If you're looking for something a tiny bit different, try to find some Ripley's Believe it or Not books. When I was about that age, I got into my uncles' stash from when they were kids and I read every book cover to cover.
Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
21–30 of 39 posts
Re: Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
#22This was a favorite when I was growing up: "The Value of Believing in Yourself: The Story of Louis Pasteur"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/196827.The_Value_of_Beli...
Re: Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
#23I never understood the desire to idolize famous people. Almost always the achievement was done by a group where the famous person took the credit and marginalized the other contributors. We teach our kids that somehow a single person did these amazing things when in truth they were the lead or figurehead of a larger movement organization or group.
On the contrary, these biographies serve as a reminder that most of the famous achievers were regular people once who went on to achieve great things. It humanizes those that the public only sees as heroes.
Re: Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
#24My kids really liked the "Who was?" series of books when they were younger and even read them as part of their school curriculum https://www.whowasbookseries.com/who-was/
I second this as a quality series.
My kids also love the Ordinary People Change the World books by Brad Meltzer. Written at the right level for early readers, inspiring, and beautiful illustrations. We’ve had some great dinner discussions from things they’ve learned from these books.
Re: Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
#25My kids like reading this over and over:
Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin: https://a.co/d/jhm2SvM
Re: Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
#26The Rebel Girls series comes to mind.
Re: Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
#27From my childhood I remember we had The Lives Of Remarkable People collection. Was available pretty much in any library. It's Russian-language Soviet series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lives_of_Remarkable_People - those were pretty interesting read. I haven't read all of them, but I still remember the feeling after reading those few I had a chance to read.
Re: Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
#28My family has been a fan of the ValueTales books by Spencer Johnson. They are great for that transition period going from reading to your kid to your kid reading for themself. I read them as a kid, my sisters read them, my nieces and nephews read them, and we still have about half a set waiting for the next generation. My favorite was probably "The Value of Determination: The story of Helen Keller".
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/ValueTale-Multiple-Value-Tales-Book/d...
Re: Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
#29My son liked this book on Thomas Edison: https://amzn.to/4cxwCJC
It takes a "misfit proves everyone wrong" angle. He was 3 though when we read it. Maybe a little basic for a 6 year old.
Re: Ask HN: Looking for kids books about famous people
#30The "Who was" was a popular one for a friends kid as well.
Also, History Makers Bios[0], Childhood of Famous Americans [1] and books by Jean Fritz [2]
[0] https://www.librarything.com/nseries/14571/History-Maker-Bio...
[1] https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/142802.Childhood_of_Famo...
[2] https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/231.Jean_Fritz?page=2&...