Yes, I have mentioned the Who Is/Who Was series before, but I have several of the titles and could not let good reads go to waste! This time: Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? and Who Was Barack Obama? and Who Was Amelia Earhart? and Who Was Charles Darwin are the “newest” ones devoured.
Of course, pairing Martin Luther King, Jr. and Obama is natural. Two men of color who broke racial barriers. But why pair Earhart and Darwin, too? Earhart broke down barriers, too, though for women and helped bring aviation to the public. And Darwin changed the worlds thinking with his theories and finally, facts.
The people in the Who Was/Who Is series are trail blazers. They have changed art, music, history, science and politics. And what is fantastic about the series is that they are not all about “old dead dudes and dudettes.” They have contemporary people like Malala Yousafzai and Jane Goodalll. And where else can you find a book for the third to fourth grader on Princess Diana or Lucile Ball or Julia Childs? Not to mention, Jesus? When I saw that I knew this series was a keeper. They have made a biography about almost any subject. Granted they probably would not do someone like Hitler or Stalin, but who would think of writing a biography of Dolly Parton for that age range? There is even one for Seabiscuit!
Great introductions to the people and places they talk about. Some facts that you might not be aware of and ones that we all know. Darwin was probably (so far) the most interesting as I knew the least about him.
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