Special Collections
District List: ELC-4 Unit 3 Biographies/Autobiographies/Memoirs
Description: Students select an author to read about and study. Some students may want to explore this genre in more depth by reading additional autobiographies and/or memoirs. #mcps
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Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline WoodsonA New York Times Bestseller and National Book Award WinnerA Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the CenturyJacqueline Woodson, the acclaimed author of Red at the Bone, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child&’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson&’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.A National Book Award WinnerA Newbery Honor BookA Coretta Scott King Award WinnerPraise for Jacqueline Woodson:Ms. Woodson writes with a sure understanding of the thoughts of young people, offering a poetic, eloquent narrative that is not simply a story . . . but a mature exploration of grown-up issues and self-discovery.&”—The New York Times Book Review
Boy
by Roald Dahl and Quentin BlakeWhere did Roald Dahl get all of his wonderful ideas for stories? From his own life, of course! As full of excitement and the unexpected as his world-famous, best-selling books, Roald Dahl's tales of his own childhood are completely fascinating and fiendishly funny. Did you know that Roald Dahl nearly lost his nose in a car accident? Or that he was once a chocolate candy tester for Cadbury's? Have you heard about his involvement in the Great Mouse Plot of 1924? If not, you don't yet know all there is to know about Roald Dahl. Sure to captivate and delight you, the boyhood antics of this master storyteller are not to be missed!
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
by Margaret CousinsBiography: Benjamin Franklin was one of the busiest men in the American colonies. He was a printer, a postmaster, an inventor, a writer, and a diplomat. When the Revolutionary War began, Ben supported America in the Continental Congress. Like the clever adages from hisPoor Richard's Almanac, Ben Franklin still sets an example for Americans today.
The Abracadabra Kid
by Sid FleischmanThe man with the spats rolled up his sleeves and proceeded to pluck a polished red billiard ball out of thin air. Presto! It vanished. Abracadabra! It reappeared. It turned white. It blushed red again. VoiIa! Suddenly there were four billiard balls between this amazing man's fingers. I was stunned. All of this was happening right under my nose. And there was more. He flipped the deck into falling waterfalls of cards, spun them into fans, and thrust a sword through a shower of cards to impale the seven of diamonds -- selected a moment before. I was dazzled. The moment he finished his act and ushered us gawkers back onto the sidewalk, I knew what I wanted to be. Someone else could be president of the United States. I wanted to be a magician.