5 Picture Books on How We Got Here
Some things have happened for so long, we've gone brain blind to them. But life-saving procedures, decade-long traditions and events, and some of the greatest wonders of the world weren't always so common or accepted. Somebody took the very first, very hard step to start them all, and we get to reap all the benefits.
To not take so many things for granted, I read 5 Picture Books on How We Got Here. Some of the events are crucial to life, and some are not, but I'm grateful for all of them. Life is much richer because of these men and women.
1. Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet
Where did The Muppets, the marionettes for the Sound of Music, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade begin?
With Tony Sarg feeding his chickens from his bed.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade originally started because a lot of the Macy’s employees were immigrants. Many cultures celebrated their holidays by dancing to music in the streets, and they missed celebrating that way. The first parade had live animals, and the second had on-the-ground puppets, but then the crowds got too big for everyone to see. How would Tony solve this problem?
Balloons Over Broadway is written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet and documents the incredible genius of putting building-sized balloons into the air.
2. Tiny Stitches by Gwendolyn Hooks
One of the most life-saving heart procedures was developed by a man who never went to medical school.
You read that right.
Vivien Thomas aimed to become a doctor, but then he lost all his college savings in the 1929 stock market crash. Also, he was African American, and a lot of people couldn’t look past themselves.
If you read this wonderful picture book, Tiny Stitches will show you the procedure Vivien developed to save babies with heart defects. He might not have received all the credit he should have while alive, but Vivien is responsible for training hundreds of doctors to save tiny lives; one became the first female surgical resident in Louisiana and another the first African American physician’s assistant at John Hopkins.
And if you like this book, you can watch the movie starring Mos Def and Alan Rickman, Something the Lord Made.
3. Barnum’s Bones by Tracey Fern
It’s 1895, and you run into an unusually nice dresser; he’s wearing a fur coat, a suit and tie, and a bowler hat. What do you think this man does for his career?
Here’s a hint: his name is Barnum.
Did you guess P.T. Barnum? Guess what!
You’re wrong.
Barnum Brown, while named after P.T. Barnum, did not perform with the circus. He did, however, do some very unusual things like his namesake… like wearing those fancy duds while digging for bones.
If you were ever the kid who was obsessed with dinosaurs (and maybe still are that kid), you’ll love this book about how the American Museum of Natural History became filled with ancient skeletons.
4. Dinosaur Lady by Linda Skeers
Barnum Brown may have loved dinosaurs, but a young girl loved them more, and 100 years before him, at that!
Mary Anning didn't mean to make history, she just wanted to collect cool sea shells to sell to tourists. When she was about 11 years old, she was doing just that, until she saw something staring back at her. It was a ginormous eye socket, partially buried in the sand. She and her brother used a homemade hammer and chisel to uncover an unusual head full of sharp teeth, but instead of being scared, Mary was fascinated. She continued searching for the rest of it for a year, and once she found it, "Mary's Monster" took her life by storm.
From winged dinosaurs to discovering the truth about fossilized poop, Mary Anning is the reason we know the earth is older than 6,000 years, that species can go extinct, and why we have a branch of science called paleontology.
I'm off to the Natural History Museum!
5. The Girl Who Figured It Out by Minda Dentler
Minda Dentler was born in India, but after polio paralyzed her, her single mother knew she didn't have the resources to help her. In a courageous act of love, her mother put her up for adoption.
Minda's adoptive family loved her the second she smiled, and she moved with them to Spokane, Washington. From other children bullying her for her dark skin, adults talking to her like she couldn't understand, or simply not being able to move like other people, Minda's dad told her one thing, "You can do it. Just figure it out."
"Just figure it out," might seem like a harsh response, but for Minda, it fueled her to think creatively. So she couldn't walk like other people? She figured out she could still backpack through Europe, it just might look different. So she couldn't run Central Park with a running group? She figured out how to use a handcycle. And then, one day after crossing the finish line, Minda became the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship.
The Girl Who Figured It Out teaches you that there is no single way to do something, and the path to success is never going to be logical or linear. But if you are willing to consistently tweak your "shoulds", you can figure anything out, just like Minda.
Happy Reading!
*All links are simply links, I don't get any money if you click them. I just want to make finding great stories as easy as possible for you!*
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