Biography book images cartoons

I love introducing kids to ordinary people who did amazing things by reading picture book biographies for kids. Don’t you? These biographies for kids are inspirational narrative nonfiction texts that are written like a story, appealing to children with beautiful illustrations.

I chose these books after reading thousands of picture books and understanding what children like because my background isn’t only in book reviews but in education. Plus, I’m a parent of two. I update this book list with the best newly published books when I read them.

A reading strategy I like to use with children reading nonfiction is connecting to background knowledge. As you read these biographies, both picture books for preschool and elementary ages, as well as biographical story collections for upper elementary and middle school, help your kids connect to what they’re reading. 

Start with prompts like:

How are you like or not like this person?

Do you know someone who is like this person?

What other biographies or famous people does this person remind you of?

Reading biographies is informative and instructive. We learn more about people, which helps us learn more about ourselves– who we are and who we want to be.

Want a fun biography game to play? The Little People, Big Dreams Who Am I Guessing Game is a fun way to learn about inspiring role models!

The Best Picture Book Biographies for Kids

Table of Contents:

1. STEM
2. Activists
3. Writers
4. Artists and Musicians
5. Famous Americans
6. Athletes
7. More Picture Books & Biography Collections

STEM (Scientists, coders, engineers, and mathematicians)

Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens
PALEONTOLOGIST
Perfect in every way, this appealing biography recounts Mary Anning’s beach discoveries of the first dinosaur bones –fossilized ancient creatures that no one had ever seen before. Even though women weren’t invited into the scientific community at the time, she continued her exploring and learning. Pretty illustrations and fantastic writing with impressive sentence variety. (Writing teachers, use this book as a mentor text to teach varying sentence length!)

The Diamond and the Boy: The Creation of Diamonds & the Life of H. Tracy Hallby Hannah Holt, illustrated by Jay Fleck
GEOLOGIST
Brilliantly conceived and exceptionally written using parallel storytelling. The structure shows the similarities between the rocks of the earth and a boy’s life using the descriptions of HEAT, PRESSURE, CHANGE, and WAITING. As we read, we learn about the graphite in the earth as well as the curious boy who finds solace in the library. We see the diamonds waiting to be discovered while the boy grows up to work in a lab where he patiently builds an invention — a machine that makes diamonds. (This is a real thing!) I love the unique presentation and beautiful wordsmithing in this 2018 book.

Evelyn The Adventurous Entomologist: The True Story of a World-Traveling Bug Hunterby Christine Evans, illustrated by Yasmin Imamura
SCIENTIST
“But Evelyn went anyway” repeats throughout this story to show the pioneering courage of Evelyn Cheesman, a woman who didn’t let conventions of what girls could or couldn’t do stop her from living her passion. In the late 1800s, this daring English girl pursued her love for animals with a job running the London Zoo’s insect house. Not only that, she developed a singular focus on entomology, soon traveling the globe to discover new insects. And when she was told not to go places, you guessed it, …she went anyway. Not only is this about an adventurous, tenacious woman we all can admire but also the writing is superb and the lovely illustrations perfectly complement the narrative.

The House That Cleaned Itself: The True Story of Frances Gabe’s (Mostly) Marvelous Invention by Laura Deashewitz and Susan Romberg, illustrated by Meghann Rader
INVENTOR
An awe-inspiring inventor biography with excellent writing! Frances’s jaw-dropping inventions for cleaning her house are quite inventive. She’s a really smart problem-solver and a person you’d want to meet. When she gets fed up with her “job” doing all the housework, she creates a house with rooms that clean themselves. Imagine an automatic carwash INSIDE with air jets and a slanted floor. Although her ideas didn’t catch on, maybe one day another inventor will build on Frances’s ideas. Lovely pastel illustrations!

Counting the Stars: The Story of Katherine Johnson NASA Mathematician by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by Raul Colon
MATHEMATICIAN
You can’t help but be inspired by Katherine’s life story. Katherine zipped through her schooling early because she was so smart, finding a job as a teacher. But she’s most well-known for her next job as a human calculator for NASA’s space program, helping the first American travel to space.

The Boo-Boos That Changed the World A True Story About an Accidental Invention (Really) by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by Chris Hsu
INVENTOR
Read about an invention from necessity. Earle’s wife, Josephine, is accident-prone. REALLY accident-prone. Worried about her cuts and infections, Earle invents an adhesive tape “bandage” which helps his wife! He pitches the idea to his bosses at Johnson & Johnson, they love it and call the product Band-Aids. Unfortunately, the Band-Aids don’t sell so the company decides not to sell them but to give them away to other accident-prone groups — the Boy Scouts and soldiers. Before long, the world sees the need for this practical invention –and aren’t you glad?

Ada’s Ideas The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World’s First Computer Programmer by Fiona Robinson
COMPUTER CODER
Ada lived in an era of burgeoning factories with a strict mathematician mother. As an adult, she used her brilliant mind to help her friend Charles Babbage improve his calculation machine so it would to be more like what we know today as a computer. Although it wasn’t mass-produced, Ada is credited with being the first computer programmer. GORGEOUS mixed-media illustrations! You might also like: Ada Bryon Lovelace and the Thinking Machine.

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed, illustrated by Stasia Burrington
ASTRONAUT
Beautifully illustrated and inspirationally written! Little Mae dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Her parents told her she could do it if she worked hard, taking Mae to the library to find information and encouraging her astronaut pretend play after dinner. Despite her teacher’s discouragement (“Nursing would be a good profession for someone like you”), Mae listened to her mom and stuck to her dream. Mae kept dreaming, believing, and working hard. She (Dr. Mae Jemison) succeeded; she became the first African American female astronaut in space.

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow, illustrated by Steven Salerno
INVENTOR
This might be a new favorite biography picture book because it’s skillfully written, perfect for young readers, about a topic that we all love — crayons. Edwin Binney is a curious inventor who always listened to what people needed in their lives. First, he created a slate pencil for children in the classroom then next, a better, non-crumble chalk for teachers. When many people, including his own wife, asked for better, cheaper colored crayons, Edwin and his team experimented with rocks, minerals, pigments, and clays and found the perfect mixtures for a longer-lasting crayon. People loved them!

Inventor’s Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Fordby Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt
INVENTOR / ENGINEER
Read this picture book for perseverance and grit in action! Two boys grow up with two different passions — Henry for cars and Thomas for electricity. Henry practices and fails while watching Thomas succeed in many inventions. What was Thomas’ secret? Henry moved next door to find out. He found out that he knew the secret all along — keep at it. Which he did! After many trials and errors, (Models A, B, C, F, K, and N) he succeeded with the Model T.

Swimming with Sharks: The Daring Discoveries of Eugenie Clark by Heather Lang, illustrated by Jordi Solano
SCIENTIST
Genie loved all fish, especially sharks, and wanted to be a fish scientist. Even though she lived in the 1930s when that wasn’t a regular job for a woman, Genie found work — first as an assistant, then as a researcher for the US Navy, and finally, she opened up her own marine laboratory. She focused her research on sharks, discovering more about sharks than anyone knew before. Reading this picture book biography inspired me and sparked my interest in learning more about sharks.

Miss Todd and Her Wonderful Flying Machine by Frances Poletti and Kristina Yee
INVENTOR
I love the unique, beautiful artwork in this story based on a short film about the life of the real Lily Todd. She was the first woman to build and design an airplane — despite that in the early 1900s no one believed a woman could or should do such a thing. Despite the many NOs she was told, Miss Todd built and flew anyway. Perseverance! Watch the award-winning film

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Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Boris Kulikov
INVENTOR
Fascinating and important history meet gifted storytelling in this new picture book biography about Louis Braille. We follow the life of precocious, sightless Louis who desperately wants to read and write but is disappointed with his limited options. Despite being chronically ill, a child, and lots of failed attempts, Louis invents a system for the blind to read and write that is still in use today. (This book is on my BEST CHILDREN’S NONFICTION BOOKS OF 2016 list.)

The Doctor With an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath by Julia Finley Mosca, illustrated by Daniel Rieley
SCIENTIST
Oh, my goodness I love the illustrations in this picture book so so so much! And the story, in rhyme, it’s inspiring. Read how Patricia, despite being a girl and African American, stood firm in her goal to become a doctor. She did and later invented the laser probe to heal eyes.

Activists

All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali
DISABILITIES ACTIVIST
Jennifer uses a wheelchair because of her cerebral palsy. Using a wheelchair means that she can’t get into the neighborhood school with stairs or eat lunch in the cafeteria with the other kids. So even though she’s a kid, Jennifer joins other activists to speak up for access to all places — asking Congress to pass a law called the ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act. When the law doesn’t look like it’s going to pass, Jennifer leaves her wheelchair to crawl up the steps (no ramps) of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Eventually, Congress finally passes the ADA! Reading Jennifer’s true story will make you CHEER! Because Jennifer is amazing and you’ll want to be a force for change like her. What a role model!

Lilian’s Right To Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Shane W. Evans
VOTING RIGHTS ACTIVIST
Blueish-tinted illustrations capture the somber mood of Lilian’s memories in this historical nonfiction picture book. Lilian’s memories begin with her great-great-grandparents who were slaves, sold and separated from each other. As Lilian remembers all people who struggled to gain equal rights, all gone before her, she walks slowly up a steep hill to cast her vote. Gaining the right to vote was a journey, somewhat like a steep climb up a hill.

Malala’s Magic Pencilby Malala Yousafzai
EDUCATION ACTIVIST
When she was younger, Malala dreamed of the things she’d do if she had a magic pencil. She’d erase war, poverty, and hunger. Then she would draw girls and boys together as equals. She stopped dreaming of the pencil and worked hard at school. Soon she began writing about her beliefs. Even after bad men tried to stop her, Malala wrote, using her words as the magic to spread a message of hope. Beautifully illustrated and inspiring, this story shares Malala’s ideals with the youngest of readers. Hers is an important example of a growth mindset and social justice in action.

Someday is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, illustrated by Jade Johnson
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
There’s so much to love about this picture book — the captivating folk-art style illustrations with an earthy color palette, the repetitive text of “separate and unequal” and “someday was now,” plus the well-written, compelling true story!! It’s about an amazing woman named Clara who advocated for justice and equality during a time when black people weren’t permitted the same rights as white people. As a teacher, she inspired her students to believe that change was possible. Clara and her students went to the Katz drugstore and asked to be served — even though the store didn’t serve black people. She and her students returned day after day despite people yelling and throwing food. Eventually, the Katz store relented. They started to serve people of all races. Clara and her students finally could enjoy a Coke and burger without trouble. (And then prepare for the next segregated store demonstration.)

Stand as Tall as the Trees: How an Amazonian Community Protected the Rain Forest written by Patricia Gualinga and Laura Resau, illustrated by Vanessa Jaramillo
ACTIVIST
Beautifully crafted with emotional resonance, get inspired by this true story of Patricia Gualinga’s life. Paty is a Kichwa girl who lives deep in the rain forest of Ecuador; a place alive with “trees towering, vines winding, and frogs singing” and the mystical beings who rule the forest — the Amazanga. Paty moves to the noisy city for her education. But when Paty’s forest home is destroyed by a greedy company, she helps her people gather, unite, and protest, making the destructive company leave the forest! Heartfelt writing and luminous illustrations make this a memorable biography (autobiography) that shows how one person can make a difference in the world!

Annette Feels Free by Katie Mazeika
GROUNDBREAKING FEMALE
Annette changed the world for herself and all women! She became a swimmer after her struggles to walk after an illness. But, Annette hated the bulky, heavy bathing costumes she was forced to wear for races and exhibitions, so she made her own suit. Even though it was scandalous and she faced troubles because of it, her new design gave women more options to wear what they liked. And nowadays, they do.

The Only Woman in the Photo: Frances Perkins and Her New Deal for America by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Alexandra Bye
POLITICAL ACTIVIST
An excellent biography of a woman and activist to admire that will make a worthy addition to your American history studies. Frances witnessed injustice and decided to do something about it. Even when women weren’t always taken seriously, she fought for big changes to make life better for workers. Her hard work was rewarded when Franklin D. Rosevelt asked Frances to be the secretary of labor in his cabinet of advisors.

Building an Orchestra of Hope: How Favio Chavez Taught Children to Make Music from Trash by Carmen Oliver, illustrated by Luisa Uribe
A kind and innovative man named Favio offers the children that live on the landfill in Paraguay the chance to learn music — and when they don’t have enough instruments, he figures out how to make instruments out of recycled materials. It’s an inspiring story.

Writers

O Captain, My Captain: Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Sterling Hundley
Fascinating and important! I learned so much history that I didn’t know about both Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman. Whitman observed Lincoln as a candidate and later as the President. The Civil War affected Whitman deeply, he hated the suffering and visited wounded soldiers regularly. It’s not a typical picture book because it is dense with information but would be great for the upper grades.

Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey by Lori Mortensen, illustrated by Chloe Bristol
What a perfect picture book biography with engaging, atmospheric prose and dramatic, Gorey-looking pen-and-ink illustrations! Mortensen gives readers just enough information to captivate us starting with Gorey’s childhood, moving and skipping grades, then into his adulthood where he was uniquely himself and after illustrating for other people, wrote and illustrated dark, weird and quirky stories of his own.

Mary Who Wrote Frankensteinby Linda Bailey, illustrated by Julia Sarda
Most young readers have heard of Frankenstein — but they probably don’t know it was a book written by a woman named Mary. This picture book biography shares about the life of Mary who wrote Frankenstein as a ghost story competition among her friends. Atmospheric, dark and gloomy illustrations.

Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Blade, illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera
Talk about a growth mindset! Gwendolyn loved words and poetry and from a young age, wrote poetry of her own. She never had monetary success but with persistence and dedication, she eventually found success as an adult with publications and winning the Pulitzer Prize.

A Story Is to Share: How Ruth Krauss Found Another Way to Tell a Tale by Carter Higgins, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault 
Carter Higgins’ brilliant writing both references Ruth Krauss’s (no parade when she was born) and pays homage to it with distinct syntax. Higgins’ memoir captures the quirky, passionate Ruth Krauss who wore her clothes backward and preferred dancing to athletics. Krauss scribbles and scratches and scrambles — to find the stories that she wants to tell in her own way. Whimsical and playful, this biography will inspire you to reread your favorite Ruth Krauss picture books.

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Sarah Jocoby
I love the conversational and interactive narrator who speaks directly to us in this book that takes its title from Margaret Wise Brown’s very well-known The Important Book. What are the important things about Brown? For one, she wrote books…more than 100! Whimsical watercolor illustrations plus an infectiously likable narrator make this a memorable biography for both its content (the important things about the talented Margaret Wise Brown) and playful writing.

Ode to an Onion Pablo Neruda & His Muse by Alexandria Giardino, illustrated by Felicita Sala
This picture book biography shares a snippet of Pablo Neruda’s life, giving readers an important life lesson while introducing this incredible poet. As he is struggling with sadness while writing about the situation of poor minors, Neruda’s friend Matilde shows him a truth about life using an onion. The truth is that sad and happy can coexist. “The onion’s papery skin crinkled in Palo’s hand… The scent burned Pablo’s eyes. Tears streamed down his checks… But then he noticed how the sunlight shone through the onion’s layers… “Aren’t onions beautiful? Matilde smiled. “Wait ’til you taste it.” The book ends with Neruda’s “Ode to the Onion” which shows his ability to craft meaning through the complexity of simple language.

Enormous Smallness: A Story of E.E. Cummings by Matthew Burgess, illustrations by Kris Di Giacomo
I adore e.e. cummings’ poetry and found this to be an interesting glimpse into his life as well as how his use of lower-case letters and word-painting was received. This is long for a picture book– double the usual length. I thought perhaps a bit too long. However, the illustrations are marvelous and if you enjoy the poet, it’s worth it.

Digging for Words Jose Alberto Gutierez and the Library He Built by Angela Burke Kunkel, illustrated by Paola Escobar
Readers will be inspired by garbage collector, Jose Alberto Gutierrez, who collected discarded books and opened his own library for the community. The story features another Jose, a little boy who loves Saturday because that’s when the library opens and he can get new books.

Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Charlotte Voake
Young Beatrix lived in London with her many animals, bunnies, hedgehogs, news, snakes, dick, salamanders, a frog, and more. She constantly recorded all their adventures, usually misadventures. Most of all, she painted her animals. One day she borrowed her neighbor’s guinea pig so that she could paint her. But when she left her unattended, the little creature got into some glue and paper which killed her. She sadly confessed the mishap to her neighbor and gave her the painting as an apology. (The door was slammed in her face.) But when Beatrix became famous, her neighbor sold the painting for lots of money. Quirky and fun.

Just Like Beverly A Biography of Beverly Clearyby Vicki Conrad, illustrated by David Hohn
Beverly Cleary wrote some of the most beloved children’s stories like the Ramona books. But before, how did she get there? Read how she had trouble at school and disliked the many boring books. She gets a teacher who sparks her love of learning and eventually becomes a librarian before deciding to write the books that she wanted to read about real kids like her and the kids she knew from the library.

Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate
George loved words and even though he was a slave, he taught himself to read and began composing verses. When students at Chapel Hill began to pay George for his poetry, a professor helped him learn to write and helped his poems protesting slavery were published in the newspaper. But his owner would never sell George, no matter how what George’s fans and friends offered. It took until George was 66 years old to be freed from slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation. I liked this book a lot both the narrative and the illustrations but I would have LOVED for it to include George’s poetry.

The Poem Forest: Poet W.S. Merwin and the Palm Tree Forest He Grew from Scratch by Carrie Fountain, illustrated by Chris Turnham
This biography focuses on Merwin’s love of nature — and commitment to planting new trees, particularly palm trees, in his Hawaiian home. The author shares how Merwin loved to write and became the Poet Laurette. The back matter includes a poem about a palm tree. (Which is amazing.)

 Noah Webster’s Fighting Words by Tracy Nelson Maurer, illustrated by Mircea Catusanu

I love this book so much! The biography is an important piece of American history that kids should know. Did you know Webster tried to get 6 new letters to be added to the alphabet? The narrative includes “edits” from Noah Webster himself which make this lively story even more interesting. The illustrations are absolutely perfect — in style and in color. Bravo!

Noah Webster and His Words by Jeri Chase Ferris, illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
Get your kids jazzed about words by learning about Noah Webster. After America gained independence from England, Webster wrote spelling books to norm every word and avoid many spellings of the same word. It was a best seller! Webster advocated for a national language and eventually wrote The American Dictionary of the English Language, all the English words with alphabetical order. I found it very interesting and loved the illustrations.

A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voiceby Jasmine A. Stirling, illustrated by Vesper Stamper
Lovely pink and green illustrations and an incredible narrative biography capture the life of the talented Jane Austen. Jane grew up in a supportive family that encouraged reading and writing. She wrote prolifically while she was young but stopped writing after significant life challenges including loss, death, worry, and loneliness. After years passed, she realized that all her troubles gave her a new wisdom. Passion renewed Jane rewrote old stories and crafted new ones with lifelike characters. Her writing voice was authentic and unique, leading to her success and longevity.

The true story of Mary Garber is quite interesting — how she pioneered a career in sports writing when it was men only. The illustrations are fantastic, too.

Famous Americans

Anna Strong: A Spy During the American Revolution by Sarah Glenn Marsh, illustrated by Sarah Green
It’s wonderful to see how every person can make a difference. During the Revolutionary War, a lady named Anna Strong helped the Patriots by spying on the Loyalists and the British army. America needed her and she delivered. This is history worth knowing wrapped up in a wonderful picture book story.

My Name Is Helen Kellerby Myron Uhlberg, illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky
This skillfully written biography alternates between a first-person narration from Helen and the occasional third-person narrator who explains the context of what’s going on. It’s very well-written and interesting to read and shares the most important information of Helen’s life.

I am Abraham Lincoln by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos
Like all of the books in this dynamite series of biographies for early readers, this focuses on one of Lincoln’s character traits – his passion for fairness even as a child. I love how the illustrator shows young and older Abe with a big head in a tall hat, too. These books read like stories (narrative) not nonfiction and never sacrifice sharing quality information about the historical character. Also read: I am Amelia Earhart, I am Albert Einstein, and I am Rosa Parks.

You Are My Friend by Aimee Reid, illustrated by Matt Phelan
A gentle tone captures the personality of a boy who wanted to help kids express their feelings and find helpers in the world with a television program called Mister Rogers Neighborhood.

Our Flag Was Still There: The True Story of Mary Pickersgill and the Star-Spangled Banner by Jessie Hartland
Well-crafted, simple, and informative writing with lovely illustrations narrate the important historical story of a flag maker named Mary who made an enormous flag that would send a message to the British. Mary’s role in American history during the Revolutionary War inspired the song written by Francis Scott Key that became our national anthem.

Mister Rogers Gift of Music by Donna Cangelosi, illustrated by Amanda Calatzis
For Fred Rogers, music gave him joy and a way to express his feelings. He shared his love for music with songs for kids on his Mr. Rogers television show. The lyrics were a gift for kids then and now with messages of friendship, acceptance, and love. A warm-hearted tribute to Mr. Rogers.

Hiawatha and the Peacemakerby Robbie Robertson, illustrated by David Shannon
The Peacemaker was a real person who choose a man named Hiawatha to help him communicate his message of peace and unity to the five nations of Iroquois. The message wasn’t well-received at first but the Peacemaker helped the tribal leaders understand forgiveness and unity. United, the Iroquois nation became a model for democracy which was said to have influenced Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (And the Country)illustrated by Stacy Innerst
Invest in this nonfiction picture book for your classrooms and libraries — it’s a wealth of information presented in a very interesting way. You’ll be as astounded as me that you’ve lived so long without knowing much of this information about President Lincoln’s sense of humor — and learn examples of his very pithy words of humor and wisdom. And the illustrations are just lovely.

The pictures alone will get you giggling, but the letters of apology from the two older of three children of portraitist Gilbert Stuart to George Washington are absolutely charming. We read about their attempts to be seen and not heard and to be good. “We were quite Good, don’t you think? Until Baby John wanted to see what was in the Bowl and dumped strawberry Punch all over himself. This is what comes of being Curious about the Business of Others.” This is based on the true story of Washington posing for his portrait.

Aaron and Alexander: The Most Famous Duel in American Historyby Don Brown Good grief — can you imagine this happening?! That’s what I thought when I read the history of these two men. I think the author does a great job of sharing each man’s background, what led up to the duel, and the duel itself. It’s a fascinating part of American history.

Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglassby Dean Robbins, illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko You’ll find this to be a fascinating glimpse of two activists who are both fighting for their rights — one for women and one for African Americans. Very interesting!

Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Floyd Cooper Myers expertly captures Frederick Douglass’ life from his desire to learn even though he was a slave child to his brutal beatings, the influence of free black sailors, his escape to the North, and his passionate fight against slavery and for social reform.

The Eye That Never Sleeps How Detective Pinkerton Saved President Lincoln by Marissa Moss, illustrated by Jeremy Holmes
I adore this book. First of all, the artwork is a STUNNING period style. It looks like a woodcut and is primarily orange, purple and brown plus speech bubbles with an old-fashioned typeface. Second of all, the story itself is enthralling. Allan Pinkerton stumbles into detective work accidentally– and he’s really good at it. He knows human behavior and uses deduction and observation. He founds the Pinkerton Agency which is credited with solving more than 300 murders and recovering millions in stolen money. But he’s most famous for hiring Kate Warne to protect the soon-to-be President of the United States, Mr. Lincoln, from a dangerous train assassination plot. Later, when Mr. Lincoln becomes president, he creates the Secret Service agency to spy on the Confederacy. Guess who he hires to lead it? Allan Pinkerton, of course. This is top-notch narrative nonfiction.

Chasing Freedom by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Michele Wood
This lovely nonfiction picture book is about Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman — two women who changed the world!

Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a  Mystery that Baffled All of Franceby Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
A little-known piece of Ben Franklin’s history, we see him use the scientific method to figure out what Dr. Mesmer was really doing. Was it magic, science, or was Dr. Mesmer a fraud? Excellent images, design, and compelling plot!

Code Breaker, Spy Hunter How Elizabeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Brooke Smart
I loved this book even though it was a bit too long for me, it could have had the same impact with fewer examples. However, it’s an inspiring and interesting history of a brilliant cryptologist who helped her country in war and peace. She cracked codes for the Coast Guard to stop bootleggers and for the military to break NAzi spy rings. She created the CIA’s first cryptology unit, training others in the art of cryptology.

Little Leaders Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
Beautifully designed and illustrated, Little Ladies shares 40 one-page biographies of inspiring African-American women. I can’t believe how many new women I learned about from this book! Women like Marcelite Harris, Mamie Phipps Clark, and Phillis Wheatley. It’s a superb, inspiring must-read book.

Artists and Musicians

Sing with Me The Story of Selena Quintanillaby Diana López, illustrated by Teresa Martinez
A concise, entertaining biography of Selena’s early years as she worked hard until she saw success as a singer — winning awards and learning Spanish and getting married. (You’ll appreciate that this biography does not talk about her death.)

Ruby’s Hope: A Story of How the Famous “Migrant Mother” Photograph Became the Face of the Great Depression by Monica Kulling, illustrated by Sarah Dvojack
A powerful picture book that shows how art, in this instance photography, can be used to spread a message. Dusty-colored illustrations help narrate the story of a famous photograph beginning with a young girl and her family who leave the drought in Oklahoma for wetter California. There, the family’s migrant work dries up, too. Hungry and desperate, a photographer hired by the government named Dorothea Lange takes a photograph of the mother with her kids. When the photograph was published in the newspaper, it showed the country the harsh realities of migrant workers’ lives and prompted an outpouring of food. Back matter shares more about Dorothea Lange and how the famous photograph came to be.

Dazzlin’ Dolly by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham 
Exceptionally skilled writing with strong narrative voice! Dolly Parton grows up a singer with determination to achieve her dreams. She overcome stage fright, performed on the weekends despite her Daddy’s disapproval, and moved to Nashville after high school. Essential information about the queen of country! “Perched on her front-porch stage with a tin can microphone, Dolly performed for anyone she could corral– a bunch of baby siblings (’til they crawled away), a flock of ducks (’til they waddled away), and a pen of pigs (fortunately, they couldn’t get away).“

Tonatiuh shares the story of a dedicated ballet dancer who discovers the beauty of folkloric dances from the different regions of Mexico. She learns them all, sharing them with the world in performances by her dance company, El Ballet Folklórico. Gorgeous folkloric illustrations enhance each page’s details; I want to frame them all, they’re so exquisite This is a wonderful tribute to one of my favorite dance companies and the dancer visionary who made it all happen.

The Noisy Paint Box; The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Artby Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mary GrandPre
Vasya Kandinsky was a proper but bored Russian boy until his aunt gifted him with a paint box. The paint whispered to him, he painted the sound of colors. For a time, he ignored his paints since being an artist wasn’t considered proper. Luckily for us all, he returned to his calling, painting abstract art. Wonderfully told as a narrative story, this nonfiction picture book biography is a must-read. It will make you think about not just Kandinsky but the sounds of colors and the world. Joyful!

Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh
Don Lupe published short funny poems about skeletons and drew lithographs and skeleton etchings or engravings. His calaveras (skeleton pictures) showed all people types of people and usually had a message, political or social, and which are now iconic images for el Dia de Los Muertos. The artwork and graphic layouts perfectly complement this informative history.

Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales, illustrated by Tim O’Meara
This could qualify as a beginning reader book with its stark language first in English and then Spanish. The art is so unique with a mixture of dolls, painting, and digital additions. Kids will learn very little about Frida Kahlo but it’s still a lovely introductory biography book.

Gifts from the Garbage Truck A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw Away written by Andrew Larsen, illustrated by Oriol Vidal
This is another shining example of what biographies should be like — an engaging glimpse at the MOST IMPORTANT contributions of the person, not a birth-to-death (boring) retelling. This man named Nelson loved to find reusable trash and restore and reuse what he found, like toys for his family and objects he could display — which eventually was turned into a museum.

Mary Blair’s Unique Flair: The Girl Who Became One of the Disney Legends by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Brittney Lee
Mary Blair’s life as an artist took her to Disney where her paintings captured magic on paper. In fact, she created the concept art for Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan as well as designed the “It’s a Small World” attraction at Disneyland. She used her endless imagination to creatively pair unique colors, an emerald world, a fuchsia sea, or a turquoise moon, and create happily ever afters. Her story sparkles just like the luminous mixed-media illustrations which include colorful cut-paper artwork.

Yayoi Kusama: Covered Everything in Dots and Wasn’t Sorry by Fausto Gilberti
Written in the first person and illustrated with bold black and white illustrations, you’ll learn about one of the most famous living artists, a creative Japanese woman who loves dots and pumpkins and social justice.

Ode to a Grapefruit: How James Earl Jones Found His Voice written by Kari Lavelle, illustrated by Bryan Collier
THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A BIOGRAPHY! The author captures the right scenes of James Earl’s life to show his fear of speaking because of a stutter, his introduction to poetry that led him to begin writing his own poems and speaking them out loud. Why do I love this book so much? Because it’s not a boring birth to death, too-much-text tome. It’s perfect in every way. Plus, Bryan Collier’s illustrations are rich and evocative, adding everything to the ambiance of this beautiful biography.

Degas Painter of Ballerinas by Susan Goldman Rubin
What a lovely narrative story about Degas’s life and artistic process. Each page of the story includes another full-color Degas artwork which almost always takes up more than one page, stretching onto the opposite page in a mesmerizing presentation. Beautiful writing which is clearly well-researched makes this the quintessential Degas biography for children. I highly recommend it.

A Thousand Glass FlowersMarietta Barovier and the Invention of the Rosetta Beadby Evan Turk
Exquisite illustrations help narrate the inspirational story of a Venician girl whose family was glassblowers and let her become a glassblower and creator in a time period when girls weren’t generally allowed to work. As a result, Marietta developed a unique glass bead that became treasured worldwide

Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten by Laura Veirs, illustrated by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
Read this picture book and you’ll learn about the life of a famous folk artist who didn’t really start playing music until over the age of 60. She always loved music though. And when she was a maid or worked in a department store, she kept that music in her heart. Later, when she worked for the Seeger family, she surprised them all with her self-taught musical talent. Listen to her most famous song, “Freight Train,” here. (Here’s another video clip of Elizabeth Cotton playing the banjo.)