Kate DiCamillo

December 1, 2008
Gr 3-5-While these biographies include information that may be of interest to elementary students, the accompanying pictures will confuse them as most are unrelated to the authors' lives or careers. The chapter on Rylant's early years is illustrated with a reproduction of Ulysses S. Grant, a photo of West Virginia coal miners, and a photo of Robert F. Kennedy. In "DiCamillo", photos include two boys swimming in Florida, children playing in the snow in Minneapolis, and a photo of an unidentified woman holding a copy of "The Tale of Despereaux" with a caption that reads, "In 2008, an animated movie of "The Tale of Despereaux" was released." The unfortunate presentations diminish the usefulness of the biographical information."Anne L. Tormohlen, Deerfield Elementary School, Lawrence, KS"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2009
These accessible but dull biographies provide introductions to the lives and works of popular children's authors. Though stock photos help break up the pages, many are confusingly captioned and can be distractingly off-topic (e.g., a picture of two happy boys in scuba gear accompanies a section titled "A Sickly Child," about DiCamillo growing up in Florida). Glos., ind.

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