Some Writer: The Story of E. B. White

Some Writer: The Story of E. B. White
by Melissa Sweet
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, Youth Biography, 161 p.
I have read a bunch of biographies of authors before, and after you have read a few you start to feel that someone has to have a tortured life to be a good writer.  E.B. White proves that hypothesis  wrong.  He grew up in a loving home.  He started writing early, winning his first writing competition at nine, and then regularly submitted poems to magazines until he went to college.  After college he took a road trip with a friend and ended up as a reporter in San Francisco.  Later he returned east and wrote for Harper's Magazine and the New Yorker.  He eventually moved with his wife and family to a farm in Maine where he wrote Stewart Little, Charlotte's Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan, all of which, to my knowledge, have never been out of print.

This is a great choice for a child who is interested in becoming a writer, or for anyone who ever loved one of E.B. White's books.  It is also a good choice for a child who is a reluctant reader but who needs to read a biography more than 100 pages long.  That is because it is really well written and is illustrated with beautiful color collages that make it both appealing and a very fast read. 

She Persisted: 13 American Women who Changed the World

She Persisted: 13 American Women who Changed the World
By Chelsea Clinton
Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger
Philomel Books, 2017, Picture Book
Here is a  collective picture book biography full of "Girl Power." Ms Clinton starts with a short introduction about being a strong girl.  Following that, on each spread, Clinton gives a one paragraph bio and a memorable quote from each of 13 well known American women.  Her subjects are varied and interesting, including crusaders like Harriet Tubman, performers like Maria Tallchief and Oprah Winfrey, and scientists like Virginia Apgar.  Boiger illustrates the book with watercolor and ink drawing that are accessible and child friendly.  This is a great choice for any girl (or woman) who might be facing a challenge and needs a little confidence boost.

The Trouble begins a 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild Wild West

The Trouble begins a 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild Wild West
by Sid Fleischman
Greenwillow Books, 2008. Youth Biography, 224 p
This is a lively biography of Samuel Clemens by one of my favorite children's nonfiction writers.  Fleishman draws a lot from Clemens' own writings and the accounts of other contemporaries, but, of course, the difficulty when writing about "Mark Twain" is separating fact from fiction.  Clemens lived a life as adventurous and exciting as many fictional characters.  He wrote about his adventures but often embellished them to make the writing more entertaining. In this biography Fleischman includes the fun parts but is careful to mention when scholars have debates about the historicity of certain events.   Fleischman adds an extensive appendix that contains one of Clemens short stories, and a good time line with historical notes.  Kids (or grownups) could certainly read this for fun or as a report biography.