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Cindy: The Peanuts comic strip is a national treasure and one that has long been a cross-over read between age groups. As a teen in the 70s–after years of following the Peanuts gang in the newspapers–I began collecting Woodstock memorabilia, loving the goofy little bird who flew topsy-turvy. Sparky: The Life and Art of Charles Schulz (Chronicle, 2010) salutes the style of the comic strip in its bright colors and simple text for upper elementary readers and clearly brings to life the man behind the art. There are many details about Charles Schulz’s life that will intrigue his young fans: Yes, there really was a little red-haired girl in his life, and her rejection influenced the character of Charlie Brown. But I was fascinated by the story behind the Sparky nickname. Before Charles was even a week old, a relative called him “Sparky” saying the baby looked like “the sad-eyed horse from the popular comic strip Barney Google who unexpectedly became the big winner of a race.” The nickname stuck and certainly was prophetic for a man who would become a cartoonist himself, and one of the most successful. I’m not a fan of solid color tinted photographs, but everything else about this biography makes me happy.

Lynn: Biographies for the younger set aren’t all that common and here’s one that does so much right. Start with a terrific cover that is impossible to resist, sprinkle well-chosen comic strips throughout the pages and tell a wonderful story about a shy boy with no self-confidence who grew up to live his dream. Its a combination that is guaranteed to attract and hold reader’s attention and you can’t ask for more than that. I always think that one of the inherent characteristics of biographies are the life lessons that readers can absorb too. Here those lessons are nicely integrated and not didactic yet it is clear that Schultz’s work ethic, determination and dedication to his craft were a major part of his success.  Gherman takes a fascinating subject and crafts a well-told story that will have young readers completely engaged. Look for requests for more books just like this one!

Today’s Nonfiction Monday blog round up is hosted by Abby (the) Librarian. Check it out to read other blog posts featuring nonfiction books for children and teens.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 6:18 am and is filed under Art teachers take notice, Biographies, Gr. 4-7, Humor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.