CHILDREN'S LITERATURE ASSEMBLY
  • Home
  • Join/Donate
  • Members Only
  • Journal
  • Notables
  • Grants & Awards
  • Resources
  • CLA @ NCTE
  • About
  • CLA Blog

The CLA Blog

20 Biographies for 2020

9/22/2020

 

BY MARY ANN CAPPIELLO on behalf of The Biography Clearinghouse

Book cover: Finish the Fight
As we approach the final quarter of 2020, fires rage along the West Coast. Many regions of the United States face drought conditions. Gulf communities are inundated by Hurricane Sally while a string of storms line up in the Atlantic, waiting their turn. The impact of climate change is evident.  

COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on our lives, our health. We bear witness to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on minoritized groups, including  Black and Latinx communities, Native Americans, and the elderly. 

Across America, Black Lives Matter protests carry on, demanding that our nation invest in the essential work necessary to achieve a more perfect union through racial justice. 

In 2020, we remember moments of historic change, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. 


Book cover: Patricia's Vision
The intensity of this moment can’t be denied. It’s demanding. It’s exhausting. Whether you are a teacher, librarian, or university faculty member, you are likely teaching in multiple new formats and modalities, facing daily logistical challenges. Caregivers also face new hurdles in supporting young people’s learning. 

How do you meet the needs of students and the needs of this moment in history? How do you find hope in literature? 

Perhaps one way is to turn to the people of the past and the present who are working on the edges of scientific knowledge. Or, to turn to the people of the past and the present who have acted as champions of social justice. Their life stories offer young people models of agency and action, blueprints for change.

To that end, The Biography Clearinghouse shares 20 biographies for 2020, a list of recent picturebook and collected biographies to connect with the challenges of the moment. This list is not comprehensive. It is simply a starting place. We hope these recently published biographies of diverse changemakers can become part of your curriculum or part of your read aloud calendar, in-person or over video conferencing software.



Biographies About Scientists

A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttman Created the Paralympic Games (2020) by Lori Alexander, illustrated by Alan Drummond  

Born Curious: 20 Girls Who Grew Up to be Awesome Scientists (2020) by Martha Freeman, illustrated by Katy Wu 

Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner (2019) by Janice Harrington, illustrated by Theodore Taylor 

Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet (2019) by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Teresa Martinez 

Ocean Speaks: How Maria Tharp Revealed the Ocean’s Biggest Secret (2020) by Jess Keating, illustrated by Katie Hickey 

Patricia’s Vision: The Doctor Who Saved Sight (2020) by Michelle Lord, illustrated by Alleana Charris. 

Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom (2019) by Teresa Robeson, illustrated by Rebecca Huang 

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver (2020) by Gene Berretta, illustrated by Frank Morrison 

Sharuko: El arqueólogo Peruano Julio C. Tello / Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello (2020) by Monica Brown; illus. by Elisa Chavarri; trans. into Spanish by Adriana Domínguez

The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just (2018) by Melina Mangal, illustrated by Luisa Uribe ​

Book cover: Born Curious
Book cover: Sharuko

Biographies About Champions for Change

All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything (2020) by Annette Bay Pimental, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali 

Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis’ Fleet-Footed Girl (2020) by Megan Reid, illustrated by Laura Freeman 

Finish the Fight: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote (2020) by Veronica Chambers and the staff of The New York Times, illustrated by Monica Ahanonu, Rachelle Baker, Kristen Buchholz, Alex Cabal, Noa Denmon, Ellen Duda, Shyama Golden, Johnalynn Holland, Hillary Kempenich, Nhung Lê , Ella Trujillo, and Steffi Walthall

I am Not a Label: 34 Disabled Artists, Thinkers, Athletes and Activists from Past and Present (2020) by Cerrie Burnell, illustrated by Lauren Mark Baldo

Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box (2020) by Evette Dion 

Lizzie Demands a Seat! Elizabeth Jennings Fights for Streetcar Rights (2020) by Beth Anderson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis 

She was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm (2020) by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Eric Velasquez 

Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and The Great War (2019) by Duncan Tonatiuh

Spotted Tail (2019) by David Heska Wanbli Weiden, illustrated by Jim Yellowhawk and Pat Kinsella 

The Teachers March: How Selma’s Teachers Changed History (2020) by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rick Wallace, illustrated by Charly Palmer 
Book cover: Lifting as we Climb
Book cover: She Was the First
If you have any picture book or chapter-length biographies or collected biographies for young people that you would like to recommend, please email us at thebiographyclearinghouse@gmail.com. We’re also interested in hearing more about how you’re using life stories in the classroom this year.
Mary Ann Cappiello teaches courses in children’s literature and literacy methods at Lesley University, blogs about teaching with children’s literature at The Classroom Bookshelf, a School Library Journal blog, and is a former chair of NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction K-8. 

Comments are closed.

    Authors:
    CLA Members

    Supporting PreK-12 and university teachers as they share children’s literature with their students in all classroom contexts.

    Disclaimer
    The opinions and ideas posted in the individual entries are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of CLA or the Blog Editors.

    Blog Editors

    Xenia Hadjioannou
    Lauren Liang
    Liz Thackeray Nelson

    contribute to the blog

    Instructions to Authors

    If you are a current CLA member and you would like to contribute a post to the CLA Blog, please read the Instructions to Authors and email co-editor Liz Thackeray Nelson with your idea.


    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020

    Categories

    All
    Activism
    Advocacy
    African American Literature
    Agency
    All Grades
    American Indian
    Antiracism
    Art
    Asian American
    Authors
    Award Books
    Awards
    Back To School
    Biography
    Black Culture
    Black Freedom Movement
    Bonnie Campbell Hill Award
    Book Bans
    Book Challenges
    Book Discussion Guides
    Censorship
    Chapter Books
    Children's Literature
    Civil Rights Movement
    CLA Auction
    Classroom Ideas
    Collaboration
    Comprehension Strategies
    Contemporary Realistic Fiction
    COVID
    Creativity
    Creativity Sponsors
    Critical Literacy
    Crossover Literature
    Cultural Relevance
    Culture
    Current Events
    Digital Literacy
    Disciplinary Literacy
    Distance Learning
    Diverse Books
    Diversity
    Early Chapter Books
    Emergent Bilinguals
    Endowment
    Family Literacy
    First Week Books
    First Week Of School
    Garden
    Global Children’s And Adolescent Literature
    Global Children’s And Adolescent Literature
    Global Literature
    Graduate
    Graduate School
    Graphic Novel
    High School
    Historical Fiction
    Identity
    Illustrators
    Indigenous
    Indigenous Stories
    Innovators
    Intercultural Understanding
    Intermediate Grades
    International Children's Literature
    Journal Of Children's Literature
    Language Arts
    Language Learners
    LCBTQ+ Books
    Librarians
    Literacy Leadership
    #MeToo Movement
    Middle Grade Literature
    Middle Grades
    Middle School
    Mindfulness
    Multiliteracies
    Museum
    Native Americans
    Nature
    NCTE
    Nonfiction Books
    Nurturing Lifelong Readers
    Outside
    #OwnVoices
    Picturebooks
    Picture Books
    Poetic Picturebooks
    Poetry
    Preschool
    Primary Grades
    Primary Sources
    Professional Resources
    Reading Engagement
    Research
    Science
    Science Fiction
    Self-selected Texts
    Social Justice
    Social Media
    Social Studies
    Sports Books
    STEAM
    STEM
    Storytelling
    Summer Camps
    Summer Programs
    Teacher
    Teaching Reading
    Teaching Resources
    Teaching Writing
    Text Sets
    The Arts
    Tradition
    Translanguaging
    Trauma
    Ukraine
    Undergraduate
    Using Technology
    Verse Novels
    Virtual Library
    Vocabulary
    War
    #WeNeedDiverseBooks
    YA Lit
    Young Adult Literature

    RSS Feed

CLA

About CLA
CLA Board & Committees
Membership
Merchandise
Endowment Fund

Grants & Awards

CLA Research Award
Bonnie Campbell Hill Award
CLA Early Career Award
CLA Student Travel Grant

Journal of Children's Literature

Write for JCL
JCL Editors

The CLA Blog

Notables

Current List
Notables Archive

Resources

CLA-sponsored NCTE Position Statements
Children's Literature Course Syllabi
Children's Literature Blogs

CLA @NCTE

Children's Literature Assembly Breakfast
Master Class
Other CLA-sponsored Sessions

Art Auction

Members-Only Content

CLA Video Library
CLA Newsletter Archive

JCL Past Issues Archive

Current JCL Issue
JCL Podcasts

© COPYRIGHT 2018.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • Home
  • Join/Donate
  • Members Only
  • Journal
  • Notables
  • Grants & Awards
  • Resources
  • CLA @ NCTE
  • About
  • CLA Blog