From the monthly archives:
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!
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.
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.”
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.”
Visit the Kids section of Ali’s Official Website that highlights the many accomplishments of this African-American super athlete.
