New York Biographies (Listed Alphabetically by Subject) |
New York City has to be one of the greatest places in America, if not the world.
Luckily for us, many authors have chronicled The Big Apple's antics in a way just right
for kids.
Here are some of
the books available. This is not yet a complete list, but I'm adding
books to the list daily. If you wish to purchase any of these books, click on either the title or the book cover to be directed to Amazon.com. As a warning, I have put up pictures of the book covers to give you somewhat an idea of the style of each book (I know, I know. "Don't judge a book by its cover") so the pages may load slowly, depending on the speed of your internet connection.
The categories below are sorted by approximate age group and topical categories. Feel free to browse around. The same links are located on the left side of your screen. To return back to this page, simply click on the "Welcome" link on the left.
If this website came up without frames, click here to see the complete "New York City Books for Kids" website with frames.
Other Pages of Interest:
Fiction & Historical Fiction:
General Books About New York City (Nonfiction) |
Fiction NYC Picture Books and "Easy Reader" Stories (Ages 4-8) |
Fiction NYC Books (Ages 9-12) |
New York Fiction for Young Adults |
New York Historical Fiction (Colonial Period and Revolutionary War) |
New York Historical Fiction (Ellis Island & Immigration) |
New York Historical Fiction (Life in the 1800s) |
New York Historical Fiction (Life in the 1900s)
NYC History:
New York Biographies |
Native Americans from New York (History and Historical Fiction) |
New York History (Colonial Period and Revolutionary War) |
New York History (Immigration and Ellis Island) |
New York History (The 1800s) |
New York History (The 1900s) |
The World Trade Center and September 11, 2001 |
NYC Locations:
The Statue of Liberty |
The Empire State Building |
Central Park |
NYC Art Museums (Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, etc.) |
NYC's American Museum of Natural History |
Harlem Books (Including books about the Harlem Renaissance) |
Chinatown Books |
Little Italy Books |
The New York City Subway System |
Brooklyn Books |
The Bronx Books |
Queens Books |
Staten Island Books |
Long Island Books |
Upstate New York Books |
New York State Books
Life and Travel in NYC:
Thanksgiving in New York City |
Christmas in New York City |
New York Sports Teams and Players
The NYC Fire Department (FDNY) and NY Police Department (NYPD) |
General Books About Cities |
New York City and New York State Test Preparation and Study Guides |
New York Regents Review Books |
Parenting in New York City |
New York Travel Guides for Families with Children
NYC Toys, Puzzles, and Games (For Kids & Adults) |
Amazon.com Coupon Codes
Collections
Extraordinary People of the Harlem Renaissance
By P. Stephen Hardy & Sheila Jackson Hardy
This hefty volume, useful for research and interesting for browsing, introduces the leaders of the African American creative movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. A few chapters discuss topics such as "the New Negro," the Jazz Age, and patrons of the arts, but most are devoted to key figures in the movement. Forty-four individuals are featured in chapters several pages in length. Typically, there is a portrait photo and sometimes an additional black-and-white picture, perhaps of a band, a painting, or a stage production. Appendixes include an annotated list of 40 other figures in the Harlem Renaissance, a glossary, and lists of books and Web sites. Clearly written and designed, this provides a good starting place for research on the period and the people who created it.
Description from Booklist
This well-researched work provides concise, well-written biographies of forty-four outstanding scholars, educators, writers, poets, performers, and artists who distinguished themselves during the 1920s and 1930s. It brings to light many important people who contributed greatly to an often-overlooked period of American history. Famous people, such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Louis Armstrong, and Zora Neale Hurston, can be found here as well as those who are lesser known, such as Countee Cullen, Jessie Redmon Fauset, and Sargent Claude Johnson. Interspersed with brief four- to six-page biographies and superb black-and-white photographs of each subject, the authors include theme chapters that provide the reader with important information and a historical perspective of the Harlem Renaissance. Chapters such as "The New Negro" and "The Jazz Age" offer insight and relevancy that underline the achievements of the biographies. This volume contains some valuable extras for the reader, including forty thumbnail sketches of additional contributors to the Harlem Renaissance and a useful glossary. The section on further reading is divided nicely for younger and older readers and is followed by an excellent list of Internet sites for more information. The Hardys have done younger researchers a service by gathering so many important people in one volume. Broad in scope and rich in information, this book would be a great resource for middle and high school students
Description from VOYA
Artists and Writers of the Harlem Renaissance
By Wendy Hart Beckman
Harlem is an area of Manhattan in New York City. Wonderful creativity in the black community arose in this section of Manhattan. This movement was fed by both black and white sponsors and audiences. Art, writing, and music flourished for over a decade, and the lives of many African Americans flourished along with them. This period was called the Harlem Renaissance. Discover the works of James Weldon Johnson, Alain LeRoy Locke, Zora Neale Hurston, Bessie Smith, Aaron Douglas, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, and Josephine Baker.
Description from Publisher
Harlem, New York was the setting for a cultural upsurge in the 1920's and 1930's. During those decades a series of Black writers, artists, vocalists, and poets sprang forth and gave voice to the conditions of African-Americans. At a time when racial prejudice was even more overt than in our own age, it took great courage for Black artists to stand up and honestly portray their lot in America. Artists such as Langston Hughes, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and Josephine Baker all provided a unique expression to what it meant to be a Black person either living in America or with American roots. This artistic movement came to be known as the Harlem Renaissance and that is the subject covered in this collection of short biographies. In this illustrated selection author Wendy Hart Beckman provides encapsulated biographies of ten artists who participated in the Harlem Renaissance. In each instance Ms. Beckman provides a careful outline of the artist's background, development, contributions, and later life. This is a good reference tool for readers with an interest in African-American history or specifically Black artists of this era. The Harlem Renaissance was a significant movement in American culture and Ms. Beckman does well to offer readers a summary of some of the leading lights of that period.
Description from Children's Literature
Individual Biographies
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra
By Andrea Davis Pinkney
Awards:
- Caldecott Honor Book
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, "King of the Keys," was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. "He was a smooth-talkin', slick-steppin', piano-playin' kid," writes master wordsmith Andrea Pinkney in the rhythmic, fluid, swinging prose of this excellent biography for early readers. It was ragtime music that first "set Duke's fingers to wiggling." He got back to work and taught himself to "press on the pearlies." Soon 19-year-old Duke was playing compositions "smoother than a hairdo sleeked with pomade" at parties, pool halls, country clubs, and cabarets. Skipping from D.C. to 1920s Harlem, "the place where jazz music ruled," Duke and his small band called the Washingtonians began performing in New York City clubs, including the Cotton Club, where Duke Ellington and his Orchestra was officially born. By 1943, Duke Ellington--writer of more than 1000 compositions, including ballet and film scores, orchestral suites, musicals, and choral works--had made it all the way to Carnegie Hall.
We applaud this talented husband-and-wife team--award-winning illustrator Brian Pinkney and writer Andrea Pinkney--for making music fly in this fantastic tribute to a jazz legend. Andrea does an extraordinary job of translating music into words, with blues "deeper than the deep blue sea" and "hot-buttered bob, with lots of sassy-cool tones," while her husband visually interprets the movement of music as spirals, waves, and swirls of color, prepared as scratchboard renderings with luma dyes, gouache, and oil paint. Andrea writes, "Toby let loose on his sleek brass sax, curling his notes like a kite tail in the wind. A musical loop-de-loop, with a serious twist," while Brian paints those curling notes, the loop-de-loops, and the kite sailing up to the New York City skyline. Young readers will enjoy the rhythm and beauty of the story itself, and may even be inspired to give Raffi a rest and swing with the Duke!
Description from Amazon.com
Addressing readers directly``You ever heard of the jazz-playin' man, the man with the cats who could swing with his band?''the Pinkneys embark on a cool and vibrant tour of Duke Ellington's musical career, from the pool hall ragtime that ``set Duke's fingers to wiggling,'' to his 1943 Carnegie Hall concert, also giving some of the soloists that played with him, and songwriter Billy Strayhorn, a chance to step forward. Translated into color and visual forms, music floats and swirls through the scratchboard scenes, curling out of an antique radio, setting dancers to ``cuttin' the rug'' at the elegant Cotton Club and, of course, trailing behind an ``A'' train. Like Chris Raschka's solos, Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop and Mysterious Thelonius, this loving tribute temptingly evokes the sound and spirit of a jazz pioneer.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man
By David A. Adler
The story of Lou Gehrig, the heroic Yankee who battled with ALS, was inspirational far beyond Yankee Stadium. David Adler's spare biography tells Gehrig's story just as the athlete lived: with unassuming simplicity. It's a wise choice, since the story is so affecting on its own. Another wise choice was Adler's decision to remain vague about the details of Gehrig's illness. The story is no less affecting without them, and probably contains enough sadness for any child. As good as this book is, Terry Widener's illustrations multiply its impact enormously.
[Recommended for ages 5-9. Older siblings will probably be willing to hang around to hear it though.]
Description from Amazon.com
Kids of today may not immediately recognize the name Lou Gehrig, but they will be immediately drawn into this picture book for older children about the "Iron Horse." Adler sets his narrative stage by telling readers that in 1903, Henry Ford sold his first auto, the Wright brothers took their first flight, and Lou Gehrig was born. Young Lou, who never missed a day of school, became a baseball player who never missed a game. Crisply and concisely, Adler covers the many high points of Gehrig's career, at the same time giving readers a real sense of the man and his shining spirit. Gehrig's illness and eventual death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are handled with dignity and in a way youngsters will understand. The picture-book format gets a lift here from Widener's impressive artwork. Reminiscent of WPA art with its rounded shapes and potent energy, these pictures project a zest for life on and off the playing field. The last spread, showing Yankee Stadium on the day of Gehrig's funeral, awash in rain, provides a silent but powerful ending to Gehrig's story.
Description from Booklist
The aw-shucks decency of Gehrig drives this picture-book biography from Adler (One Yellow Daffodil); what comes through is Gehrig as a genuine rarity, blessed with colossal athletic talent that he carried with dignity and modesty. The familiar story (no sources are given, but it follows the Gary Cooper movie, Pride of the Yankees, quite closely) is here: how Gehrig left college and signed with the Yankees to get money for his family; his remarkable, 14-year, 2,130-consecutive-game record; how he benched himself when he started to experience the effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; his farewell speech to Yankee fans ("I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth"); his death at age 37 and the rain that fell on his funeral. Adler never overstates the adulation, which would sound hokey on anyone else's shoulders, but fits Gehrig snugly. Newcomer Widener's illustrations capture the texture of Gehrig's city and playing fields, although one spread--of Yankee Stadium in the rain-- brings the book to a premature close (a dangling page of text follows). Readers will feel good after reading this biography--and maybe even inspired to start measuring themselves against Gehrig's standard.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Rudolph W. Giuliani: America's Mayor
By Eleanor Fremont
ONCE A MAYOR -- NOW A HERO
On September 11, 2001, our nation watched in horror as the United States came under siege. In the aftermath, New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani rose to the forefront as a strong and compassionate leader -- offering candid information, comforting those in pain, and proving himself a man of tremendous dedication to those in his charge.
This revealing biography illustrates how his life's work prepared him for this incredible challenge. From his childhood in Brooklyn to his controversial work with the Department of Justice to his eight years as the mayor of one of the most complex cities in the world, Rudolph W. Giuliani -- Time magazine's Person of the Year -- has become one of the most fascinating and exceptional leaders of our time.
Description from Publisher
Rudolph W. Giuliani: America's Mayor by Eleanor Fremont provides an account of the former New York City mayor's Brooklyn roots, his stint in Washington as the number three man in the Department of Justice and his tenure as U.S. Attorney in New York. Special attention is paid to Giuliani's role in the recovery efforts following September 11.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Rudolph Giuliani
(Rookie Biographies)
By Wil Mara
Presents a brief look at the life of one of New York City's most popular mayors.
Looking for biographies that are suitable for emergent readers-and relevant to the primary-school curriculum? Rookie Biographies is the answer! Identical in design and format to the popular Rookie Read-About Science, Geography, and Holiday series, each new Rookie Biographies introduces children to the lives and achievements of pioneering men and women from diverse cultures, eras, and fields. Featuring simple text and full-color photographs, a "Words You Know" glossary, and an easy-to-use index, Rookie Biographies helps readers get to know the people who shaped our world.
Description from Publisher
Rudy Giuliani
(Blue Banner Biography)
By John Bankston
During the 2000 presidential race, both candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush, had fathers who had been in politics. At the same time, the mayor of the largest city in the United States had a very different family history. His father wasn't a senator or a president. He was a convicted felon.
Yet in spite of his family's background, Rudy Giuliani not only became the mayor of New York City, but he also helped convict both crooked cops and corrupt politicians as a young lawyer. Here is the story of one man's strive for excellence despite the odds against him. This is the story of Rudy Giuliani.
Description from Publisher
A Day in the Life of a Mayor:
Featuring New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
By Liza N. Burby
Explores a typical day in the work of the mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani, describing many of the activities that make up his busy schedule.
Description from Publisher
Whoopi Goldberg: Comedian and Movie Star
By William Caper
How did a poor, shy little girl from the housing projects of New York City rise to Hollywood stardom and international fame? By the time she was twenty years old, Whoopi Goldberg was a high school dropout, a recovered drug addict, and a divorced mother. Moving to California, she found whatever work she could: as a bricklayer, a bank teller, even a hairstylist for the dead at a funeral parlor. Throughout her life, Goldberg's dream was to be a performer, and that dream led her at last to Broadway and then to Hollywood and an Academy Award for her role in the movie Ghost. Outrageous Whoopi Goldberg is not a typical Hollywood personality, and her rocky pathway to success and fame is a compelling story.
Description from Publisher
Alexander Hamilton:
America's Bold Lion
By John M. Rosenburg
A hurricane (at least his brilliant report of one) blew the teenaged Alexander Hamilton from the Virgin Islands to the American colonies in 1772. The rest of his meteoric rise during the American Revolution, and his fall under the hand of the villain, Aaron Burr, could also be described as a hurricane. Alexander Hamilton became an almost unstoppable force in American history. Rosenburg, the author of a three-part biography of George Washington, takes on this force as he expands his coverage of the Founding Fathers in his substantial exploration of Hamilton's life. Not only is it readable and well-illustrated, but Rosenburg has managed to make it interesting for kids and adults alike. His reportage of Hamilton's early life in the West Indies never glosses over the issue of illegitimacy, and the explanation of Hamilton's later maneuvers to create a national bank for the young republic is understandable, at last, for someone without a degree in economics. This is a solid, intelligent piece of work that deserves to be added to school libraries.
Description from Children's Literature
Hiawatha: Founder of the Iroquois Confederacy
By Nancy Bonvillain
Hiawatha is revered among the Iroquois people as a hero of mythic proportions. His greatest accomplishment was the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy, a league of Indian nations that stresses cooperation, peace, and unity.
Description from Publisher
Not the Hiawatha of Longfellow, this is the equally legendary but real fifteenth-century Onondaga chief, whose fame is based on his success in bringing peace among warring tribes. Bonvillain traces the history of the Iroquois as well. Fascinating reading, illustrated with a variety of black-and-white drawings, paintings, and photographs.
Description from Horn Book
Forest Diplomat: The Story of Hiawatha
By Jill C. Wheeler
Hiawatha: Messenger of Peace
By Dennis Brindell Fradin
A portrait of the great Iroquois leader Hiawatha chronicles his role in bringing peace to the five warring Iroquois tribes and uniting them into the powerful Iroquois Federation, in a biography enhanced by paintings by modern Iroquois artists.
Description from Publisher
In Fradin's enlightening work, readers will learn about the real Hiawatha. This courageous, kind man--and inspiring speaker--ensured the survival of his people for 300 years after his death. The author recounts the childhood of this celebrated Iroquois Indian, the tragic murder of his family, stet comma and the incredible strength and forgiveness he found within himself to become a peacemaker between his people's fighting tribes. Hiawatha and a Canadian Indian named Degandawida encouraged the Iroquois to form their own government, which , in turn, created tranquility and humanity throughout that nation. Unlike literary works that describe Hiawatha as godlike or supernatural, this text accurately explains the role he has played in our history.
Description from Publishers Weekly
In this brief biography, Fradin shows what Hiawatha's life might have been like by drawing on what is actually known about the Indians of the Longhouse of his time. He clearly labels what is surmised, legend, and known fact as he tells of the adult Hiawatha's role as a peacemaker and as one of the founders of the Iroquois Confederacy. He also mentions aspects of this confederacy that the founders of our nation incorporated into the U. S. Constitution. The book is copiously illustrated with both black-and-white and full-color photographs of Indian artifacts and of paintings and sculpture by Native American artists, all relevant to the text. This attractive volume helps fill the need for good, readable biographies for this age group.
Description from school Library Journal
Debunking the false stories of Hiawatha popularized by Longfellow's poem, Fradin tries to get at the truth about the real Iroquois leader who lived about 500 years ago. What the author finds in his careful search is a Hiawatha who was in many ways more remarkable, as well as more human, than the romantic legend. It's hard to get exact facts, and Fradin is scrupulous in distinguishing what is known, what is surmised, and what is legend. It seems that Hiawatha was a great peacemaker. Despite his terrible grief when his wife and children were murdered by his enemy, Hiawatha sought not revenge but community, and by his example he brought five warring tribes together in a national federation with a form of representative government that "many historians claim" became a model for the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps the best part of the book is the illustrations, many of them in color, almost all by Indian artists, collected from museums across the country: they show various views of Hiawatha in his grief and in his struggle.
Description from Booklist
Beyond the Sea of Ice: The Voyages of Henry Hudson
By Joan Elizabeth Goodman
It was there. Henry Hudson was certain of it. Beyond the impenetrable fog and crushing ice of the North Atlantic lay the dream of kings, merchants and learned geographers - a passage to the Orient.
Sailing small wooden boats well above the arctic circle, guided by maps and charts that were based on rumor and hope as much as fact, surrounded by crews that shared neither his belief nor his commitment, Henry Hudson searched again and again for what was not there. In 1611, his mutinous crew set him adrift on the freezing waters of the bay that would one day bear his name.
Beyond the Sea of Ice is the story of Henry Hudson's four harrowing voyages of discovery. Bringing the skills of an experienced novelist to her first non- fiction book, author Joan Elizabeth Goodman creates an epic narrative of Henry Hudson's passionate quest. Fernando Rangel's paintings capture the icy beauty of the North Atlantic, the lushness of the new world and the cruelty and death that accompanied a voyage of discovery. Actual entries from the journals of each voyage bring the reader directly into life at sea in the 17th century.
Description from Publisher
This attractive volume from the Great Explorers Books series begins with an introduction that sets the stage for the Age of Exploration and Hudson's part in it. A foldout map indicating the routes of Hudson's four voyages of exploration extends beyond the pages, making it accessible to readers as they follow his story through the text. Each chapter focuses on one voyage, including its sponsors, purpose, difficulties (sometimes calamities), and its outcome. Full-page, bordered paintings provide dramatic visions of events, while small ink drawings and maps are also effective. An introduction to Hudson's voyages that will spark readers' interest.
Description from Booklist
Recounting each of the four voyages Henry Hudson undertook in hopes of discovering the Northwest Passage, the book presents a clear, if undramatic, overview of the explorer's accomplishments and sad fate. Excerpts from the diaries of Hudson and some of his shipmates accompany the text, which is illustrated with occasionally static full-page paintings. A complete list of Hudson's crew is included.
Description from Horn Book
The Travels of Henry Hudson
By Joanne Mattern
A high-interest take on history!
Long-ago adventures are still a thrill in these vividly illustrated titles. These exciting tales of the quest for wealth and land describe the routes taken by famous explorers, the hardships they endured, and the rewards they reaped. Titles also address the dire impact these explorations made on the native inhabitants of conquered lands.
A biography of the English explorer and sea captain who explored three North American waterways later named for him--the Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and Hudson Strait.
Description from Publisher
Henry Hudson
By Andrew Santella
Going for the Gold
Sarah Hughes: America's Sweetheart
By Ruth Ashby
Ice Princess
Sarah Hughes was born to skate, and she proved to the world with her dramatic gold medal victory at the 2002 Winter Olympics. But the road to Olympic glory was not always easy for this Long Island teen.
Going for the Gold: Sarah Hughes is the amazing true story of a brilliant skater's Olympic quest.
Here's what you'll find out about America's newest sweetheart:- Sarah's first time on the ice
- How her family's support helped her through difficult times
- How Sarah braved the rocky road to the Olympics
- Sarah's hopes for the future
Description from Publisher
Sarah Hughes: Golden Girl
(All Aboard Reading. Level 3)
By Nancy E. Krulik
Sarah Hughes: Golden Girl by Nancy Krulik, part of the All Aboard Reading series, opens with the figure skater's gold-medal performance at the Salt Lake Ice Center then chronicles the career of the Long Island teen from learning to lace her skates at age three to life after the Olympics.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Ezra Jack Keats: A Biography With Illustrations
By Dean Engel & Florence B. Freedman
Based on conversations with Keats and on his autobiographical writings, this tells the story of the artist's life. It concentrates on his childhood and youth but includes his winning of the Caldecott Medal in 1963 for The Snowy Day and his death in 1983.
Born Jack Ezra Katz, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Keats loved to draw and paint as a child. Encouraged by his mother and discouraged by his father, who feared that his son would never earn his living, Keats followed his dream to become an artist. Anecdotes and conversations make his story quite readable. The use of artwork from Keats' books works very well visually, but since the connection between the pictures in his books and incidents in his life aren't always made in the text, it's often hard to know how closely an illustration reflects an actual experience--and using a detail from Clementina's Cactus, set in the desert of the Southwest, to illustrate Keats' trip to Appalachia seems absurd. Scenes from the picture books are bright, attractive additions, but more intriguing are reproductions of the artist's early paintings. A large-format book with big type, this would be a good resource for classroom units on authors.
Description from Booklist
Engel and Freedman, both friends of the deceased artist, have produced a simply and lovingly written biography, said to be based on their conversations with Keats and on his autobiographical essays. They trace his beginnings in Brooklyn, NY, as Jack Ezra Katz, and describe his early years during the Depression and the obstacles he had to overcome to realize his dream of becoming an artist. Appropriately, the text is accompanied by his paintings, sketches, and illustrations from some of his more than 20 children's books. Readers are treated to beautiful full-color reproductions from such titles as The Snowy Day, Goggles!, The Trip, Louie's Search, and Apt. 3. Unfortunately, the book has neither a bibliography nor endnotes. Nonetheless, this attractive, oversized volume is a must read for Keats's many fans and a marvelous way to introduce (or reintroduce) children to his work.
Description from School Library Journal
The Declaration of Independence and Robert Livingston of New York
By Kathy Furgang
Robert Livingston was born into a wealthy and prominent family in New York City. By 1771, however, Robert had been removed from his judiciary post for speaking out against the British government. His voice was instrumental in the shaping of the document, and would remain instrumental in both the young country and the new state of New York.
Description from Publisher
Sybil Ludington: The Call to Arms
By V. T. Dacquino
Sybil Ludington earned a place in American history on a rainy night in 1777 when she rode 40 miles through enemy-infested woods to summon her father's regiment to halt a British raid on Connecticut and New York. Though Paul Revere is the most celebrated revolutionary to sound the call to arms, Sybil Ludington's ride was bolder and far more dangerous, and she was only sixteen years old. Widowed young, she became a successful businesswoman in a profession then dominated by men and raised her son to become a man of stature in his community.
Description from Publisher
Ride for Freedom: The Story of Sybil Ludington
By Judy Hominick, Jeanne Spreier
Silver Moon Press is delighted to announce the launch of a brand new biographical nonfiction series. This series will focus on the true stories of heroic young people, whose courage, independence, and determination to live free, will inspire a whole new generation of young readers. Each book is reviewed for accuracy by a historical expert.
Description from Publisher
The Man Who Made Parks: The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted
By Frieda Wishinsky
When the great cities of North America were being developed, there was little thought to creating “green spaces.” Frederick Law Olmsted combined his childhood love for nature with the structured beauty of the great parks of London and Paris to turn a neglected, swampy area into one of the most acclaimed parks in North America: Central Park in New York City.
Description from Publisher
Parks for the People:
A Story about Frederick Law Olmsted
By Julie Dunlap
As with others in the series, this biography begins with an incident from the subject's early life, in this case Olmsted's first visit to Niagara Falls. After this somewhat fictionalized scene, Dunlap writes a fairly even and honest account of the first landscape architect in the U.S. Readers learn about the problems that Olmsted and Calvert Vaux had in raising money to build Central Park and their struggles with politicians and budget constraints to bring the project to fruition. The author shows that Olmsted ran into similar problems when he designed plans for protecting Yosemite from the same influx of commercialism that had ruined Niagara Falls. Very little of the subject's private life is included. A list of important parks is appended, as well as a good bibliography
Description from School Library Journal
{This} is a good book for the younger reader. The material is interesting and informative, but is not as in-depth as one would like. . . . There is a message of dedication and perseverance with the transfer of love of natural beauty into parks for all to enjoy. The book gives references for further reading and serves to highlight Olmsted as a role model for our present society.
Description from Science Books & Films
Seneca Chief, Army General: A Story About Ely Parker (Creative Minds Biography)
By Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
Ely Parker grew up on the Tonawanda Reservation in New York in the 1830s. There he learned the ways of his people, the Seneca Indians. Ely worked many years to save his reservation from a land company, and as a result, he was made a sachem, or chief, by his people. At the same time, he was working as a translator and ambassador to bridge the gap that divided his people from the white Americans. After serving in the Civil War, Ely went on to become a United States general and lead the agency in charge of Indian affairs. Author Elizabeth Van Steenwyk tells this inspiring, and surprising, story of a man who achieved amazing success in two very different worlds.
Description from Publisher
Parker is probably best known as the Native American appointed by Ulysses Grant as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post. His tenure in that office was brief; jealousy and racism brought him under fire from disgruntled opponents, and though he was cleared of any wrongdoing, he resigned. The author spends the first half of the book on the events in Parker's life prior to his fateful meeting with Grant. She describes the difficulties the young boy from the Tonawanda Reservation in New York encountered during his years at a Baptist mission school, on an Iroquois settlement in Canada, and at the academies he attended to further his education. Having decided to study law, he discovered that only American citizens can take the bar exam, and as an Indian, he was not a citizen. Parker was an effective spokesperson and his work earned him the respect of his people. Van Steenwyk writes simply but well about this interesting, and in many ways tragic, man about whom little has been written for children. The book is illustrated with black-and-white drawings; there are no source notes, but there is a bibliography. Harold Felton's Ely S. Parker has fictionalized dialogue and is less forthright about the discrimination Parker faced throughout his life and career. Interesting in its own right, Seneca Chief will also be useful for students needing a biography of a Native American.
Description from School Library Journal
A new volume in the Creative Minds Biographies series acquaints middle-grade readers with Ely Parker, a Seneca chief who achieved success in both the Native American and white worlds. Born in 1828 on the Tonawonda Reservation in New York, Ely attended mission schools as well as boarding schools and became an interpreter at age 14. After he fought successfully to save the reservation from a land company, his people made him a sachem, or chief. Following Parker's exemplary service in the Civil War, President Grant appointed him to be commissioner of Indian affairs. Van Steenwyk shares the struggles as well as the successes of this extraordinary man and explores some of the complex issues that Indian people faced in the 1800s.
Description from Booklist
Colin Powell
By Melissa Banta
Colin Powell's inner-city childhood gave no clues that he would grow up to be the top-ranking U.S. military officer. In school he horsed around and his grades showed it. He spent aimless hours on the streets and at the movies with his pals. Nevertheless, Powell learned from his West Indian immigrant parents that hard work and education were the keys to success. Powell's life has been a testament to the American Dream, championing the ideals of democracy for all, regardless of class or color.
Description from Publisher
An objective biography of the now-retired black general who became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led the hunt for Noriega in Panama, and engineered the Operation Desert Storm invasion of Kuwait. Well researched, with a bibliography of recent sources, it is of manageable length and has an open format, well-organized chapters, and frequent black-and-white photos. The variety of sentence structure in the text maintains interest. Quotes from Powell and those who have known him add authenticity. This book compares favorably with Elaine Landau's Colin Powell, which is shorter and has more photographs. Banta's book has fewer illustrations but more information, making it better for older students.
Description from School Library Journal
Colin Powell
By Elaine Landau
Prior to the Gulf War, the accomplishments and background of the first black head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not widely known. This biography fills the void by providing information on him. Landau gives solid information about Powell's background and career in a straightforward manner. She relates how a combination of hard work, diligence, and excellent performance in the military propelled him to the top. The overall portrayal of Powell is one of a dedicated individual who wants to be judged solely by his ability. Numerous, mostly full-color photographs, of Powell or of African-American soldiers reinforce the text. A good overview of an important military figure.
Description from School Library Journal
A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson
By David A. Adler
When Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, there were no other African Americans playing in the major leagues. The thoughtful, brief portrait illuminates the courage and character of an American hero. Appealing watercolors complement the simple text.
Description from Horn Book
A brief look at the life of baseball great Jackie Robinson. The subject's childhood, sporting accomplishments, and later endeavors are touched upon, as are the bigotry and prejudice he faced as the first African American to play in the major leagues. The information is similar to that found in Carol Greene's Jackie Robinson, though Adler's writing is smoother. Casilla's full-and double-page watercolors provide attractive backgrounds for the text. A sound introduction to a significant figure.
Description from School Library Journal
Adler adds another simple, clear picture biography to his growing series as he tells the life story of baseball great, Jackie Robinson. Athletic prowess is only one component of the man. Robinson was also a model for those pursuing their dreams due to his courageous triumphs in the face of racial hatred and prejudice.
Description from Children's Literature
Teammates
By Peter Golenbock
Awards:
- 1990 Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
The moving story of how Jackie Robinson became the first black player on a major league baseball team and how on a fateful day in Cincinnati, PeeWee Reese took a stand and declared Jackie his teammate.
Description from Publisher
The event occurred during Jackie Robinson's first season with the Dodgers. Listening to the hatred that spilled out of the stands, Pee Wee Reese left his position at shortstop, walked over to Robinson at first base, put his around Robinson's shoulder, chatted for a few moments, and then returned to his position. The crowd was stunned into silence. Bacon has illustrated the book with an effective blend of photographs and drawings. Golenbock briefly but clearly describes the background of Robinson's entry into the National League, as well as Reese's background as a southerner and as the player with the most to fear if Robinson were successful--both men were shortstops (although Robinson would ultimately play second base). There have been several recent books about Robinson for young readers, such as David Adler's Jackie Robinson: He Was the First and Jim O'Connor's Jackie Robinson and the Story of All-Black Baseball, but none of them have the style or dramatic impact of Golenbock and Bacon's work. This is a wonderful and important story, beautifully presented
Description from School Library Journal
Eleanor Roosevelt
By Russell Freedman
A natural follow-up to Freedman's biography of FDR, this impeccably researched, highly readable study of one of this country's greatest First Ladies is nonfiction at its best. As a role model for girls and an inspiration to both genders, Eleanor Roosevelt remains unsurpassed. Freedman relates how she transcended both an unhappy childhood (her parents separated when she was six; her mother died when Eleanor was eight, and her father, an alcoholic, died two years later) and a timid nature to become one of the most outspoken, vigorous, highly regarded women in history. The vast range of her interests and activities--journalism, politics and social activism--becomes even more remarkable as the author deftly considers Eleanor Roosevelt's times and her social milieu. Approximately 140 well-chosen black-and-white photos amplify the text. Freedman writes both authoritatively and compellingly, and the Eleanor that emerges is a complex, flesh-and-blood individual, not a dull heroine of textbook history. He also deals plainly with some of the more sordid aspects of the Roosevelts' married life (namely FDR's infidelity), but he never sensationalizes, and his honesty and candor signal his respect for his subject and for his readers. This biography cannot be recommended highly enough.
Description from Publishers Weekly
In one of 1993's best biographies, Russell Freedman chronicles the life of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962). As America's First Lady she was both official hostess and avid champion of human rights. After her husband's death in 1945, she continued to work for peace and earned the title "First Lady of the World." Mr. Freedman's selection of 125 archival photographs, which show Mrs. Roosevelt with family, friends, and at work, illustrate a work that captures both the private and public side of this greatly admired woman.
Description from Children's Literature
A timid child from a dysfunctional family, Eleanor Roosevelt became a courageous woman whose career was propelled by a series of devastating events: FDR's polio, his relationship with Lucy Mercer, his election to offices that doomed his wife to supportive roles, his death; each time, with energy, determination, and an eye for the essential, Eleanor found new outlets and broke new ground with her accomplishments. Giving up her Democratic Party office when FDR was elected governor, she became his eyes and ears--a role she expanded as First Lady, touring the country and the world to observe and ask questions, winning over critics, reporting, advising, and acting as bellwether for forward-looking ideas on social policy and women's rights. After FDR's death, she chaired the UN commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And always, she wrote--articles, books, a daily column; presided over a large family with its share of troubles; and kept in touch with an ever-growing circle of close friends. In this generously full history (longer than his Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1990, and with more numerous, equally fine b&w photos), Freedman focuses, properly, on the public life more than the personal one, as Mrs. Roosevelt herself did. Even so, synthesizing a wealth of resources (ably surveyed in a descriptive bibliography), he brings her wonderfully to life as a rare blend of honesty, intelligence, deep concern for humanity, and ability to inspire loyalty and convey her ideas. Freedman at his best: a splendid achievement.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Freedman has created a sensitive biography of Eleanor Roosevelt -- certainly sympathetic but not overly adulatory; it captures her spirit. The beautifully crafted text flows smoothly and is accompanied by over one hundred black-and-white photographs portraying Roosevelt at every age. Young readers will find inspiration, hope, and guidance in the life of the outstanding woman.
Description from Horn Book
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
By Russell Freedman
Awards:
- ALA Notable Children's Book
- Booklist Editors' Choice
- Golden Kite Award
- Horn Book Fanfare Selection
- IRA Teachers' Choice
- Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
- School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
- NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
- YASD Best Book for Young Adults
- Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
This book traces the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from his birth in 1882 through his youth, early political career, and presidency, to his death. Annotated bibliography. Index.
Description from Publisher
Newbery Award Winner Russell Freedman has gifted us with another memorable biography. Roosevelt, the man, emerges forcefully throughout the book. His confidence and vigor allow readers to see why he was able to lead us through a severe Depression and a devastating world war so successfully. Although he was crippled by polio in 1921, he led such an active life that the public never knew how handicapped he really was. Children will meet a likeable, down-to-earth, yet complex man who understood the meaning of 'leadership.' The photos are gems and provide a candid glimpse of the man and his family.
Description from Children's Literature
Newbery Medalist Freedman (Lincoln: A Photobiography) breathes new life into the subject of our 32nd president. FDR (1882-1945) emerges in all his complexity: Freedman succinctly presents the privileged student "content to squeak by" on a "gentleman's C"; the suitor defying his mother; the polio victim whose suffering taught him compassion for the common man; and, of course, the statesman and leader who shepherded the U.S. through the Depression and WW II. Liberal use of judicious quotations vivifies every discussion. The 125 photographs and prints are equally well-chosen--requisite images of the FDR era are included along with the more unusual, and nearly all are stirring. Fortunately, this fine biography does not apologize for FDR's failings. He is specifically castigated for his failure to save European Jews from Hitler; his "romance" with Lucy Mercer is also mentioned, as well as its profound effect on Eleanor (who is admiringly captured throughout). Young readers will need help interpreting some of the terminology here ("trickle-down" economics, for example), but Freedman's heartening pace and equable tone will stimulate the reader to seek that help.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Unlike many Presidential biographers, Mr. Freedman keeps his sights squarely on Roosevelt the man even after F.D.R. enters the White House. . . . But in making F.D.R. accessible on the personal terms that today's readers are likely to expect, Mr. Freedman de-emphasizes the political achievements that are the source of his greatest importance. He has wisely avoided a standard chronological account of the New Deal but presents a series of succinct, topical pictures of major policies. These descriptions give at least some sense of what made the New Deal important. . . . {The author's} skillful portrait of the most important American President of this century encourages us to admire Franklin Roosevelt more for who he was than for what he did.
Description from The New York Times Book Review
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
By Jean Fritz
Concluding her first chapter with the death of Roosevelt's father while Roosevelt was still at Harvard, Fritz includes a telling quote ("I felt stunned...he was everything to me"), then telegraphs her theme in her uniquely lucid, succinct style: "In his distress, Teddy may have felt that...his boyhood was gone. If so, he would have been wrong. [He] would always be a boy. And...his father would always be looking over his shoulder." With judicious balance, Fritz surveys the salient facts-- Roosevelt's political rise, his groundbreaking work as reformer and environmentalist, his sturdy militarism-- illuminating them with revealing incidents especially interesting to young readers, from his early interest in natural history (at seven, he was diligently recording animals' measurements; he learned taxidermy just a few years later) to his indulgence toward his children's White House escapades. Each entrancing detail contributes to the larger picture of Roosevelt: active, imaginative, indefatigable, a man who left law school when he found that law ``had less to do with justice than he thought it should'' and diverted himself from grief with hard work. This colorful, idiosyncratic President, long a biographers' favorite, has never been portrayed with more beguiling wit, precision, and honesty. An excellent book, one of Fritz's best.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
This very fine biography captures the exuberance and enthusiasm of Teddy Roosevelt without resorting to the fictionalization and unrestrained hero worship that has been so common in biographies for children in the past. It covers Roosevelt's entire life from his sickly childhood through his political career and presidency to his last expedition in the jungles of South America shortly before his death. Fritz discusses both his personal life and public achievements, emphasizing his role in the early conservation movement and his drives for reform in government and industry. She quotes him frequently, using letters, speeches, and memoirs (all documented in notes). She also includes a strong bibliography. The real strength of this book, however, is its look into Roosevelt's spirit. It communicates how his determination and drive changed both politics and the presidency, and how those changes helped create what we know as the modern presidency. Fritz is admiring of Roosevelt, but she also points out his weaknesses and faults. As usual, her writing and organization are excellent. An outstanding portrait of one of America's favorite characters that should have a place in all children's collections. Bully for this book!
Description from School Library Journal
Peter Stuyvesant:
New Amsterdam and the Origins of New York
By L. J. Krizner and Lisa Sita
The origin of New York, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the United States today, reaches back more than 350 years ago. Before New York was New York, it was the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, founded in 1624. Although New Amsterdam lasted only 40 years before it was taken over by the English, the Dutch presence in America was to influence culture in the Northeast for centuries to come. Part of the Dutch legacy handed down to the present day is the story of New Amsterdam's most well known leader, Petrus, or Peter Stuyvesant.
Description from Publisher
Legends abound about the character, temperament, and wooden leg of the last director-general of New Amsterdam, fueled primarily by Washington Irving's satirical A History of New York. Krizner and Sita set the record straight here and address other misconceptions about the early days of the colony. Indeed, historical evidence does not support the legend of the 24-dollar purchase of Manhattan Island. Stuyvesant did, however, rule with an "iron fist," but loved New Amsterdam and its people, staying on after the colony fell to the English. To this day, street, neighborhood, and borough names (Broadway, Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn), and the popularity of some foods (pretzels), reflect the early Dutch influence in New York. The tightly written text is supported by extraordinary illustrations, maps, paintings, and quotes from primary sources. An absorbing story of a man and a place.
Description from School Library Journal
Notorious Americans and Their Times:
Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall
By Ruth Ashby
Examines the actions of Boss Tweed, the powerful, influential, and corrupt public works commissioner for New York City from 1863-1871, and of the political organization that he and his associates controlled.
Description from Publisher
It might seem that a book about mobster Siegel and the seedy underworld in which he lived would be little more than a glorification of bad behavior. But thanks to Otfinoski's formidable talents, that's not the case. What emerges here is the destructive folly of overblown ego, bad judgment, and alliances with characters whose loyalty stretches only as far as the bottom dollar. Even better, Siegel's story is embedded in a larger historical context of the depression, World War II, and the postwar flight to suburbia. In sweeping but crystal-clear descriptions, Otfinoski provides a brief, solid view of mid-twentieth-century history that makes plain the mobsters' wayward thinking and activities. Shared in straightforward prose, the revelations of the destructive aftermath of each gangster's tenuous glory vividly verify that, in this arena, people reap exactly what they sow.
Description from Booklist
John Peter Zenger:
Free Press Adovocate
By Karen Westermann
These slim volumes contain much information about their subjects and the times in which they lived. In both, the politics and conflicts of the period and other, related key figures are also discussed. A few boxed texts within each book provide additional background information. Framed and captioned, color and black-and-white photos of sites and reproductions of portraits and scenes of daily life complement the texts.
Description from School Library Journal
Details the life of John Peter Zenger, who faced many trials and hardships as publisher of the Journal.
Description from Publisher
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Extraordinary People of the Harlem Renaissance
By P. Stephen Hardy & Sheila Jackson Hardy
This hefty volume, useful for research and interesting for browsing, introduces the leaders of the African American creative movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. A few chapters discuss topics such as "the New Negro," the Jazz Age, and patrons of the arts, but most are devoted to key figures in the movement. Forty-four individuals are featured in chapters several pages in length. Typically, there is a portrait photo and sometimes an additional black-and-white picture, perhaps of a band, a painting, or a stage production. Appendixes include an annotated list of 40 other figures in the Harlem Renaissance, a glossary, and lists of books and Web sites. Clearly written and designed, this provides a good starting place for research on the period and the people who created it.
Description from Booklist
This well-researched work provides concise, well-written biographies of forty-four outstanding scholars, educators, writers, poets, performers, and artists who distinguished themselves during the 1920s and 1930s. It brings to light many important people who contributed greatly to an often-overlooked period of American history. Famous people, such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Louis Armstrong, and Zora Neale Hurston, can be found here as well as those who are lesser known, such as Countee Cullen, Jessie Redmon Fauset, and Sargent Claude Johnson. Interspersed with brief four- to six-page biographies and superb black-and-white photographs of each subject, the authors include theme chapters that provide the reader with important information and a historical perspective of the Harlem Renaissance. Chapters such as "The New Negro" and "The Jazz Age" offer insight and relevancy that underline the achievements of the biographies. This volume contains some valuable extras for the reader, including forty thumbnail sketches of additional contributors to the Harlem Renaissance and a useful glossary. The section on further reading is divided nicely for younger and older readers and is followed by an excellent list of Internet sites for more information. The Hardys have done younger researchers a service by gathering so many important people in one volume. Broad in scope and rich in information, this book would be a great resource for middle and high school students
Description from VOYA
Artists and Writers of the Harlem Renaissance
By Wendy Hart Beckman
Harlem is an area of Manhattan in New York City. Wonderful creativity in the black community arose in this section of Manhattan. This movement was fed by both black and white sponsors and audiences. Art, writing, and music flourished for over a decade, and the lives of many African Americans flourished along with them. This period was called the Harlem Renaissance. Discover the works of James Weldon Johnson, Alain LeRoy Locke, Zora Neale Hurston, Bessie Smith, Aaron Douglas, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, and Josephine Baker.
Description from Publisher
Harlem, New York was the setting for a cultural upsurge in the 1920's and 1930's. During those decades a series of Black writers, artists, vocalists, and poets sprang forth and gave voice to the conditions of African-Americans. At a time when racial prejudice was even more overt than in our own age, it took great courage for Black artists to stand up and honestly portray their lot in America. Artists such as Langston Hughes, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and Josephine Baker all provided a unique expression to what it meant to be a Black person either living in America or with American roots. This artistic movement came to be known as the Harlem Renaissance and that is the subject covered in this collection of short biographies. In this illustrated selection author Wendy Hart Beckman provides encapsulated biographies of ten artists who participated in the Harlem Renaissance. In each instance Ms. Beckman provides a careful outline of the artist's background, development, contributions, and later life. This is a good reference tool for readers with an interest in African-American history or specifically Black artists of this era. The Harlem Renaissance was a significant movement in American culture and Ms. Beckman does well to offer readers a summary of some of the leading lights of that period.
Description from Children's Literature
Individual Biographies
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra
By Andrea Davis Pinkney
Awards:
- Caldecott Honor Book
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, "King of the Keys," was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. "He was a smooth-talkin', slick-steppin', piano-playin' kid," writes master wordsmith Andrea Pinkney in the rhythmic, fluid, swinging prose of this excellent biography for early readers. It was ragtime music that first "set Duke's fingers to wiggling." He got back to work and taught himself to "press on the pearlies." Soon 19-year-old Duke was playing compositions "smoother than a hairdo sleeked with pomade" at parties, pool halls, country clubs, and cabarets. Skipping from D.C. to 1920s Harlem, "the place where jazz music ruled," Duke and his small band called the Washingtonians began performing in New York City clubs, including the Cotton Club, where Duke Ellington and his Orchestra was officially born. By 1943, Duke Ellington--writer of more than 1000 compositions, including ballet and film scores, orchestral suites, musicals, and choral works--had made it all the way to Carnegie Hall.
We applaud this talented husband-and-wife team--award-winning illustrator Brian Pinkney and writer Andrea Pinkney--for making music fly in this fantastic tribute to a jazz legend. Andrea does an extraordinary job of translating music into words, with blues "deeper than the deep blue sea" and "hot-buttered bob, with lots of sassy-cool tones," while her husband visually interprets the movement of music as spirals, waves, and swirls of color, prepared as scratchboard renderings with luma dyes, gouache, and oil paint. Andrea writes, "Toby let loose on his sleek brass sax, curling his notes like a kite tail in the wind. A musical loop-de-loop, with a serious twist," while Brian paints those curling notes, the loop-de-loops, and the kite sailing up to the New York City skyline. Young readers will enjoy the rhythm and beauty of the story itself, and may even be inspired to give Raffi a rest and swing with the Duke!
Description from Amazon.com
Addressing readers directly``You ever heard of the jazz-playin' man, the man with the cats who could swing with his band?''the Pinkneys embark on a cool and vibrant tour of Duke Ellington's musical career, from the pool hall ragtime that ``set Duke's fingers to wiggling,'' to his 1943 Carnegie Hall concert, also giving some of the soloists that played with him, and songwriter Billy Strayhorn, a chance to step forward. Translated into color and visual forms, music floats and swirls through the scratchboard scenes, curling out of an antique radio, setting dancers to ``cuttin' the rug'' at the elegant Cotton Club and, of course, trailing behind an ``A'' train. Like Chris Raschka's solos, Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop and Mysterious Thelonius, this loving tribute temptingly evokes the sound and spirit of a jazz pioneer.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man
By David A. Adler
The story of Lou Gehrig, the heroic Yankee who battled with ALS, was inspirational far beyond Yankee Stadium. David Adler's spare biography tells Gehrig's story just as the athlete lived: with unassuming simplicity. It's a wise choice, since the story is so affecting on its own. Another wise choice was Adler's decision to remain vague about the details of Gehrig's illness. The story is no less affecting without them, and probably contains enough sadness for any child. As good as this book is, Terry Widener's illustrations multiply its impact enormously.
[Recommended for ages 5-9. Older siblings will probably be willing to hang around to hear it though.]
Description from Amazon.com
Kids of today may not immediately recognize the name Lou Gehrig, but they will be immediately drawn into this picture book for older children about the "Iron Horse." Adler sets his narrative stage by telling readers that in 1903, Henry Ford sold his first auto, the Wright brothers took their first flight, and Lou Gehrig was born. Young Lou, who never missed a day of school, became a baseball player who never missed a game. Crisply and concisely, Adler covers the many high points of Gehrig's career, at the same time giving readers a real sense of the man and his shining spirit. Gehrig's illness and eventual death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are handled with dignity and in a way youngsters will understand. The picture-book format gets a lift here from Widener's impressive artwork. Reminiscent of WPA art with its rounded shapes and potent energy, these pictures project a zest for life on and off the playing field. The last spread, showing Yankee Stadium on the day of Gehrig's funeral, awash in rain, provides a silent but powerful ending to Gehrig's story.
Description from Booklist
The aw-shucks decency of Gehrig drives this picture-book biography from Adler (One Yellow Daffodil); what comes through is Gehrig as a genuine rarity, blessed with colossal athletic talent that he carried with dignity and modesty. The familiar story (no sources are given, but it follows the Gary Cooper movie, Pride of the Yankees, quite closely) is here: how Gehrig left college and signed with the Yankees to get money for his family; his remarkable, 14-year, 2,130-consecutive-game record; how he benched himself when he started to experience the effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; his farewell speech to Yankee fans ("I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth"); his death at age 37 and the rain that fell on his funeral. Adler never overstates the adulation, which would sound hokey on anyone else's shoulders, but fits Gehrig snugly. Newcomer Widener's illustrations capture the texture of Gehrig's city and playing fields, although one spread--of Yankee Stadium in the rain-- brings the book to a premature close (a dangling page of text follows). Readers will feel good after reading this biography--and maybe even inspired to start measuring themselves against Gehrig's standard.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Rudolph W. Giuliani: America's Mayor
By Eleanor Fremont
ONCE A MAYOR -- NOW A HERO
On September 11, 2001, our nation watched in horror as the United States came under siege. In the aftermath, New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani rose to the forefront as a strong and compassionate leader -- offering candid information, comforting those in pain, and proving himself a man of tremendous dedication to those in his charge.
This revealing biography illustrates how his life's work prepared him for this incredible challenge. From his childhood in Brooklyn to his controversial work with the Department of Justice to his eight years as the mayor of one of the most complex cities in the world, Rudolph W. Giuliani -- Time magazine's Person of the Year -- has become one of the most fascinating and exceptional leaders of our time.
Description from Publisher
Rudolph W. Giuliani: America's Mayor by Eleanor Fremont provides an account of the former New York City mayor's Brooklyn roots, his stint in Washington as the number three man in the Department of Justice and his tenure as U.S. Attorney in New York. Special attention is paid to Giuliani's role in the recovery efforts following September 11.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Rudolph Giuliani
(Rookie Biographies)
By Wil Mara
Presents a brief look at the life of one of New York City's most popular mayors.
Looking for biographies that are suitable for emergent readers-and relevant to the primary-school curriculum? Rookie Biographies is the answer! Identical in design and format to the popular Rookie Read-About Science, Geography, and Holiday series, each new Rookie Biographies introduces children to the lives and achievements of pioneering men and women from diverse cultures, eras, and fields. Featuring simple text and full-color photographs, a "Words You Know" glossary, and an easy-to-use index, Rookie Biographies helps readers get to know the people who shaped our world.
Description from Publisher
Rudy Giuliani
(Blue Banner Biography)
By John Bankston
During the 2000 presidential race, both candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush, had fathers who had been in politics. At the same time, the mayor of the largest city in the United States had a very different family history. His father wasn't a senator or a president. He was a convicted felon.
Yet in spite of his family's background, Rudy Giuliani not only became the mayor of New York City, but he also helped convict both crooked cops and corrupt politicians as a young lawyer. Here is the story of one man's strive for excellence despite the odds against him. This is the story of Rudy Giuliani.
Description from Publisher
A Day in the Life of a Mayor:
Featuring New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
By Liza N. Burby
Explores a typical day in the work of the mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani, describing many of the activities that make up his busy schedule.
Description from Publisher
Whoopi Goldberg: Comedian and Movie Star
By William Caper
How did a poor, shy little girl from the housing projects of New York City rise to Hollywood stardom and international fame? By the time she was twenty years old, Whoopi Goldberg was a high school dropout, a recovered drug addict, and a divorced mother. Moving to California, she found whatever work she could: as a bricklayer, a bank teller, even a hairstylist for the dead at a funeral parlor. Throughout her life, Goldberg's dream was to be a performer, and that dream led her at last to Broadway and then to Hollywood and an Academy Award for her role in the movie Ghost. Outrageous Whoopi Goldberg is not a typical Hollywood personality, and her rocky pathway to success and fame is a compelling story.
Description from Publisher
Alexander Hamilton:
America's Bold Lion
By John M. Rosenburg
A hurricane (at least his brilliant report of one) blew the teenaged Alexander Hamilton from the Virgin Islands to the American colonies in 1772. The rest of his meteoric rise during the American Revolution, and his fall under the hand of the villain, Aaron Burr, could also be described as a hurricane. Alexander Hamilton became an almost unstoppable force in American history. Rosenburg, the author of a three-part biography of George Washington, takes on this force as he expands his coverage of the Founding Fathers in his substantial exploration of Hamilton's life. Not only is it readable and well-illustrated, but Rosenburg has managed to make it interesting for kids and adults alike. His reportage of Hamilton's early life in the West Indies never glosses over the issue of illegitimacy, and the explanation of Hamilton's later maneuvers to create a national bank for the young republic is understandable, at last, for someone without a degree in economics. This is a solid, intelligent piece of work that deserves to be added to school libraries.
Description from Children's Literature
Hiawatha: Founder of the Iroquois Confederacy
By Nancy Bonvillain
Hiawatha is revered among the Iroquois people as a hero of mythic proportions. His greatest accomplishment was the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy, a league of Indian nations that stresses cooperation, peace, and unity.
Description from Publisher
Not the Hiawatha of Longfellow, this is the equally legendary but real fifteenth-century Onondaga chief, whose fame is based on his success in bringing peace among warring tribes. Bonvillain traces the history of the Iroquois as well. Fascinating reading, illustrated with a variety of black-and-white drawings, paintings, and photographs.
Description from Horn Book
Forest Diplomat: The Story of Hiawatha
By Jill C. Wheeler
Hiawatha: Messenger of Peace
By Dennis Brindell Fradin
A portrait of the great Iroquois leader Hiawatha chronicles his role in bringing peace to the five warring Iroquois tribes and uniting them into the powerful Iroquois Federation, in a biography enhanced by paintings by modern Iroquois artists.
Description from Publisher
In Fradin's enlightening work, readers will learn about the real Hiawatha. This courageous, kind man--and inspiring speaker--ensured the survival of his people for 300 years after his death. The author recounts the childhood of this celebrated Iroquois Indian, the tragic murder of his family, stet comma and the incredible strength and forgiveness he found within himself to become a peacemaker between his people's fighting tribes. Hiawatha and a Canadian Indian named Degandawida encouraged the Iroquois to form their own government, which , in turn, created tranquility and humanity throughout that nation. Unlike literary works that describe Hiawatha as godlike or supernatural, this text accurately explains the role he has played in our history.
Description from Publishers Weekly
In this brief biography, Fradin shows what Hiawatha's life might have been like by drawing on what is actually known about the Indians of the Longhouse of his time. He clearly labels what is surmised, legend, and known fact as he tells of the adult Hiawatha's role as a peacemaker and as one of the founders of the Iroquois Confederacy. He also mentions aspects of this confederacy that the founders of our nation incorporated into the U. S. Constitution. The book is copiously illustrated with both black-and-white and full-color photographs of Indian artifacts and of paintings and sculpture by Native American artists, all relevant to the text. This attractive volume helps fill the need for good, readable biographies for this age group.
Description from school Library Journal
Debunking the false stories of Hiawatha popularized by Longfellow's poem, Fradin tries to get at the truth about the real Iroquois leader who lived about 500 years ago. What the author finds in his careful search is a Hiawatha who was in many ways more remarkable, as well as more human, than the romantic legend. It's hard to get exact facts, and Fradin is scrupulous in distinguishing what is known, what is surmised, and what is legend. It seems that Hiawatha was a great peacemaker. Despite his terrible grief when his wife and children were murdered by his enemy, Hiawatha sought not revenge but community, and by his example he brought five warring tribes together in a national federation with a form of representative government that "many historians claim" became a model for the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps the best part of the book is the illustrations, many of them in color, almost all by Indian artists, collected from museums across the country: they show various views of Hiawatha in his grief and in his struggle.
Description from Booklist
Beyond the Sea of Ice: The Voyages of Henry Hudson
By Joan Elizabeth Goodman
It was there. Henry Hudson was certain of it. Beyond the impenetrable fog and crushing ice of the North Atlantic lay the dream of kings, merchants and learned geographers - a passage to the Orient.
Sailing small wooden boats well above the arctic circle, guided by maps and charts that were based on rumor and hope as much as fact, surrounded by crews that shared neither his belief nor his commitment, Henry Hudson searched again and again for what was not there. In 1611, his mutinous crew set him adrift on the freezing waters of the bay that would one day bear his name.
Beyond the Sea of Ice is the story of Henry Hudson's four harrowing voyages of discovery. Bringing the skills of an experienced novelist to her first non- fiction book, author Joan Elizabeth Goodman creates an epic narrative of Henry Hudson's passionate quest. Fernando Rangel's paintings capture the icy beauty of the North Atlantic, the lushness of the new world and the cruelty and death that accompanied a voyage of discovery. Actual entries from the journals of each voyage bring the reader directly into life at sea in the 17th century.
Description from Publisher
This attractive volume from the Great Explorers Books series begins with an introduction that sets the stage for the Age of Exploration and Hudson's part in it. A foldout map indicating the routes of Hudson's four voyages of exploration extends beyond the pages, making it accessible to readers as they follow his story through the text. Each chapter focuses on one voyage, including its sponsors, purpose, difficulties (sometimes calamities), and its outcome. Full-page, bordered paintings provide dramatic visions of events, while small ink drawings and maps are also effective. An introduction to Hudson's voyages that will spark readers' interest.
Description from Booklist
Recounting each of the four voyages Henry Hudson undertook in hopes of discovering the Northwest Passage, the book presents a clear, if undramatic, overview of the explorer's accomplishments and sad fate. Excerpts from the diaries of Hudson and some of his shipmates accompany the text, which is illustrated with occasionally static full-page paintings. A complete list of Hudson's crew is included.
Description from Horn Book
The Travels of Henry Hudson
By Joanne Mattern
A high-interest take on history!
Long-ago adventures are still a thrill in these vividly illustrated titles. These exciting tales of the quest for wealth and land describe the routes taken by famous explorers, the hardships they endured, and the rewards they reaped. Titles also address the dire impact these explorations made on the native inhabitants of conquered lands.
A biography of the English explorer and sea captain who explored three North American waterways later named for him--the Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and Hudson Strait.
Description from Publisher
Henry Hudson
By Andrew Santella
Going for the Gold
Sarah Hughes: America's Sweetheart
By Ruth Ashby
Ice Princess
Sarah Hughes was born to skate, and she proved to the world with her dramatic gold medal victory at the 2002 Winter Olympics. But the road to Olympic glory was not always easy for this Long Island teen.
Going for the Gold: Sarah Hughes is the amazing true story of a brilliant skater's Olympic quest.
Here's what you'll find out about America's newest sweetheart:- Sarah's first time on the ice
- How her family's support helped her through difficult times
- How Sarah braved the rocky road to the Olympics
- Sarah's hopes for the future
Description from Publisher
Sarah Hughes: Golden Girl
(All Aboard Reading. Level 3)
By Nancy E. Krulik
Sarah Hughes: Golden Girl by Nancy Krulik, part of the All Aboard Reading series, opens with the figure skater's gold-medal performance at the Salt Lake Ice Center then chronicles the career of the Long Island teen from learning to lace her skates at age three to life after the Olympics.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Ezra Jack Keats: A Biography With Illustrations
By Dean Engel & Florence B. Freedman
Based on conversations with Keats and on his autobiographical writings, this tells the story of the artist's life. It concentrates on his childhood and youth but includes his winning of the Caldecott Medal in 1963 for The Snowy Day and his death in 1983.
Born Jack Ezra Katz, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Keats loved to draw and paint as a child. Encouraged by his mother and discouraged by his father, who feared that his son would never earn his living, Keats followed his dream to become an artist. Anecdotes and conversations make his story quite readable. The use of artwork from Keats' books works very well visually, but since the connection between the pictures in his books and incidents in his life aren't always made in the text, it's often hard to know how closely an illustration reflects an actual experience--and using a detail from Clementina's Cactus, set in the desert of the Southwest, to illustrate Keats' trip to Appalachia seems absurd. Scenes from the picture books are bright, attractive additions, but more intriguing are reproductions of the artist's early paintings. A large-format book with big type, this would be a good resource for classroom units on authors.
Description from Booklist
Engel and Freedman, both friends of the deceased artist, have produced a simply and lovingly written biography, said to be based on their conversations with Keats and on his autobiographical essays. They trace his beginnings in Brooklyn, NY, as Jack Ezra Katz, and describe his early years during the Depression and the obstacles he had to overcome to realize his dream of becoming an artist. Appropriately, the text is accompanied by his paintings, sketches, and illustrations from some of his more than 20 children's books. Readers are treated to beautiful full-color reproductions from such titles as The Snowy Day, Goggles!, The Trip, Louie's Search, and Apt. 3. Unfortunately, the book has neither a bibliography nor endnotes. Nonetheless, this attractive, oversized volume is a must read for Keats's many fans and a marvelous way to introduce (or reintroduce) children to his work.
Description from School Library Journal
The Declaration of Independence and Robert Livingston of New York
By Kathy Furgang
Robert Livingston was born into a wealthy and prominent family in New York City. By 1771, however, Robert had been removed from his judiciary post for speaking out against the British government. His voice was instrumental in the shaping of the document, and would remain instrumental in both the young country and the new state of New York.
Description from Publisher
Sybil Ludington: The Call to Arms
By V. T. Dacquino
Sybil Ludington earned a place in American history on a rainy night in 1777 when she rode 40 miles through enemy-infested woods to summon her father's regiment to halt a British raid on Connecticut and New York. Though Paul Revere is the most celebrated revolutionary to sound the call to arms, Sybil Ludington's ride was bolder and far more dangerous, and she was only sixteen years old. Widowed young, she became a successful businesswoman in a profession then dominated by men and raised her son to become a man of stature in his community.
Description from Publisher
Ride for Freedom: The Story of Sybil Ludington
By Judy Hominick, Jeanne Spreier
Silver Moon Press is delighted to announce the launch of a brand new biographical nonfiction series. This series will focus on the true stories of heroic young people, whose courage, independence, and determination to live free, will inspire a whole new generation of young readers. Each book is reviewed for accuracy by a historical expert.
Description from Publisher
The Man Who Made Parks: The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted
By Frieda Wishinsky
When the great cities of North America were being developed, there was little thought to creating “green spaces.” Frederick Law Olmsted combined his childhood love for nature with the structured beauty of the great parks of London and Paris to turn a neglected, swampy area into one of the most acclaimed parks in North America: Central Park in New York City.
Description from Publisher
Parks for the People:
A Story about Frederick Law Olmsted
By Julie Dunlap
As with others in the series, this biography begins with an incident from the subject's early life, in this case Olmsted's first visit to Niagara Falls. After this somewhat fictionalized scene, Dunlap writes a fairly even and honest account of the first landscape architect in the U.S. Readers learn about the problems that Olmsted and Calvert Vaux had in raising money to build Central Park and their struggles with politicians and budget constraints to bring the project to fruition. The author shows that Olmsted ran into similar problems when he designed plans for protecting Yosemite from the same influx of commercialism that had ruined Niagara Falls. Very little of the subject's private life is included. A list of important parks is appended, as well as a good bibliography
Description from School Library Journal
{This} is a good book for the younger reader. The material is interesting and informative, but is not as in-depth as one would like. . . . There is a message of dedication and perseverance with the transfer of love of natural beauty into parks for all to enjoy. The book gives references for further reading and serves to highlight Olmsted as a role model for our present society.
Description from Science Books & Films
Seneca Chief, Army General: A Story About Ely Parker (Creative Minds Biography)
By Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
Ely Parker grew up on the Tonawanda Reservation in New York in the 1830s. There he learned the ways of his people, the Seneca Indians. Ely worked many years to save his reservation from a land company, and as a result, he was made a sachem, or chief, by his people. At the same time, he was working as a translator and ambassador to bridge the gap that divided his people from the white Americans. After serving in the Civil War, Ely went on to become a United States general and lead the agency in charge of Indian affairs. Author Elizabeth Van Steenwyk tells this inspiring, and surprising, story of a man who achieved amazing success in two very different worlds.
Description from Publisher
Parker is probably best known as the Native American appointed by Ulysses Grant as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post. His tenure in that office was brief; jealousy and racism brought him under fire from disgruntled opponents, and though he was cleared of any wrongdoing, he resigned. The author spends the first half of the book on the events in Parker's life prior to his fateful meeting with Grant. She describes the difficulties the young boy from the Tonawanda Reservation in New York encountered during his years at a Baptist mission school, on an Iroquois settlement in Canada, and at the academies he attended to further his education. Having decided to study law, he discovered that only American citizens can take the bar exam, and as an Indian, he was not a citizen. Parker was an effective spokesperson and his work earned him the respect of his people. Van Steenwyk writes simply but well about this interesting, and in many ways tragic, man about whom little has been written for children. The book is illustrated with black-and-white drawings; there are no source notes, but there is a bibliography. Harold Felton's Ely S. Parker has fictionalized dialogue and is less forthright about the discrimination Parker faced throughout his life and career. Interesting in its own right, Seneca Chief will also be useful for students needing a biography of a Native American.
Description from School Library Journal
A new volume in the Creative Minds Biographies series acquaints middle-grade readers with Ely Parker, a Seneca chief who achieved success in both the Native American and white worlds. Born in 1828 on the Tonawonda Reservation in New York, Ely attended mission schools as well as boarding schools and became an interpreter at age 14. After he fought successfully to save the reservation from a land company, his people made him a sachem, or chief. Following Parker's exemplary service in the Civil War, President Grant appointed him to be commissioner of Indian affairs. Van Steenwyk shares the struggles as well as the successes of this extraordinary man and explores some of the complex issues that Indian people faced in the 1800s.
Description from Booklist
Colin Powell
By Melissa Banta
Colin Powell's inner-city childhood gave no clues that he would grow up to be the top-ranking U.S. military officer. In school he horsed around and his grades showed it. He spent aimless hours on the streets and at the movies with his pals. Nevertheless, Powell learned from his West Indian immigrant parents that hard work and education were the keys to success. Powell's life has been a testament to the American Dream, championing the ideals of democracy for all, regardless of class or color.
Description from Publisher
An objective biography of the now-retired black general who became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led the hunt for Noriega in Panama, and engineered the Operation Desert Storm invasion of Kuwait. Well researched, with a bibliography of recent sources, it is of manageable length and has an open format, well-organized chapters, and frequent black-and-white photos. The variety of sentence structure in the text maintains interest. Quotes from Powell and those who have known him add authenticity. This book compares favorably with Elaine Landau's Colin Powell, which is shorter and has more photographs. Banta's book has fewer illustrations but more information, making it better for older students.
Description from School Library Journal
Colin Powell
By Elaine Landau
Prior to the Gulf War, the accomplishments and background of the first black head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not widely known. This biography fills the void by providing information on him. Landau gives solid information about Powell's background and career in a straightforward manner. She relates how a combination of hard work, diligence, and excellent performance in the military propelled him to the top. The overall portrayal of Powell is one of a dedicated individual who wants to be judged solely by his ability. Numerous, mostly full-color photographs, of Powell or of African-American soldiers reinforce the text. A good overview of an important military figure.
Description from School Library Journal
A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson
By David A. Adler
When Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, there were no other African Americans playing in the major leagues. The thoughtful, brief portrait illuminates the courage and character of an American hero. Appealing watercolors complement the simple text.
Description from Horn Book
A brief look at the life of baseball great Jackie Robinson. The subject's childhood, sporting accomplishments, and later endeavors are touched upon, as are the bigotry and prejudice he faced as the first African American to play in the major leagues. The information is similar to that found in Carol Greene's Jackie Robinson, though Adler's writing is smoother. Casilla's full-and double-page watercolors provide attractive backgrounds for the text. A sound introduction to a significant figure.
Description from School Library Journal
Adler adds another simple, clear picture biography to his growing series as he tells the life story of baseball great, Jackie Robinson. Athletic prowess is only one component of the man. Robinson was also a model for those pursuing their dreams due to his courageous triumphs in the face of racial hatred and prejudice.
Description from Children's Literature
Teammates
By Peter Golenbock
Awards:
- 1990 Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
The moving story of how Jackie Robinson became the first black player on a major league baseball team and how on a fateful day in Cincinnati, PeeWee Reese took a stand and declared Jackie his teammate.
Description from Publisher
The event occurred during Jackie Robinson's first season with the Dodgers. Listening to the hatred that spilled out of the stands, Pee Wee Reese left his position at shortstop, walked over to Robinson at first base, put his around Robinson's shoulder, chatted for a few moments, and then returned to his position. The crowd was stunned into silence. Bacon has illustrated the book with an effective blend of photographs and drawings. Golenbock briefly but clearly describes the background of Robinson's entry into the National League, as well as Reese's background as a southerner and as the player with the most to fear if Robinson were successful--both men were shortstops (although Robinson would ultimately play second base). There have been several recent books about Robinson for young readers, such as David Adler's Jackie Robinson: He Was the First and Jim O'Connor's Jackie Robinson and the Story of All-Black Baseball, but none of them have the style or dramatic impact of Golenbock and Bacon's work. This is a wonderful and important story, beautifully presented
Description from School Library Journal
Eleanor Roosevelt
By Russell Freedman
A natural follow-up to Freedman's biography of FDR, this impeccably researched, highly readable study of one of this country's greatest First Ladies is nonfiction at its best. As a role model for girls and an inspiration to both genders, Eleanor Roosevelt remains unsurpassed. Freedman relates how she transcended both an unhappy childhood (her parents separated when she was six; her mother died when Eleanor was eight, and her father, an alcoholic, died two years later) and a timid nature to become one of the most outspoken, vigorous, highly regarded women in history. The vast range of her interests and activities--journalism, politics and social activism--becomes even more remarkable as the author deftly considers Eleanor Roosevelt's times and her social milieu. Approximately 140 well-chosen black-and-white photos amplify the text. Freedman writes both authoritatively and compellingly, and the Eleanor that emerges is a complex, flesh-and-blood individual, not a dull heroine of textbook history. He also deals plainly with some of the more sordid aspects of the Roosevelts' married life (namely FDR's infidelity), but he never sensationalizes, and his honesty and candor signal his respect for his subject and for his readers. This biography cannot be recommended highly enough.
Description from Publishers Weekly
In one of 1993's best biographies, Russell Freedman chronicles the life of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962). As America's First Lady she was both official hostess and avid champion of human rights. After her husband's death in 1945, she continued to work for peace and earned the title "First Lady of the World." Mr. Freedman's selection of 125 archival photographs, which show Mrs. Roosevelt with family, friends, and at work, illustrate a work that captures both the private and public side of this greatly admired woman.
Description from Children's Literature
A timid child from a dysfunctional family, Eleanor Roosevelt became a courageous woman whose career was propelled by a series of devastating events: FDR's polio, his relationship with Lucy Mercer, his election to offices that doomed his wife to supportive roles, his death; each time, with energy, determination, and an eye for the essential, Eleanor found new outlets and broke new ground with her accomplishments. Giving up her Democratic Party office when FDR was elected governor, she became his eyes and ears--a role she expanded as First Lady, touring the country and the world to observe and ask questions, winning over critics, reporting, advising, and acting as bellwether for forward-looking ideas on social policy and women's rights. After FDR's death, she chaired the UN commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And always, she wrote--articles, books, a daily column; presided over a large family with its share of troubles; and kept in touch with an ever-growing circle of close friends. In this generously full history (longer than his Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1990, and with more numerous, equally fine b&w photos), Freedman focuses, properly, on the public life more than the personal one, as Mrs. Roosevelt herself did. Even so, synthesizing a wealth of resources (ably surveyed in a descriptive bibliography), he brings her wonderfully to life as a rare blend of honesty, intelligence, deep concern for humanity, and ability to inspire loyalty and convey her ideas. Freedman at his best: a splendid achievement.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Freedman has created a sensitive biography of Eleanor Roosevelt -- certainly sympathetic but not overly adulatory; it captures her spirit. The beautifully crafted text flows smoothly and is accompanied by over one hundred black-and-white photographs portraying Roosevelt at every age. Young readers will find inspiration, hope, and guidance in the life of the outstanding woman.
Description from Horn Book
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
By Russell Freedman
Awards:
- ALA Notable Children's Book
- Booklist Editors' Choice
- Golden Kite Award
- Horn Book Fanfare Selection
- IRA Teachers' Choice
- Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
- School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
- NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
- YASD Best Book for Young Adults
- Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
This book traces the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from his birth in 1882 through his youth, early political career, and presidency, to his death. Annotated bibliography. Index.
Description from Publisher
Newbery Award Winner Russell Freedman has gifted us with another memorable biography. Roosevelt, the man, emerges forcefully throughout the book. His confidence and vigor allow readers to see why he was able to lead us through a severe Depression and a devastating world war so successfully. Although he was crippled by polio in 1921, he led such an active life that the public never knew how handicapped he really was. Children will meet a likeable, down-to-earth, yet complex man who understood the meaning of 'leadership.' The photos are gems and provide a candid glimpse of the man and his family.
Description from Children's Literature
Newbery Medalist Freedman (Lincoln: A Photobiography) breathes new life into the subject of our 32nd president. FDR (1882-1945) emerges in all his complexity: Freedman succinctly presents the privileged student "content to squeak by" on a "gentleman's C"; the suitor defying his mother; the polio victim whose suffering taught him compassion for the common man; and, of course, the statesman and leader who shepherded the U.S. through the Depression and WW II. Liberal use of judicious quotations vivifies every discussion. The 125 photographs and prints are equally well-chosen--requisite images of the FDR era are included along with the more unusual, and nearly all are stirring. Fortunately, this fine biography does not apologize for FDR's failings. He is specifically castigated for his failure to save European Jews from Hitler; his "romance" with Lucy Mercer is also mentioned, as well as its profound effect on Eleanor (who is admiringly captured throughout). Young readers will need help interpreting some of the terminology here ("trickle-down" economics, for example), but Freedman's heartening pace and equable tone will stimulate the reader to seek that help.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Unlike many Presidential biographers, Mr. Freedman keeps his sights squarely on Roosevelt the man even after F.D.R. enters the White House. . . . But in making F.D.R. accessible on the personal terms that today's readers are likely to expect, Mr. Freedman de-emphasizes the political achievements that are the source of his greatest importance. He has wisely avoided a standard chronological account of the New Deal but presents a series of succinct, topical pictures of major policies. These descriptions give at least some sense of what made the New Deal important. . . . {The author's} skillful portrait of the most important American President of this century encourages us to admire Franklin Roosevelt more for who he was than for what he did.
Description from The New York Times Book Review
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
By Jean Fritz
Concluding her first chapter with the death of Roosevelt's father while Roosevelt was still at Harvard, Fritz includes a telling quote ("I felt stunned...he was everything to me"), then telegraphs her theme in her uniquely lucid, succinct style: "In his distress, Teddy may have felt that...his boyhood was gone. If so, he would have been wrong. [He] would always be a boy. And...his father would always be looking over his shoulder." With judicious balance, Fritz surveys the salient facts-- Roosevelt's political rise, his groundbreaking work as reformer and environmentalist, his sturdy militarism-- illuminating them with revealing incidents especially interesting to young readers, from his early interest in natural history (at seven, he was diligently recording animals' measurements; he learned taxidermy just a few years later) to his indulgence toward his children's White House escapades. Each entrancing detail contributes to the larger picture of Roosevelt: active, imaginative, indefatigable, a man who left law school when he found that law ``had less to do with justice than he thought it should'' and diverted himself from grief with hard work. This colorful, idiosyncratic President, long a biographers' favorite, has never been portrayed with more beguiling wit, precision, and honesty. An excellent book, one of Fritz's best.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
This very fine biography captures the exuberance and enthusiasm of Teddy Roosevelt without resorting to the fictionalization and unrestrained hero worship that has been so common in biographies for children in the past. It covers Roosevelt's entire life from his sickly childhood through his political career and presidency to his last expedition in the jungles of South America shortly before his death. Fritz discusses both his personal life and public achievements, emphasizing his role in the early conservation movement and his drives for reform in government and industry. She quotes him frequently, using letters, speeches, and memoirs (all documented in notes). She also includes a strong bibliography. The real strength of this book, however, is its look into Roosevelt's spirit. It communicates how his determination and drive changed both politics and the presidency, and how those changes helped create what we know as the modern presidency. Fritz is admiring of Roosevelt, but she also points out his weaknesses and faults. As usual, her writing and organization are excellent. An outstanding portrait of one of America's favorite characters that should have a place in all children's collections. Bully for this book!
Description from School Library Journal
Peter Stuyvesant:
New Amsterdam and the Origins of New York
By L. J. Krizner and Lisa Sita
The origin of New York, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the United States today, reaches back more than 350 years ago. Before New York was New York, it was the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, founded in 1624. Although New Amsterdam lasted only 40 years before it was taken over by the English, the Dutch presence in America was to influence culture in the Northeast for centuries to come. Part of the Dutch legacy handed down to the present day is the story of New Amsterdam's most well known leader, Petrus, or Peter Stuyvesant.
Description from Publisher
Legends abound about the character, temperament, and wooden leg of the last director-general of New Amsterdam, fueled primarily by Washington Irving's satirical A History of New York. Krizner and Sita set the record straight here and address other misconceptions about the early days of the colony. Indeed, historical evidence does not support the legend of the 24-dollar purchase of Manhattan Island. Stuyvesant did, however, rule with an "iron fist," but loved New Amsterdam and its people, staying on after the colony fell to the English. To this day, street, neighborhood, and borough names (Broadway, Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn), and the popularity of some foods (pretzels), reflect the early Dutch influence in New York. The tightly written text is supported by extraordinary illustrations, maps, paintings, and quotes from primary sources. An absorbing story of a man and a place.
Description from School Library Journal
Notorious Americans and Their Times:
Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall
By Ruth Ashby
Examines the actions of Boss Tweed, the powerful, influential, and corrupt public works commissioner for New York City from 1863-1871, and of the political organization that he and his associates controlled.
Description from Publisher
It might seem that a book about mobster Siegel and the seedy underworld in which he lived would be little more than a glorification of bad behavior. But thanks to Otfinoski's formidable talents, that's not the case. What emerges here is the destructive folly of overblown ego, bad judgment, and alliances with characters whose loyalty stretches only as far as the bottom dollar. Even better, Siegel's story is embedded in a larger historical context of the depression, World War II, and the postwar flight to suburbia. In sweeping but crystal-clear descriptions, Otfinoski provides a brief, solid view of mid-twentieth-century history that makes plain the mobsters' wayward thinking and activities. Shared in straightforward prose, the revelations of the destructive aftermath of each gangster's tenuous glory vividly verify that, in this arena, people reap exactly what they sow.
Description from Booklist
John Peter Zenger:
Free Press Adovocate
By Karen Westermann
These slim volumes contain much information about their subjects and the times in which they lived. In both, the politics and conflicts of the period and other, related key figures are also discussed. A few boxed texts within each book provide additional background information. Framed and captioned, color and black-and-white photos of sites and reproductions of portraits and scenes of daily life complement the texts.
Description from School Library Journal
Details the life of John Peter Zenger, who faced many trials and hardships as publisher of the Journal.
Description from Publisher
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Extraordinary People of the Harlem Renaissance
By P. Stephen Hardy & Sheila Jackson Hardy
This hefty volume, useful for research and interesting for browsing, introduces the leaders of the African American creative movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. A few chapters discuss topics such as "the New Negro," the Jazz Age, and patrons of the arts, but most are devoted to key figures in the movement. Forty-four individuals are featured in chapters several pages in length. Typically, there is a portrait photo and sometimes an additional black-and-white picture, perhaps of a band, a painting, or a stage production. Appendixes include an annotated list of 40 other figures in the Harlem Renaissance, a glossary, and lists of books and Web sites. Clearly written and designed, this provides a good starting place for research on the period and the people who created it.
Description from Booklist
This well-researched work provides concise, well-written biographies of forty-four outstanding scholars, educators, writers, poets, performers, and artists who distinguished themselves during the 1920s and 1930s. It brings to light many important people who contributed greatly to an often-overlooked period of American history. Famous people, such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Louis Armstrong, and Zora Neale Hurston, can be found here as well as those who are lesser known, such as Countee Cullen, Jessie Redmon Fauset, and Sargent Claude Johnson. Interspersed with brief four- to six-page biographies and superb black-and-white photographs of each subject, the authors include theme chapters that provide the reader with important information and a historical perspective of the Harlem Renaissance. Chapters such as "The New Negro" and "The Jazz Age" offer insight and relevancy that underline the achievements of the biographies. This volume contains some valuable extras for the reader, including forty thumbnail sketches of additional contributors to the Harlem Renaissance and a useful glossary. The section on further reading is divided nicely for younger and older readers and is followed by an excellent list of Internet sites for more information. The Hardys have done younger researchers a service by gathering so many important people in one volume. Broad in scope and rich in information, this book would be a great resource for middle and high school students
Description from VOYA
Artists and Writers of the Harlem Renaissance
By Wendy Hart Beckman
Harlem is an area of Manhattan in New York City. Wonderful creativity in the black community arose in this section of Manhattan. This movement was fed by both black and white sponsors and audiences. Art, writing, and music flourished for over a decade, and the lives of many African Americans flourished along with them. This period was called the Harlem Renaissance. Discover the works of James Weldon Johnson, Alain LeRoy Locke, Zora Neale Hurston, Bessie Smith, Aaron Douglas, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, and Josephine Baker.
Description from Publisher
Harlem, New York was the setting for a cultural upsurge in the 1920's and 1930's. During those decades a series of Black writers, artists, vocalists, and poets sprang forth and gave voice to the conditions of African-Americans. At a time when racial prejudice was even more overt than in our own age, it took great courage for Black artists to stand up and honestly portray their lot in America. Artists such as Langston Hughes, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and Josephine Baker all provided a unique expression to what it meant to be a Black person either living in America or with American roots. This artistic movement came to be known as the Harlem Renaissance and that is the subject covered in this collection of short biographies. In this illustrated selection author Wendy Hart Beckman provides encapsulated biographies of ten artists who participated in the Harlem Renaissance. In each instance Ms. Beckman provides a careful outline of the artist's background, development, contributions, and later life. This is a good reference tool for readers with an interest in African-American history or specifically Black artists of this era. The Harlem Renaissance was a significant movement in American culture and Ms. Beckman does well to offer readers a summary of some of the leading lights of that period.
Description from Children's Literature
Individual Biographies
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra
By Andrea Davis Pinkney
Awards:
- Caldecott Honor Book
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, "King of the Keys," was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. "He was a smooth-talkin', slick-steppin', piano-playin' kid," writes master wordsmith Andrea Pinkney in the rhythmic, fluid, swinging prose of this excellent biography for early readers. It was ragtime music that first "set Duke's fingers to wiggling." He got back to work and taught himself to "press on the pearlies." Soon 19-year-old Duke was playing compositions "smoother than a hairdo sleeked with pomade" at parties, pool halls, country clubs, and cabarets. Skipping from D.C. to 1920s Harlem, "the place where jazz music ruled," Duke and his small band called the Washingtonians began performing in New York City clubs, including the Cotton Club, where Duke Ellington and his Orchestra was officially born. By 1943, Duke Ellington--writer of more than 1000 compositions, including ballet and film scores, orchestral suites, musicals, and choral works--had made it all the way to Carnegie Hall.
We applaud this talented husband-and-wife team--award-winning illustrator Brian Pinkney and writer Andrea Pinkney--for making music fly in this fantastic tribute to a jazz legend. Andrea does an extraordinary job of translating music into words, with blues "deeper than the deep blue sea" and "hot-buttered bob, with lots of sassy-cool tones," while her husband visually interprets the movement of music as spirals, waves, and swirls of color, prepared as scratchboard renderings with luma dyes, gouache, and oil paint. Andrea writes, "Toby let loose on his sleek brass sax, curling his notes like a kite tail in the wind. A musical loop-de-loop, with a serious twist," while Brian paints those curling notes, the loop-de-loops, and the kite sailing up to the New York City skyline. Young readers will enjoy the rhythm and beauty of the story itself, and may even be inspired to give Raffi a rest and swing with the Duke!
Description from Amazon.com
Addressing readers directly``You ever heard of the jazz-playin' man, the man with the cats who could swing with his band?''the Pinkneys embark on a cool and vibrant tour of Duke Ellington's musical career, from the pool hall ragtime that ``set Duke's fingers to wiggling,'' to his 1943 Carnegie Hall concert, also giving some of the soloists that played with him, and songwriter Billy Strayhorn, a chance to step forward. Translated into color and visual forms, music floats and swirls through the scratchboard scenes, curling out of an antique radio, setting dancers to ``cuttin' the rug'' at the elegant Cotton Club and, of course, trailing behind an ``A'' train. Like Chris Raschka's solos, Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop and Mysterious Thelonius, this loving tribute temptingly evokes the sound and spirit of a jazz pioneer.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man
By David A. Adler
The story of Lou Gehrig, the heroic Yankee who battled with ALS, was inspirational far beyond Yankee Stadium. David Adler's spare biography tells Gehrig's story just as the athlete lived: with unassuming simplicity. It's a wise choice, since the story is so affecting on its own. Another wise choice was Adler's decision to remain vague about the details of Gehrig's illness. The story is no less affecting without them, and probably contains enough sadness for any child. As good as this book is, Terry Widener's illustrations multiply its impact enormously.
[Recommended for ages 5-9. Older siblings will probably be willing to hang around to hear it though.]
Description from Amazon.com
Kids of today may not immediately recognize the name Lou Gehrig, but they will be immediately drawn into this picture book for older children about the "Iron Horse." Adler sets his narrative stage by telling readers that in 1903, Henry Ford sold his first auto, the Wright brothers took their first flight, and Lou Gehrig was born. Young Lou, who never missed a day of school, became a baseball player who never missed a game. Crisply and concisely, Adler covers the many high points of Gehrig's career, at the same time giving readers a real sense of the man and his shining spirit. Gehrig's illness and eventual death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are handled with dignity and in a way youngsters will understand. The picture-book format gets a lift here from Widener's impressive artwork. Reminiscent of WPA art with its rounded shapes and potent energy, these pictures project a zest for life on and off the playing field. The last spread, showing Yankee Stadium on the day of Gehrig's funeral, awash in rain, provides a silent but powerful ending to Gehrig's story.
Description from Booklist
The aw-shucks decency of Gehrig drives this picture-book biography from Adler (One Yellow Daffodil); what comes through is Gehrig as a genuine rarity, blessed with colossal athletic talent that he carried with dignity and modesty. The familiar story (no sources are given, but it follows the Gary Cooper movie, Pride of the Yankees, quite closely) is here: how Gehrig left college and signed with the Yankees to get money for his family; his remarkable, 14-year, 2,130-consecutive-game record; how he benched himself when he started to experience the effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; his farewell speech to Yankee fans ("I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth"); his death at age 37 and the rain that fell on his funeral. Adler never overstates the adulation, which would sound hokey on anyone else's shoulders, but fits Gehrig snugly. Newcomer Widener's illustrations capture the texture of Gehrig's city and playing fields, although one spread--of Yankee Stadium in the rain-- brings the book to a premature close (a dangling page of text follows). Readers will feel good after reading this biography--and maybe even inspired to start measuring themselves against Gehrig's standard.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Rudolph W. Giuliani: America's Mayor
By Eleanor Fremont
ONCE A MAYOR -- NOW A HERO
On September 11, 2001, our nation watched in horror as the United States came under siege. In the aftermath, New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani rose to the forefront as a strong and compassionate leader -- offering candid information, comforting those in pain, and proving himself a man of tremendous dedication to those in his charge.
This revealing biography illustrates how his life's work prepared him for this incredible challenge. From his childhood in Brooklyn to his controversial work with the Department of Justice to his eight years as the mayor of one of the most complex cities in the world, Rudolph W. Giuliani -- Time magazine's Person of the Year -- has become one of the most fascinating and exceptional leaders of our time.
Description from Publisher
Rudolph W. Giuliani: America's Mayor by Eleanor Fremont provides an account of the former New York City mayor's Brooklyn roots, his stint in Washington as the number three man in the Department of Justice and his tenure as U.S. Attorney in New York. Special attention is paid to Giuliani's role in the recovery efforts following September 11.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Rudolph Giuliani
(Rookie Biographies)
By Wil Mara
Presents a brief look at the life of one of New York City's most popular mayors.
Looking for biographies that are suitable for emergent readers-and relevant to the primary-school curriculum? Rookie Biographies is the answer! Identical in design and format to the popular Rookie Read-About Science, Geography, and Holiday series, each new Rookie Biographies introduces children to the lives and achievements of pioneering men and women from diverse cultures, eras, and fields. Featuring simple text and full-color photographs, a "Words You Know" glossary, and an easy-to-use index, Rookie Biographies helps readers get to know the people who shaped our world.
Description from Publisher
Rudy Giuliani
(Blue Banner Biography)
By John Bankston
During the 2000 presidential race, both candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush, had fathers who had been in politics. At the same time, the mayor of the largest city in the United States had a very different family history. His father wasn't a senator or a president. He was a convicted felon.
Yet in spite of his family's background, Rudy Giuliani not only became the mayor of New York City, but he also helped convict both crooked cops and corrupt politicians as a young lawyer. Here is the story of one man's strive for excellence despite the odds against him. This is the story of Rudy Giuliani.
Description from Publisher
A Day in the Life of a Mayor:
Featuring New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
By Liza N. Burby
Explores a typical day in the work of the mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani, describing many of the activities that make up his busy schedule.
Description from Publisher
Whoopi Goldberg: Comedian and Movie Star
By William Caper
How did a poor, shy little girl from the housing projects of New York City rise to Hollywood stardom and international fame? By the time she was twenty years old, Whoopi Goldberg was a high school dropout, a recovered drug addict, and a divorced mother. Moving to California, she found whatever work she could: as a bricklayer, a bank teller, even a hairstylist for the dead at a funeral parlor. Throughout her life, Goldberg's dream was to be a performer, and that dream led her at last to Broadway and then to Hollywood and an Academy Award for her role in the movie Ghost. Outrageous Whoopi Goldberg is not a typical Hollywood personality, and her rocky pathway to success and fame is a compelling story.
Description from Publisher
Alexander Hamilton:
America's Bold Lion
By John M. Rosenburg
A hurricane (at least his brilliant report of one) blew the teenaged Alexander Hamilton from the Virgin Islands to the American colonies in 1772. The rest of his meteoric rise during the American Revolution, and his fall under the hand of the villain, Aaron Burr, could also be described as a hurricane. Alexander Hamilton became an almost unstoppable force in American history. Rosenburg, the author of a three-part biography of George Washington, takes on this force as he expands his coverage of the Founding Fathers in his substantial exploration of Hamilton's life. Not only is it readable and well-illustrated, but Rosenburg has managed to make it interesting for kids and adults alike. His reportage of Hamilton's early life in the West Indies never glosses over the issue of illegitimacy, and the explanation of Hamilton's later maneuvers to create a national bank for the young republic is understandable, at last, for someone without a degree in economics. This is a solid, intelligent piece of work that deserves to be added to school libraries.
Description from Children's Literature
Hiawatha: Founder of the Iroquois Confederacy
By Nancy Bonvillain
Hiawatha is revered among the Iroquois people as a hero of mythic proportions. His greatest accomplishment was the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy, a league of Indian nations that stresses cooperation, peace, and unity.
Description from Publisher
Not the Hiawatha of Longfellow, this is the equally legendary but real fifteenth-century Onondaga chief, whose fame is based on his success in bringing peace among warring tribes. Bonvillain traces the history of the Iroquois as well. Fascinating reading, illustrated with a variety of black-and-white drawings, paintings, and photographs.
Description from Horn Book
Forest Diplomat: The Story of Hiawatha
By Jill C. Wheeler
Hiawatha: Messenger of Peace
By Dennis Brindell Fradin
A portrait of the great Iroquois leader Hiawatha chronicles his role in bringing peace to the five warring Iroquois tribes and uniting them into the powerful Iroquois Federation, in a biography enhanced by paintings by modern Iroquois artists.
Description from Publisher
In Fradin's enlightening work, readers will learn about the real Hiawatha. This courageous, kind man--and inspiring speaker--ensured the survival of his people for 300 years after his death. The author recounts the childhood of this celebrated Iroquois Indian, the tragic murder of his family, stet comma and the incredible strength and forgiveness he found within himself to become a peacemaker between his people's fighting tribes. Hiawatha and a Canadian Indian named Degandawida encouraged the Iroquois to form their own government, which , in turn, created tranquility and humanity throughout that nation. Unlike literary works that describe Hiawatha as godlike or supernatural, this text accurately explains the role he has played in our history.
Description from Publishers Weekly
In this brief biography, Fradin shows what Hiawatha's life might have been like by drawing on what is actually known about the Indians of the Longhouse of his time. He clearly labels what is surmised, legend, and known fact as he tells of the adult Hiawatha's role as a peacemaker and as one of the founders of the Iroquois Confederacy. He also mentions aspects of this confederacy that the founders of our nation incorporated into the U. S. Constitution. The book is copiously illustrated with both black-and-white and full-color photographs of Indian artifacts and of paintings and sculpture by Native American artists, all relevant to the text. This attractive volume helps fill the need for good, readable biographies for this age group.
Description from school Library Journal
Debunking the false stories of Hiawatha popularized by Longfellow's poem, Fradin tries to get at the truth about the real Iroquois leader who lived about 500 years ago. What the author finds in his careful search is a Hiawatha who was in many ways more remarkable, as well as more human, than the romantic legend. It's hard to get exact facts, and Fradin is scrupulous in distinguishing what is known, what is surmised, and what is legend. It seems that Hiawatha was a great peacemaker. Despite his terrible grief when his wife and children were murdered by his enemy, Hiawatha sought not revenge but community, and by his example he brought five warring tribes together in a national federation with a form of representative government that "many historians claim" became a model for the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps the best part of the book is the illustrations, many of them in color, almost all by Indian artists, collected from museums across the country: they show various views of Hiawatha in his grief and in his struggle.
Description from Booklist
Beyond the Sea of Ice: The Voyages of Henry Hudson
By Joan Elizabeth Goodman
It was there. Henry Hudson was certain of it. Beyond the impenetrable fog and crushing ice of the North Atlantic lay the dream of kings, merchants and learned geographers - a passage to the Orient.
Sailing small wooden boats well above the arctic circle, guided by maps and charts that were based on rumor and hope as much as fact, surrounded by crews that shared neither his belief nor his commitment, Henry Hudson searched again and again for what was not there. In 1611, his mutinous crew set him adrift on the freezing waters of the bay that would one day bear his name.
Beyond the Sea of Ice is the story of Henry Hudson's four harrowing voyages of discovery. Bringing the skills of an experienced novelist to her first non- fiction book, author Joan Elizabeth Goodman creates an epic narrative of Henry Hudson's passionate quest. Fernando Rangel's paintings capture the icy beauty of the North Atlantic, the lushness of the new world and the cruelty and death that accompanied a voyage of discovery. Actual entries from the journals of each voyage bring the reader directly into life at sea in the 17th century.
Description from Publisher
This attractive volume from the Great Explorers Books series begins with an introduction that sets the stage for the Age of Exploration and Hudson's part in it. A foldout map indicating the routes of Hudson's four voyages of exploration extends beyond the pages, making it accessible to readers as they follow his story through the text. Each chapter focuses on one voyage, including its sponsors, purpose, difficulties (sometimes calamities), and its outcome. Full-page, bordered paintings provide dramatic visions of events, while small ink drawings and maps are also effective. An introduction to Hudson's voyages that will spark readers' interest.
Description from Booklist
Recounting each of the four voyages Henry Hudson undertook in hopes of discovering the Northwest Passage, the book presents a clear, if undramatic, overview of the explorer's accomplishments and sad fate. Excerpts from the diaries of Hudson and some of his shipmates accompany the text, which is illustrated with occasionally static full-page paintings. A complete list of Hudson's crew is included.
Description from Horn Book
The Travels of Henry Hudson
By Joanne Mattern
A high-interest take on history!
Long-ago adventures are still a thrill in these vividly illustrated titles. These exciting tales of the quest for wealth and land describe the routes taken by famous explorers, the hardships they endured, and the rewards they reaped. Titles also address the dire impact these explorations made on the native inhabitants of conquered lands.
A biography of the English explorer and sea captain who explored three North American waterways later named for him--the Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and Hudson Strait.
Description from Publisher
Henry Hudson
By Andrew Santella
Going for the Gold
Sarah Hughes: America's Sweetheart
By Ruth Ashby
Ice Princess
Sarah Hughes was born to skate, and she proved to the world with her dramatic gold medal victory at the 2002 Winter Olympics. But the road to Olympic glory was not always easy for this Long Island teen.
Going for the Gold: Sarah Hughes is the amazing true story of a brilliant skater's Olympic quest.
Here's what you'll find out about America's newest sweetheart:- Sarah's first time on the ice
- How her family's support helped her through difficult times
- How Sarah braved the rocky road to the Olympics
- Sarah's hopes for the future
Description from Publisher
Sarah Hughes: Golden Girl
(All Aboard Reading. Level 3)
By Nancy E. Krulik
Sarah Hughes: Golden Girl by Nancy Krulik, part of the All Aboard Reading series, opens with the figure skater's gold-medal performance at the Salt Lake Ice Center then chronicles the career of the Long Island teen from learning to lace her skates at age three to life after the Olympics.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Ezra Jack Keats: A Biography With Illustrations
By Dean Engel & Florence B. Freedman
Based on conversations with Keats and on his autobiographical writings, this tells the story of the artist's life. It concentrates on his childhood and youth but includes his winning of the Caldecott Medal in 1963 for The Snowy Day and his death in 1983.
Born Jack Ezra Katz, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Keats loved to draw and paint as a child. Encouraged by his mother and discouraged by his father, who feared that his son would never earn his living, Keats followed his dream to become an artist. Anecdotes and conversations make his story quite readable. The use of artwork from Keats' books works very well visually, but since the connection between the pictures in his books and incidents in his life aren't always made in the text, it's often hard to know how closely an illustration reflects an actual experience--and using a detail from Clementina's Cactus, set in the desert of the Southwest, to illustrate Keats' trip to Appalachia seems absurd. Scenes from the picture books are bright, attractive additions, but more intriguing are reproductions of the artist's early paintings. A large-format book with big type, this would be a good resource for classroom units on authors.
Description from Booklist
Engel and Freedman, both friends of the deceased artist, have produced a simply and lovingly written biography, said to be based on their conversations with Keats and on his autobiographical essays. They trace his beginnings in Brooklyn, NY, as Jack Ezra Katz, and describe his early years during the Depression and the obstacles he had to overcome to realize his dream of becoming an artist. Appropriately, the text is accompanied by his paintings, sketches, and illustrations from some of his more than 20 children's books. Readers are treated to beautiful full-color reproductions from such titles as The Snowy Day, Goggles!, The Trip, Louie's Search, and Apt. 3. Unfortunately, the book has neither a bibliography nor endnotes. Nonetheless, this attractive, oversized volume is a must read for Keats's many fans and a marvelous way to introduce (or reintroduce) children to his work.
Description from School Library Journal
The Declaration of Independence and Robert Livingston of New York
By Kathy Furgang
Robert Livingston was born into a wealthy and prominent family in New York City. By 1771, however, Robert had been removed from his judiciary post for speaking out against the British government. His voice was instrumental in the shaping of the document, and would remain instrumental in both the young country and the new state of New York.
Description from Publisher
Sybil Ludington: The Call to Arms
By V. T. Dacquino
Sybil Ludington earned a place in American history on a rainy night in 1777 when she rode 40 miles through enemy-infested woods to summon her father's regiment to halt a British raid on Connecticut and New York. Though Paul Revere is the most celebrated revolutionary to sound the call to arms, Sybil Ludington's ride was bolder and far more dangerous, and she was only sixteen years old. Widowed young, she became a successful businesswoman in a profession then dominated by men and raised her son to become a man of stature in his community.
Description from Publisher
Ride for Freedom: The Story of Sybil Ludington
By Judy Hominick, Jeanne Spreier
Silver Moon Press is delighted to announce the launch of a brand new biographical nonfiction series. This series will focus on the true stories of heroic young people, whose courage, independence, and determination to live free, will inspire a whole new generation of young readers. Each book is reviewed for accuracy by a historical expert.
Description from Publisher
The Man Who Made Parks: The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted
By Frieda Wishinsky
When the great cities of North America were being developed, there was little thought to creating “green spaces.” Frederick Law Olmsted combined his childhood love for nature with the structured beauty of the great parks of London and Paris to turn a neglected, swampy area into one of the most acclaimed parks in North America: Central Park in New York City.
Description from Publisher
Parks for the People:
A Story about Frederick Law Olmsted
By Julie Dunlap
As with others in the series, this biography begins with an incident from the subject's early life, in this case Olmsted's first visit to Niagara Falls. After this somewhat fictionalized scene, Dunlap writes a fairly even and honest account of the first landscape architect in the U.S. Readers learn about the problems that Olmsted and Calvert Vaux had in raising money to build Central Park and their struggles with politicians and budget constraints to bring the project to fruition. The author shows that Olmsted ran into similar problems when he designed plans for protecting Yosemite from the same influx of commercialism that had ruined Niagara Falls. Very little of the subject's private life is included. A list of important parks is appended, as well as a good bibliography
Description from School Library Journal
{This} is a good book for the younger reader. The material is interesting and informative, but is not as in-depth as one would like. . . . There is a message of dedication and perseverance with the transfer of love of natural beauty into parks for all to enjoy. The book gives references for further reading and serves to highlight Olmsted as a role model for our present society.
Description from Science Books & Films
Seneca Chief, Army General: A Story About Ely Parker (Creative Minds Biography)
By Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
Ely Parker grew up on the Tonawanda Reservation in New York in the 1830s. There he learned the ways of his people, the Seneca Indians. Ely worked many years to save his reservation from a land company, and as a result, he was made a sachem, or chief, by his people. At the same time, he was working as a translator and ambassador to bridge the gap that divided his people from the white Americans. After serving in the Civil War, Ely went on to become a United States general and lead the agency in charge of Indian affairs. Author Elizabeth Van Steenwyk tells this inspiring, and surprising, story of a man who achieved amazing success in two very different worlds.
Description from Publisher
Parker is probably best known as the Native American appointed by Ulysses Grant as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post. His tenure in that office was brief; jealousy and racism brought him under fire from disgruntled opponents, and though he was cleared of any wrongdoing, he resigned. The author spends the first half of the book on the events in Parker's life prior to his fateful meeting with Grant. She describes the difficulties the young boy from the Tonawanda Reservation in New York encountered during his years at a Baptist mission school, on an Iroquois settlement in Canada, and at the academies he attended to further his education. Having decided to study law, he discovered that only American citizens can take the bar exam, and as an Indian, he was not a citizen. Parker was an effective spokesperson and his work earned him the respect of his people. Van Steenwyk writes simply but well about this interesting, and in many ways tragic, man about whom little has been written for children. The book is illustrated with black-and-white drawings; there are no source notes, but there is a bibliography. Harold Felton's Ely S. Parker has fictionalized dialogue and is less forthright about the discrimination Parker faced throughout his life and career. Interesting in its own right, Seneca Chief will also be useful for students needing a biography of a Native American.
Description from School Library Journal
A new volume in the Creative Minds Biographies series acquaints middle-grade readers with Ely Parker, a Seneca chief who achieved success in both the Native American and white worlds. Born in 1828 on the Tonawonda Reservation in New York, Ely attended mission schools as well as boarding schools and became an interpreter at age 14. After he fought successfully to save the reservation from a land company, his people made him a sachem, or chief. Following Parker's exemplary service in the Civil War, President Grant appointed him to be commissioner of Indian affairs. Van Steenwyk shares the struggles as well as the successes of this extraordinary man and explores some of the complex issues that Indian people faced in the 1800s.
Description from Booklist
Colin Powell
By Melissa Banta
Colin Powell's inner-city childhood gave no clues that he would grow up to be the top-ranking U.S. military officer. In school he horsed around and his grades showed it. He spent aimless hours on the streets and at the movies with his pals. Nevertheless, Powell learned from his West Indian immigrant parents that hard work and education were the keys to success. Powell's life has been a testament to the American Dream, championing the ideals of democracy for all, regardless of class or color.
Description from Publisher
An objective biography of the now-retired black general who became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led the hunt for Noriega in Panama, and engineered the Operation Desert Storm invasion of Kuwait. Well researched, with a bibliography of recent sources, it is of manageable length and has an open format, well-organized chapters, and frequent black-and-white photos. The variety of sentence structure in the text maintains interest. Quotes from Powell and those who have known him add authenticity. This book compares favorably with Elaine Landau's Colin Powell, which is shorter and has more photographs. Banta's book has fewer illustrations but more information, making it better for older students.
Description from School Library Journal
Colin Powell
By Elaine Landau
Prior to the Gulf War, the accomplishments and background of the first black head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not widely known. This biography fills the void by providing information on him. Landau gives solid information about Powell's background and career in a straightforward manner. She relates how a combination of hard work, diligence, and excellent performance in the military propelled him to the top. The overall portrayal of Powell is one of a dedicated individual who wants to be judged solely by his ability. Numerous, mostly full-color photographs, of Powell or of African-American soldiers reinforce the text. A good overview of an important military figure.
Description from School Library Journal
A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson
By David A. Adler
When Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, there were no other African Americans playing in the major leagues. The thoughtful, brief portrait illuminates the courage and character of an American hero. Appealing watercolors complement the simple text.
Description from Horn Book
A brief look at the life of baseball great Jackie Robinson. The subject's childhood, sporting accomplishments, and later endeavors are touched upon, as are the bigotry and prejudice he faced as the first African American to play in the major leagues. The information is similar to that found in Carol Greene's Jackie Robinson, though Adler's writing is smoother. Casilla's full-and double-page watercolors provide attractive backgrounds for the text. A sound introduction to a significant figure.
Description from School Library Journal
Adler adds another simple, clear picture biography to his growing series as he tells the life story of baseball great, Jackie Robinson. Athletic prowess is only one component of the man. Robinson was also a model for those pursuing their dreams due to his courageous triumphs in the face of racial hatred and prejudice.
Description from Children's Literature
Teammates
By Peter Golenbock
Awards:
- 1990 Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
The moving story of how Jackie Robinson became the first black player on a major league baseball team and how on a fateful day in Cincinnati, PeeWee Reese took a stand and declared Jackie his teammate.
Description from Publisher
The event occurred during Jackie Robinson's first season with the Dodgers. Listening to the hatred that spilled out of the stands, Pee Wee Reese left his position at shortstop, walked over to Robinson at first base, put his around Robinson's shoulder, chatted for a few moments, and then returned to his position. The crowd was stunned into silence. Bacon has illustrated the book with an effective blend of photographs and drawings. Golenbock briefly but clearly describes the background of Robinson's entry into the National League, as well as Reese's background as a southerner and as the player with the most to fear if Robinson were successful--both men were shortstops (although Robinson would ultimately play second base). There have been several recent books about Robinson for young readers, such as David Adler's Jackie Robinson: He Was the First and Jim O'Connor's Jackie Robinson and the Story of All-Black Baseball, but none of them have the style or dramatic impact of Golenbock and Bacon's work. This is a wonderful and important story, beautifully presented
Description from School Library Journal
Eleanor Roosevelt
By Russell Freedman
A natural follow-up to Freedman's biography of FDR, this impeccably researched, highly readable study of one of this country's greatest First Ladies is nonfiction at its best. As a role model for girls and an inspiration to both genders, Eleanor Roosevelt remains unsurpassed. Freedman relates how she transcended both an unhappy childhood (her parents separated when she was six; her mother died when Eleanor was eight, and her father, an alcoholic, died two years later) and a timid nature to become one of the most outspoken, vigorous, highly regarded women in history. The vast range of her interests and activities--journalism, politics and social activism--becomes even more remarkable as the author deftly considers Eleanor Roosevelt's times and her social milieu. Approximately 140 well-chosen black-and-white photos amplify the text. Freedman writes both authoritatively and compellingly, and the Eleanor that emerges is a complex, flesh-and-blood individual, not a dull heroine of textbook history. He also deals plainly with some of the more sordid aspects of the Roosevelts' married life (namely FDR's infidelity), but he never sensationalizes, and his honesty and candor signal his respect for his subject and for his readers. This biography cannot be recommended highly enough.
Description from Publishers Weekly
In one of 1993's best biographies, Russell Freedman chronicles the life of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962). As America's First Lady she was both official hostess and avid champion of human rights. After her husband's death in 1945, she continued to work for peace and earned the title "First Lady of the World." Mr. Freedman's selection of 125 archival photographs, which show Mrs. Roosevelt with family, friends, and at work, illustrate a work that captures both the private and public side of this greatly admired woman.
Description from Children's Literature
A timid child from a dysfunctional family, Eleanor Roosevelt became a courageous woman whose career was propelled by a series of devastating events: FDR's polio, his relationship with Lucy Mercer, his election to offices that doomed his wife to supportive roles, his death; each time, with energy, determination, and an eye for the essential, Eleanor found new outlets and broke new ground with her accomplishments. Giving up her Democratic Party office when FDR was elected governor, she became his eyes and ears--a role she expanded as First Lady, touring the country and the world to observe and ask questions, winning over critics, reporting, advising, and acting as bellwether for forward-looking ideas on social policy and women's rights. After FDR's death, she chaired the UN commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And always, she wrote--articles, books, a daily column; presided over a large family with its share of troubles; and kept in touch with an ever-growing circle of close friends. In this generously full history (longer than his Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1990, and with more numerous, equally fine b&w photos), Freedman focuses, properly, on the public life more than the personal one, as Mrs. Roosevelt herself did. Even so, synthesizing a wealth of resources (ably surveyed in a descriptive bibliography), he brings her wonderfully to life as a rare blend of honesty, intelligence, deep concern for humanity, and ability to inspire loyalty and convey her ideas. Freedman at his best: a splendid achievement.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Freedman has created a sensitive biography of Eleanor Roosevelt -- certainly sympathetic but not overly adulatory; it captures her spirit. The beautifully crafted text flows smoothly and is accompanied by over one hundred black-and-white photographs portraying Roosevelt at every age. Young readers will find inspiration, hope, and guidance in the life of the outstanding woman.
Description from Horn Book
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
By Russell Freedman
Awards:
- ALA Notable Children's Book
- Booklist Editors' Choice
- Golden Kite Award
- Horn Book Fanfare Selection
- IRA Teachers' Choice
- Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
- School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
- NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
- YASD Best Book for Young Adults
- Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
This book traces the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from his birth in 1882 through his youth, early political career, and presidency, to his death. Annotated bibliography. Index.
Description from Publisher
Newbery Award Winner Russell Freedman has gifted us with another memorable biography. Roosevelt, the man, emerges forcefully throughout the book. His confidence and vigor allow readers to see why he was able to lead us through a severe Depression and a devastating world war so successfully. Although he was crippled by polio in 1921, he led such an active life that the public never knew how handicapped he really was. Children will meet a likeable, down-to-earth, yet complex man who understood the meaning of 'leadership.' The photos are gems and provide a candid glimpse of the man and his family.
Description from Children's Literature
Newbery Medalist Freedman (Lincoln: A Photobiography) breathes new life into the subject of our 32nd president. FDR (1882-1945) emerges in all his complexity: Freedman succinctly presents the privileged student "content to squeak by" on a "gentleman's C"; the suitor defying his mother; the polio victim whose suffering taught him compassion for the common man; and, of course, the statesman and leader who shepherded the U.S. through the Depression and WW II. Liberal use of judicious quotations vivifies every discussion. The 125 photographs and prints are equally well-chosen--requisite images of the FDR era are included along with the more unusual, and nearly all are stirring. Fortunately, this fine biography does not apologize for FDR's failings. He is specifically castigated for his failure to save European Jews from Hitler; his "romance" with Lucy Mercer is also mentioned, as well as its profound effect on Eleanor (who is admiringly captured throughout). Young readers will need help interpreting some of the terminology here ("trickle-down" economics, for example), but Freedman's heartening pace and equable tone will stimulate the reader to seek that help.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Unlike many Presidential biographers, Mr. Freedman keeps his sights squarely on Roosevelt the man even after F.D.R. enters the White House. . . . But in making F.D.R. accessible on the personal terms that today's readers are likely to expect, Mr. Freedman de-emphasizes the political achievements that are the source of his greatest importance. He has wisely avoided a standard chronological account of the New Deal but presents a series of succinct, topical pictures of major policies. These descriptions give at least some sense of what made the New Deal important. . . . {The author's} skillful portrait of the most important American President of this century encourages us to admire Franklin Roosevelt more for who he was than for what he did.
Description from The New York Times Book Review
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
By Jean Fritz
Concluding her first chapter with the death of Roosevelt's father while Roosevelt was still at Harvard, Fritz includes a telling quote ("I felt stunned...he was everything to me"), then telegraphs her theme in her uniquely lucid, succinct style: "In his distress, Teddy may have felt that...his boyhood was gone. If so, he would have been wrong. [He] would always be a boy. And...his father would always be looking over his shoulder." With judicious balance, Fritz surveys the salient facts-- Roosevelt's political rise, his groundbreaking work as reformer and environmentalist, his sturdy militarism-- illuminating them with revealing incidents especially interesting to young readers, from his early interest in natural history (at seven, he was diligently recording animals' measurements; he learned taxidermy just a few years later) to his indulgence toward his children's White House escapades. Each entrancing detail contributes to the larger picture of Roosevelt: active, imaginative, indefatigable, a man who left law school when he found that law ``had less to do with justice than he thought it should'' and diverted himself from grief with hard work. This colorful, idiosyncratic President, long a biographers' favorite, has never been portrayed with more beguiling wit, precision, and honesty. An excellent book, one of Fritz's best.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
This very fine biography captures the exuberance and enthusiasm of Teddy Roosevelt without resorting to the fictionalization and unrestrained hero worship that has been so common in biographies for children in the past. It covers Roosevelt's entire life from his sickly childhood through his political career and presidency to his last expedition in the jungles of South America shortly before his death. Fritz discusses both his personal life and public achievements, emphasizing his role in the early conservation movement and his drives for reform in government and industry. She quotes him frequently, using letters, speeches, and memoirs (all documented in notes). She also includes a strong bibliography. The real strength of this book, however, is its look into Roosevelt's spirit. It communicates how his determination and drive changed both politics and the presidency, and how those changes helped create what we know as the modern presidency. Fritz is admiring of Roosevelt, but she also points out his weaknesses and faults. As usual, her writing and organization are excellent. An outstanding portrait of one of America's favorite characters that should have a place in all children's collections. Bully for this book!
Description from School Library Journal
Peter Stuyvesant:
New Amsterdam and the Origins of New York
By L. J. Krizner and Lisa Sita
The origin of New York, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the United States today, reaches back more than 350 years ago. Before New York was New York, it was the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, founded in 1624. Although New Amsterdam lasted only 40 years before it was taken over by the English, the Dutch presence in America was to influence culture in the Northeast for centuries to come. Part of the Dutch legacy handed down to the present day is the story of New Amsterdam's most well known leader, Petrus, or Peter Stuyvesant.
Description from Publisher
Legends abound about the character, temperament, and wooden leg of the last director-general of New Amsterdam, fueled primarily by Washington Irving's satirical A History of New York. Krizner and Sita set the record straight here and address other misconceptions about the early days of the colony. Indeed, historical evidence does not support the legend of the 24-dollar purchase of Manhattan Island. Stuyvesant did, however, rule with an "iron fist," but loved New Amsterdam and its people, staying on after the colony fell to the English. To this day, street, neighborhood, and borough names (Broadway, Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn), and the popularity of some foods (pretzels), reflect the early Dutch influence in New York. The tightly written text is supported by extraordinary illustrations, maps, paintings, and quotes from primary sources. An absorbing story of a man and a place.
Description from School Library Journal
Notorious Americans and Their Times:
Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall
By Ruth Ashby
Examines the actions of Boss Tweed, the powerful, influential, and corrupt public works commissioner for New York City from 1863-1871, and of the political organization that he and his associates controlled.
Description from Publisher
It might seem that a book about mobster Siegel and the seedy underworld in which he lived would be little more than a glorification of bad behavior. But thanks to Otfinoski's formidable talents, that's not the case. What emerges here is the destructive folly of overblown ego, bad judgment, and alliances with characters whose loyalty stretches only as far as the bottom dollar. Even better, Siegel's story is embedded in a larger historical context of the depression, World War II, and the postwar flight to suburbia. In sweeping but crystal-clear descriptions, Otfinoski provides a brief, solid view of mid-twentieth-century history that makes plain the mobsters' wayward thinking and activities. Shared in straightforward prose, the revelations of the destructive aftermath of each gangster's tenuous glory vividly verify that, in this arena, people reap exactly what they sow.
Description from Booklist
John Peter Zenger:
Free Press Adovocate
By Karen Westermann
These slim volumes contain much information about their subjects and the times in which they lived. In both, the politics and conflicts of the period and other, related key figures are also discussed. A few boxed texts within each book provide additional background information. Framed and captioned, color and black-and-white photos of sites and reproductions of portraits and scenes of daily life complement the texts.
Description from School Library Journal
Details the life of John Peter Zenger, who faced many trials and hardships as publisher of the Journal.
Description from Publisher
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Extraordinary People of the Harlem Renaissance By P. Stephen Hardy & Sheila Jackson Hardy |
This hefty volume, useful for research and interesting for browsing, introduces the leaders of the African American creative movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. A few chapters discuss topics such as "the New Negro," the Jazz Age, and patrons of the arts, but most are devoted to key figures in the movement. Forty-four individuals are featured in chapters several pages in length. Typically, there is a portrait photo and sometimes an additional black-and-white picture, perhaps of a band, a painting, or a stage production. Appendixes include an annotated list of 40 other figures in the Harlem Renaissance, a glossary, and lists of books and Web sites. Clearly written and designed, this provides a good starting place for research on the period and the people who created it.
This well-researched work provides concise, well-written biographies of forty-four outstanding scholars, educators, writers, poets, performers, and artists who distinguished themselves during the 1920s and 1930s. It brings to light many important people who contributed greatly to an often-overlooked period of American history. Famous people, such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Louis Armstrong, and Zora Neale Hurston, can be found here as well as those who are lesser known, such as Countee Cullen, Jessie Redmon Fauset, and Sargent Claude Johnson. Interspersed with brief four- to six-page biographies and superb black-and-white photographs of each subject, the authors include theme chapters that provide the reader with important information and a historical perspective of the Harlem Renaissance. Chapters such as "The New Negro" and "The Jazz Age" offer insight and relevancy that underline the achievements of the biographies. This volume contains some valuable extras for the reader, including forty thumbnail sketches of additional contributors to the Harlem Renaissance and a useful glossary. The section on further reading is divided nicely for younger and older readers and is followed by an excellent list of Internet sites for more information. The Hardys have done younger researchers a service by gathering so many important people in one volume. Broad in scope and rich in information, this book would be a great resource for middle and high school students |
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Artists and Writers of the Harlem Renaissance By Wendy Hart Beckman |
Harlem is an area of Manhattan in New York City. Wonderful creativity in the black community arose in this section of Manhattan. This movement was fed by both black and white sponsors and audiences. Art, writing, and music flourished for over a decade, and the lives of many African Americans flourished along with them. This period was called the Harlem Renaissance. Discover the works of James Weldon Johnson, Alain LeRoy Locke, Zora Neale Hurston, Bessie Smith, Aaron Douglas, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, and Josephine Baker.
Harlem, New York was the setting for a cultural upsurge in the 1920's and 1930's. During those decades a series of Black writers, artists, vocalists, and poets sprang forth and gave voice to the conditions of African-Americans. At a time when racial prejudice was even more overt than in our own age, it took great courage for Black artists to stand up and honestly portray their lot in America. Artists such as Langston Hughes, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and Josephine Baker all provided a unique expression to what it meant to be a Black person either living in America or with American roots. This artistic movement came to be known as the Harlem Renaissance and that is the subject covered in this collection of short biographies. In this illustrated selection author Wendy Hart Beckman provides encapsulated biographies of ten artists who participated in the Harlem Renaissance. In each instance Ms. Beckman provides a careful outline of the artist's background, development, contributions, and later life. This is a good reference tool for readers with an interest in African-American history or specifically Black artists of this era. The Harlem Renaissance was a significant movement in American culture and Ms. Beckman does well to offer readers a summary of some of the leading lights of that period. |
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Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra By Andrea Davis Pinkney |
Awards:
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, "King of the Keys," was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. "He was a smooth-talkin', slick-steppin', piano-playin' kid," writes master wordsmith Andrea Pinkney in the rhythmic, fluid, swinging prose of this excellent biography for early readers. It was ragtime music that first "set Duke's fingers to wiggling." He got back to work and taught himself to "press on the pearlies." Soon 19-year-old Duke was playing compositions "smoother than a hairdo sleeked with pomade" at parties, pool halls, country clubs, and cabarets. Skipping from D.C. to 1920s Harlem, "the place where jazz music ruled," Duke and his small band called the Washingtonians began performing in New York City clubs, including the Cotton Club, where Duke Ellington and his Orchestra was officially born. By 1943, Duke Ellington--writer of more than 1000 compositions, including ballet and film scores, orchestral suites, musicals, and choral works--had made it all the way to Carnegie Hall.
We applaud this talented husband-and-wife team--award-winning illustrator Brian Pinkney and writer Andrea Pinkney--for making music fly in this fantastic tribute to a jazz legend. Andrea does an extraordinary job of translating music into words, with blues "deeper than the deep blue sea" and "hot-buttered bob, with lots of sassy-cool tones," while her husband visually interprets the movement of music as spirals, waves, and swirls of color, prepared as scratchboard renderings with luma dyes, gouache, and oil paint. Andrea writes, "Toby let loose on his sleek brass sax, curling his notes like a kite tail in the wind. A musical loop-de-loop, with a serious twist," while Brian paints those curling notes, the loop-de-loops, and the kite sailing up to the New York City skyline. Young readers will enjoy the rhythm and beauty of the story itself, and may even be inspired to give Raffi a rest and swing with the Duke! Addressing readers directly``You ever heard of the jazz-playin' man, the man with the cats who could swing with his band?''the Pinkneys embark on a cool and vibrant tour of Duke Ellington's musical career, from the pool hall ragtime that ``set Duke's fingers to wiggling,'' to his 1943 Carnegie Hall concert, also giving some of the soloists that played with him, and songwriter Billy Strayhorn, a chance to step forward. Translated into color and visual forms, music floats and swirls through the scratchboard scenes, curling out of an antique radio, setting dancers to ``cuttin' the rug'' at the elegant Cotton Club and, of course, trailing behind an ``A'' train. Like Chris Raschka's solos, Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop and Mysterious Thelonius, this loving tribute temptingly evokes the sound and spirit of a jazz pioneer. |
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Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man By David A. Adler |
The story of Lou Gehrig, the heroic Yankee who battled with ALS, was inspirational far beyond Yankee Stadium. David Adler's spare biography tells Gehrig's story just as the athlete lived: with unassuming simplicity. It's a wise choice, since the story is so affecting on its own. Another wise choice was Adler's decision to remain vague about the details of Gehrig's illness. The story is no less affecting without them, and probably contains enough sadness for any child. As good as this book is, Terry Widener's illustrations multiply its impact enormously.
[Recommended for ages 5-9. Older siblings will probably be willing to hang around to hear it though.] Kids of today may not immediately recognize the name Lou Gehrig, but they will be immediately drawn into this picture book for older children about the "Iron Horse." Adler sets his narrative stage by telling readers that in 1903, Henry Ford sold his first auto, the Wright brothers took their first flight, and Lou Gehrig was born. Young Lou, who never missed a day of school, became a baseball player who never missed a game. Crisply and concisely, Adler covers the many high points of Gehrig's career, at the same time giving readers a real sense of the man and his shining spirit. Gehrig's illness and eventual death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are handled with dignity and in a way youngsters will understand. The picture-book format gets a lift here from Widener's impressive artwork. Reminiscent of WPA art with its rounded shapes and potent energy, these pictures project a zest for life on and off the playing field. The last spread, showing Yankee Stadium on the day of Gehrig's funeral, awash in rain, provides a silent but powerful ending to Gehrig's story. The aw-shucks decency of Gehrig drives this picture-book biography from Adler (One Yellow Daffodil); what comes through is Gehrig as a genuine rarity, blessed with colossal athletic talent that he carried with dignity and modesty. The familiar story (no sources are given, but it follows the Gary Cooper movie, Pride of the Yankees, quite closely) is here: how Gehrig left college and signed with the Yankees to get money for his family; his remarkable, 14-year, 2,130-consecutive-game record; how he benched himself when he started to experience the effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; his farewell speech to Yankee fans ("I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth"); his death at age 37 and the rain that fell on his funeral. Adler never overstates the adulation, which would sound hokey on anyone else's shoulders, but fits Gehrig snugly. Newcomer Widener's illustrations capture the texture of Gehrig's city and playing fields, although one spread--of Yankee Stadium in the rain-- brings the book to a premature close (a dangling page of text follows). Readers will feel good after reading this biography--and maybe even inspired to start measuring themselves against Gehrig's standard. |
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Rudolph W. Giuliani: America's Mayor By Eleanor Fremont |
ONCE A MAYOR -- NOW A HERO
On September 11, 2001, our nation watched in horror as the United States came under siege. In the aftermath, New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani rose to the forefront as a strong and compassionate leader -- offering candid information, comforting those in pain, and proving himself a man of tremendous dedication to those in his charge. This revealing biography illustrates how his life's work prepared him for this incredible challenge. From his childhood in Brooklyn to his controversial work with the Department of Justice to his eight years as the mayor of one of the most complex cities in the world, Rudolph W. Giuliani -- Time magazine's Person of the Year -- has become one of the most fascinating and exceptional leaders of our time. Rudolph W. Giuliani: America's Mayor by Eleanor Fremont provides an account of the former New York City mayor's Brooklyn roots, his stint in Washington as the number three man in the Department of Justice and his tenure as U.S. Attorney in New York. Special attention is paid to Giuliani's role in the recovery efforts following September 11. |
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Rudolph Giuliani (Rookie Biographies) By Wil Mara |
Presents a brief look at the life of one of New York City's most popular mayors.
Looking for biographies that are suitable for emergent readers-and relevant to the primary-school curriculum? Rookie Biographies is the answer! Identical in design and format to the popular Rookie Read-About Science, Geography, and Holiday series, each new Rookie Biographies introduces children to the lives and achievements of pioneering men and women from diverse cultures, eras, and fields. Featuring simple text and full-color photographs, a "Words You Know" glossary, and an easy-to-use index, Rookie Biographies helps readers get to know the people who shaped our world. |
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Rudy Giuliani (Blue Banner Biography) By John Bankston |
During the 2000 presidential race, both candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush, had fathers who had been in politics. At the same time, the mayor of the largest city in the United States had a very different family history. His father wasn't a senator or a president. He was a convicted felon.
Yet in spite of his family's background, Rudy Giuliani not only became the mayor of New York City, but he also helped convict both crooked cops and corrupt politicians as a young lawyer. Here is the story of one man's strive for excellence despite the odds against him. This is the story of Rudy Giuliani. |
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A Day in the Life of a Mayor: Featuring New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani By Liza N. Burby |
Explores a typical day in the work of the mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani, describing many of the activities that make up his busy schedule.
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Whoopi Goldberg: Comedian and Movie Star By William Caper |
How did a poor, shy little girl from the housing projects of New York City rise to Hollywood stardom and international fame? By the time she was twenty years old, Whoopi Goldberg was a high school dropout, a recovered drug addict, and a divorced mother. Moving to California, she found whatever work she could: as a bricklayer, a bank teller, even a hairstylist for the dead at a funeral parlor. Throughout her life, Goldberg's dream was to be a performer, and that dream led her at last to Broadway and then to Hollywood and an Academy Award for her role in the movie Ghost. Outrageous Whoopi Goldberg is not a typical Hollywood personality, and her rocky pathway to success and fame is a compelling story.
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Alexander Hamilton: America's Bold Lion By John M. Rosenburg |
A hurricane (at least his brilliant report of one) blew the teenaged Alexander Hamilton from the Virgin Islands to the American colonies in 1772. The rest of his meteoric rise during the American Revolution, and his fall under the hand of the villain, Aaron Burr, could also be described as a hurricane. Alexander Hamilton became an almost unstoppable force in American history. Rosenburg, the author of a three-part biography of George Washington, takes on this force as he expands his coverage of the Founding Fathers in his substantial exploration of Hamilton's life. Not only is it readable and well-illustrated, but Rosenburg has managed to make it interesting for kids and adults alike. His reportage of Hamilton's early life in the West Indies never glosses over the issue of illegitimacy, and the explanation of Hamilton's later maneuvers to create a national bank for the young republic is understandable, at last, for someone without a degree in economics. This is a solid, intelligent piece of work that deserves to be added to school libraries.
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Hiawatha: Founder of the Iroquois Confederacy By Nancy Bonvillain |
Hiawatha is revered among the Iroquois people as a hero of mythic proportions. His greatest accomplishment was the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy, a league of Indian nations that stresses cooperation, peace, and unity.
Not the Hiawatha of Longfellow, this is the equally legendary but real fifteenth-century Onondaga chief, whose fame is based on his success in bringing peace among warring tribes. Bonvillain traces the history of the Iroquois as well. Fascinating reading, illustrated with a variety of black-and-white drawings, paintings, and photographs. |
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Forest Diplomat: The Story of Hiawatha By Jill C. Wheeler |
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Hiawatha: Messenger of Peace By Dennis Brindell Fradin |
A portrait of the great Iroquois leader Hiawatha chronicles his role in bringing peace to the five warring Iroquois tribes and uniting them into the powerful Iroquois Federation, in a biography enhanced by paintings by modern Iroquois artists.
In Fradin's enlightening work, readers will learn about the real Hiawatha. This courageous, kind man--and inspiring speaker--ensured the survival of his people for 300 years after his death. The author recounts the childhood of this celebrated Iroquois Indian, the tragic murder of his family, stet comma and the incredible strength and forgiveness he found within himself to become a peacemaker between his people's fighting tribes. Hiawatha and a Canadian Indian named Degandawida encouraged the Iroquois to form their own government, which , in turn, created tranquility and humanity throughout that nation. Unlike literary works that describe Hiawatha as godlike or supernatural, this text accurately explains the role he has played in our history. In this brief biography, Fradin shows what Hiawatha's life might have been like by drawing on what is actually known about the Indians of the Longhouse of his time. He clearly labels what is surmised, legend, and known fact as he tells of the adult Hiawatha's role as a peacemaker and as one of the founders of the Iroquois Confederacy. He also mentions aspects of this confederacy that the founders of our nation incorporated into the U. S. Constitution. The book is copiously illustrated with both black-and-white and full-color photographs of Indian artifacts and of paintings and sculpture by Native American artists, all relevant to the text. This attractive volume helps fill the need for good, readable biographies for this age group. Debunking the false stories of Hiawatha popularized by Longfellow's poem, Fradin tries to get at the truth about the real Iroquois leader who lived about 500 years ago. What the author finds in his careful search is a Hiawatha who was in many ways more remarkable, as well as more human, than the romantic legend. It's hard to get exact facts, and Fradin is scrupulous in distinguishing what is known, what is surmised, and what is legend. It seems that Hiawatha was a great peacemaker. Despite his terrible grief when his wife and children were murdered by his enemy, Hiawatha sought not revenge but community, and by his example he brought five warring tribes together in a national federation with a form of representative government that "many historians claim" became a model for the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps the best part of the book is the illustrations, many of them in color, almost all by Indian artists, collected from museums across the country: they show various views of Hiawatha in his grief and in his struggle. |
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Beyond the Sea of Ice: The Voyages of Henry Hudson By Joan Elizabeth Goodman |
It was there. Henry Hudson was certain of it. Beyond the impenetrable fog and crushing ice of the North Atlantic lay the dream of kings, merchants and learned geographers - a passage to the Orient.
Sailing small wooden boats well above the arctic circle, guided by maps and charts that were based on rumor and hope as much as fact, surrounded by crews that shared neither his belief nor his commitment, Henry Hudson searched again and again for what was not there. In 1611, his mutinous crew set him adrift on the freezing waters of the bay that would one day bear his name. Beyond the Sea of Ice is the story of Henry Hudson's four harrowing voyages of discovery. Bringing the skills of an experienced novelist to her first non- fiction book, author Joan Elizabeth Goodman creates an epic narrative of Henry Hudson's passionate quest. Fernando Rangel's paintings capture the icy beauty of the North Atlantic, the lushness of the new world and the cruelty and death that accompanied a voyage of discovery. Actual entries from the journals of each voyage bring the reader directly into life at sea in the 17th century. This attractive volume from the Great Explorers Books series begins with an introduction that sets the stage for the Age of Exploration and Hudson's part in it. A foldout map indicating the routes of Hudson's four voyages of exploration extends beyond the pages, making it accessible to readers as they follow his story through the text. Each chapter focuses on one voyage, including its sponsors, purpose, difficulties (sometimes calamities), and its outcome. Full-page, bordered paintings provide dramatic visions of events, while small ink drawings and maps are also effective. An introduction to Hudson's voyages that will spark readers' interest. Recounting each of the four voyages Henry Hudson undertook in hopes of discovering the Northwest Passage, the book presents a clear, if undramatic, overview of the explorer's accomplishments and sad fate. Excerpts from the diaries of Hudson and some of his shipmates accompany the text, which is illustrated with occasionally static full-page paintings. A complete list of Hudson's crew is included. |
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The Travels of Henry Hudson By Joanne Mattern |
A high-interest take on history!
Long-ago adventures are still a thrill in these vividly illustrated titles. These exciting tales of the quest for wealth and land describe the routes taken by famous explorers, the hardships they endured, and the rewards they reaped. Titles also address the dire impact these explorations made on the native inhabitants of conquered lands.
A biography of the English explorer and sea captain who explored three North American waterways later named for him--the Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and Hudson Strait. |
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Henry Hudson By Andrew Santella |
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Going for the Gold Sarah Hughes: America's Sweetheart By Ruth Ashby |
Ice Princess Sarah Hughes was born to skate, and she proved to the world with her dramatic gold medal victory at the 2002 Winter Olympics. But the road to Olympic glory was not always easy for this Long Island teen. Going for the Gold: Sarah Hughes is the amazing true story of a brilliant skater's Olympic quest. Here's what you'll find out about America's newest sweetheart:
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Sarah Hughes: Golden Girl (All Aboard Reading. Level 3) By Nancy E. Krulik |
Sarah Hughes: Golden Girl by Nancy Krulik, part of the All Aboard Reading series, opens with the figure skater's gold-medal performance at the Salt Lake Ice Center then chronicles the career of the Long Island teen from learning to lace her skates at age three to life after the Olympics.
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Ezra Jack Keats: A Biography With Illustrations By Dean Engel & Florence B. Freedman |
Based on conversations with Keats and on his autobiographical writings, this tells the story of the artist's life. It concentrates on his childhood and youth but includes his winning of the Caldecott Medal in 1963 for The Snowy Day and his death in 1983.
Born Jack Ezra Katz, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Keats loved to draw and paint as a child. Encouraged by his mother and discouraged by his father, who feared that his son would never earn his living, Keats followed his dream to become an artist. Anecdotes and conversations make his story quite readable. The use of artwork from Keats' books works very well visually, but since the connection between the pictures in his books and incidents in his life aren't always made in the text, it's often hard to know how closely an illustration reflects an actual experience--and using a detail from Clementina's Cactus, set in the desert of the Southwest, to illustrate Keats' trip to Appalachia seems absurd. Scenes from the picture books are bright, attractive additions, but more intriguing are reproductions of the artist's early paintings. A large-format book with big type, this would be a good resource for classroom units on authors. Engel and Freedman, both friends of the deceased artist, have produced a simply and lovingly written biography, said to be based on their conversations with Keats and on his autobiographical essays. They trace his beginnings in Brooklyn, NY, as Jack Ezra Katz, and describe his early years during the Depression and the obstacles he had to overcome to realize his dream of becoming an artist. Appropriately, the text is accompanied by his paintings, sketches, and illustrations from some of his more than 20 children's books. Readers are treated to beautiful full-color reproductions from such titles as The Snowy Day, Goggles!, The Trip, Louie's Search, and Apt. 3. Unfortunately, the book has neither a bibliography nor endnotes. Nonetheless, this attractive, oversized volume is a must read for Keats's many fans and a marvelous way to introduce (or reintroduce) children to his work. |
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The Declaration of Independence and Robert Livingston of New York By Kathy Furgang |
Robert Livingston was born into a wealthy and prominent family in New York City. By 1771, however, Robert had been removed from his judiciary post for speaking out against the British government. His voice was instrumental in the shaping of the document, and would remain instrumental in both the young country and the new state of New York.
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Sybil Ludington: The Call to Arms By V. T. Dacquino |
Sybil Ludington earned a place in American history on a rainy night in 1777 when she rode 40 miles through enemy-infested woods to summon her father's regiment to halt a British raid on Connecticut and New York. Though Paul Revere is the most celebrated revolutionary to sound the call to arms, Sybil Ludington's ride was bolder and far more dangerous, and she was only sixteen years old. Widowed young, she became a successful businesswoman in a profession then dominated by men and raised her son to become a man of stature in his community.
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Ride for Freedom: The Story of Sybil Ludington By Judy Hominick, Jeanne Spreier |
Silver Moon Press is delighted to announce the launch of a brand new biographical nonfiction series. This series will focus on the true stories of heroic young people, whose courage, independence, and determination to live free, will inspire a whole new generation of young readers. Each book is reviewed for accuracy by a historical expert.
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The Man Who Made Parks: The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted By Frieda Wishinsky |
When the great cities of North America were being developed, there was little thought to creating “green spaces.” Frederick Law Olmsted combined his childhood love for nature with the structured beauty of the great parks of London and Paris to turn a neglected, swampy area into one of the most acclaimed parks in North America: Central Park in New York City.
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Parks for the People: A Story about Frederick Law Olmsted By Julie Dunlap |
As with others in the series, this biography begins with an incident from the subject's early life, in this case Olmsted's first visit to Niagara Falls. After this somewhat fictionalized scene, Dunlap writes a fairly even and honest account of the first landscape architect in the U.S. Readers learn about the problems that Olmsted and Calvert Vaux had in raising money to build Central Park and their struggles with politicians and budget constraints to bring the project to fruition. The author shows that Olmsted ran into similar problems when he designed plans for protecting Yosemite from the same influx of commercialism that had ruined Niagara Falls. Very little of the subject's private life is included. A list of important parks is appended, as well as a good bibliography
{This} is a good book for the younger reader. The material is interesting and informative, but is not as in-depth as one would like. . . . There is a message of dedication and perseverance with the transfer of love of natural beauty into parks for all to enjoy. The book gives references for further reading and serves to highlight Olmsted as a role model for our present society. Description from Science Books & Films |
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Seneca Chief, Army General: A Story About Ely Parker (Creative Minds Biography) By Elizabeth Van Steenwyk |
Ely Parker grew up on the Tonawanda Reservation in New York in the 1830s. There he learned the ways of his people, the Seneca Indians. Ely worked many years to save his reservation from a land company, and as a result, he was made a sachem, or chief, by his people. At the same time, he was working as a translator and ambassador to bridge the gap that divided his people from the white Americans. After serving in the Civil War, Ely went on to become a United States general and lead the agency in charge of Indian affairs. Author Elizabeth Van Steenwyk tells this inspiring, and surprising, story of a man who achieved amazing success in two very different worlds.
Parker is probably best known as the Native American appointed by Ulysses Grant as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post. His tenure in that office was brief; jealousy and racism brought him under fire from disgruntled opponents, and though he was cleared of any wrongdoing, he resigned. The author spends the first half of the book on the events in Parker's life prior to his fateful meeting with Grant. She describes the difficulties the young boy from the Tonawanda Reservation in New York encountered during his years at a Baptist mission school, on an Iroquois settlement in Canada, and at the academies he attended to further his education. Having decided to study law, he discovered that only American citizens can take the bar exam, and as an Indian, he was not a citizen. Parker was an effective spokesperson and his work earned him the respect of his people. Van Steenwyk writes simply but well about this interesting, and in many ways tragic, man about whom little has been written for children. The book is illustrated with black-and-white drawings; there are no source notes, but there is a bibliography. Harold Felton's Ely S. Parker has fictionalized dialogue and is less forthright about the discrimination Parker faced throughout his life and career. Interesting in its own right, Seneca Chief will also be useful for students needing a biography of a Native American. A new volume in the Creative Minds Biographies series acquaints middle-grade readers with Ely Parker, a Seneca chief who achieved success in both the Native American and white worlds. Born in 1828 on the Tonawonda Reservation in New York, Ely attended mission schools as well as boarding schools and became an interpreter at age 14. After he fought successfully to save the reservation from a land company, his people made him a sachem, or chief. Following Parker's exemplary service in the Civil War, President Grant appointed him to be commissioner of Indian affairs. Van Steenwyk shares the struggles as well as the successes of this extraordinary man and explores some of the complex issues that Indian people faced in the 1800s. |
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Colin Powell By Melissa Banta |
Colin Powell's inner-city childhood gave no clues that he would grow up to be the top-ranking U.S. military officer. In school he horsed around and his grades showed it. He spent aimless hours on the streets and at the movies with his pals. Nevertheless, Powell learned from his West Indian immigrant parents that hard work and education were the keys to success. Powell's life has been a testament to the American Dream, championing the ideals of democracy for all, regardless of class or color.
An objective biography of the now-retired black general who became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led the hunt for Noriega in Panama, and engineered the Operation Desert Storm invasion of Kuwait. Well researched, with a bibliography of recent sources, it is of manageable length and has an open format, well-organized chapters, and frequent black-and-white photos. The variety of sentence structure in the text maintains interest. Quotes from Powell and those who have known him add authenticity. This book compares favorably with Elaine Landau's Colin Powell, which is shorter and has more photographs. Banta's book has fewer illustrations but more information, making it better for older students. |
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Colin Powell By Elaine Landau |
Prior to the Gulf War, the accomplishments and background of the first black head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not widely known. This biography fills the void by providing information on him. Landau gives solid information about Powell's background and career in a straightforward manner. She relates how a combination of hard work, diligence, and excellent performance in the military propelled him to the top. The overall portrayal of Powell is one of a dedicated individual who wants to be judged solely by his ability. Numerous, mostly full-color photographs, of Powell or of African-American soldiers reinforce the text. A good overview of an important military figure.
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A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson By David A. Adler |
When Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, there were no other African Americans playing in the major leagues. The thoughtful, brief portrait illuminates the courage and character of an American hero. Appealing watercolors complement the simple text.
A brief look at the life of baseball great Jackie Robinson. The subject's childhood, sporting accomplishments, and later endeavors are touched upon, as are the bigotry and prejudice he faced as the first African American to play in the major leagues. The information is similar to that found in Carol Greene's Jackie Robinson, though Adler's writing is smoother. Casilla's full-and double-page watercolors provide attractive backgrounds for the text. A sound introduction to a significant figure. Adler adds another simple, clear picture biography to his growing series as he tells the life story of baseball great, Jackie Robinson. Athletic prowess is only one component of the man. Robinson was also a model for those pursuing their dreams due to his courageous triumphs in the face of racial hatred and prejudice. |
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Teammates By Peter Golenbock |
Awards:
The moving story of how Jackie Robinson became the first black player on a major league baseball team and how on a fateful day in Cincinnati, PeeWee Reese took a stand and declared Jackie his teammate.
The event occurred during Jackie Robinson's first season with the Dodgers. Listening to the hatred that spilled out of the stands, Pee Wee Reese left his position at shortstop, walked over to Robinson at first base, put his around Robinson's shoulder, chatted for a few moments, and then returned to his position. The crowd was stunned into silence. Bacon has illustrated the book with an effective blend of photographs and drawings. Golenbock briefly but clearly describes the background of Robinson's entry into the National League, as well as Reese's background as a southerner and as the player with the most to fear if Robinson were successful--both men were shortstops (although Robinson would ultimately play second base). There have been several recent books about Robinson for young readers, such as David Adler's Jackie Robinson: He Was the First and Jim O'Connor's Jackie Robinson and the Story of All-Black Baseball, but none of them have the style or dramatic impact of Golenbock and Bacon's work. This is a wonderful and important story, beautifully presented |
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Eleanor Roosevelt By Russell Freedman |
A natural follow-up to Freedman's biography of FDR, this impeccably researched, highly readable study of one of this country's greatest First Ladies is nonfiction at its best. As a role model for girls and an inspiration to both genders, Eleanor Roosevelt remains unsurpassed. Freedman relates how she transcended both an unhappy childhood (her parents separated when she was six; her mother died when Eleanor was eight, and her father, an alcoholic, died two years later) and a timid nature to become one of the most outspoken, vigorous, highly regarded women in history. The vast range of her interests and activities--journalism, politics and social activism--becomes even more remarkable as the author deftly considers Eleanor Roosevelt's times and her social milieu. Approximately 140 well-chosen black-and-white photos amplify the text. Freedman writes both authoritatively and compellingly, and the Eleanor that emerges is a complex, flesh-and-blood individual, not a dull heroine of textbook history. He also deals plainly with some of the more sordid aspects of the Roosevelts' married life (namely FDR's infidelity), but he never sensationalizes, and his honesty and candor signal his respect for his subject and for his readers. This biography cannot be recommended highly enough.
In one of 1993's best biographies, Russell Freedman chronicles the life of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962). As America's First Lady she was both official hostess and avid champion of human rights. After her husband's death in 1945, she continued to work for peace and earned the title "First Lady of the World." Mr. Freedman's selection of 125 archival photographs, which show Mrs. Roosevelt with family, friends, and at work, illustrate a work that captures both the private and public side of this greatly admired woman. A timid child from a dysfunctional family, Eleanor Roosevelt became a courageous woman whose career was propelled by a series of devastating events: FDR's polio, his relationship with Lucy Mercer, his election to offices that doomed his wife to supportive roles, his death; each time, with energy, determination, and an eye for the essential, Eleanor found new outlets and broke new ground with her accomplishments. Giving up her Democratic Party office when FDR was elected governor, she became his eyes and ears--a role she expanded as First Lady, touring the country and the world to observe and ask questions, winning over critics, reporting, advising, and acting as bellwether for forward-looking ideas on social policy and women's rights. After FDR's death, she chaired the UN commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And always, she wrote--articles, books, a daily column; presided over a large family with its share of troubles; and kept in touch with an ever-growing circle of close friends. In this generously full history (longer than his Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1990, and with more numerous, equally fine b&w photos), Freedman focuses, properly, on the public life more than the personal one, as Mrs. Roosevelt herself did. Even so, synthesizing a wealth of resources (ably surveyed in a descriptive bibliography), he brings her wonderfully to life as a rare blend of honesty, intelligence, deep concern for humanity, and ability to inspire loyalty and convey her ideas. Freedman at his best: a splendid achievement. Freedman has created a sensitive biography of Eleanor Roosevelt -- certainly sympathetic but not overly adulatory; it captures her spirit. The beautifully crafted text flows smoothly and is accompanied by over one hundred black-and-white photographs portraying Roosevelt at every age. Young readers will find inspiration, hope, and guidance in the life of the outstanding woman. |
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt By Russell Freedman |
Awards:
This book traces the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from his birth in 1882 through his youth, early political career, and presidency, to his death. Annotated bibliography. Index.
Newbery Award Winner Russell Freedman has gifted us with another memorable biography. Roosevelt, the man, emerges forcefully throughout the book. His confidence and vigor allow readers to see why he was able to lead us through a severe Depression and a devastating world war so successfully. Although he was crippled by polio in 1921, he led such an active life that the public never knew how handicapped he really was. Children will meet a likeable, down-to-earth, yet complex man who understood the meaning of 'leadership.' The photos are gems and provide a candid glimpse of the man and his family. Newbery Medalist Freedman (Lincoln: A Photobiography) breathes new life into the subject of our 32nd president. FDR (1882-1945) emerges in all his complexity: Freedman succinctly presents the privileged student "content to squeak by" on a "gentleman's C"; the suitor defying his mother; the polio victim whose suffering taught him compassion for the common man; and, of course, the statesman and leader who shepherded the U.S. through the Depression and WW II. Liberal use of judicious quotations vivifies every discussion. The 125 photographs and prints are equally well-chosen--requisite images of the FDR era are included along with the more unusual, and nearly all are stirring. Fortunately, this fine biography does not apologize for FDR's failings. He is specifically castigated for his failure to save European Jews from Hitler; his "romance" with Lucy Mercer is also mentioned, as well as its profound effect on Eleanor (who is admiringly captured throughout). Young readers will need help interpreting some of the terminology here ("trickle-down" economics, for example), but Freedman's heartening pace and equable tone will stimulate the reader to seek that help. Unlike many Presidential biographers, Mr. Freedman keeps his sights squarely on Roosevelt the man even after F.D.R. enters the White House. . . . But in making F.D.R. accessible on the personal terms that today's readers are likely to expect, Mr. Freedman de-emphasizes the political achievements that are the source of his greatest importance. He has wisely avoided a standard chronological account of the New Deal but presents a series of succinct, topical pictures of major policies. These descriptions give at least some sense of what made the New Deal important. . . . {The author's} skillful portrait of the most important American President of this century encourages us to admire Franklin Roosevelt more for who he was than for what he did. |
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Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! By Jean Fritz |
Concluding her first chapter with the death of Roosevelt's father while Roosevelt was still at Harvard, Fritz includes a telling quote ("I felt stunned...he was everything to me"), then telegraphs her theme in her uniquely lucid, succinct style: "In his distress, Teddy may have felt that...his boyhood was gone. If so, he would have been wrong. [He] would always be a boy. And...his father would always be looking over his shoulder." With judicious balance, Fritz surveys the salient facts-- Roosevelt's political rise, his groundbreaking work as reformer and environmentalist, his sturdy militarism-- illuminating them with revealing incidents especially interesting to young readers, from his early interest in natural history (at seven, he was diligently recording animals' measurements; he learned taxidermy just a few years later) to his indulgence toward his children's White House escapades. Each entrancing detail contributes to the larger picture of Roosevelt: active, imaginative, indefatigable, a man who left law school when he found that law ``had less to do with justice than he thought it should'' and diverted himself from grief with hard work. This colorful, idiosyncratic President, long a biographers' favorite, has never been portrayed with more beguiling wit, precision, and honesty. An excellent book, one of Fritz's best.
This very fine biography captures the exuberance and enthusiasm of Teddy Roosevelt without resorting to the fictionalization and unrestrained hero worship that has been so common in biographies for children in the past. It covers Roosevelt's entire life from his sickly childhood through his political career and presidency to his last expedition in the jungles of South America shortly before his death. Fritz discusses both his personal life and public achievements, emphasizing his role in the early conservation movement and his drives for reform in government and industry. She quotes him frequently, using letters, speeches, and memoirs (all documented in notes). She also includes a strong bibliography. The real strength of this book, however, is its look into Roosevelt's spirit. It communicates how his determination and drive changed both politics and the presidency, and how those changes helped create what we know as the modern presidency. Fritz is admiring of Roosevelt, but she also points out his weaknesses and faults. As usual, her writing and organization are excellent. An outstanding portrait of one of America's favorite characters that should have a place in all children's collections. Bully for this book! |
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Peter Stuyvesant: New Amsterdam and the Origins of New York By L. J. Krizner and Lisa Sita |
The origin of New York, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the United States today, reaches back more than 350 years ago. Before New York was New York, it was the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, founded in 1624. Although New Amsterdam lasted only 40 years before it was taken over by the English, the Dutch presence in America was to influence culture in the Northeast for centuries to come. Part of the Dutch legacy handed down to the present day is the story of New Amsterdam's most well known leader, Petrus, or Peter Stuyvesant.
Legends abound about the character, temperament, and wooden leg of the last director-general of New Amsterdam, fueled primarily by Washington Irving's satirical A History of New York. Krizner and Sita set the record straight here and address other misconceptions about the early days of the colony. Indeed, historical evidence does not support the legend of the 24-dollar purchase of Manhattan Island. Stuyvesant did, however, rule with an "iron fist," but loved New Amsterdam and its people, staying on after the colony fell to the English. To this day, street, neighborhood, and borough names (Broadway, Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn), and the popularity of some foods (pretzels), reflect the early Dutch influence in New York. The tightly written text is supported by extraordinary illustrations, maps, paintings, and quotes from primary sources. An absorbing story of a man and a place. |
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Notorious Americans and Their Times: Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall By Ruth Ashby |
Examines the actions of Boss Tweed, the powerful, influential, and corrupt public works commissioner for New York City from 1863-1871, and of the political organization that he and his associates controlled.
It might seem that a book about mobster Siegel and the seedy underworld in which he lived would be little more than a glorification of bad behavior. But thanks to Otfinoski's formidable talents, that's not the case. What emerges here is the destructive folly of overblown ego, bad judgment, and alliances with characters whose loyalty stretches only as far as the bottom dollar. Even better, Siegel's story is embedded in a larger historical context of the depression, World War II, and the postwar flight to suburbia. In sweeping but crystal-clear descriptions, Otfinoski provides a brief, solid view of mid-twentieth-century history that makes plain the mobsters' wayward thinking and activities. Shared in straightforward prose, the revelations of the destructive aftermath of each gangster's tenuous glory vividly verify that, in this arena, people reap exactly what they sow. |
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John Peter Zenger: Free Press Adovocate By Karen Westermann |
These slim volumes contain much information about their subjects and the times in which they lived. In both, the politics and conflicts of the period and other, related key figures are also discussed. A few boxed texts within each book provide additional background information. Framed and captioned, color and black-and-white photos of sites and reproductions of portraits and scenes of daily life complement the texts.
Details the life of John Peter Zenger, who faced many trials and hardships as publisher of the Journal. |
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