Picture Books about Famous Pittsburghers
Pittsburgh (and its surrounding area) has inspired some very famous people through the years. This picture book reading list will help you introduce your kids to 7 women and 7 men who have called Pittsburgh home. Happy learning!
Sports
Josh Gibson
Book description: “The story goes…Grandmama could hit the ball a mile, catch anything that was thrown, and do everything else — just like Josh Gibson. But unfortunately, no matter how well a girl growing up in the 1940s played the game of baseball, she would have faced tremendous challenges. These challenges are not unlike those met by the legendary Josh Gibson, arguably the best Negro-League player to never make it into the majors. In a poignant tribute to anyone who’s had a dream deferred, two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Angela Johnson and celebrated artist Beth Peck offer up this reminder — that the small steps made by each of us inspire us all.” from IndieBound
Honus Wagner
Book description: “The Honus Wagner baseball card is the most valuable baseball card of all time But he was born poor, ugly, bow-legged, and more suited to shoveling coal in his Pennsylvania mining town than becoming the greatest shortstop of all time. How could it happen? Did those strong arms and fast legs turn him into a Pittsburgh Pirate and one of the game’s most unforgettable players? In this true story, Jane Yolen shows us that wit, talent, perseverance, and passion score more than home runs. As Honus would say, ‘How about that?'” from Amazon
Roberto Clemente
Book description: “On an island called Puerto Rico, there lived a little boy who wanted only to play baseball. Although he had no money, Roberto Clemente practiced and practiced until–eventually–he made it to the Major Leagues. America As a right-fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he fought tough opponents–and even tougher racism–but with his unreal catches and swift feet, he earned his nickname, “The Great One.” He led the Pirates to two World Series, hit 3,000 hits, and was the first Latino to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. But it wasn’t just baseball that made Clemente legendary–he was was also a humanitarian dedicated to improving the lives of others.” from IndieBound
Art
Mary Cassatt
Book description: “Mary Cassatt was a headstrong, determined girl. She wanted to be an artist in 1860, a time when proper girls certainly weren’t artists. It wasn’t polite. But Mary herself wasn’t polite. She pursued art with a passion, moving to Paris to study, painting what she saw. Her work was rejected by the Salon judges time and time again. One day, the great painter Edgar Degas invited her to join him and his group of independent artists, those who flouted the rules and painted as they pleased–the Impressionists. Mary was on her way. “I began to live,” said Mary. Today, her paintings hang in museums around the world and she is recognized as one of the most celebrated female artists of all time.” from IndieBound
Andy Warhol
Book description: “Andy Warhol was leader of the American art movement known as Pop, short for “popular culture. He changed the way we think of art. Assisted by photographs taken of Warhol throughout his life, and examples of his early drawings and best-known works, Susan Goldman Rubin traces his rise from poverty to wealth, and from obscurity to fame. ” from Amazon
Romare Bearden
Book description: “As a young boy growing up in North Carolina, Romare Bearden listened to his great-grandmother’s Cherokee stories and heard the whistle of the train that took his people to the North–people who wanted to be free. When Romare boarded that same train, he watched out the window as the world whizzed by. Later he captured those scenes in a famous painting, Watching the Good Trains Go By. Using that painting as inspiration and creating a text influenced by the jazz that Bearden loved, Jeanne Walker Harvey describes the patchwork of daily southern life that Romare saw out the train’s window and the story of his arrival in shimmering New York City. Artists and critics today praise Bearden’s collages for their visual metaphors honoring his past, African American culture, and the human experience. Elizabeth Zunon’s illustrations of painted scenes blended with collage are a stirring tribute to a remarkable artist.” from IndieBound
Writing
Gertrude Stein
Book description: “In a story inspired by the oh-so-modern groundbreaking writing of Gertrude herself, not a lot makes sense. Even so, the oh-so-popular author Jonah Winter, and the ever-so-popular illustrator Calef Brown, and the most popular poodle of all time, Basket, invite you to enter the whimsical world of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.” from Amazon
Nellie Bly
Book description: “Born in 1864, during a time in which options were extremely limited for women, Nellie defied all expectations and became a famous newspaper correspondent. Her daring exploits included committing herself to an infamous insane asylum in New York City to expose the terrible conditions there and becoming the first American war correspondent of either sex to report on the front lines of Austria during World War I. In 1889, Nellie completed her most publicized stunt, her world-famous trip around the world in just 72 days, beating the record of Jules Vernes’ fictional hero in Around the World in 80 Days.” from Amazon
Rachel Carson
Book description: “In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring, here is a biography of the pioneering environmentalist. “Once you are aware of the wonder and beauty of earth, you will want to learn about it,” wrote Rachel Carson. She wrote Silent Spring, the book that woke people up to the harmful impact humans were having on our planet. Silent Spring was first published in 1962.” from Amazon
Dance
Martha Graham
Book description:”A picture book about the making of Martha Graham’s Appalachian Spring, her most famous dance performance. Award-winning authors Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan tell the story behind the scenes of the collaboration that created APPALACHIAN SPRING, from its inception through the score’s composition to Martha’s intense rehearsal process. The authors’ collaborator is two-time Sibert Honor winner Brian Floca, whose vivid watercolors bring both the process and the performance to life.” from IndieBound
Music
Billy Strayhorn
Book description: “It’s a challenge to transform the “Nutcracker Suite’s” romantic orchestra into jumpin’ jazz melodies, but that’s exactly what Duke Ellington and his collaborator, Billy Strayhorn, did. Ellington’s band memebers were not so sure that a classical ballet could become a cool-cat jazz number. But Duke and Billy, inspired by their travels and by musical styles past and present, infused the composition with Vegas glitz, Hollywood glamour, and even a little New York jazz. CD recording of the Ellington/Strayhorn composition included.” from Amazon
Mary Lou Williams
Book description: “What if you loved music more than anything? Suppose you had just learned to play the piano. Imagine that your family has to move to a new city and you have to leave your piano behind. People don t like you in the new city because of what you look like. How will you make yourself feel better? Mary Lou Williams, like Mozart, began playing the piano when she was four; at eight she became a professional musician. She wrote and arranged music for Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and was one of the most powerful women in jazz. This is the story of Mary Lou’s childhood in Pittsburgh, where she played the piano for anyone who would listen.” from Amazon
Labor and Industry
Andrew Carnegie
Book description: “When he was a child in the 1840s, Andrew Carnegie and his family immigrated to America in search of a new beginning. His working-class Scottish family arrived at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Carnegie worked hard, in factories and telegraphy. He invested in railroads, eventually becoming the richest man in the world during his time. Carnegie believed strongly in sharing his wealth, and one of the ways he did this was by funding the construction of over 2,500 public libraries around the world. His philanthropy completely revolutionized public libraries, which weren’t widespread at the time. Told in simple, lyrical text, the story unfolds against striking, stylized illustrations that transport readers to the bustle and boom of the Industrial Revolution. An informational spread explains more about Carnegie’s life and work.” from IndieBound
Fannie Sellins
Book description:”Fannie Sellins (1872-1919) lived during the Gilded Age of American Industrialization, when the Carnegies and Morgans wore jewels while their laborers wore rags. Fannie dreamed that America could achieve its ideals of equality and justice for all, and she sacrificed her life to help that dream come true. Fannie became a union activist, helping to create St. Louis, Missouri, Local 67 of the United Garment Workers of America. She traveled the nation and eventually gave her life, calling for fair wages and decent working and living conditions for workers in both the garment and mining industries. Her accomplishments live on today.” from IndieBound
Thanks for reading!
