Whether you are heading back to school online or in a homeschool setting, it is time to move beyond the famous figures shared in conventional history textbooks. One great way to learn about innovative people is to explore a stack of picture book biographies. I like bringing at least five home at a time and reading them in one sitting. In under an hour, I can learn about an artist with synesthesia, women who broke into the fields of mathematics and illustration and more.
Do not be deceived by the picture book format – many of these titles have appeal for elementary aged children. And the additional resources and information included in many of them make them perfect for school projects.
If you find someone you’d like to know more about, you can find biography information at your fingertips in our Biography in Context database, on the Library’s Homework Help page.
You can sign up for a free library card here. If you are new to our eResources, check out these tutorial videos on how to get started.
If you’re looking for more book suggestions, we’re happy to recommend them! Use this Book Recommendation form to send us some information about what you like to read and we’ll curate a list just for you.
If you have any additional questions, you can contact a librarian through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You can also call us at 412-622-3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org.
Told in two acts, this lengthy picture book reveals how Wilson grew up to be one of the most influential American playwrights. Includes author’s note, a timeline of August Wilson’s life, a list of Wilson’s plays and a bibliography. You can also check out this title as eBook on Overdrive/Libby, as eBook on Hoopla, as eAudio on Hoopla, as video on Hoopla or as video on Hoopla with read along.
This is a rhyming-text picture book about Raye Montague. After touring a German submarine in the early 1940s, young Raye set her sights on becoming an engineer. Little did she know sexism and racial inequality would challenge that dream every step of the way, even keeping her greatest career accomplishment a secret for decades.
Describes how Vasily Kandinsky’s creative life was profoundly shaped by a neurological condition called synesthesia which caused him to experience colors as sounds and sounds as colors. You can also check out this title as eBook on Overdrive/Libby.
At a time when studios wanted to hire men and think in black and white, Mary painted twinkling emerald skies, peach giraffes with tangerine spots and magenta horses that could fly.
A biography of Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic justice and the third female justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court. You can also check out this title as eBook on Overdrive/Libby.
A picture book biography of Vivien Thomas, an African-American surgical technician who pioneered the procedure used to treat babies with a heart defect known as ‘blue baby syndrome.’