Biographies

For this week’s post I read:

Picture books:

Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom by Chris Van Wyk, published in 2009

Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport, published in 2007

Easy Reader:

Trombone Shorty by Tony Andrews, published in 2015

Chapter Book:

Small Steps: The Year I got Polio by Peg Kehret, published in 1996

For this week’s post, I chose to review “Small Steps: The Year I got Polio”. I chose this book because it was one of my favorite biographies in elementary school. I think I read it with my class in sixth grade. This book is an autobiography that captures the struggles patients went through with polio. The amount of faith and perseverance Peg Kehret had throughout this story is incredible. Peg was a typical young girl when she got diagnosed with polio. She wrote this story with an incredible insight as to what people went through during this time. She wrote this in a way that is easy for all students to understand even though it is a very heavy topic.

From the ECL book, one of the questions referred to for a great biography is “Is the depth coverage appropriate for the intended audience?” I think this book covers the life of Peg Kehret in an age-appropriate way perfectly encapturing the illness of polio. The topic is very heavy and could stray students away from reading this book, but she wrote about her normal life at school which makes it relatable for students. I remember reading this book twice while I was in elementary school because I loved reading chapter books and true stories always interested me. The language used throughout the story is easy to understand and deep enough to learn more vocabulary for students.

To incorporate this into the classroom, I would have students do a type of report on this book. I think students can learn a lot about Peg Kehret and her life with polio, and how it changed everything forever. I think a lot of students can relate to events in their life that have changed them. I would have students conduct more research about Polio and Peg Kehret. I would have them create a poster with artistic elements within it. To evoke readers response, I would ask students to write about a time they felt scared but held out hope to help them through a hard time. This would be an activity I would do with older students, probably sixth grade. If students cannot think of a time like that, I would have them think of someone they know or a book they have read where a character felt scared and had hope throughout.