Orange fabric created The Gates which unfurled in New York’s Central Park to temporarily brighten a dreary winter. It — and other huge, stunning outdoor art projects are the work of a husband-wife team, chronicled here in striking photographs and engaging language.
Christo & Jeanne-Claude: Through the Gates and Beyond
Horace Pippin was born in Pennsylvania in the late 19th century to become a talented — and ultimately recognized — 20th century artist. Mixed media illustrations and simple text present an overview of Pippin’s life and times, including overcoming a disability.
A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin
As a child, he was a late talker but as he grew up, Albert Einstein never stopped asking questions. The man whose ideas and questions changed the world is presented in engaging, child-like illustrations and easy but surprisingly informative text.
On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein
In 1775 George Washington “ached for cannons” as he watched the British in Boston. A Boston bookseller, Henry Knox, figured out how to get cannons from a New York fort to Boston by boat, across land, in only 50 days. Watercolor illustrations and brief text chronicle Henry’s feat.
Henry and the Cannons
Elizabeth was a strong-minded girl. As a young woman, it was her determination and strength that allowed her to graduate as the first female physician in 1849. Lighthearted illustrations and limited information make this an appealing introduction to an era and a pioneer.
Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell
Tito Puente was born to be a musician. He grew up to become the Mamba King to whose music people danced the mambo, rumba, and cha-cha. Rhythmic language — in English and Spanish — and animated illustrations briefly present Tito’s life and the impact of music throughout.
Tito Puente, Mambo King / Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo
A cumulative poem (in the cadence of “The House that Jack Built”) chronicles the work and life of Mexican potter, Juan Quezada. Words could center around the culture, the potting process, or art & artists.
The Pot that Juan Built
In the 1700s, women were relegated to home and house duties — but not Mercy Otis! Her father believed in educating girls and boys. Even after marrying James Warren, Mercy wrote about the politics of Massachusetts. Her accomplishments come alive through a straightforward text with inserts of Mercy’s writing and illustrations that evoke the period.
Write On, Mercy! The Secret Life of Mercy Otis Warren
Here’s the true story of how Anne Carroll Moore created the first children’s room at the New York Public Library — a bright, welcoming room filled with art, reading nooks, and (most importantly) borrowing privileges to the world’s best children’s books. The folk art style illustrations capture a sense of history in the making. In the end notes, you can learn more about Moore and other pioneering children’s librarians.
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children
Meet Henrietta Leavitt, a 19th century pioneer for women in science. From careful observations, Leavitt discovered that the brightness of a star determines its distance from Earth and her work helped us better understand the vastness of the universe. Warm colored pencil and watercolor illustrations by Colon create a contemplative mood. Back matter includes quotes about stars, a glossary, information about other female astronomers, and more.
Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer
“Well-loved illustrator Bryan’s pictures and recollections tell of his lifelong devotion to making and sharing art. His Antiguan-born parents sang, kept birds and sheltered orphans; they showed him how to resist convention and survive defeat. Drawing every day, as a soldier during WWII he kept his art supplies in his gas mask…Bryan honed his skills, overcame racism and discouragement, and thrived throughout 20th-century tumult. While the text forms a single narrative thread, the busy pages are laid out scrapbook-style on bright, overlapping rectangles of color, old family photos next to artwork next to call-outs of Bryan’s words in large type.” — Publisher’s Weekly
Ashley Bryan: Words to My Life’s Song
Celebrate Presidents’ Day with some unexpected trivia. Often humorous, sometimes poignant anecdotes and political cartoons introduce U.S. Presidents as never before seen. First published in 2000 (and winner of the 2001 Caldecott Medal), the 2012 revised edition continues to delight and is current through Barack Obama.
So You Want to Be President?
The story of Louis Braille, the Frenchman who invented the raised-dot alphabet/code now used around the world by blind and visually impaired readers. The text traces Braille’s life from the childhood accident that caused him to lose his sight through his career at the National Institute for Blind Children in Paris. Readers can feel the alphabet and numbers from 1-10 at the back of the book.
A Picture Book of Louis Braille
With a light touch, readers meet Thomas Alva Edison in his world of research and development. It was Edison’s lab that led to things we take for granted today. For example, today we have all kinds of batteries but it all started with Edison’s nickel-iron storage battery. Cartoon illustrations add humor to this lighthearted but informative look at this inventor and his work.
Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives
Born in 1923 in Strasbourg, France, Marcel Mangel grew up watching silent movies. When he was 16 years old, World War II started. Marcel joined the resistance movement, heroically helped people, and changed his name to Marceau. Understated narration combines with expressive illustrations to evoke the changes in Marcel’s life while capturing his voiceless acting.
Monsieur Marceau: Actor Without Words
Molly was a cook at a firehouse but a snowstorm and influenza in 19th century New York turned Molly into a firefighter. Her quick thinking and moxie made her volunteer service as good as any man’s. Animated language and lively illustrations bring the person and her time into focus. Endnotes separate fact and fiction and provide additional resources and information.
Molly, by Golly! The Legend of Molly Williams, America’s First Female Firefighter
Martin and his sister grew up in a Lima, Peru, barrio, children of an African slave and a Spanish nobleman. Martin was apprenticed to a cirujano, would join a Dominican monastery, and later become sought after as a healer. Jewel-like illustrations complement the accessible telling to reveal a man of faith and courage, despite the prejudices he confronted.
Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert
A former slave and sharecropper Bill Traylor moved to the city after his wife’s death. Though he stored up memories of farm life and family, Traylor only began creating art in his 80s when he was homeless. Another artist, Charles Shannon, championed Traylor’s work. Traylor is now considered among the most significant of self-taught folk artists.
It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw
Who is Henry David Thoreau? What would it be like to spend a day with him? A contemporary boy depicted in blue jeans and a t-shirt knocks at his door and meets the 19th century Thoreau, as the imaginative text fills in what it might have been like. Expressive illustrations, quotes, and gentle interpretations bring Thoreau and his world to light for younger readers.
If You Spent the Day with Thoreau at Walden Pond
The voice of an old, blind Galileo Galilei is used to look back on a life that started in Pisa where early on he challenged tradition. Though confined, the elderly Galileo asserts that, “The truth has a way of escaping into the light.” Bold lines border illustrations to evoke time and place, enhanced by spot illustrations of Galileo’s work and observations.
I, Galileo
Bold, bright illustrations and a cheerful text that includes song lyrics introduce the life of an early 20th century African American performer. Though part of the Harlem Renaissance, Mills is a relative unknown who both on and off stage worked to help other African Americans and those who were less fortunate than she. An author’s note concludes this charming life sketch.
Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills
The world changed when rags and bone, sticky stuff, and other things came together in the hands of a man who lived in the German city of Mainz. Johannes Gutenberg had printed a book in a new way. Readers will be drawn in as the elements Gutenberg used unfold, illustrated in handsome, realistic illustrations. An epilogue completes this intriguing book.
From the Good Mountain: How Gutenberg Changed the World
“Along with well-known figures such as Jim Thorpe and National Hockey League hit man Jordin Tootoo, Schilling introduces Olympic wheelchair racer Cheri Becerra-Madsen, speed skier Ross Anderson, ice dancer Naomi Lang, and eight other less-familiar Native American athletes of the present and recent past. Most of the portraits are based on personal interviews; all include tribal affiliations, career notes (sometimes in boldface), brief sidebars, and small, black-and-white action photos.” — Booklist
Native Athletes in Action (Native Trailblazers)
“This handsomely designed, large-format book tells the story of Black Elk (1863–1950), a Lakota man who saw many changes come to his people. In this first-person, present-tense account, Black Elk says that as a nine-year-old boy, he is blessed with a Great Vision. At 12, he fights in the Battle of Little Bighorn. After traveling in Europe with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show and, later, experiencing the massacre at Wounded Knee, he retreats to a reservation, where he holds his vision in his heart and offers it to others.” — Booklist