What Is Biography?
Biography is nonfiction that chronicles someone's life by providing facts and highlighting important events that can be documented. Authentic biographies are carefully researched, while fictionalized biography might invent dialogue and present information in a story format. The present-day trend is towards authentic biography and an increasing volume of picture book biographies. Other forms of biographies include simplified biographies with easy-to-read text, partial biographies which include only a portion of the person's life, complete biographies, collective biographies which focus on several persons with similar role relationships, autobiographies, and memoirs (Kiefer, 2010)
According to Kiefer (2010), quality children's biographies include fast-moving narratives, subjects that enrich children's knowledge, accurate information, authenticated sources, balanced portrayals, documented quotations, believable invented dialogue, appropriate choice of the point of view, research materials smoothly integrated into the narrative, presentation of the character as multidimensional and believable, and a fair and balanced interpretation.
Additional Information and Resources
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Teaching Resources