autobiographies
2024 Newbery Buzz #1: A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
By Betsy Farquhar |
A First Time For Everything has already won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Could it also win the Newbery? We're kicking off ...
Read More Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers by Michelle Obama
By Betsy Farquhar |
Michelle Obama's Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers is a winsome, engaging look at how one young woman went from Chicago's South Side to the White ...
Read More Happy “We Love Memoirs” Day!
By Janie Cheaney |
It’s for real—two memoir writers cooked it up on Facebook almost two decades ago and their page has over 5000 followers who throw an online ...
Read More Gone to the Woods by Gary Paulsen
By Janie Cheaney |
Gone to the Woods, Gary Paulsen’s third-person memoir, is the recollection of a gritty early life leavened by common grace. Gone to the Woods: Surviving ...
Read More Retro Review: *Let Justice Roll Down by John Perkins
By Janie Cheaney |
The life of John Perkins offers the only true way to justice, reconciliation, and forgiveness for our tragic racist history. *Let Justice Roll Down by ...
Read More Chance: Escape from the Holocaust by Uri Shulevitz
By Janie Cheaney |
In Chance: Escape from the Holocaust, a Caldecott-winning illustrator recalls his harrowing wartime childhood. Chance: Escape from the Holocaust by Uri Shulevitz. Farrar Strauss Giroux, ...
Read More *Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
By Janie Cheaney |
In this one-of-a-kind, richly evocative memoir, "Everything Sad" disguises an otherworldly joy. *Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri. Levine Querido, 2020, ...
Read More Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes: a Discussion
By Janie Cheaney |
Every now and then we read a book that seems to warrant more than a standard review—even a starred one. That was Janie and Betsy’s ...
Read More Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
By Betsy Farquhar |
Krosoczka, author of the Lunch Lady graphic novels, tells his own story in Hey Kiddo, a graphic novel memoir that is by turns harsh and tender. ...
Read More I Dared to Call Him Father by Bilquis Sheikh
By Betsy Farquhar |
A Pakistani Muslim woman recounts how God spoke to her, calling her out of her Muslim background, and how she dared to call him "Father" ...
Read More Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland
By Betsy Farquhar |
Grit, friendship, and hope come together in this bittersweet memoir for teens. Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North ...
Read More The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
By Janie Cheaney |
William Kamkwamba's own story of his efforts to bring reliable electrical power to his impoverished African village makes fascinating reading, especially for mechanically-minded middle-graders. The ...
Read More Pilipinto’s Happiness by Valerie Elliot Shepard
By Megan Saben |
*This post is revisited from the archives in honor of Elisabeth Elliot's passing into glory. Pilipinto's Happiness: The Jungle Childhood of Valerie Elliot, by Valerie ...
Read More *Pioneer Girl: the Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder
By Janie Cheaney |
*Pioneer Girl: the Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder (edited by Pamela Smith Hill). University of South Dakota Press, sale 2014. 400 pages. Reading Level: ...
Read More *Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi
By Betsy Farquhar |
This book is a "Best of the Best" pick from our Winter Book Fair. CLICK HERE to see more gift ideas! *Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim ...
Read More *Popular by Maya Van Wagenen
By Janie Cheaney |
*Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen. Dutton, 2014. 259 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 11-12Maturity Level: 5 (ages 12-14) When ...
Read More Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
By Janie Cheaney |
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Penguin, 2014. 320 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 5 (ages 12-14) Bottom line: Award-winning author ...
Read More *Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed
By Janie Cheaney |
Twelve Kinds of Ice, by Ellen Bryan Obed, illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 64 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Maturity Level: ...
Read More Throwing Strikes with R. A. Dickey
By Janie Cheaney |
Throwing Strikes: My Quest for Truth and the Perfect Knuckleball, by R. A. Dickey. Dial, 2013, 296 pages. Age/interest level: 12-16. Last year Dickey’s autobiography, ...
Read More Hail and Farewell: Maurice Sendak
By Janie Cheaney |
I first encountered the Latin phrase Ave Atque Vale in a historical novel whose appeal (the novel’s, that is) was almost entirely nostalgic. It means ...
Read More Home-Field Advantage by Justin Tuck
By Janie Cheaney |
Home Field Advantage by Justin Tuck, illustrated by Leonardo Rodriguiez. Simon & Shuster, 2011, 22 pages. Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages ...
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