Special thanks to intern Spencer Hanson for the following post!
The 88th Academy Awards will air live on ABC this upcoming Sunday, February 28! Lerner eBooks offer a chance to learn more about this year’s Oscar nominees and the real people and events that inspired their films.
Jennifer Lawrence has already won one Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and now she has received her fourth nomination this year for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Joy (2015). Despite her Hollywood success, Jennifer Lawrence has maintained a down to earth personality and modesty that has earned her the respect of many fans. You can learn more about Lawrence’s acting career and life growing up on a Kentucky Horse Farm in Jennifer Lawrence: The Hunger Games’ Girl on Fire by Nadia Higgins from the Pop Culture Bios series which offers many other biographies of your favorite stars. Young readers (ages 8-12) will enjoy this biography’s look into the interesting life of The Hunger Games’ Star. You’ll even discover that Jennifer loves books; in fact she read all three Hunger Games books in four days before even landing the role of Katniss Everdeen!
Steve Jobs’ prolific achievements have made him the subject of four films and numerous documentaries. Most recently, Michael Fassbender portrayed the Apple genius in Steve Jobs (2015), and Fassbender’s critically acclaimed performance has earned him a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. In addition, Kate Winslet has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in the film. Jobs revolutionized our modern world, from developing concepts like navigation on a computer using a mouse to developing devices such as the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Readers (ages 9-14) can learn all about Steve Job’s life and career as an innovator in Steve Jobs: Technology Innovator and Apple Genius by Matt Doeden.
The film adaptation of Andy Weir’s science fiction novel, The Martian, has given Matt Damon another shot at winning Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. If you want to know what astonishing discoveries NASA is making today about Mars, check out Ron Miller’s Curiosity’s Mission on Mars. Students (grades 6-12) will learn the science that proposes that people may actually be able to colonize Mars. The NASA rover curiosity has already found ancient stream-beds where water once flowed for thousands of years and rock samples that prove the Martian soil still contains water today! These are just some of the many discoveries turning science fiction into facts waiting to be read in this astonishing eBook which was awarded Best Children’s Book of the Year by the Children’s Books Committee at Bank Street College.
The Grimm’s Fairy Tales have all been adapted and artistically interpreted numerous times, and Cinderella is no exception. The exquisite costumes from the film Cinderella (2015) have earned Sandy Powell her eleventh nomination from the Academy. Powell is a powerhouse at the Oscars and her costume designs have already won her three Oscars. For another enchanting version of this classic look no further than Charles Perrault’s children’s book, Cinderella, illustrated by Ji-ye Jeong. The cheerfully colored illustrations and humorous characters will be beloved by princesses and kids of all ages. Perhaps it will even inspire them to make their own artistic designs of Cinderella’s story.
Lerner Digital’s extensive library of award winning eBooks is sure to enhance your experience of the 2016 Oscar nominees.