Biography: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Venezia, M. (1995). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Chicago: Children' Press.

I chose to include this particular biography because it involves both enormous childhood talent and obsessive parental control. Every kid should have a role model like Mozart to remind them that being a child doesn't restrict one from being the best in the world at something, and these days parental control has risen to Star Wars defence status (just watch the documentary Living Dolls if you doubt my statement).
Venezia's variety of illustrations is also a notable feature of the book. These range from personally drawn cartoons that anachronistically bridge the gaps between the 16th C. and modernity, in one cartoon Mozart is pictured wearing a powdered wig asking his father for some roller blades. These are contrasted by traditional oil portraits of Mozart, and some photos of Mozart's opera's being performed in real life.
The book is textually heavy and so would be better for kids 6-10, also a glossary in the back would be beneficial.

Picture Book: They Were Strong and Good

Lawson, R. (1940). They Were Strong and Good. New York: Viking Press.

This book written and illustrated by Robert Lawson certainly merits the Caldecott award it received as the black and white full page prints are impeccably intricate in detail, but still clean and easy to assimilate. Unfortunately, the racism of the narrative shows up in several of the prints and the story itself is very idealized. Natives are described as chronic beggars, black people, who are clearly slaves, are shown in many pictures, but never referred to in the text, and one of the characters is cast in a positive light for his brave support of the confederates during America's Civil war. This book merits a picture walk for sure, but if one is going to read the text with a child I highly recommend accompanying this book with Martin's Big Words, so that both sides of America's civil rights history are provided.

Picture Book: Martin’s Big Words

Rapport, D. (2001). Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York & Toronto: Scholastic.

This is a superb book for children, but one that should be read with an adult the first few times. The big words of Dr.Martin’s aren’t big in the sense that they are long and hard to pronounce. They are big words because they are concepts, like peace, love and freedom that have big, powerful meanings. As with most good picture books the story is told as eloquently in the illustrations as in the text. The illustrations are truly unique and captivating, formed from a hybrid of watercolour painting and collage. Each page of text contains Doreen Rapports story of Dr. Kings life with supporting excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther Kings sermons and speeches. This book has won 11 awards of distinction since it's publishing in 2001!