Reading aloud to children is one of the most important components of early literacy. It is easy to imagine reading Dr Seuss and fairy tales aloud, but what is next? Children’s interests are as varied as those of adults, and not all children will be interested in popular fiction. One genre whose read-aloud potential may often be overlooked is biographies. Biographies to Read Aloud with Kids, by Rob Reid, provides a comprehensive bibliography of biographies for children, all of which are appropriate for read-aloud.
Rob Reid is uniquely qualified to write on this subject. He has written and published books of his own read-alouds, volumes focussing on family storytime, children’s poetry and children’s music. He teaches children’s and adolescent’s literature at university level and maintains a blog which features original raps and poems appropriate for interactive engagement with children.
Biographies to Read Aloud with Kids begins with a brief explanation of the different categories of biographies including the difference between complete and partial biographies. For example, the book Gandhi: A March to the Sea (2013) is a partial biography because instead of learning about the entirety of Gandhi’s life, we learn specifically about Gandhi’s 1930 Salt March, a protest against colonial laws. The author also provides us with a detailed explanation of the criteria used to select the biographies included in the volume. Reid wisely chose to omit pop culture figures, a decision which lends credibility while extending the shelf life of this volume. Books that contain strong or potentially offensive language and those that focus on sensitive personal matters have been omitted as well. The selections are accessible and appropriate for a wide audience and were specifically chosen to demonstrate what Reid describes as “storyteller’s flair”, meaning biographies demonstrating creativity, dynamic language and a consideration of a young audience.
The majority of the approximately 200 entries in this guide detail picture book biographies from 32 to 48 pages long, appropriate for children ages 4-14 years. Each entry includes the intended age level and a clear plot synopsis. Some entries also include suggestions for further reading. For example, the entry for Skit-Skat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald (2010) by Roxane Orgill offers Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuoso (2002) by Andrea Davis Pinkney as another highly recommended picture book biography about the famous singer. A clear subject index as well as an author/title index makes this volume very easy to browse.
The greatest strength of this volume is the author’s commitment to representing diversity. Reid makes the point that you can randomly flip through a school social studies textbook and regardless of where you stop, you are likely to be looking at a Caucasian male. Biographies can be a great tool for parents, librarians and teachers to expand that worldview. Well-known figures from American history are represented in the selected children’s biographies such as Martin Luther King in Doreen Rappaport’s Martin’s Big Words (2001), but so are individuals who may not be as familiar. More obscure (but also important) figures such as the African-American lawman Bass Reeves, profiled in Vaunda Micheaux’s Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal (2009) and women’s rights advocate and 1872 presidential candidate Victoria Woodhull, profiled in Kathleen Krull’s A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull (2004), give us the opportunity to teach and learn beyond the few individuals represented in a textbook. Reid also includes many biographies about people throughout the world, including Robert Burleigh’s Tiger of the Snows: Tenzing Norgay (2006) about the first Sherpa to ascend Everest and D. Anne Love’s Of Numbers and Stars: The Story of Hypatia (2006) profiling a fourth century Greek female philosopher teaching in Alexandria, Egypt.
The largest portion of the volume focusses on biographies of individuals and duos, but there is also a small chapter which lists ten collective biographies. These include an entry for Women Daredevils: Thrills, Chills, and Frills (2008) by Julie Cummins, discussing individuals such as Sonora Webster Carver and her diving horses and Gertrude Breton who sailed off ramps on her bicycle. In Paul B. Janeczko’s The Dark Game: True Spy Stories (2010) readers can learn about notorious Confederate spy Rose O’Neale Greenhow, who sent coded messages to the Southern Army even when imprisoned, as well as another female American spy, Virginia Hall, who worked against the Germans during World War II.
The final three chapters in this volume contain transcripts of interviews with individuals who write or publish children’s biographies. Robert Burleigh has written many biographies for children, including the humorously titled The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn (2011). When asked why he writes biographies for young people, he responds in part that “[…] everyone’s life is a treasure trove”. Kathleen Krull, author of over two dozen children’s biographies, indicates that Beethoven has been one of her favourite subjects to write about because “[…] the material is so very spicy”. The final interview, with publisher Jason Low, gives some broader insight into the importance of publishing books about ordinary people. Even though not everyone is a household name, their experiences may still resonate with children.
Biographies to Read Aloud with Kids will be useful to public and school librarians, teachers, parents and academic librarians working with children’s literature, teacher preparation programmes and literacy. The majority of the entries detail books that have been published within the past 15 years, so they should be easy to locate in current comprehensive children’s literature collections.
