Rita’s Top Ten Favorite Historical PB’s

Hello everybody,
Hope you’re doing well! Just breezing through because Black History Month is coming and I’d like to share a list of my favorite historical pb’s with you.

First, let me say that I love pb’s of every genre. But since we’ll be talking about “history” in just a few days, I thought I would share a few of my fav’s with you.

Some are multicultural, some are not. The only criteria for being on this “top ten” list: I had to absolutely love it. So without further ado…here we go!

1. Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream, by Crystal Hubbard. Story of the first female member of an all-male professional baseball team. READ REVIEW HERE.

2. Dad, Jackie and Me, by Myron Uhlberg. The story of a how a boy and his deaf father identified with ball player Jackie Robinson. READ REVIEW HERE.

3. First Dog Fala, by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk. The story of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, as seen through the eyes of his faithful dog Fala. READ REVIEW HERE.

4. Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball, by John Coy. Title is self-explanatory. READ REVIEW HERE.

5. Hot Dog: Eleanor Roosevelt Throws a Picnic, by Leslie Kimmelman. The time Eleanor Roosevelt fed hot dogs to the king and queen of England. READ REVIEW HERE.

6. I Grew up to Be President, by Laurie Calkhoven. The who, what, when, where and how of all the presidents…in picture book form. READ REVIEW HERE.

7. Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, by Katheryn Russell-Brown. The story of musical prodigy Melba Doretta Liston, who was eventually honored as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment of the Arts. READ REVIEW HERE.

8. Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt, by Leslie Kimmelman. The story of how Alice Roosevelt kept everyone on their toes. READ REVIEW HERE.

9. Noah Webster & His Words, by Jeri Chase Ferris. The story of the long and wonderfully-wordy life of Noah Webster. READ REVIEW HERE.

10. It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw, by Don Tate. The story of “one of the most important self-taught American folk artists of the twentieth century.” READ REVIEW HERE.

FYI – If I had to pick the winner out of this list of outstanding pb’s — based upon the historical picture book as an art form that marries prose to illustrations and tops them off with a twist of humor — it would be…drumroll, please:

That’s right, Noah Webster & His Words, by Jeri Chase Ferris is cleverly written, adorably illustrated, and incredibly informative. It’s a biography, a history lesson and a belly-full of laughs all rolled into one.

Yep, love me some Noah!

Anyway, I hope this list will help you as you choose outstanding historical pb’s for your personal or educational library.

Best wishes,
Rita Lorraine