Autobiographies for Children

Autobiographies for Students K-8

Autobiographies are true stories people tell about their own lives.
Biographies are true accounts of people's lives written by other people.

Please check the library computer catalog to see if your library has the book, and in what area it is shelved. If you would like help, please ask the librarian. You can also order the books from other libraries without a charge.

CALL NUMBER	AUTHOR	TITLE	SUMMARY	PAGES

92 A113	Aardema, Verna	A bookworm who hatched	Children's author and storyteller recounts her life and describes how her daily activities and writing process are interwoven.	32
813.54	Agle, Nan Hayden	My animals and me	Author Nan Agle tells of her childhood.	119
JU	Alcott, Louisa May	Louisa May Alcott: her girlhood diary	Excerpts from the author's diaries, written between the ages of eleven and thirteen reveal her thoughts and feelings.	42
92 A378	Alexander, Sally Hobart	On my own: the journey continues	In this second part of her autobiography, the author describes the difficulties and accomplishments she experiences as she adjusts to living independently after losing her sight. "Taking Hold" is the first part of this two part work.	165
92 A812	Asch, Frank	One man show	In this autobiographical account an author and illustrator of children's books shares his life, daily activities and creative process, and show how all are intertwined.	32
92 Beren BEREN	Berenstain, Stan and Jan	Down a sunny dirt road	In alternating chapters, Stan and Jan tell their own stories from early childhood until their marriage, then continue the tale together until the present day.	202
741.0924 B646	Blevgad, Erik	Self-portrait: Erik Blegvad	Children's book illustrator, Erik Blegvad talks about his life and work.	27
796.91	Boitano, Brian	Boitano's edge: inside the real world of figure skating	Olympic ice skating champion Brian Boitano describes the sport of figure skating and his own experiences as a skater.	144
92 B965	Bunting, Eve	Once upon a time	Children's book author Eve Bunting tells about her life and how she writes books.	32
813.54 B993	Byars, Betsy Cromer	Moon and I	While describing her numerous adventures with a blacksnake, the author tells childhood anecdotes and explains how she writes books.	96
92 C278	Carle, Eric	Flora & Tiger: 19 very short stories from my life	The author recalls experiences from his childhood in Germany and the U.S., all in some way connected with various animals.	57
92 Clear CLEAR	Cleary, Berverly	Girl from Yamhill: a memoir	This is the story of author Beverly Cleary's childhood and adolescence in Oregon. The story continues with "My Own Two Feet." Bib #2	279
92 Cole COLE	Cole, Joanna	On the bus with Joanna Cole: a creative autobiography	The author of the Magic School Bus series discusses her life, how she came to be a writer, where she comes by her ideas, and what is involved in making a book.	56
823.914 D131	Dahl, Roald	Boy: tales of childhood	The author writes of events from his summer vacations in Norway and at an English boarding school.	209
828.91	Dahl, Roald	My year	The author reminisces about his childhood and adolescence during a month-by-month journey through a passing year.	63
92 D419	De Paola, Tomie	26 Fairmount Avenue	Children's author-illustrator describes his experiences at home and in school when he was a boy.	56
92 D737	Douglass, Frederick	Escape from slavery: the boyhood of Frederick Douglass in his own words	A shortened autobiography presenting the early life of the slave who became an abolitionist, journalist, and statesman.	63
364.15	Duncan, Lois	Who killed my daughter?	This is the story of the author's search for the person who killed her daughter in New Mexico in 1989. For older readers.	289
92 E33	Ehlert, Lois	Under my nose	This author tells her account of her childhood and her process for writing children's books.	32
741.09	Feelings, Tom	Black pilgrimage	African-American artist, Tom Feelings, talks about his life and work.	72
949.742 F483	Filipovic, Zlata	Zlata's diary: a child's life in Sarajevo	This book is created from the diary of an 11 year-old girl who lived in Sarajevo during the war. For older readers.	200
92 F596	Fleischman,. Sid	Abracadabra kid	The autobiography of the Newbery award-winning children's author who set out from childhood to be a magician.	72
741.6092 F715	Foreman, Michael	War boy: a country childhood	The author tells about his life as a boy during the rebuilding of Britain after World War II.	92
92 F919	Fritz, Jean	Surprising myself	Jean Fritz, author, describes her daily life and the way she writes.	32
92 G348	George, Jean Craighead	Tarantula in my purse: and 172 other wild pets	A collection of autobiographical stories about raising a house full of children and wild pets.	134
791.43028 G532	Gish, Lillian	An actor's life for me	Theater and early movie actress, Lillian Gish, recounts her life and passion for acting.	73
92 G575	Goble, Paul	Hau Kola/ Hello Friend	The author/artist describes his childhood in England, his lifelong interest in American Indians, his family and home in the U.S. and his work routine.	32
591.092 G646	Goodall, Jane	My life with the chimpanzees	Jane Goodall, a scientist, lived with chimpanzees to learn their habits, characteristics, and personalities.	123
975.60	Greenfield, Eloise	Childtimes: a three generation memoir	Childhood memories of three black women; grandmother, mother, and daughter, who grew up from the 1880's to 1950's as told by poet Eloise Greenfield.	175
915.73 H382	Hautzig, Esther Rudomin	Endless Steppe: growing up in Siberia	The author's account of her five-year exile in Siberia as a child.	243
92 H477	Heller, Ruth	Fine lines	Children's book illustrator, Ruth Heller, describes her daily routine and creative life, showing how the two are intertwined.	32
92 H794	Hopkins, Lee Bennett	Writing bug	The poet retells his life and describes how his daily activities and writing processes are interwoven.	32
92 H856	Howe, James	Playing with words	James Howe, author of Bunnicula, tells about his start as a writer, his daily work routine, and his sources of inspiration.	32
92 H967	Hurwitz, Johanna	A dream come true	Children's author shares her life, her daily activities, and her creative process, showing how all are intertwined.	32
741.642 H996	Hyman, Trina Schart	Self Portrait: Trina Schart Hyman	Well-known illustrator of children's books discusses her life and art.	32
92 J49	Jemison, Mae	Find where the wind goes: moments from my life	Mae Jemison, African-American astronaut, gives the reader glimpses into her life.	196
92 J89	Joyce, William	World of William Joyce Scrapbook	Author and illustrator of children's books uses pictures to relate events in his life.	48
92 Kehre KEHRE	Kehret, Peg	Small steps	The author Peg Kehret describes her battle against polio when she was twelve and thirteen and her efforts to overcome its debilitating effects.	179
92 King- KING-	King-Smith, Dick	Chewing the cud	Dick King-Smith recounts his life from soldier to farmer to salesman to factory worker to finally, author.	196
917.10	Kurelek, William	A prairie boy's summer	This is a collection of full color paintings with text to describe his summers on the Canadian prairies during the 1930's.	47
92 L642	Lester, Helen	Author: a true story	Children's author describes her life from age 3 to adulthood and discusses how she writes.	32
813.54 L778	Little, Jean	Little by Little: a writer's education	Author Jean Little tells of her early childhood struggles due to being nearly blind. Memoirs are continued in "Stars come out within."	233
813.54 L778	Little, Jean	Stars come out within	Continuation of the author's life story and her struggles with blindness.	260
940.5318 LOBEL	Lobel, Anita	No pretty pictures: a child of war	Well-known illustrator of children's books, describes her experiences as a Polish Jew during World War II and for years in Sweden afterwards.	193
92 L921	Lowry, Lois	Looking back: a book of memories	Using family photographs and quotes from her books, Lois Lowry provides glimpses into her life.	181
92 M214	Mah, Adeline	Chinese Cinderella	The fifth daughter in the family overcomes a childhood of loneliness and neglect to become a doctor and a well-known writer.	205
813.54 M382	Martin, Rafe	A storyteller's story	Children's author Rafe Martin describes his life and writing process and how they are interwoven.	32
92 M158	McKissack, Pat	Can you imagine?	The author of the Newbery Honor book, "The Dark Thirty" describes her life, how she became a writer, how her family helps with her writing, and how she gets her ideas.	32
813.54	McPhail, David M.	In flight with David McPhail	The author describes how he goes about the process of writing and illustrating books.	41
949.70	O'Grady, Scott	Basher five-two: the true story of F-16 fighter pilot Captain Scott O'Grady	This is the story of a fighter pilot in the Yugoslav War. Bib #2	133
92 P252	Parks, Rosa	I am Rosa Parks	The African-American woman whose acts of civil disobedience led to the 1956 Supreme Court order to desegregate buses in Montgomery, Alabama, explains what she did and why.	48
92 P332	Paulsen, Gary	My life in dog years	The author tells about his own life and some of the dogs that had special places in his life.	137
796.5092 P332	Paulsen, Gary	Woodsong	The author describes his first dogsled race through Alaska, and about his life in northern Minnesota.	132
92 P375	Peet, Bill	Bill Peet: an autobiography	Children's author and illustrator tells the story of his life.	190
92 P665	Pippen, Scottie	Reach higher	The Chicago Bulls basketball star relates the story of his life, including both difficulties and triumphs, in order to encourage readers to persevere as they pursue their dreams.	unpaged
92 P762	Polacco, Patricia	Firetalking	Children's author tells about her difficult childhood and her family.	32
92 P957	Pringle, Lawrence P.	Nature! Wild and wonderful	This prominent children's books author shares his life, his daily activities, and his creative process, showing how all are intertwined.	32
813.54 R994	Rylant, Cynthia	But, I'll be back again	Cynthia Rylant writes about her small town experiences growing up in West Virginia.	54
92 S757	Spinelli, Jerry	Knots in my yo-yo string	This Italian-American Newbery medallist presents a humorous account of his childhood and youth in Norristown, Pennsylvania.	148
92 S847	Stevenson, James	Don't you know there's a war on?	The author recalls his efforts to win the Second World War, including planting a victory garden, collecting tin foil, and looking for spies.	not pgd.
92 S847	Stevenson, James	Fun, No Fun	The author recalls events in his childhood and divides them into two important categories.	unpaged
741.642 S847	Stevenson, James	Higher on the door	The author shares his experiences growing up in a small village with train trips taken to New York City. He remembers waiting to grow up.	unpaged
741.642 S847	Stevenson, James	July	The author recalls the summers he and his brother spent at their grandparents' house near the beach.	unpaged
92 S859	Stine, R.L.	It came from Ohio: my life as a writer	The author of the Goosebumps books talks about his life.	140
92 T574	Tillage, Leon	Leon's story	The son of a North Carolina sharecropper recalls the hard times faced by his family and other African-Americans in the first half of the twentieth century and the changes that the Civil Rights movement helped bring about.	107
92 U17	Uchida, Yoshiko	The invisible thread	The author describes growing up in Berkeley, California, a Nisei, second-generation Japanese American and her family's internment in a Utah concentration camp during World War II.	136
943.09	Ungerer, Tomi	Tomi: a childhood under Nazis	This artist and author tells about what his life was like living among the Nazis during World War II.	175
92 V259	Van Leeuwen, Jean	Growing ideas	The author of the popular books about Oliver and Amanda Pig describes her life, her daily activities, and her creative process showing how all are intertwined.	32
92 V262	Van Meter, Vicki	Taking flight: my story	The author describes her introduction to flying and offers details of her cross-country and transatlantic flights including two mid-air emergencies.	134
813.52 W673	Wilder, Laura Ingalls	A Little House sampler	The life of Laura Ingalls Wilder is shown through a collection of her autobiographical writings.	243
917.8 W673	Wilder, Laura Ingalls	On the way home	The author of the Little House books describes the sights and events a frontier family encounters traveling from South Dakota to Missouri in 1894.	120
813.54 Y54	Yolen, Jane	A letter from Phoenix Farm	Children's author tells about her early life, explaining how she gets the ideas for her books.	32
741.092 Z53	Zemach, Margaret	Self Portrait: Margot Zemach	The author tells about her life and work. She is a Caldecott award winner.	31
812.54 Z77	Zindel, Paul	Pigman & me	The author tells what it was like to be a teenager on Staten Island. He also talks about his pigman, his personal mentor.	168