From the monthly archives:
Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina by Maria Tallchief, with Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Gary Kelley (Viking Juvenile, 1999)
Native American ballerina Maria Tallchief tells the story of her own childhood up to her move to New York at seventeen in pursuit of a dance career.
A few images of Tallchief can be seen at The Ballerina Gallery.
Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought) by KathleenKrull, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt (Harcourt, 2000)
This take-charge warrior queen effectively resisted slave traders in West Africa (present-day Angola), appointed women and influenced politics forty years and beyond.
Biographical info on Nzingha is available.
Also visit the Official Web Site of the Republic of Angola.
Steamboat! The Story of Captain Blanche Leathers by Judith Heide Gilliland, illustrated by Holly Meade (DK, 2000)
Blanche Leathers didn’t listen when as a child she was told, “Girls don’t grow up to be steamboatmen.” America’s first woman steamboat captain proudly sailed the Mississippi River for years.
View a photo of a steamboat Captain Blanche Leathers commanded, on this link to the Tennessee Genealogy & History site.
Paul Cezanne: A Painter’s Journey by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by works from the National Gallery of Art (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2006)
French artist Cezanne and his work are featured in this introduction to this talented Post-Impressionist painter.
The National Gallery of Art exhibit, Cezanne in Provence, offers a chronology, images and background. Visit today!
Shake, Rattle & Roll: The Founders of Rock & Roll by Holly George-Warren, illustrated by Laura Levine (Houghton Mifflin, 2001)
In a page of text devoted to The Everly Brothers, readers learn Phil and his brother Don started out singing country but crossed over to rock and roll. Wake Up Little Susie was one of their biggest hits.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, a timeline and short bio of The Everly Brothers is posted at RockHall.com.
I Shook Up the World: The Incredible Life of Muhammad Ali by Maryum Ali, illustrated by Patrick Johnson (Beyond Words Publishing, 2004)
Three-time winner of the World Heavyweight boxing championship, an Olympic gold medal and numerous other awards, Ali was born Cassius Clay, Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky. One of his most famous quotes is “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.”
The Official Site of the U.S. Olympic Team highlights the many accomplishments of Ali, an African-American super athlete.
The Life of Ben Franklin: An American Original by Yona Zeldis McDongough, illustrated by Malcah Zeldis (Holt, 2006)
Author, politician, and inventor were just a few of Franklin’s occupations. The story of his life and achievements are detailed in this biography.
Time Magazine’s Online Edition has a Special Report on Franklin, titled “Citizen Ben’s Great Virtues.”
Mack Made Movies by Don Brown (Roaring Brook Press, 2003)
“In 1900, twenty-year-old Mack Sennett was a horse’s rear end.” Who can resist an opening line like that? Read more about the silent moviemaker of the slapstick Keystone Kops and Charlie Chaplin.
A mini-biography and a listing of Sennett’s is available on a movie database site.
