Austin Montessori School
August 2011
Upper Elementary Recommended Reading: Biographies and Autobiographies
Subject
Anderson, Marian
Archimedes
Armstrong, Neil
Audobon, John J.
Bly, Nellie
Bly, Nellie
Bridges, Ruby
Byrd, Richard
Carson, Rachel
Carver, George W.
Coleman, E.
Cousteau, Jacques
Cousteau, Jacques
Curie, Marie
Darwin, Charles
Darwin, Charles
da Vinci, Leonardo
Earhart, Amelia
Edison, Thomas
Einstein, Albert
Einstein, Albert
Einstein, Albert
Fibonacci
Franklin, Ben
Franklin, Ben
Galen
Gandhi, Indira
Gehrig, Lou
Glenn, John
Handel
Hensen, Matthew
Hughes, Langston
Title
The Voice That Challenged a Nation:
Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights
Archimedes and the Door of Science
Neil Armstrong: One Giant Leap for Mankind
The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon
Bylines: A Photobiography of Nellie Bly
The Daring Nellie Bly: America’s Star Reporter
Through My Eyes (Autobiography)
Black Whiteness: Admiral Byrd Alone in the Antarctic
Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology
George Washington Carver
Talkin’ About Bessie (The Story of Aviator Elizabeth
Coleman)
Manfish – A Story of Jacques Cousteau
The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau
Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium
Young Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle
The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin
Leonardo da Vinci
Sky Pioneer – A Photobiography of Amelia Earhart
Thomas Edison: The Great American Inventorv
Albert Einstein (Giants of Science Series)
Genius:A Photobiography of Albert Einstein
Ordinary Genius: The Story of Albert Einstein
Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci
The Story of Benjamin Franklin: Amazing American
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine
Indira Gandhi: Daughter of India
Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man
Liftoff – A Photobiography of John Glenn
Handel Who Knew What He Liked
Keep On! The Story of Matthew Hensen, Co-Discovere
of the North Pole
Langston Hughes: American Poet
Author
Freedman
Info (Pb=Picture book)
a triumphant story
Bendick
Dixon-Engel
Davies
Macy
Christiansen
Bridges
Burleigh
Kudlinski
Bolden
Grimes
160
(first man on the moon)
128
Pb, “a beguiling intro to the painter” 32
daring, globetrotting journalist
64
Pb
32
her experience with integration
64
Pb, with diary entries
36
64
“wizard of the goober and the yam” 40
21 poetic vignettes of Coleman
144
Berne
Yaccarino
McClafferty
Ashby
Sis
Stanley
Szabo
Egan
Krull
Delano
McPherson
D’Agnese
Davidson
Cousins
Bendick
Dommermuth-Costa
Adler
Mitchell
Anderson
Hopkinson
Pb, simple poetic language
Pb
ground-breaking scientist)
Pb, spare, eloquent text
Pb, “engaging and intimate”
Pb, witty with drama/depth
“clearly written narrative”
40
40
144
128
44
48
64
176
128
64
112
40
96
160
152
128
32
64
48
36
Walker
by Pulitzer-prize-winning author
48
Pb
Pb
Pb, “celebrates her drive and skill”
“witty and astute”
Pb (medieval mathematician)
doctor to gladiators and emperors!
Pages
128
King Jr., M. L.
Lincoln, Abraham
Lincoln, Abraham
Marquette
Mendel, Gregor
Muir, John
Oakley, Annie
Polo, Marco
Robinson, Jackie
Roosevelt, Eleanor
Roosevelt, Theodore
Salk, Jonas
Sotomayor, Sonia
Sullivan, Annie
Vivaldi
Wheatley, Phillis
Whitman, Walt
Williams, W. C.
Woodhull, Victoria
Wright Brothers
York
MLK: Journey of a King
Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House
Abraham Lincoln
Father Marquette and the Great Rivers
Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas
John Muir: My Life With Nature
Bull’s Eye – A Photobiography of Annie Oakley
Marco Polo
The Story of Jackie Robinson: Bravest Man in Baseball
Eleanor: Quiet No More
Theodore
Jonas Salk: Conquering Polio
Sonia Sotomayor: Supreme Court Justice
Helen's Eyes: A Photobiography of Annie Sullivan,
Helen Keller's Teacher
I, Vivaldi
A Voice of Her Own: A Story of Phillis Wheatley,
Slave Poet
Walt Whitman: Words For America
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams
A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull
The Wright Brothers, Pioneers of American Aviation
York’s Adventures with Lewis and Clark:
An African American’s Part in the Expedition
Bolden
North
d’Aulaire
Derleth
Bardoe
Muir/Cornell
Macy
Demi
Davidson
Rappaport
Keating
McPherson
Bernier-Grand
Delano
the man and his vision
Shelfelman
Lasky
Pb, beautifully ornate artwork
32
40
Kerley
Bryant
Krull
Reynolds
Blumberg
(famous poet)
doctor and poet
Pb, when women couldn’t vote!
56
34
32
160
96
Pb, a Caldecott Medal Book
17th century priest and explorer)
Pb with extensive notes
full of hope, adventure, sensitivity
Pb
Pb, lavish art, enticing text
dramatic Pb with quotes
Pb, intruiging text
with maps, sketches, portraits...
128
160
64
139
40
79
64
56
96
48
32
128
48
64
“Childhood of Famous Americans” series: Each book in this extensive series has an easy-to-read story about a child who grows up to be
famous as an inventor, statesman, nurse, doctor, explorer, etc. Subjects include: Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Gandhi,
Elizabeth Blackwell, Babe Ruth and many others
Biography Collections:
Paths to Peace: People Who Changed the World by Jane Zalben (48 pages): Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Cesar Chavez, Aung San Suu
Kyi, and Dr.Wangari Maathai, are some of the people featured.
The Earth Heroes books feature the youth, careers and lasting contributions of some of the greatest naturalists and environmentalists in the world
Earth Heroes: Champions of the Ocean by F. Hodgkins (144 pages)
Earth Heroes: Champions of the Wilderness by Carol Malnor (144 pages)
Earth Heroes: Champions of Wild Animals by Carol Malnor (144 pages)