Picture Book Biographies for All Ages (SCPL-YS) | Indian Prairie Public Library District

1) Turning pages: my life story

Author

Sotomayor, Sonia

Description

"Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells her own story for young readers for the very first time! As the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor has inspired young people around the world to reach for their dreams. But what inspired her? For young Sonia, the answer was books! They were her mirrors, her maps, her friends, and her teachers. They helped her to connect with her family in New York and in Puerto Rico, to deal with her diabetes...

2) The drum dream girl

Author

Engle, Margarita

Formats:

Book, Audiobook CD, eAudiobook

Description

Follows a girl in the 1920s as she strives to become a drummer, despite being continually reminded that only boys play the drums, and that there has never been a female drummer in Cuba. Includes note about Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, who inspired the story, and Anacaona, the all-girl dance band she formed with her sisters.

3) Magic ramen: the story of Momofuku Ando

Author

4) Nina: a story of Nina Simone

Author

Description

"A biography of Nina Simone, an acclaimed singer whose music gave voice to the struggle for racial equality during the Civil Rights Movement"--

5) Shark lady: the true story of how Eugenie Clark became the ocean's most fearless scientist

Author

Formats:

Book, Audiobook CD, Braille, eBook, Kindle

Description

"At 9 years old, Eugenie Clark developed an unexpected passion for sharks after a visit to the Battery Park Aquarium in New York City. At the time, sharks were seen as mindless killing machines, but Eugenie knew better and set out to prove it. Despite many obstacles in her path, Eugenie was able to study the creatures she loved so much. From her many discoveries to the shark-related myths she dispelled, Eugenie's wide scientific contributions led...

6) Planting stories: the life of librarian and storyteller Pura Belpre

Author

Description

"From the author of MONSTER TRUCK and STARRING CARMEN comes a gorgeous and lyrical story about Pura Belpre, a Puerto Rican librarian who changed the world"--

7) The cat man of Aleppo

Author

Series

Formats:

Description

Alaa loves Aleppo, but when war comes his neighbors flee to safety, leaving their many pets behind. Alaa decides to stay -- he can make a difference by driving an ambulance, carrying the sick and wounded to safety. One day he hears hungry cats calling out to him on his way home. They are lonely and scared, just like him. He feeds and pets them to let them know they are loved. The next day more cats come, and then even more! There are too many for...

8) Drawing on walls: a story of Keith Haring

Author

Burgess, Matthew

Formats:

Book, eBook, Kindle

Description

Truly devoted to the idea of public art, Haring created murals wherever he went. From Matthew Burgess, the much-acclaimed author of Enormous Smallness, comes Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring. Often seen drawing in white chalk on the matte black paper of unused advertising space in the subway, Haring's iconic pop art and graffiti-like style transformed the New York City underground in the 1980s. A member of the LGBTQ community, Haring died...

9) Exquisite: the poetry and life of Gwendolyn Brooks

Author

Formats:

Description

"Before Gwendolyn Brooks became the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize, she was a little girl who dared to dream. Gwendolyn grew up surrounded by fine poetry. From an early age, she memorized the poems her father read to her and soon began to pen her own. Gwendolyn found inspiration all around her: in the colorful clouds overhead; in the people in her neighborhood; in loss, loneliness, and love. This picture book biography shares Gwendolyn's...

10) Hello neighbor!: the kind and caring world of Mister Rogers

Author

Cordell, Matthew

Description

"How was Mister Rogers' Neighborhood created, and who was the man that started it all? This moving and informative picture book explores the history of this acclaimed television show and its inspiring creator in an accessible way for children. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was groundbreaking in its own quiet, generous way. It introduced art, professions, food and even highlighted difficult subjects, like losing a loved one and divorce. This information...

11) Selena: Queen of Tejano music

Author

Description

"Selena Quintanilla's music career began at the age of nine when she started singing in her family's band. She went from using a hairbrush as a microphone to traveling from town to town to play gigs. But Selena faced a challenge: People said that she would never make it in Tejano music, which was dominated by male performers. Selena was determined to prove them wrong."--provided by publisher.

12) Starstruck: the cosmic journey of Neil deGrasse Tyson

Author

Krull, Kathleen

Series

Step into reading. Step 3 book

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

"A picture-book biography on science superstar Neil deGrasse Tyson, the groundbreaking American astrophysicist whose work has inspired a generation of young scientists and astronomers to reach for the stars!"--

13) Prairie boy: Frank Lloyd Wright turns the heartland into a home

Author

Rosenstock, Barb

Description

Details the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, a young boy from the prairie, who introduced organic architecture, a style he created based on the relationship between buildings and the natural world.

14) Osnat and her dove: the true story of the world's first female rabbi

Author

Formats:

Book, eBook, Kindle

Description

Osnet, the world's first female rabbi, was born almost five hundred years ago, during a time when few girls were allowed to read. Her father was a great scholar whose house was filled with books, and she convinced him to teach her. She grew up to teach others, becoming a wise and famous scholar in her own right.-- Adapted from inside front jacket flap and Amazon.com.

15) Mario and the hole in the sky: how a chemist saved our planet

Author

Rusch, Elizabeth

Description

The true story of how Mexican-American scientist Mario Molina helped solve the ozone crisis of the 1980s and went on to become a Nobel laureate and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His inspiring story gives hope in the fight against global warming. Full color.

16) Queen of physics: how Wu Chien Shiung helped unlock the secrets of the atom

Author

Robeson, Teresa

Series

People Who Shaped Our World

Formats:

Book, eBook, Kindle

Description

"When Wu Chien Shiung was born in China 100 years ago, girls did not attend school. But her parents named their daughter "Courageous Hero" and encouraged her love of science. This biography follows Wu as she battles sexism at home and racism in the United States of America to become what Newsweek magazine called the "Queen of Physics" for her work on how atoms split"--

17) Nacho's nachos: the story behind the world's favorite snack

Author

Description

"A picture book biography of Ignacio (Nacho) Anaya, a waiter at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, and the events surrounding the creation, in 1940, of the globally-popular tortilla chip, cheese, and jalapen̄o pepper snack that bears his name-nachos"--

18) Bessie the motorcycle queen

Author

Smith, Charles R

Description

"Hop on the bike with Bessie Stringfield, the motorcycle queen of Miami, in this powerful picture book from Coretta Scott King medalist Charles R. Smith, Jr. and debut picture book illustrator Charlot Kristensen. In 1929, 18-year-old Bessie Stringfield hopped on her motorcycle and headed out on an adventure, an unusual choice for a young Black woman at the time. Paying her way by winning motorcycle races, she criss-crossed the country through small...

19) If you're a kid like Gavin

Author

Description

Recounts the true story of a young adult transgender activist who stood up, spoke out and fought for civil rights after his school discriminated against him, and how he is currently raising awareness and education for everyone.

20) Out of the shadows: how Lotte Reiniger made the first animated fairytale movie

Author

Robinson, Fiona

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

"Lotte Reiniger (1899-1981) was a German film director and animator best known for The Adventures of Prince Achmed, which was released in 1926 and is the oldest surviving animated movie. (It came out a full 11 years before Disney's Snow White!) As a little kid, Reiniger loved reading fairytales and fell in love with puppetry. At school, she learned about paperschnitte, or papercuts, which helped her create her signature style of silhouettes. She grew...