Posts Tagged ‘biography’

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Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell

March 13, 2013

WomenDoctors_cvr_lorezWho Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell written by Tanya Lee Stone and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman.

Imagine a time when a woman wasn’t allowed to become a doctor.  This picture book biography tells the story of the first woman in America to succeed in breaking the barriers against women in the medical field. 

The story includes examples from Elizabeth’s childhood which show how tenacious she could be.  She wasn’t particularly drawn to medicine until a sick friend suggested she would rather have a female doctor and encouraged Elizabeth to be the first.

Even after Elizabeth succeeded in getting accepted to medical school (after many rejections) and graduated with the highest grades in her class, it wasn’t easy for her to find a place to practice medicine. 

The colorful and lively illustrations help bring the story to life for a younger audience.  An author’s note at the end of the story includes additional facts about Elizabeth Blackwell.

Recommended for grades K-2.

Donna C (Schimelpfenig Library)

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From the Good Mountain

March 1, 2013

The good mountain

From the Good Mountain: How Gutenberg Changed the World by James Rumford

The detail and the care that went into the first typeset book is wondrously depicted in this picture book biography. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the end papers are revealing, as the images morph from gold leaf to circuit board, leaving the reader with the question how will the book evolve as we go forward?

With deep respect for the past but an open mind to the future, this book struck a chord with me.

-Ramarie (Haggard library)

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Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives

February 19, 2013

 Timeless Thomas by Gene Barretta introduces a young audience to the variety of inventions Thomas Edison created that are still making a difference in our lives today.  Opening the story with Edison as a boy makes children aware that the curiosity leading to discovery starts in childhood.  Several anecdotes relate that Edison failed many times on the way to his successes- a valuable lesson in perseverance.  One example shows that Edison’s failure to invent one thing led to the invention of something else. 

The exaggerated illustrations are sure to add interest for the intended audience.  Each turn of the page brings a present day object paired with the invention from Edison’s lab that started it all.

Similar titles about inventors by the same author/illustrator are Now & Ben: the Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin and Neo Leo: the Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci .

Recommended for grades 2-5

Donna C (Schimelpfenig Library)

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Noah Webster & His Words

January 15, 2013

Noah Webster & His Words written by Jeri Chase Ferris and illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch.

While telling the story of Noah Webster’s work creating the first American dictionary, this book cleverly includes definitions for certain words [noun: basic unit of language]. As a child, Noah was more interested in reading books than in working on the family farm.  His teacher convinced Noah’s father to send him to college. 

Noah became a teacher rather than follow in the family tradition of farming. He wrote several books to use in the classroom.  One was a spelling book partly inspired by his conviction that Americans should spell words independently from the way the English spelled them.  He worked for almost 20 years on his book American Dictionary of the English Language.

In addition to the interesting facts contained in this children’s picture book biography, the cartoon illustrations help turn history into a fun experience.

Recommended for children in grades K-3. 

Donna C. (Schimelpfenig Library)

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Guts

December 3, 2012

Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books by Gary Paulsen tells the stories from his own life that inspired his fiction novels, such as Hatchet.

“In Guts, Gary tells the real stories behind the Brian books, the stories of the adventures that inspired him to write Brian Robeson’s story: working as an emergency volunteer; the death that inspired the pilot’s death in Hatchet; plane crashes he has seen and near-misses of his own. He describes how he made his own bows and arrows, and takes readers on his first hunting trips, showing the wonder and solace of nature along with his hilarious mishaps and mistakes. He shares special memories, such as the night he attracted every mosquito in the county, or how he met the moose with a sense of humor, and the moose who made it personal. There’s a handy chapter on “Eating Eyeballs and Guts or Starving: The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition.” Recipes included. Readers may wonder how Gary Paulsen survived to write all of his books — well, it took guts [publisher synopsis].”

We have an autographed, paperback copy of the book to give away!  To participate in the drawing for this book, leave a comment (at bottom of this post) with a valid email address.  A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, December 10, 2012.

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Monsieur Marceau

October 30, 2012

Monsieur Marceau by Leda Shubert

Have you ever seen a mime?  The name Marcel Marceau is synonymous in my mind with this unusual art, acting without words.  I really enjoyed this new picture book biography about Marceau, and I didn’t want anyone to overlook it, as people often do with picture book biographies.

What is a picture book biography?  It’s a brief, factually-based account of a person’s life, and it’s illustrated like a story book.  In the case of Monsieur Marceau, Gerard Dubois’ illustrations are fabulous, and beautifully illustrate the author’s text.  Many picture book biographies also include an afterword, which expands on the text and gives a reader more information.  Shubert includes an afterword, as well as a description of mime, source notes, and a list of books for further reading.

I learned that Marceau was quite heroic in addition to being a famous artist.  I hope you won’t overlook this wonderful new addition to the library!

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Life in the Ocean

May 28, 2012

Life in the Ocean introduces the reader to female oceanographer, Sylvia Earle.  I’m about to visit the ocean, so I was drawn to this book about Sylvia’s experiences and her many accomplishments, many of them underwater. I found her description of whales, who were as interested in her as she was in them, to be fascinating.

The sea is an entirely different, mysterious and unexplored world. Did you know we’ve only explored 5% of the ocean? We know more about outer space than our oceans…and yet, we are dependent on them! The author’s note gives a little more perspective on that.

With its colorfully detailed, “folk art style” illustrations, this is a pleasure to read and view.  I’m looking forward to seeing some sea creatures and giving them the respect they’re due.   How about you?

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Lady Liberty: A Biography

May 22, 2012

 Lady Liberty: A Biography by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Matt Tavares

This is the biography of the Statue of Liberty. It’s told through poems by various people involved in her creation, which is a wonderful way to tell the story. This book taught me tons of things I didn’t know – the statue was built by multiplying models over and over again until they were the desired size. It was the idea of a French law professor to build this statue for America and was funded partially by French citizens (and American citizens as well, when the government refused to pay for it). The book shows again that it’s often the people who have the least to give that give the most. They even named a piece of the statue after Joseph Pulitzer because of his fundraising campaign. The illustrations in this are great – it was totally new to me seeing the statue in its original copper color and I think that would be true for most kids as well. A wonderful book.

 

- Sarah P. (Davis)

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Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories of Growing Up Scieszka

May 14, 2012

Knucklehead:  Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories of Growing up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka

I picked up Knucklehead because someone recommended it as a funny read.  Jon Scieszka’s reputation as a favorite author of kids was a factor in my decision too.  I was not disappointed, and actually laughed out loud!  Jon Scieszka was the second oldest of six boys.  I grew up with one sibling, and the dynamics of larger families has always fascinated me.  Stories about a bunch of boys is hysterical, and mildly terrifying!  Scieszka has thrown in a couple of Knucklehead warnings for worried parents!

This 106 page memoir is filled with Scieszka’s old family photos, and short chapters that really don’t have to be read in order to be enjoyed.  I highly recommend it; it would be a great summer read-aloud.

Julie (Harrington)

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Here Come the Girl Scouts!

April 27, 2012

 Here Come the Girl Scouts! By Shana Corey, illustrated by Hadley Hooper

This is the amazing and true story of Juliette Gordon Low and the founding of the Girl Scouts. Low, known to her friends as Daisy, was not your typical prim and proper lady. She loved the outdoors and she loved adventure and she believed that girls could accomplish anything.

I’m not going to lie – I can’t give an honest review of this book. Not because I know the author or anything, simply because when I saw this book, I completely freaked out. You see, I was a Girl Scout for my entire childhood (ages 4-18) and I have a lot of great memories. This book is absolutely wonderful if you’ve ever been a Girl Scout – I got teary-eyed a number of times remembering all the fun things we did and the lessons I learned. Daisy’s story is inspiring and fascinating. The author manages to give a lot of information without an overwhelming amount of text, though there is even more information in the back of the book. Each two-page spread also provides a quote from Daisy, meant to inspire and educate girls. The illustrations here are very well-suited to the text – mostly done in shades of blue, green and brown (the main colors of Girl Scout uniforms). I love everything about this book!

-Sarah (Davis)

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