Autobiographies & Biographies

Digital Resources & Books

The books on this page are intended to inspire young writers to compose nonfiction writing including biographies and informational texts.

• Black Lives Matter Instructional Library an interactive library of books
• Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover. Markus Motum. Candlewick Press, 2017
• Boy: Tales of Childhood. Roald Dahl. Puffin Books, 2009
• Bill Peet: An Autobiography. HMH Books for Young Readers, 1989
• When I Was Nine. James Stevenson. Greenwillow, 1989.
• Shortcut. Donald Crews. Greenwillow, 1996
• 26 Fairmont Avenue, Tomie DePaola. Puffin Books, 2002
• I am Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins. Illustrated by Will Clay. Puffin Books, 1997
• A Poem for Peter. The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day. Andrea Davis Pinkney. Pictures by Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson. Viking, 2016.
• Telling a Story About Me: Young Children Write Autobiographies, National Council of Teachers of English
• Heart, Head, Hands and Feet. A collection of picture book biographies about individuals whose childhood interests became their adult contributions to society.
• Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, Lemony Snicket, HarperCollins, 2012
• Biographies written for kids
• Science Biographies for Young Readers
• Yearly Listing of Notable Social Studies Trade Books from the National Council for the Social Studies that includes listings for biographies

Biographies of Women Change Makers

• Marie Curie. Demi. Henry Holt and Company, 2018.
• Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon. Jeannine Atkins. Illustrated by Michael Dooling. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012.
• Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine. Laurie Wallmark. Illustrated by April Chu. Creston Books, 2015.
• Grace Hopper: The First Woman to Program the First Computer in the United States.Christy Marx. Rosen Publishing Group, 2003.
• Beatrix Potter and Her Paint Box. David McPhail. Henry Holt and Company, 2015.
  • The author of Peter Rabbit books also made important contributions to the field of botany, including detailed observations and drawings of algae and fungi.
• Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell. Tanya Lee Stone. Illustrated by Majorie Priceman. Henry Holt & Co, 2013.
• I am Helen Keller. Brad Meltzer. Illustrated by Christopher Eliopolous. Dial Books, 2014
• Maria's Comet. Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by Deborah Lanino. Aladdin Books, 2003.
• She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story. Audrey Veronica. Illustrated by Don Tate. Balzer & Bray, 2011. The story of the first woman inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx. Jonah Winter. Illustrated by Edel Rodriguez. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2009. The life of the Supreme Court Justice in English and Spanish.
• Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton. Sherri Duskey Rinker. Illustrated by John Rocco. Houghton Mifflin, 2017.

Research Reports

Fiction and non-fiction stories written based on research.

• What if you had Bird Feet?
• Authentic Writing you can do With Your Students

More "Writing Fiction & Nonfiction" pages: Animations | Comics & Graphic Novels | New Versions of Old Tales