Pocket Bios

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of the Buddha. Gautama Buddha lived and taught in ancient India between the 6th and 4th centuries B.C.E. It is said that he was a prince before he renounced his former life in order to search for the cycle of rebirth and an end to suffering. He founded the religion of Buddhism, which has hundreds of millions of followers to this day and is the world's fourth largest religion.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of legendary Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt, was a powerful and passionate leader worshipped by her people as a god for her beauty and her accomplishments. Explore this legendary female ruler's illustrious beginnings through to her tragic end.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of the first man to walk on the moon, astronaut Neil Armstrong. Neil Armstrong is an American astronaut most famous for being the first person to walk on the moon: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Before enrolling in the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962, Armstrong was an officer in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean War. Follow this extraordinary man's life and accomplishments, from childhood to space and back again.

A colorfully illustrated, pocket-size picture book biography of martyr and Roman Catholic saint, Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc was a teenager known for her instrumental role in the Hundred Years' War between the rulers of France and England. Guided by religious visions, she fearlessly helped King Charles VII win back the French throne from the British. After being captured and burned at the stake, she was declared a martyr and canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic church. Joan of Arc is a national heroine and patron saint, as her legend remains popular and fascinating to this day.

A colorfully illustrated, pocket-size picture book biography of the notorious English pirate Blackbeard. Blackbeard, born Edward Teach, was a notorious and much-feared English pirate who famously conquered and captained the Queen Anne's Revenge and prowled the seas around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Rather than ruling through force and bloody intimidation, it's believed that Blackbeard largely let his fierce image and reputation drive his success.

Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most prominent leaders of the civil rights movement, is best known for his dedication to nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in combating racial inequality and organized many notable events such as the Montgomery bus boycott and Selma-to-Montgomery marches. He posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal and is an international icon to this day.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of renowned fashion designer Coco Chanel. Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel, French fashion designer and businesswoman, is famous for founding the famous Chanel brand and for popularizing a new, more sporty and relaxed aesthetic for women's clothing. Follow Chanel's life and accomplishments from her childhood in Saumur to her eventual creation of the successful couture empire she's known for today.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of influential physicist and chemist Marie Curie. Marie Curie, the first woman ever to win a Nobel Prize and only person to win it in two different scientific fields, was a physicist and chemist. As she conducted pioneering research, Marie Curie coined the term "radioactivity," developed some of the first techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes. She also discovered two elements: polonium and radium, and developed mobile X-ray units for use in field hospitals during World War I. In 1934, at the age of sixty-six, she died of complications from long-term exposure to radiation.

A picture book biography of famed physicist Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein, a theoretical physicist, developed the theory of relativity and is popularly known today for his mass-energy equivalence formula E=mc^2. In 1921, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to theoretical physics, particularly for discoveries and research that proved pivotal for quantum theory.

A colorfully illustrated, pocket-size picture book biography of famous British royal, Princess Diana. Princess Diana was the wildly popular first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. Known as "the People's Princess," she was involved in many charities, including the British Deaf Association, and supported other controversial causes like AIDS and the ban of landmines. From her engagement to Prince Charles, Princess Di had a special connection with the public in England and around the world. Her tumultuous marriage was subject to aggressive media attention, and she was forever memorialized in the hearts of the British people after her death in a tragic car crash in Paris.

A colorfully illustrated, pocket-size picture book biography about John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States. John F. Kennedy was an incredibly popular American politician who served as 35th President of the United States from 1961 to 1963, during the Cold War. As president, he most notably supported the African American Civil Rights Movement, authorized the Bay of Pigs invasion on the southern coast of Cuba, and dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis. His family was greatly admired around the world, and his tragic assassination in Dallas, Texas, had a lasting effect on the American psyche.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of civil rights activist Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks, often referred to as both "the first lady of civil rights" and the mother of the freedom movement, was an American civil rights activist who started a movement when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus to a white passenger. Following her arrest for this act, she became an international icon of civil disobedience and resistance to racial segregation.

A colorfully illustrated, pocket-size picture book biography of famed artist Pablo Picasso. Pablo Picasso was co-founder of the Cubist movement, and an inventor of art forms such as constructed sculpture and collage. An extremely prolific and multi-faceted artist, he produced a wide variety of extraordinary artworks throughout his long lifetime, including the Guernica and The Young Ladies of Avignon oil paintings. His creative, revolutionary style continues to mesmerize the world to this day, and he is one of the most influential and universally renowned artists of the 20th century.

A picture book biography of the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln, an American politician and lawyer, is best known for serving as the 16th president of the United States and leading the country through the bloody and controversial Civil War. Some of his most celebrated and lasting contributions include the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and pushing the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution through Congress, permanently outlawing slavery, before his assassination in 1865.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of famed artist Vincent van Gogh. Vincent van Gogh, one of the most important figures in Western art, is renowned for his Post-Impressionist paintings. Though he was extraordinarily prolific, producing 2,100 artworks in his lifetime, he was only posthumously recognized as an artistic genius. Many people saw him as a madman, and he is famous for having severed part of his own left ear. His tortured life is just as captivating as his artworks, which went on to achieve widespread success.

Mahatma Gandhi was the celebrated leader of the Indian independence movement, and an inspiration for many similar movements around the world. Gandhi began his push for nonviolent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, eventually bringing the practice to India where he led the Indian National Congress. He is referred to as the Father of the Nation and remains a symbol of freedom and nonviolence to this day.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of actor and silent film legend Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin, renowned comic silent film icon, enjoyed a successful seventy-five-year career as an actor, filmmaker, and composer. Born into a life of poverty and hardship in London, he began working before he was nine years old and rose quickly to fame for his persona "the Tramp." One of the best-known figures in the world during his heyday, Chaplin is still famous today for his myriad of iconic silent film roles.

Born into a Jewish family in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929, Anne Frank was only thirteen years old when her family went into hiding to escape persecution during the Holocaust. Anne kept a diary detailing their years spent living in a concealed room behind a bookcase prior to their arrest, a diary so widely published following her death that it is one of the period's most influential books.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette. Marie Antoinette was born Archduchess of Austria and married Louis-Auguste, future King Louis XVI, when she was only 14 years old. At the age of 19, she became the last queen of France before the French Revolution in 1789. She was notorious for lavish spending, parties and gambling. Famously thought to have said "Let them eat cake!" Marie's actions fueled the fury that brought about the French Revolution, and she remains an intriguing figure to this day.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of Native American teenager Pocahontas. Pocahontas was a Native American teenager famous for her connection to the colonial settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. She is said to have saved the life of Englishman John Smith. At the age of 17, she married tobacco farmer John Rolfe, eventually moving to England with him. Her story has been highly romanticized in literature and film over the years and remains captivating to this day.

Frida Kahlo remains one of the most celebrated painters of her time for her exploration of themes of feminism, gender, class, and race in her artwork and frequent self-portraits. From her childhood struggle with polio, to the traffic accident that left her with chronic pain, to her artistic exploration of herself and her identity, follow this extraordinary woman's life and accomplishments.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton. Best known for "discovering gravity" and formulating the laws of motion, Isaac Newton is often hailed as one of the most influential physicists of all time. From the apple incident that lead to his famous mathematical description of gravity, to the invention of the first reflecting telescope, and beyond, follow this extraordinary man's life and accomplishments.

A colorfully illustrated, pocket-size picture book biography of the famous professional boxer and activist Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali remains one of the most inspiring and celebrated sports figures today. A gold-medal Olympian and multi-title winning boxer, Ali was an important civil rights activist. From his childhood growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, to his amateur boxing training beginning at the age of 12, to his achievements within the professional boxing ring and beyond as a conscientious objector, follow this extraordinary man's life and accomplishments. Pocket Bios are full of personality, introducing readers to fascinating figures from history with simple storytelling and cheerful illustrations. Titles include men and women from history, exploration, the sciences, the arts, the ancient world, and more.

A colorfully illustrated, picture book biography of activist, philanthropist, and South African President Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela was a South African revolutionary, activist, politician, and philanthropist who opposed apartheid and served as the president of South Africa as the country's first black head of state and the first representative elected democratically. He devoted much of his time in office to dismantling apartheid law and battling institutionalized racism in South Africa. He is the recipient of more than 250 honors worldwide, including the Nobel Peace Prize.