Artist memoirs and biographies
The books recommended below were all published within the last several years and reviewed by The Horn Book Magazine. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion....
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Creative lives
Recent posts have given us tantalizing glimpses behind the scenes with Rebecca Stead, Lee Kingman Natti, and Shaun Tan. Read more about the lives of artists you admire — including cartoonists,...
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Hello and a book recommendation
By way of introduction, a story and a book recommendation. When I was in school, I had an experience that many people have and one I think about often as a teacher — I felt like I rarely saw myself in...
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Review of The Scraps Book
The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life by Lois Ehlert; illus. by the author Primary Beach Lane/Simon 72 pp. 3/14 978-1-4424-3571-1 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4424-3572-8 $10.99 In a...
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Review of Leaving China
Leaving China: An Artist Paints His World War II Childhood by James McMullan; illus. by the author Middle School, High School Algonquin 113 pp. 3/14 978-1-61620-255-2 $19.95 McMullan was...
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El Deafo
This week, I was lucky enough to have a thirty-minute window when I could pop into my favorite independent bookstore in Los Angeles. They have a large children’s section on the second floor that I love...
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Mini-trend: Grrrl power grrraphic novels
We’ve noticed a welcome trend lately: excellent graphic novel memoirs (or fiction that feels an awful lot like) written by women about their adolescence. Here are a few to enjoy. (Thanks, Marjane...
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Review of El Deafo
El Deafo by Cece Bell; illus. by the author; color by David Lasky Intermediate, Middle School Amulet/Abrams 242 pp. 9/14 978-1-4197-1020-9 $21.95 Paper ed. 978-1-4197-1217-3 $10.95 At...
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Cece Bell on El Deafo
In the November/December 2014 Horn Book Magazine, reviewer Deirdre Baker asked Cece Bell about her graphic novel memoir El Deafo — which is told entirely with anthropomorphic bunnies. Read the starred...
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Graphic-novel memoirs
The creators of these graphic-novel memoirs use words and pictures to revisit experiences from their youth. Their work relates sometimes-difficult, sometimes-comical stories with poignancy, bittersweet...
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Memoir
Earl, Esther This Star Won’t Go Out: The Life & Words of Esther Grace Earl Middle school, high school 240 pp. Dutton With Lori Earl and Wayne Earl. John Green dedicated The Fault in Our...
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Review of Tomboy
Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince; illus. by the author Middle School, High School Zest Books 256 pp. 9/14 Paper ed. 978-1-936976-55-3 $15.99 e-book ed. 978-1-936976-56-0 $15.99 “When...
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Review of March: Book Two
March: Book Two by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin; illus. by Nate Powell Middle School, High School Top Shelf Productions 192 pp. 1/15 978-1-60309-400-9 $19.95 g Lewis and Aydin begin this...
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From the Guide: YA Memoirs
Adolescence is a time of transition that for many teens is characterized by hurdles big and small. These new memoirs, written by and/or for young adults, and all recommended by The Horn Book Guide,...
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Five questions for Sonia Manzano
Photo: Edward Pagan Sonia Manzano’s forty-four-year run as Sesame Street‘s Maria recently came to a close, but that doesn’t mean she’s taking it easy. Her newest book, Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in...
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Review of The Trouble in Me
The Trouble in Me by Jack Gantos Middle School, High School Farrar 208 pp. 9/15 978-0-374-37995-7 $17.99 g By the summer before eighth grade, young Jack Gantos didn’t think much of himself....
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Review of A Year Without Mom
A Year Without Mom by Dasha Tolstikova; illus. by the author Middle School Groundwood 168 pp. 10/15 978-1-55498-692-7 $19.95 e-book ed. 978-155498-693-4 $16.95 Tolstikova’s illustrated...
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Review of Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine
Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine by Ibtisam Barakat Middle School, High School Ferguson/Farrar 223 pp. 10/16 978-0-374-30251-1 $17.99 g In this follow-up to her first...
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Life under siege
Growing up amidst political turmoil and war can have profound effects on any individual. These memoirs and biographies offer nuanced explorations of lives in such uncertain places and times. In How...
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Graphic-novel biographies and memoirs
Chandler, Matt Outrunning the Nazis: The Brave Escape of Resistance Fighter Sven Somme Illustrated by Daniele Nicotra. Gr. 4–6, middle school 32 pp. Capstone/Graphic Library Yomtov, Nel Death...
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