Unforgettable Picture Book Biographies

by Lori Mortensen
|
5 books
I’ve loved picture book biographies since I was a child and read about young Helen Keller. I couldn’t imagine being blind and deaf, yet as I stepped into young Helen’s world page by page, I felt as if I experienced her struggles, triumphs, and tragedies right along with her. I discovered that in spite of her great challenges, she succeeded. That’s why I love biographies and why I write them. I hope when people read them, they’ll be reminded that they can succeed, too, in spite of the obstacles in front of them. Below are five of my favorites.
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Nonsense!

The Curious Story of Edward Gorey
Lori Mortensen, 2020
One day, a podcast reminded me of a strange, whimsical illustrator I knew from a childhood book, Edward Gorey. He’d illustrated The Man Who Sang the Sillies written by John Ciardi. After some research, I knew I wanted to share his story with young readers, which became my picture book biography, Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey, about one of literature’s most creepily creative authors and illustrators who was the inspiration behind a generation of creators, including Lemony Snicket, Neil Gaiman, and Tim Burton. Instead of following the crowd, Gorey did things his own way, writing strange stories with peculiar titles like The Abandoned Sock, The Galoshes of Remorse, and The Gashlycrumb Tinies. When other publishers rejected his work, he published them himself—curious stories that mingled sweetness and innocence, danger and darkness, all mixed with his own brand of silliness. Edward Gorey—mysterious, brilliant, a one-of-a-kind original.

The Secret World of Walter Anderson

Hester Bass, Walter Inglis Anderson, Earl B. Lewis, 2009
The Secret World of Walter Anderson is one of my favorite picture book biographies. From the first lyrical lines, Bass draws the reader into another time and place where a solitary Mississippi artist climbs into his leaky skiff and sails off to an uninhabited island to paint the world around him. The watercolor illustrations are so wonderful, the reader will hear the crash of the waves, feel the warm sun on their shoulders, and breathe in the salty air right along with the illusive artist. It’s a brilliant story about a man who “may be the most famous American artist you’ve never heard of.”

Art Is Everywhere

A Book About Andy Warhol
Jeff Mack, 2021
I love the way Jeff Mack draws us into Andy Warhol’s story and how his pop art took the world by storm. From drawing shoes for a shoe company to his Campbell's Soup cans and Marilyn Monroe prints, Andy made art out of the everyday. People claimed Andy's art wasn't real art, but that didn't stop him from making it, plus movies, a magazine, a TV show, and more! Art Is Everywhere explores Warhol's fascination (and our own) with celebrity and fame and opens readers' minds to the possibilities for art in the world around us.

Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards

The Making of Make Way for Ducklings
Emma Bland Smith, 2022
Like most people, I’d heard of the beloved children’s story, Make Way for Ducklings, but I didn’t know the fun, ducky story behind it. While Robert McCloskey was writing and illustrating the picture book, he brought a flock of ducklings into his tiny New York City apartment. But an artist, plus a bunch of ducklings in his apartment, equaled—chaos! There are ducklings in the bathtub and ducklings in the kitchen, quacking at dawn and sitting on his desk. Can he learn to draw them just right before they grow too big?

Harlem Grown

How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood
Tony Hillery, 2020
I love this simple story of a man who made a difference and continues to make a difference. Harlem Grown tells the inspiring true story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. After seeing how restless they were and their lack of healthy food options, Tony Hillery invited students from an underfunded school to turn a vacant lot into a beautiful and functional farm. By getting their hands dirty, these kids turned an abandoned space into something beautiful and useful while learning about healthy, sustainable eating and collaboration.