In this very special episode of the podcast, the RAR team is discussing our favorite way to study history: through picture book biographies. We’re also sharing a brand new FREE resource – a huge list of our favorite picture book biographies, organized by time period and category.

This resource will be a huge help to your history studies, because we’ve matched the books up to each time period. We’ve also got categories for:

  • Artists
  • Athletes
  • Inventors & Explorers
  • Musicians
  • Scientists & Mathematicians
  • U.S. History
  • Writers

And of course, we have the whole list available for you uncategorized, as well, if you like your booklists to lead to wild spontaneous discoveries. 😏

The list is available to view online, or to print. Pop your email in below to get it.

Download the FREE categorized list

Get the full printable list of our favorite picture book biographies, organized by time period and category, including tips and open-ended questions

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The printable also includes:

  • tips for using picture book biographies in your homeschool
  • open-ended questions to discuss them
  • ideas for how to use these books with older kids and high schoolers, as well as younger kids

In this podcast episode, you’ll hear:

  • what makes picture books special and unique learning tools
  • the best ways to read them and use them in your homeschool
  • how picture book biographies help us answer the so what question

Click the play button below to start listening:


We talk about…

1:48Meet the team
3:20‘Expanded, revised and better than ever’
5:33Why use a picture book biography?
6:46Sarah reads aloud (she can’t help herself!)
8:51Sophisticated language
10:28Immersive art
13:00Design makes a difference
15:18Engaging back matter
17:53Empathy and compassion
20:51How to read a picture book biography
21:58Expanding the story
24:05Delight as a teacher
25:03Picture book bios for different age groups
28:16So what?
31:46Back matter as a “jumping off point”
33:43Unit studies with meaning
34:51Going deeper
36:48With older kids (and adults!)
39:45Open-ended questions
42:25Great conversations
44:23Let the Kids Speak

Quotes to remember:

“The picture books created a context for him. We did this without timelines or chanting or quizzes. He has those facts in his mind already, because he was given worthy things to contemplate, and he made connections himself that were meaningful.”

Kortney Garrison

“You’re experiencing what a real person saw, heard, felt because of the language, illustrations, and design that go with it. I feel like that’s one of the best ways that we can build empathy in our kids and compassion.

Kara Anderson

“I think it’s important to remember that the story itself is enough. Reading a story out loud with people you love and who love you, is always going to be the most powerful part of any kind of learning and reading experience.”

Sarah Mackenzie

Download the FREE categorized list

Get the full printable list of our favorite picture book biographies, organized by time period and category, including tips and open-ended questions

Powered by ConvertKit

Books we discussed in this episode:

Some links are affiliate links

Castle
The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon
Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World about Kindness
Dear Mr. Washington
Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen
Balderdash!: John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books
The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art
Hello Lighthouse
Prairie Boy: Frank Lloyd Wright Turns the Heartland into a Home
Leave It to Abigail!: The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Adams
The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
Emmanuel’s Dream
Miracle Man: The Story of Jesus
Jonas Hanway’s Scurrilous, Scandalous, Shockingly Sensational Umbrella
Go and Do Likewise!: The Parables and Wisdom of Jesus

You’ll also enjoy:

Download the FREE categorized list

Get the full printable list of our favorite picture book biographies, organized by time period and category, including tips and open-ended questions

Powered by ConvertKit