Brown's latest (Older than Dirt, 2017, etc.) follows the journey of balloonist John Jeffries, doctor and meteorologist, through his flight across the English Channel in 1785.
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"A guaranteed hit with science lovers and a best bet for convincing skeptics that science is indeed a grand and exciting adventure. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-14)"
A groundhog and her worm sidekick offer a concise tour of the Earth's history from the Big Bang to climate change with a glimpse of the bleak, sun-dried future to come—all lightened by frequent humorous asides.
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"From its enticing, dramatic cover to its brown endpapers to a comical Grant Wood-esque final image, this is a worthy contribution to the nonfiction shelves. (bibliography, source notes, photographs) (Graphic nonfiction. 10 & up)"
A graphic-novel account of the science and history that first created and then, theoretically, destroyed the terrifying Dust Bowl storms that raged in the United States during the "dirty thirties."
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"Despite the book's clarity, many young listeners still may not understand the enormity of the enterprise or its importance in U.S. history (bibliography) (Picture book. 6-8)"
Brown brings to life a complex undertaking that had important repercussions, though his early-elementary audience may not be quite ready for it.
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"This glimmer of the future inventor in his youth—sprinkled with quotations from Edison himself—may inspire a few daydreamers to get to work. (author's note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)"
Thomas Edison's mother yanked him out of school when his teacher called her forever-daydreaming son "addled."
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"All in all, this is a spot-on introductory book for lower grades. (author's note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)"
The author/illustrator of many celebrated picture-book biographies (Dolley Madison Saves George Washington, 2007, etc.) turns his attention to the frail, timid boy who became our athletic youngest president.
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"Her altogether admirable tale makes a terrific lead-in to the likes of Robert Quackenbush's James Madison and Dolley Madison and Their Times (1992). (author's note, note on Stuart, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 7-9)"
Brown continues his string of exemplary biographies for younger readers with this profile of the most charming, charismatic and intrepid first lady ever.
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"A good companion to Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust (1997) or Russell Freedman's Children of the Great Depression (2006). (afterword) (Fiction. 10-14)"
When the Great Depression hits, Ed "Collie" Collier's father has died, his brother leaves home and the family has fallen apart.
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"A good match with Deborah Hopkinson's Shutting Out the Sky (2003) and Brown's own picture book Kid Blink Beats the World (2004). (author's note) (Fiction. 11-14)"
Recruited from the streets of the Lower East Side in the 1890s, Sam and Izzy must retrieve gangster boss Monk Eastman's prize racing pigeon from a cholera ship anchored in the harbor, thus bringing them into a dangerous relationship with the vicious mobster.
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"As with all of Brown's fine volumes, this will appeal to young readers with a bent toward real-life heroes. (bibliographic note) (Picture book/biography. 5-9)"
Born Wa-tho-huck, or Bright Path, Jim Thorpe was later known as the World's Greatest Athlete.
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"A vivid real-life story with a memorable message. (end note) (Picture book. 6-10)"
A young girl survives a terrifying encounter with a lion and learns to respect nature in this adaptation of a story from West With the Night, Markham's 1942 autobiographical account of growing up in East Africa.
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"An author's note and bibliography fill out this terrific package. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)"
From his birth in Ulm—a spread of rooftops with one speech bubble: "Waaaaaa"—to his early adulthood, Einstein's childhood and youth are humanely and humorously depicted.
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"Susan Campbell Bartoletti's Kids On Strike (2003) and The Journal of Finn Reardon: A Newsie (2003) are excellent resources for readers who want to read more about the newsies. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)"
"Includes bibliography and author's note. (Picture book/biography. 8-10)"
Brown begins his beautifully constructed picture-book biography with young Sam's dangerous escapade on the frozen Mississippi River.
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"Columba, for a remarkable story time about books and movies. (author's note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)"
Brown (Far Beyond the Garden Gate, 2002, etc.) moves forthrightly into more words and more detailed images in this picture-book biography of filmmaker Mack Sennett.
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Extraordinary women who had incredible adventures often are the subjects for Brown's (Across a Dark and Wild Sea, p. 101, etc.) biographies and he has found another to celebrate.
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"An author's note fleshes out the details of this extraordinary woman's life. (Biography. 7-9)"
Brown (Mary Kingsley in Africa, 2000, etc.) relies on Anna Howard Shaw's autobiography as the inspiration for his account of a woman whose pioneer background prepared her for the causes she championed in her adult life.
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"This works on many levels to delight and to inspire: as a stirring read-aloud, as a saint's biography, and as a beautiful picture book. (bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)"
Brown (A Voice from the Wilderness, 2001, etc.) continues his series of picture-book biographies of lesser-known figures with a tale of the life of Saint Columcille, the sixth-century prince and monk better known by the Latin form of his name, Columba.
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"The figures are sketched with just enough line to keep them anchored, as we see Kingsley bat a crocodile on the snout, cross a ravine on a slippery log, and bathe in a starlit lake. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)"
Brown has created a companion piece to his Rare Treasure: Mary Anning and Her Remarkable Discoveries (1999) by profiling yet another fascinating and relatively unknown 19th-century British woman.
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"He effortlessly imbues a small, appealing package with a lot of information, and a little inspiration besides. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)"
Anning's life has proven irresistible for picture-book creators in recent months, with Catherine Brighton's The Fossil Girl (p. 627) and Laurence Anholt's Stone Girl, Bone Girl (p. 62) among the entries.
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"It's quite a story, and Brown quietly reminds readers that it's also quite a triumph. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)"
Brown (Ruth Law Thrills a Nation, 1993) describes an astonishing feat without fanfare or needless adulation, in a story of a little-known automobile pioneer.
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