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Biographies
Created by,C. Trembath
A biography is a book about a real
person.
It is the true story of someone’s life.
A good biography presents the facts abut an individual’s life and
tries to explain the person’s feelings and
motivations.
Biographies are popular because they help make the past come alive and they satisfy the reader’s curiosity about the lives
of famous people.
Biography comes from the Greek
words, bios, meaning “life” and graphia meaning
“writing”.
Biographies are located in a special section of the media center. Their
call number is 921.
Directly under the Dewey number, is the first three letters of
“Subject’s” name (who the biography is about).
Example: Lincoln921LIN
A collective biography is a collection of more than one biography in one
book.
For example, the lives of ten famous baseball players in one books is a
collective biography.
The call number is 920. Under the Dewey number are the first three
letters of the last name of the writer of the book. If author is KRULL
920KRU
An autobiography is written by the same
person that the book is about.
The call number is the same as a biography.
Early biographies for children told about
the lives of the saints and later military
heroes.
In the early part of the 20th century, biographers continued to protect
children from the famous person’s failures, faults, and circumstances about their
death.
The first “kid-friendly” biographies for children date from the 1930’s.
One of the first was Carl Sandburg’s,
Abe Lincoln Grows Up. .
James Daugherty wrote several biographies for
children.
Daniel Boone Abraham Lincoln Poor Richard
Also Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire wrote several famous picture book biographies:
Columbus
Benjamin Franklin
Abraham Lincoln
Another example of a new type of biography for children came from Robert Lawson who wrote humorous, fictionalized biographies
using animal narrators.
His most famous title is Ben and Me. It is the “true” story of
Ben Franklin’s life as told by the Amos, a
mouse who lived under Ben’s fur hat.
Ben Lawson also wrote, Paul Revere and Me.
But, it was not until the mid-1900’s that writers began to write about women and African
American individuals.
Elizabeth Yates’ Amos Fortune, Free Man, is the story of a slave who bought his freedom.
It was the 1951 Newbery Medal winner.
Elizabeth Yates
During the 1960s and 1970s, there was a new openness in children’s literature which showed a changed in family and social values. “Hero
worship” gave way to more realistic and honest treatment of subjects of biographies.
More books were written about groups that were previously overlooked such as Native
Americans, African Americans and members of other minorities.
Also biographies began to present many sides of the
subject’s character—including negative qualities.
A new biographer, Jean Fritz, mixed humor with fact while showing her subjects as real
people.
Her biography of Patrick Henry, Where Was Patrick
Henry on the 29th?, shows the patriot as a practical joker who
disliked school as a boy.
Jean Fritz
Patrick Henry
More Jean Fritz biographies:
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
What’s the Big Idea Ben Franklin?
You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?
Biographers must do a great deal of research about the subject of their
biography.
Characters need to be presented honestly with all of their strengths and weaknesses.
To do this a writer must research their subject as much as if they were writing a
biography for adults.
Readers need specific facts that bring characters to life—
including the small vivid details that have a way of lighting up and event or a
personality.
Recent biographies written for children are often as well researched and documented as those
written for adults.
An example of this is Russell Freedman’s Lincoln: A Photobiography
It was the 1988 Newbery Medal. It included a listing of quotes from Lincoln’s speeches and
historical sites associated with him.
RussellFreedman
Students also like to read about real-live writers and illustrators as they learn
about their books.
An example is Bill Peet’s autobiography,
Bill Peet: An Autobiography
It won the 1990 Caldecott Medal.
Bill Peet
By reading biographies you can learn about the successes and challenges of the most famous people that have ever lived. You
can learn from their mistakes and victories.
By reading biographies you may realize how much greatness you possess. You
may decide, “I can do that!” You can make your life significant. Biographies help
show the way.
Here are great biographies to learn about.
American Presidents:
Great Explorers:
Great Scientists:
Great Inventors:
Great Writers:
Great Artists:
Great Composers:
Great Athletes:
Real Princesses:
Women of Courage:
More Women of Courage:
Men of Great Courage:
Men of Courage:
Now that you know more about biographies, please check-out the many titles located in the
media center.
Bibliography
Teaching Genre: Biographies—Teacher’s Guide. New York: Scholastic Inc. 1993.
Turrell, Linda. The Complete Library Skills: Grade 5. Minnesota, MN: T.S. Dennison & Co., Inc. 1994.
Turrell, Linda. The Complete Library Skills: Grade 4. Minnesota, MN: T.S. Dennison & Co., Inc. 1994.
Various handouts from MAME & MACUL
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