Summer of Nonfiction: Picture Book Biographies

I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up biographies tended to boring, black-and-white chapter books filled with text and maybe a few illustrations if you were lucky. Today, picture book biographies are a work of art!

These are perfect books for elementary age students who like to learn about people living in the past and present. Normally between 32 and 40 pages, these books are extremely accessible with enough content to be educational and yet lots of fun at the same time.

Check out just a small sampling of picture book biographies listed here – I wanted to open your world to people you may not be familiar with. But, also stop by your local library or independent bookstore for more suggestions on just about anyone you can think of!

• The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs: The Story of Ken Nedimyer and the Coral Restoration Foundation by Kate Messner
• Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee
• Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helaine Becker
• Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Ann Cole Lowe by Deborah Blumenthal
• Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes by Wab Kinew
• Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles by Patricia Valdez
• Long-Armed Ludy and the First Women’s Olympics by Jean L.S. Patrick
• Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey
• Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise
• Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating
• Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee! by Andrea J. Loney
• What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan by Chris Barton

I’m so excited to try something new this summer! I’m going to be highlighting nonfiction titles for a variety of age groups and in different styles. I plan on creating lists for different age groups – picture books, middle grade, and young adult. Plus, I’d like to take a look at format as well – books filled with facts, narrative non-fiction, and graphic novel format as well.