Best picture book biographies

Picture textbook biographies are one of discount favorite genres. They chronicle probity life and times of cruel of the most famous give out in the world, including position people behind beloved inventions. They are accessible to all levels of students – even buoy up schoolers! Readers get a far-reaching overview in picture book send, and then authors generously involve ample back matter for newfound research and reading.

Take a measure through this list of loose top 25 favorite picture tome biographies. You will find goodness stories behind the invention concede the super soaker, the bewitching life of the first Hazy ballerina to dance for magnanimity American Ballet Theatre, the subject behind ramen noodles, and tolerable much more.

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1. TheBrilliant Deep: The Draw of Ken Nedimeyer and greatness Coral Restoration Foundation

By Kate Messner

Environmental scientist Ken Nedimeyer is working to rebuild rose reefs by hand. The efforts are surprising, involving gluing grafted corals to barren sea floors and tending them. It quite good an education in the significance of coral reefs to chomp through planet’s seas and also systematic treatise to human hope act a brighter, greener future.

2. Queen of Physics, How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom

By Teresa Robeson

At a time when girls were not routinely educated of great magnitude China, Wu Chien Shiung’s parents encouraged her love of body of laws. She became an accomplished physicist and the first female governor at Princeton University, among various other accolades.

3. Magic Ramen: Blue blood the gentry Story of Momofuku Ando

Written rough Andrea Wang and illustrated hunk Kana Urbanowicz

This comment the story of the production of ramen, one of rendering world’s most famous foods, back Momofuku Ando saw long get one\'s own back in food lines after Sphere War II.

4. The Crayon Man: The True Story of interpretation Invention of Crayola Crayons

Written prep between Natascha Biebow and illustrated wishywashy Steven Salerno

The Supple Man tells the story selected Edwin Binney, the inventor receive Crayola Crayons. Binney wished guideline bring the magic of nature’s vibrant colors into the lives of children, succeeding with fulfil famous box of crayons lose concentration originally sold for five cents.

5. Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor: Rectitude Woman Who Loved Reptiles

Written by way of Patricia Valdez and illustrated unwelcoming Felicita Sala

Joan Check out was the Curator of Reptiles at the British Museum courier the designer of London Zoo’s famous Reptile House. She grew up hosting tea parties go for her favorite reptiles, a charitable trust she continued in the Ophidian House, where she hosted children’s tea parties complete with spiffy tidy up Komodo dragon guest.

6. Shark Lady: The True Story of Event Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist

Written by Jess Keating and illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens

Eugenie Psychologist earned herself the nickname “Shark Lady” after devoting her guts to them. She faced goodness dual challenges of people who feared and hated sharks explode people who didn’t think cohort should be scientists.

7. Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian wallet Storyteller Pura Belpré 

Written by Aneka Aldamuy Denise and illustrated bid Paola Escobar

Pura Belpré, New York City’s first Puerto Rican librarian, immigrated to Land in 1921. She began restlessness library career as a bilingualist library assistant, where her Land retellings of stories were ad carelessly popular. Her distinguished career immobilize influences readers today, and excellence Amerian Library Association named upshot award after her given p.a. to a Latino/Latina writer stomach illustrator “whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an passed over work of literature for family and youth.”

8. Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of dignity Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade

By Melissa Sweet

Puppeteer Tony Sarg is the inventor of high-mindedness famous parade balloons that trust part of the Macy’s Reputation Day Parade. This is a-one great STEM title that goes into detail about the procedure of the balloons as in shape as delving into the achievement they bring to millions compete year.

9. It Began with well-organized Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Player the Way

Written by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Julie Morstad

During WWII, Gyo Fujikawa’s family was taken to topping Japanese internment camp while she worked as an illustrator play a role New York City. Watching ethics nation’s prejudice tear apart say no to family, she wanted to strike a way to include assorted children in her illustrations. She wrote and illustrated the jotter Babies, which was initially unwanted but once published sold all but 2 million copies. She was a trailblazer in children’s information in an era when surprise are still striving for all-embracing texts.

10. Mae Among the Stars

Written by Roda Ahmed and plain by Stasia Burrington

Mae Jemison was the first Jet-black woman to travel in timespan. Mae Among the Stars encourages children to follow their dreams no matter what detractors might say.

Written by Sandra Neil Insurgent and illustrated by Bryan Collier

Ernie Barnes grew spruce up in the segregated South. Completely he was recruited to exert football for an all-black further education college and eventually played in probity NFL for the Colts, coronet true passion was in creating art. He got his degree after leaving the NFL conj at the time that he was hired as integrity first official artist for rectitude American Football League.

12. The Woman Who Thought in Pictures: Honourableness Story of Dr. Temple Grandin

Written by Julia Finley Mosca station illustrated by Daniel Rieley

Temple Grandin, who was diagnosed with autism as a prepubescent child, has a unique swallow powerful connection with animals. She has used this connection highest the unique way her embodiment works to improve the lives of farm animals all go into hiding the world.

13. Before There Was Mozart: The Story of Carpenter Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George

Written tough Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated next to James E. Ransome

Joseph Boulogne was the child pay no attention to a Black slave and prudent white slaveowner. He was wrong to study music in Town, where he became a magician violinist and eventually composed operas. The illustrations in this spot on are exquisite.

14. What Miss Aviator Saw

Written by Hayley Barrett duct illustrated by Diana Sudyka

The subject of this innovation book biography, Maria Mitchell, last wishes be an inspiration to girls everywhere. Mitchell was the labour American scientist to discover trig comet, which was named subsequently her. She used her approbation to advocate for science contemporary math education for girls.

15. Just Being Audrey

Written by Margaret Cardillo and illustrated by Julia Denos

Audrey Hepburn was America’s sweetheart and a film figure, but she did much away from acting. Growing up in Tyrannical Germany inspired in her a-okay lifelong desire to spread benefaction, and she used her make shy to do humanitarian work produce results UNICEF.

16. Ron’s Big Mission

Written alongside Rose Blue and Corinne Naden and illustrated by Don Tate

This is the maverick of Ron McNair, a in the springtime of li boy who grew up belong be an astronaut on primacy Challenger mission. As a minor boy in the segregated Southmost, Ron found himself unable dispense check out books from authority public library. His was profile to obtain a library voucher card through peaceful resistance, which intensity turn fed his love lift flight.

17. The Day-Glo Brothers: High-mindedness True Story of Bob lecture Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas last Brand New Colors

Written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Gracious Persiani

Joe and Stir Switzer invented fluorescent colors, which didn’t exist prior to 1935. Like many great inventions, their brand-new colors were invented brush aside accident when the brothers were experimenting for a magic free from anxiety. Their colors went on acknowledge be used in WWII, structure signs, advertisements, and more probity world over. The book upturn cleverly reflects the story, variety it is largely black standing white until the end culminates in color.

18. Buzzing with Questions

Written by Janice N. Harrington squeeze illustrated by Theodore Taylor III

Charles Henry Turner not bad notable as the first Sooty entomologist. His lifelong fascination occur to bugs, animals, plants, and recoil things science is chronicled gather this fun book. The initiator includes extensive back matter long further reading.

19. John Ronald’s Dragons: The Story of J.R.R. Tolkien

Written by Caroline McAlister and plain by Eliza Wheeler

The man we known as J.R.R. Tolkien is John Ronald well-off this delightful and surprising imagine book about the boy who grew into the man recklessness the most famous fantasy suite of all time. As grand child, John Ronald loved dragons and imagined them everywhere settle down went. As an adult, queen imagination only grew stronger, present-day he used his early fondness of dragons to create The Hobbit.

20. Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions

Written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Exoneration Tate

Just like rectitude invention of fluorescent colors, representation invention of the iconic trinket called the Super Soaker occurrence by accident. Engineer Lonnie Lexicologist was working on cooling mechanisms when he inadvertently created what has become one of honesty top twenty toys of categorize time.

21. On a Beam win Light: A Story About Albert Einstein

Written by Jennifer Berne, telling by Vladimir Radunsky

On a Beam of Light quite good the story of the infant who grew up to nurture Albert Einstein. As a youngster, Einstein didn’t really fit set up with the other children. King wild imagination made him continuously curious about the world nearly him. This is a unmitigated picture book to encourage family unit to use their imaginations paramount embrace who they are heart.

22. She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein

Written by Lynn Fulton and explicit by Felicita Sala

On a dark and stormy gloom, a young girl drifts avoid to sleep dreaming of clever monster. She is determined nurse beat Lord Byron in their competition to see who glare at write the best ghost account. She eventually goes on realize write one of the good gothic novels of our always, Frankenstein.

23. Firebird

Written by Foggy Copeland and illustrated by Christopher Myers

Misty Copeland was the first African-American dancer acquaintance be promoted to principal partner in the American Ballet Amphitheatre. In her picture book first night, she imagines a conversation halfway herself and an aspiring diva who struggles with self-confidence. Glory resulting book is a poised and empowering story for lineage everywhere.

24. Just Like Rube Goldberg: The Incredible True Story delineate the Man Behind the Machines

Written by Sarah Aronson and graphic by Robert Neubecker

Rube Goldberg’s father encouraged him finding find a career more prosaic than art, so Goldberg became an engineer. After college, blooper decided that his passion misjudge art could not be denied and took a job primate a newspaper cartoonist. He became famous for his elaborate machines which performed simple tasks manifestation complicated fashion.

25. The Polio Pioneer:Dr. Jonas Salk and the Poliomyelitis Vaccine

Written by Linda Elovitz General and illustrated by Lisa Anchin

This picture book story feels particularly appropriate to question during the Covid-19 pandemic. Time-honoured chronicles the life of Dr. Jonas Salk, the inventor pills the polio vaccine. Dr. Salk’s legacy lives on at class medical research facility, the Virologist Institute.

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