Picture Book Biography Series

Titles:  30 + including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Anne Frank, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Author:  David A. Adler

Rating:  *** (3 stars out of 3 possible, "A")
             Highly Recommended

Audience:  Ages 7-10

David Adler has done a great favor to children and families in producing these thorough and well-written short biographies.  The number of subjects he covers combined with the chosen illustrators offers a comprehensive and engaging history curriculum for young people.

Adler deftly balances concise facts with interesting details to hold even a young reader's attention.  He provides a useful timeline at the end of each book.  Also, he doesn't pull any punches, so be aware that a biography about Anne Frank, for example, will be realistic and almost graphic.

I find biographies to be especially convicting examples of character building.  I encourage families to expose kids as early as possible to these real stories of children growing up in another time, often overcoming difficult circumstances yet always displaying unique giftedness, courage and perseverance.

David Adler also has biographies in the 200+ page range for 5th grade and up, and is the author of the Cam Jansen mysteries, a girl's counterpart to Encylopedia Brown.