Children’s books depict pioneers
American eighthgraders don’t seem to know much about history. Only 15% performed at or above the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ “proficient” level in U.S. history in 2018, down four points from 2014. Covering many subjects, NAEP assessments are often called the “Nation’s Report Card.”
If that’s the case, the nation is failing its past.
While many parents and kids still have more time together than usual, thanks to the coronavirus, I heartily recommend sharing some picture biographies about noteworthy Americans. Their stories of aspiration and accomplishment stand on their own, but they also spark conversation about important themes of our shared history.
Leave It to Abigail!: The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Adams Written by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley Little, Brown; 40 pages; $18.99; ages 4-8
This spirited portrait of our second first lady leaves out the part about hanging laundry in the East Room of the newly built White House. Instead, the focus is on a remarkable Massachusettsborn woman, well ahead of her time — selftaught, hardworking, independent, courageous, resourceful, opinionated, influential, and comfortable with both cows and kings. She runs the farm and raises the children while husband John is off on business for years at a time — first for the revolution and then on behalf of a fledgling republic. Modest crossstitching, popular in colonial days, connects colorful depictions of Adams as a prolific letterwriter, political helpmate, revolutionary leader and early feminist, counseling her husband to “remember the ladies!” Now, we’ll surely remember this one.
The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver Written by Gene Barretta and illustrated by Frank Morrison Katherine Tegen Books; 40 pages; $17.99; ages 4-8
Leave peanut phobia behind for this sensitive exploration of science and innovation in an age of segregation. Lush paintings hark back to postCivil War Missouri where, adopted by his former master, a young George creates a hidden garden — studying, experimenting and sharing what he learns. His course is set — to become a botanist and inventor. He famously creates over 300 products from peanuts.
Education is often denied him due to racism. Eventually, at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he founds a lab to help Southern farmers switch to less destructive crops. Thus, the lowly peanut replaces cotton as king. This welcome biography recognizes Carver as a prescient environmentalist, concluding with his famous words: “Regard Nature. Revere Nature. Respect Nature.”
Mother Jones and Her Army of Mill Children
Written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter Schwartz & Wade; 40 pages; $17.99; ages 4-8
“My name is Mother Jones, and I’m MAD. And you’d be MAD, too, if you’d seen what I’ve seen.” Thus begins the bold, notoftentold story of one outraged Irish immigrant. Dramatic black and white watercolors relay what she sees — downtrodden coal miners, lowpaid factory workers and children, “YOUR AGE,” working 10hour shifts in fabric mills for 2 cents an hour. In July 1903, she organizes a march of 100 “little revolutionaries” from Philadelphia to “the ‘fancy schmancy’ Long Island summer home of President Theodore Roosevelt.” The crusade itself fizzles out, but not the cause. New labor laws are subsequently enacted, getting kids “out of the FACTORIES and into CLASSROOMS.” This is a “WOW” book — a powerful reminder of the long struggle for workers’ rights.
Alice Across America: The Story of the First Women’s Cross-Country Road Trip
Written by Sarah Glenn Marsh and illustrated by Gilbert Ford Christy Ottaviano Books/ Henry Holt; 48 pages; $18.99; ages 5-9
In 1909, without a highway system or roadside amenities, Alice Ramsey volunteers to drive coast to coast. This exuberant true tale puts her on the map, recounting a journey designed to both advertise for the Maxwell car company and prove “ladies could drive just as well as men. Maybe even better.” Sprightly watercolors follow Ramsey and her three female companions as they meet every challenge — rain, mud, potholes, flat tires, a fender bender, an overheated radiator, bedbugs, dead ends, car camping and poor rations. After two months, they arrive in San Francisco to cheering crowds. As an afterword notes, Ramsey thereby helps further the development of motor transport that changes America forever.
The Only Woman in the Photo: Frances Perkins and Her New Deal for America
Written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Alexandra Bye Atheneum; 48 pages; $18.99; ages 4-8
Only 33 women have held Cabinet posts since 1789, the first being Frances Perkins, subject of this biography, inspiring on several counts. She serves as Franklin Roosevelt’s secretary of labor from 1932 to 1945 and crafts much of the New Deal to aid the most vulnerable. We see how Frances grows from a shy child to a successful social activist. She fights for the welfare of workers and poor families, first in New York and then nationwide. And we also see how she grows into a political powerhouse, a lone woman making pivotal change and ruffling feathers, too.
Fly High, John Glenn: The Story of an American Hero
Written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Maurizio A. C. Quarello Harper; 48 pages; $18.99; ages 4-8
This stellar biography presents the first American to orbit Earth (1962) in the best possible light. With unlikely boyhood dreams of flying, Glenn finds a way to become a fighter pilot in World War II and Korea, a recordbreaking military test pilot and a groundbreaking Project Mercury astronaut. Subsequently, he becomes a fourterm senator from Ohio and an unsuccessful candidate for president in 1984, a fact sadly left out and a lesson lost about learning from disappointment. A supportive wife, the space race and NASA prominently figure in.