The document provides information about biographies for children, including definitions, purposes, history, and types. It defines a biography as narrating the real life of an individual who has made an impact. Biographies help children learn from others' lives and make connections to history. The genre has evolved from idealized historical figures to more realistic portrayals of people's lives, vulnerabilities, and the contexts of their times. Modern biographies represent diverse cultures and occupations.

1. Biographies
Nate
Trish

2. Word Bank
 Real  Realism  Autobiography
 Vulnerabilities  Political
 Narrates
 Weaknesses  Explorers
 Learn
 Multi-cultural
 Historical  Artists
 Truth
 Heroes  Persevere
 Time period
 Idealized  Authors
 Common
 Newberry  Partial
 Caldecott  Complete
 Represent  Collective

3. What is a biography?
Narrates the life of a
real individual who has
made an impact on the
world.
By reading this genre
of book, children learn
that they, too, can
make a difference in
the world!

4. Importance
 Children can learn from the lives of
others
 Promotes social-emotional development
by realizing that choices people make
early in their lives can lead to greatness
 Connections can be made about
people’s lives and the historical time in
which they lived

5. History of Biography

6. Antiquity
 The first biographies were inscriptions on the tombs
of rulers of ancient Assyria, Babylonia, and Egypt
 Early biographies also appear in the Hebrew Bible -
Moses, Abraham, Noah
 The Greek Herodotus’s Histories, 400 B.C.
 Plutarch, Greek, wrote Parallel Lives of Illustrious
Greeks and Romans A.D. 100 - more objective
 Suetonius Lives of the Caesars A.D. 121- scandal as
well as facts
6

7. Middle Ages
 Hagiographies - written by the
Church about the lives of saints
 In India, written Sanskrit was the
Harshacarita (Deeds of Harsa,
A.D. 600’s)
 China and Japan, biographical
records of emperors and their
courts. - Pillow Book (about
A.D. 1000) by Sei Shonagon.
7

8. Renaissance
 During the 1300's, an intellectual movement called
humanism spread. Humanism emphasized the
importance, dignity, and achievements of human beings,
particularly of individual people.
 Sir Thomas Malory Le Morte d’Arthur 1485
 Shift to the Secular
 Giorgio Vasari Lives of the Most Eminent Painters,
Sculptors, and Architects (1550)
 The invention of the printing press leads for a demand for
a larger variety of biographies on the topics of criminals,
military figures, explorers, world travelers, and even
clergymen and landowners.
8

9. 1700s
 Continued concentration on the
secular - increasing demand for facts
in historical biography.
 Horace Walpole Historic Doubts on
the Life and Reign of King Richard
the Third (1768)
 Samuel Johnson The Lives of the
English Poets (1779-1781)
 The rise of the fictional novel also
created fictional biographical novels 9

10. 1800s
 Historical biographies became
increasingly dry and factual
 Thomas Carlyle Oliver Cromwell’s
Letters and Speeches, with Elucidations
(1845)
 Ernest Renan Life of Jesus (1863)
looking at religious persons with a
research perspective
 Biographers of the heroes of the
American Revolution (1775-1783)
attempted to create a spirit of
nationalism, and their works became
Seidel, M. (2013). Biography. In World Book Advanced. 10
especially popular.

11. 1900s
 Freud and psychology have
a huge impact on
biographies
 Freud Leonardo da Vinci
(1910), explains the
personality of the famous
artist
 Books called debunking
biographies also became
popular 11

12. Early Children’s Biographies
 Oldest books for
children
 Only exposed children
to the lives of national
and cultural heroes
 Subjects were idealized
and larger than life
 Not altogether
believable

13. Unsavory Realities
 Children should not
be exposed to:
 Discrimination
 Violence
 Abuse
 Biographies were
bland and unrealistic

14. Fictionalized Characters
 Narrated by a mouse  Narrated by a parrot

15. Early Recognition
 1934
 First Newberry Medal
 Invincible Louisa by
Cornelia Meigs

16. 1940
 Daniel Boone by James
Daugherty
 Contemporary readers
may be appalled by the
portrayal of Native
Americans

17. 1st
Caldecott
1940
 Abraham Lincoln
by Ingri and Edgar
Parin D’Aulaire
 Established the
picture-book
biography for
younger children

18. 1970’s were a turning
point…
 1973 a new standard was
set…
 And Then What Happened,
Paul Revere? By Jean Fritz
 Authentic biography without
invented dialogue
 Used conversation and humor
 Concentrated on 1-2 events
 Also included “Notes from the
Author” for additional facts

19. Biographies give
children a wider
representation of
people !
 Men, women, and
children of many
ethnic and racial
backgrounds
 Varying occupations
and contributions to A biography of the Cherokee
society Indian who created a
method for his people to
write and read their own
language.

20. Contemporary
Authors handle
their subjects
with:
 New realism
 Present them as
human beings with
vulnerabilities and
 In their review, Publ Weekly said Stanley and Vennema
weaknesses "make a seemingly effortless leap into ancient times,
masterfully relating Cleopatra's life story through words
and pictures...This peerless author/artist team makes
the captivating, ultimately tragic Cleopatra seem
astoundingly real."

21. TRUTH!  1970’s gave birth to the modern
biographies
 Many cultures outside of one’s
own are recognized
 Authors delve beneath the
surface to give a truer account of
the time and people
 Common person and time period
is explored as opposed to only
great people and events

22. Well Known People
+ portrayed in the context of their time
+ concerns of the day
+ choices available to the subject
+ social movements of the day
= a truer account of the
person and/or the event

23. Women’s Suffrage
Lizzie begins her
life as a girl who
believes that
women “didn’t
count for much”.
Then she grows
up and dedicates
her life to
women’s suffrage.

24. Categories of
Biographies

25. Partial - about a short span of
a persons life
 Samuel Adams walked the  This biography concentrates on
streets of pre-Revolutionary Langston Hughes’ childhood.
Boston promoting independence
from England!

26. Complete - birth to death

27. Collective -
about several
people that
have
something in
common

28. Autobiography/
Memoir - written
by the author
about themselves
- usually written to
inspire or share
extraordinary
events

29. Explorers of
Earth and Space
- risk taking and
discovering the
unknown

30. Social and
Political
Activists -
including the
traditional
president
biographies

31. Artist and
Authors -
people who
have made
contributions
to the world

32. People who have
Persevered -
provide inspiration
and valuable
lessons about the
realities of the
world

33. How Biographies Work
 Must be about real  The author uses a
people. filter to tell the story.
 The author must
 Advanced readers
create the personality
should be aware of
and events of a
this filter and in order
person's life.
to evaluate the truth of
the biography.

34. Major Writers
 David Adler
 Russell Freedman
 Jean Fritz
 Diane Stanley

35. Criteria for Selection
 Can be about heroes, villains, and regular people.
Remember the needs of your patrons.
 How is the characterization handled? Are there
stereotypes?
 Check to make sure that the information is
accurate and that careful research has been
made by the author.
 Most importantly is the book engaging for the
readers, and is the tone appropriate for your
patrons?

36. Awards they compete for non-fiction awards
There are no “Biography” awards,
as well as awards that can be given to any genre.
Awards are often indicate with a seal on the cover.

37. Question
How would you characterize
your personal hero if you
were to write a children’s
biography of that person?

38. Categories of Biographies
Partial Political
Complete Explorers
Collective Artists
Autobiography Persevere