What Makes a Picture Book Bio Stand Out?

by Carol Hinz, Associate Publisher of Millbrook Press and Carolrhoda Books
I love picture book biographies, both because of the fascinating range of people featured and because of the wide range of approaches authors use in writing them. Would I have known about Isatou Ceesay’s efforts to clean up her community in the Gambia if it weren’t for One Plastic Bag? Would I have had any idea how Cherokee values shaped Mary Golda Ross’s career as an aerospace engineer without Classified? Would I have been aware that a Mexican American teen girl with a passion for woodworking made a gift for President Roosevelt during the Great Depression if not for the forthcoming Piece by Piece?
Picture book bios are a mainstay of children’s nonfiction, but there are a lot of them, which can make it hard to stand out from the crowd. What elements does a picture book bio need to be successful?
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