Six Biographies (almost)

Six Biographies: Guess How Many are of Women?

Only One, so that gets top billing!

Who says Women Can’t be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman The true and factual story of how Elizabeth Blackwell became a doctor in 1849, including her many rejections from medical school. While the words are a bit stuffy, the illustrations are eye-catching and help to tell the story in an engaging way. The endnotes add more information about Elizabeth and her life as a doctor. In addition to being a doctor, Elizabeth was a single adoptive mother to a young orphan girl. Groundbreaking woman in so many ways!
	Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives by Gene Barretta Thomas Edison was an extraordinary man and this brief glimpse of his life showcases his amazingness! While we do not learn much about Edison’s biographical information, we learn a great deal about his inventions. Each two page spread includes a Present Day (on the left) and Edison’s Lab (on the right), where the conveniences we take for granted today are traced back to one or more of Edison’s inventions. Very clever. The last two pages include brief tidbits about employees in the Edison labs as well as Thomas Trivia. My favorite: Edison nicknamed two of his children Dot and Dash.
If You Spent A Day with Thoreau at Walden Pond by Robert Burleigh, Paintings by Wendell Minor A great companion piece to D. B. Johnson’s books (Henry Climbs a Mountain, Henry Works, etc.) in which Thoreau is represented by a good natured bear. While this book is more realistic, it’s appeal is to slightly older readers who may be interested in Thoreau and his beliefs in the simple life. The endnotes tell more details about Thoreau. Taken together with Johnson’s works, these books give a thorough picture of Thoreau.

	Henry and the Cannons: An Extraordinary True Story of the American Revolution by Don Brown Henry Knox, the First Secretary of War, traveled from Boston to Fort Ticonderoga, New York, to pick up several cannons and bring them back to Boston. Of course it was winter and they had to travel through snow, icy, sleet and mud to haul, pull, carry and otherwise transport the cannons to Boston. When they returned, they were able to scare the Redcoats out of town. Hooray for Henry and the men who helped him. This story is well-told and an interesting piece of history. While told in picture book form, it would still be appropriate for those fourth through sixth graders who might be studying the Revolutionary War.
	Monsieur Marceau by Leda Schubert, illustrations by Gerard DuBois A brief biography of Marceau, moving quickly through his childhood and his time as a resistance fighter during WWII, into his great career as a mime. While the pictures are lovely and the tales of his work onstage are great, the story leaves out too much. Why did he change his name to avoid having people know he was Jewish? What did it mean that his father died in a concentration camp? Who was Charlie Chaplin? Told in bits and pieces, there is too much left out, too much background knowledge that a child would need to understand the important bits. Older readers may enjoy the story, but the language is too simple for middle schoolers and above.
Abe Lincoln’s Dream by Lane Smith While not technically a biography, this tells the story of one of Lincoln’s last dreams; Smith uses a small girl’s trip through the White House as a vehicle to show Lincoln that what he hoped to accomplish has come to pass, or as Quincy says: “We’re working on that.” A beautifully illustrated story with some historical significance, this would add dimension to any child who is fascinated with the presidents; and who isn’t?

Any readers have a desire to be children’s book authors? We need someone (or several someones) to step up and start writing more biographies about women. While most of these books were good and worth reading and sharing, the fact that only one in six features a woman is pathetic!