Mighty Jackie, The Strike Out Queen*
by Marissa Moss
Illustrated by C.F. Payne
ISBN: 978-0689863295
Picture it...a girl on the mound...pitching at an all-men game. First batter? Babe Ruth! Second batter? Lou Gehrig! This inspiration story is about discipline and tenacity...and the opportunity of a lifetime against baseball's greatest hitters. Find out how her dream took a sudden turn at the hands of the baseball commissioner of that era.
Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote*
by Tanya Lee Stone
Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon
ISBN: 978-0805079036
Although you may not readily recognize the name, you for sure know Susan B. Anthony, right? Well, Elizabeth Cady Stanton co-created the National Woman Suffrage Association with Anthony. This book chronicles her disenchantment with the political system from her childhood through the wildfire that she started in the political arena as an adult. She was even gutsy enough to run for Congress in an era where women couldn't vote (hey, the men could have voted for her, right?) Although the right to vote for women occurred eighteen years after Cady Stanton's death, she was the foundation for the movement toward equal rights.
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave*
by Laben Carrick Hill
Illustrated by Bryan Collier
ISBN: 978-0-316-10731-0
Beautifully illustrated, this book highlights the work and passion of a South Carolinian slave of the 1830s through the 1850s known simply as "Dave." The author was inspired by a pot he observed at a conference in Vermont that had a brief poem (almost akin to Japanese Haiku) that read: "I, made this Jar, all of cross/If, you don't repent, you will be, lost." The main section of the book illustrates (both with pictures and words) the craft of pottery and the love that is poured into the pots as well as out of them. The end of the book explains five works of pottery created by Dave. Subsequent to that, there is a rich Author's and Illustrator's Note that sheds further light on this artist. The author also includes some educational websites and further reading opportunities about Dave.
Double click...it's just that quick!
Alexander Graham Bell*
by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson
In this biography, we learn that Alexander Graham Bell was an inventor of many things. Born in Scotland and at just fifteen years old, he had already invented a wheat husker and a talking machine for the deaf. We also learn that besides the infamous telephone, Bell created a metal detector used to find a bullet inside US President Garfield. Bell also was interested in improving conditions for the deaf as his mother and wife were deaf. He worked in Boston where he taught deaf children. He became a US citizen in 1882.
Harry Houdini: A Magical Life*
by Elizabeth MacLeod
ISBN: 978-1553377702
Learn about the meager beginnings of the Hungarian immigrant (yep, and he tried to hide that fact!) that worked his way out of poverty through his passion...magic! You'll learn about his beginnings as the non-sleeping infant to his gutsy childhood where he runs away from his family overcoming a fallen stock market. You'll find out about his unpopular initial magic act and the transformation he made with his spirit and his strength to become an international star in the world of magic. The text structure highlights one portion of his life on the left side of the two-page layout, and the opposite side is structured like a scrapbook highlighting the text. Each scrapbook page has a cartooned picture of Houdini that comments on the an aspect of the page.
Does the name Rovert Wadlow ring a bell? No, the name is pretty obscure; I agree. Watch this video and learn about the man he became. Now that's no tall tale.
(book: Robert Wadlow: The Unique Life of a Boy that Became the World's.... by Jennifer Phillips)
I love biographies! I find them inspiring. Real people...like you and me... doing extraordinary things. Earlier this year, I read Three Cups of Tea. Now I want to be like Greg Mortinson. I read about this World War II flying ace in the book To Fly and Fight, and I even got to meet Col. Clarence "Bud" Anderson! He signed his autobiography for me, with his quivering hand trying to negotiation the curves of his name in his best penmanship, and I had to hold it at arms length all the way back to the car to keep it dry from my tears. Then there's Eleanor Roosevelt's story, A Life of Discovery (by Russel Freeman... he does such a nice job), and I couldn't believe how hard she worked through the adversity of her wealthy upbringing (you heard me right...adversity!) and less-than-fortunate physical make-up.
I'll confess a secret to you. I like to read about criminals. Maybe it's my law enforcement past, but it's interesting to get into their minds. I'm not compassionate with criminals; I do have to admit. I almost always have the feeling of "your actions aren't justified."
Do you have a favorite biography? Share it with me. I'll devour it!
Tending the Fire: The Story of Maria Martinez*
b y Juddi Morris
ISBN: 0-87358-665-4
This biography chronicles the story of Maria (Pond Lily) Martinez. This pottery artist was a member Tewa tribe (known as the Peaceful People of the Southwest) located in New Mexico. We learn of her childhood, and most importantly her budding love of pottery that was taught to her by her aunt. We follow her childhood through her interactions as school to her illness with smallpox and the pilgrimage across the mountains of El Santuario de Chimayo (The Santuary of Chimayo) in celebration of her survival of that illness. We learn of her romance before her wedding to Jillian, their marriage, their kinship rooted in pottery, and even the heartache felt when Jillian drank alcohol. We learn of the solace through the celebratory times and the hard times that were found in her art.
How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous*
by Georgia Bragg
Illustrated by Kevin O'Malley
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9817-6
Fresh off of press, this book is a hit with middle-school age students! It highlights the lives...and the deaths... of 19 famous people of the past. From Tut to Einstein, the reader is treated with short vignettes about a famous person's life, claim-to-fame, and almost always...unusual or grotesque death. Each vignette is under 10 pages long, and they make terrific read alouds! The voice of the book hooks kids and leaves them crying out for more. Here's an example of the introduction for Kind Henry VIII:" ... He wasn't nice to anyone, not even himself. One gobblefest after another of supersized feasts and troughs of wine, and Henry VIII transformed himself from a beautiful young king into Humpty Dumpty. And he had a great fall." After each life (and death) story, the author further explains the cause of the death (for instance, Tuberculosis, Manic-Depression Disorder, phobias, etc). You may want to read more, but you'll have to wrestle me to give up this book!
Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice*
b y Phillip M. Hoose
ISBN: 978-0-374-313227
This book tells the story of an Alabama teenager in the 1950s, Claudette Colvin. At the age of 15, on March 5, 1955 (3/4 of a year before Rosa Parks’ famed bus ride), this teenager refused to relinquish her city bus seat to a white lady in Montgomery, AL. She was dragged out of the bus by two officers, arrested, sexually harassed, and jailed for her refusal. Initially, peers congratulated her, but soon they shunned her and thought she was too extreme. Even though she was found guilty for disorderly conduct, assault (which she denies to this day), and violation of segregation orders, local leaders for equal rights were prepared to use her case to overturn the segregation laws of Montgomery, Alabama. However, Colvin was an unlikely candidate for them. Her skin was very dark, and she refused to straighten her hair. The leaders didn’t think she’d be an enduring symbol for their cause. Then, she became pregnant by a married man and was expelled from her high school. She moved in with her birth mother in non-segregated New York. Ultimately, Colvin did return to Alabama to testify about her arrest and charges during the Browder Versus Gayle court case with three other witnesses. The case challenged the bus segregation laws. After Colvin’s team won, they went on a bus ride in Montgomery, AL. Well, all the key players in the case did... except for Colvin. She wasn’t even asked.