I do not care what you think about Joe Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, or Scott Joplin (he fits my theme, if not a smidgen loosely, which is “People Who Made a Difference” Or “People Who Tried”), but these books are really cool. Okay, not “cool” as in The Fonz was cool or a snowman is cool, but in the way that a good book can be cool. Each of the below titles (though all are available, I read via online reader copies) talks about how a person tried to make the world a better place. These are interesting introductory biographies for at least the five and up crowd. They also, though are picture books, could work for adults as well. I liked reading about my president, a doctor, and a musician. I liked learning about people in a mostly non-political manner. They are good, get the job done, and would be nice additions to libraries.
Joe Biden’s story is by Jill Biden and Kathleen Krull, (so obviously at least one of them really likes the guy) but it is a straightforward, and mostly unbiased, story about how Joey: The Story of Joe Biden is just that. A story of a guy who was small, but hollered, “Give me the ball!” and would be able to go the distance. He was smart, fast, and knew how to get along with all types of people. He overcame bullies, a stutter, the lack of a political foothold (like our other Catholic president, John Kennedy) and more. He would be able to go to the high school of his choice because he worked for it. He couldn’t afford the tuition, so he found a way to get the money. He would go off to college, become a lawyer, run for office, and have President Obama call him one of the best Vice Presidents the country has had. The ins and outs of what shaped that man (his family (especially his parents and siblings), his friends, and his faith), is thoughtful and directly presented. Amy June Bates takes the story and runs with it with their illustrations. They have a “dreamy tone” to them, but are not fantasy or abstract. I think I mean “watercolor-like” images. The colors are nice, there are good details and help keep things a bit lighter (as there is an afterward that talks about the death of his first wife, and the two children).
And Dr. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Because America’s Doctor is another straight forward story that gets the job done. Kate Messner is a favorite writer of mine, and she took someone I had only heard of less than five years ago and made him human. With the support of his father and grandfather, he learned how to ask questions, consider all the data, and never give up. He would also learn to get along with all types of people, he would work hard for what he wanted and would stand in an auditorium of the medical school he wanted to attend and say, “I will be a student here next year.” and was. Alexandra Bye’s illustrations are both simple and detailed allowing the story to be accented and highlighted without taking away from the theme. Messner does talk about Covid, but the other diseases Fauci worked on and things he was scientifically part of, as well. There is an afterward about vaccines, and yes, it is pro-vaccination, but still the actual story of Fauci is a biography and not a political commentary.
Finally I bring in King Of Ragtime: The Story of Scott Joplin. Now, he was not a political person, but he had some political and social impact. When he finally would get one of his most famous compositions published, and it took off, he would have his name and image on the cover of the score. He also would have been taken on by the music publisher as an untested, black man, mostly sight unseen, just by having them hear basically one work. And like Biden and Fauci, he would overcome hardships as a child of a former enslaved man, a black musician, and someone who would have to work hard for what he wanted. He would play saloons out west, he would learn popular music and turn it upside down, making it his. He would combine the sounds and feelings around him, and inside of him. Stephen Costanza’s poetic work accents the man and takes on the tone of the music that would be known as Ragtime. The illustrations are artistic, a smidgen abstract, but allow you to see what you need to know. The colors can be a bit “much” at times, but that fits the overall theme.