Sources: Biographies to Read Aloud with Kids: From Alvin Ailey to Zishe the Strongman

Abstract

Biographies to Read Aloud with Kids is a guidebook to excellent biographies of important figures throughout history who are missing from traditional school textbooks. Reid has selected two hundred biographies that adults—parents, teachers, and librarians—can read aloud with children. He includes a wide range of complete biographies (covering a subject's entire life), partial biographies (covering an incident in a subject's life), collective biographies, and a few bilingual books as well. The choices are a good mixture of formats, too, including narratives, verse stories, and even graphic novels. Reid has chosen books with great writer's "flair," an even split of male and female subjects, and a diversity of subjects, but, perhaps most importantly, he has selected books that tell "a good story" (xiii-xiv). He also has avoided biographies of athletes, actors, and other pop culture figures because they would date the book's selections quickly. The biographies are presented in two chapters—the first on individual subjects and the second on collective biographies. Many of the selections include black and white photos of the cover or an image from the book. A few entries also include an additional "highly recommended" title or two. Three short chapters feature interviews with authors and a publisher of biographies for young readers.