KIDS

By Sarah at the Midtown Carnegie Branch

Did you know that Nelson Mandela had a wicked aim with his slingshot? J.R.R. Tolkien had tarantula poison sucked out of his foot! And can you imagine a young Beatrix Potter keeping a small zoo of rabbits, mice, bats, a hedgehog, and even lizards hidden from her parents?  These are just a few of the cool stories found in a series from Quirk Books about the childhoods of famous people! Each collection of 16 stories is filled with interesting and funny illustrations and a quick synopsis of how these important people impacted history. This series is recommended for 9 to 12-year-old readers, and it's a great tool for starting conversations about diversity, compassion and gaining confidence in one’s abilities. 

Rosa Parks learned how to stand up for herself early on from her confident grandfather. Emma Watson used her childhood bossiness to stand up for gender equality as an adult. Check this title out to read about true champions of change! Also available as an audiobook on Hoopla.

Learn how these kid artists got started and eventually made art and history at the same time. Love nature? Maybe you’re like Vincent Van Gogh, whose love of bugs and the outdoors inspired him to start painting. Also available as an audiobook on Hoopla.

It doesn’t matter if you grew up in South Africa or a dugout house in Minnesota, you might have a story to tell! Many of these kid authors had some big challenges to overcome in order to become the famous writers you know today! Also available as an audiobook on Hoopla.

A scientist’s job is to ask questions and seek answers, and who’s better at that than a kid? Exploring the world with a big dose of curiosity is what made Jane Goodall, Isaac Newton, and Nikola Tesla famous, but they all started out looking at the world a little closer than everyone else. Also available as an audiobook on Hoopla.

From Benazir Bhutto to Greta Thunberg, great activists got their starts as kids. These fun facts about the childhoods of contemporary figures will learn that regular kids can grow up to change the world. 

Throughout history, people have experimented, invented, and created new ways of doing things. Kid Innovators tells the stories of a diverse group of brilliant thinkers in fields like technology, education, business, science, art, and entertainment, reminding us that every innovator started out as a kid. Florence Nightingale rescued baby mice. Alan Turing was a daydreamer with terrible handwriting. And Alvin Ailey felt like a failure at sports. They all grew up to make huge changes to the way we live. Also available as an audiobook on Hoopla.

Questions or need more ideas? Email imagine@thelibrary.org