Biography

An Account of a Person's Life

Preface Statement

Biography appeals to children because, often, the story reads like a piece of fiction. Those types of biographies serve as a iink between fiction and nonfiction. The fictional techniques allow for a more liberal, less strict, telling of the facts. Authentic biographies are well-documented in order to retell a carefully researched tale of a person's life.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Readers Grades 3-5

Heart Man: Vivien Thomas, African-American Heart Surgery Pioneer

  • Written by Edwin Brit Wycoff, Photos by Shutterstock and also made available courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medical Archives, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, Lippincottt, Williams & Parish Library, Thomas Family/Spark Media, and the Vivien Thomas Family
  • Published in 2008 by Enslow Publishers, Inc., ISBN 0-7660-2849-6
  • This chapter book contains factual inserts that anticipate readers' questions and enhance learning. Supplementary materials include timeline, glossary, books for further reading, and relevant Internet addresses.*

Serena Williams

  • Written by Michael Bradley, Photo Research by Regina Flanagan
  • Published in 2005 by Benchmark Books, Marshall Cavendish Corporation, ISBN 0-7614-1760-5
  • This biography provides informational inserts in several chapters that enhance the reader's understanding; Bradley, a spartswriter and broadcaster,  provides a connection to relevant information outside of the biographical information. Readers can also given stats, a glossary, books for further reading, and related web sites.*

Readers Grades 6-9

Biography Today: Authors, Volume 18

  • Managing Editor: Cherie D. Abbey
  • Published in 2006 by Omnigraphics, ISBN 0-7808-0793-6
  • This high-interest compilation contains ten individual life stories. Biographies are broken down by headings and subheading for easy reference. Photographs, reading lists, and addresses are included.

Destined to Live: A True Story of a Child in the Holocaust

  • Written by Ruth Gruener, Photos used by permission from Ruth Gruener
  • Published in 2007 by Scholastic, ISBN 0-439-89204-X
  • This memoir captures the plight of a young Polish/Jewish girl during WWII. Her first person narration lends a voice of fear, but also of hope. Ruth's love and faith in her family provide the tone of survival throughout the piece. Told as a story, the dangers of hiding bring out her inner strength.*