illustrated by Wendell Minor
Robert Burleigh has captured Amelia Earhart’s first solo flight across the Atlantic in 1932. She was the first woman and only the second person to do this. 4-8 years
When Amelia Earhart Build a Roller Coaster
By Mark Weakland, Illustrated by Oksana Griviana
Amelia Earhart was one of America’s most famous aviators. But do you know what she was like as a child? From running on the river bluffs and playing football to building a roller coaster, Amelia was an active and confident child. Her childhood story will help young readers connect to this historic figure and inspire them. 6-12 years
I am Unstoppable: A Little Book About Amelia Earhart
By Brad Meltzer, Illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos
This friendly, fun biography focuses on the traits that made Amelia Earhart great—the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. In this new board book format, the very youngest readers can learn about one of America’s icons a lively, conversational way. The short text focuses on drawing inspiration from the famous pilot and includes an interactive element and factual tidbits that young kids will be able to connect with. 2-5 years
Amelia Lost
By Candace Fleming
In alternating chapters, Candace Fleming deftly moves readers back and forth between Amelia’s life, from childhood to her last flight, and the exhaustive search for Amelia and her missing plane. With photos, maps, and handwritten notes from Amelia, this book tackles everything from the history of flight to what Amelia liked to eat while flying. 8 and up
Amelia Earhart: A Photographic Story of a Life
By Tanya Lee Stone
With more than 100 full-color photographs, illustrations, and detailed sidebars, this book celebrates an aviation pioneer who changed how the world is viewed: aviatrix Amelia Earhart. 10 years and up
The descriptions used are primarily from the publishers.
If you liked 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
In this young graphic novel, Dounia, a grandmother, tells her granddaughter the story even her son has never heard: how, as a young Jewish girl in Paris, she was hidden away from the Nazis by a series of neighbors and friends who risked their lives to keep her alive when her parents had been taken to concentration camps. Hiddenends on a tender note, with Dounia and her mother rediscovering each other as World War II ends and as a young girl in present-day France becomes closer to her grandmother, who can finally tell her story. 6-10 years
Behind the Bookcase: Miep Gies, Anne Frank and the Hiding Place
By Barbara Lowell, Illustrated by Valentina Toro
Anne Frank’s diary is a gift to the world because of Miep Gies. One of the protectors of the Frank family, Miep recovered the diary after the family was discovered by Nazis, and then returned it to Otto Frank after World War II. Displaced from her own home as a child during World War I, Miep had great empathy for Anne, and she found ways―like talking about Hollywood gossip and fashion trends―to engage her. The story of their relationship―and the impending danger to the family in hiding―unfolds in this unique perspective of Anne Frank’s widely known story. 7 and up
Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued
By Peter Sis
In December 1938, a young Englishman canceled a ski vacation and went instead to Prague to help the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Nazis who were crowded into the city. Setting up a makeshift headquarters in his hotel room, Nicholas Winton took names and photographs from parents desperate to get their children out of danger. He raised money, found foster families in England, arranged travel and visas, and, when necessary, bribed officials and forged documents. In the frantic spring and summer of 1939, as the Nazi shadow fell over Europe, he organized the transportation of almost 700 children to safety.
Then, when the war began and no more children could be rescued, he put away his records and told no one. It was only fifty years later that a chance discovery and a famous television appearance brought Winton’s actions to light. 6-8 years
The Butterfly
By Patricia Polacco
Ever since the Nazis marched into Monique’s small French village, terrorizing it, nothing surprises her, until the night Monique encounters “the little ghost” sitting at the end of her bed. She turns out to be a girl named Sevrine, who has been hiding from the Nazis in Monique’s basement. Playing after dark, the two become friends, until, in a terrifying moment, they are discovered, sending both of their families into a nighttime flight. 6-9 years
Hold on to Your Music: The Inspiring True Story of the Children of Willesden Lane
By Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen, Illustrated by Sonia Possentini
In pre-World War II Vienna, Lisa Jura was a musical prodigy who dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. But when enemy forces threatened the city—particularly the Jewish people that lived there—Lisa’s parents were forced to make a difficult decision. They chose to send Lisa to London for safety through the Kindertransport—a rescue effort that relocated Jewish children. As Lisa yearned to be reunited with her family while living in a home for refugee children on Willesden Lane, her music became a beacon of hope for those around her. 4-8 years
Survivors of the Holocaust: True Stories of Six Extraordinary Children
By Kath Shackleton, Illustrated By Zane Whittingham
Between 1933 and 1945, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were responsible for the persecution of millions of Jews across Europe. This graphic novel tells the true stories of six Jewish children who survived the Holocaust.
From suffering the horrors of Auschwitz, to hiding from Nazi soldiers in war-torn Paris, to sheltering from the Blitz in England, each true story is a powerful testament to the survivors’ courage. These remarkable testimonials serve as a reminder never to allow such a tragedy to happen again.
Features a current photograph of each contributor and an update about their lives, along with a glossary and timeline to support reader understanding of this period in world history. 10-14 years
The Whispering Town
By Jennifer Elvgren, Illustrated by Fabio Santomauro
The Whispering Town is the story of neighbors in a small Danish fishing village who, during the Holocaust, shelter a Jewish family waiting to be ferried to safety in Sweden. It is 1943 in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Anett and her parents are hiding a Jewish woman and her son, Carl, in their cellar until a fishing boat can take them across the sound to neutral Sweden. The soldiers patrolling their street are growing suspicious, so Carl and hismama must make their way to the harbor despite a cloudy sky with no moon to guide them. Worried about their safety, Anett devises a clever and unusual plan for their safe passage to the harbor. Based on a true story. 4-8 years
Stone Angel
By Jane Yolen, Illustrated by Katie May Green
The Nazis may have taken their home, but the family still has a guardian angel. A little girl and her family live happily in Paris until Nazi soldiers arrive during World War II. They must flee or risk being sent to a concentration camp. They run into the woods where they meet resistance fighters. But they’re still not safe. They must cross tall mountains and sail in a rickety boat to England. Yet the whole time they’re struggling to survive, the little girl thinks of the stone angel near their apartment in Paris and imagines it watches over her family. 5-8 years
What Was the Holocaust
By Gail Herman, Illustrated by Jerry Hoare
The Holocaust was a genocide on a scale never before seen, with as many as twelve million people killed in Nazi death camps—six million of them Jews. Gail Herman traces the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, whose rabid anti-Semitism led first to humiliating anti-Jewish laws, then to ghettos all over Eastern Europe, and ultimately to the Final Solution. She presents just enough information for an elementary-school audience in a readable, well-researched book that covers one of the most horrible times in history. 8-12 years
Benno and the Night of Broken Glass
By Meg Wiviott, Illustrated by Josee Bisaillon
A neighborhood cat observes the changes in German and Jewish families in its town during the period leading up to Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass that becomes the true beginning of the Holocaust. The cat’s view introduces the Holocaust to children in a gentle way. 3-8 years
Star of Fear, Star of Hope
By Jo Hoestlandt, Illustrated by Joanna Kang
Set in France, during the Nazi occupation of World War II, a gentile child named Helen recalls the mounting persecution of her Jewish friend. She wonders why does her best friend, Lydia, have to wear a yellow star? Why are people in hiding and using strange names? What is Lydia afraid of? Touching upon the Holocaust with sensitivity and poignancy, Star of Fear, Star of Hope will helpreaders understand this difficult time in history. 7-10 years
The Harmonica
By Tony Johnston, Illustrated by Ron Mazellan
When the Nazis invade Poland, a family is split apart. The parents are sent to one concentration camp, and their son to another. Only his father’s gift, a harmonica, keeps the boy’s hopes alive and miraculously ensures his survival. 7-10 years
The Wren and the Sparrow
By J. Patrick Lewis, Illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg
An allegorical tale about Nazi occupied Poland in which a town’s residents are forced to turn over their musical instruments. A young student rescues the hurdy-gurdy of her teacher, who has presumably befallen a terrible fate, and later, a young boy finds the instrument and intends to pass it — and the importance of remembering — on to his future grandchildren. 8-12 years
Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II
By Marisabina Russo
Rachel’s Oma (her grandmother) has two picture albums. In one the photographs show only happy times — from after World War II, when she and her daughters came to America. But the other album includes much sadder times from before — when their life in Germany was destroyed by the Nazi’s rise to power. As long as Rachel can remember, Oma has closed the other album when she’s gotten to the sad part. But today Oma will share it all. Today Rachel will hear about what her grandmother, her mother, and her aunts endured. And she’ll see how the power of this Jewish family’s love for one another gave them the strength to survive. 6-10 years
Irena Sandler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto
By Susan Goldman Rubin, Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker, helped nearly four hundred Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto and into hiding during World War II. 6-9 years
The book descriptions used are 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
