From the category archives:
A Picture Book of Sacagawea by David A. Alder, illustrated by Dan Brown (Holiday House, 2001)
A translator and guide on the Lewis and Clark expedition, this Native American woman was an invaluable member of the team.
The PBS special Lewis & Clark: Inside the Corps offers more biographical information on Sacagawea.
The Year I Didn’t Go to School by Giselle Potter (Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books, 2002)
What a year! Traveling around Italy with her family’s theater troupe when she was seven, Potter gives a first-person account of this magical time.
Puppeters of America can link you up with a guild, festival or event in the US and Canada.
My Prairie Year: Based on the Diary of Elenore Plaisted by Brett Harvey, illustrated by Deborah Ray Kogan (Holiday House, 1986)
From Maine to the Dakotas in 1889, nine-year-old Elenore, describes her family’s life, blizzards, surprise packages from Maine, and wildflowers.
Curious about what happened to Elenore Plaisted? Elenore Plaisted Abbott studied with Howard Pyle and became a children’s book illustrator. Visit the
Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee, illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy(Charlesbridge, 2005)
Meet Pandit, an Indian diplomat and first female president of the UN. In a few short paragraphs we learn about her great accomplishments. I love her quote: “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.”
Read up on the United Nations at their web site.
Flight by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Mike Wimmer (Putnam Juvenile paperback, 1997)
This is one of my all-time favorite picture book biographies. It is the dramatic account of Lindbergh’s solitary flight across the Atlantic in 1927 with picture-perfect artwork.
Information about the flight, flight timeline, Spirit of St. Louis, photos, documents, articles, and biographies can be found at CharlesLindbergh.com.
