"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."
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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."
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
"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.
Read full book review >
Thank you! You’ll get the first email of recommendations from our critics within a week!
Bummer. There was a problem adding your email address. Please try again.
Subscribe to Pro Connect
Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.
