Reading Biographies To Children: One Step To Inspiring Future Leaders
John Lennon, Al Gore, Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein, Barack Obama, are names of world leaders and activists whose names have left a mark in the hall of fame. These walking powers of influence were once influenced by someone else too. Who you may wonder?
A single man and his story, written on dozens of pages with words dipped in struggles and rejection but words that spoke loud enough for a single nation. A rightful leader and activist, a freedom fighter as you all may know, often described as a “role model for generations to come”. This great influence came from Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, India.
Did you know that the legend of martial arts, Jackie Chan became known for his talent of performing his stunts by himself because he was inspired by another legend of martial arts, Bruce Lee?
At a young age, Jackie Chan was taught to learn kung fu, but his master described him as not one of his best pupils (shocking right??). When he reached his late teenage years, he had the great opportunity to work with Bruce Lee in one of his films. He described the experience as one of a kind and said it left him truly inspired to become as great as Bruce Lee one day. Forwarding to the present day, Jackie Chan is known as the Legend of martial arts and continues to inspire the coming generations.
Now, although many may not be presented with the opportunity to meet famous influencers, they can still be inspired by their journey and works through reading biographies. Exploring biographies provides an enriching experience that motivates and encourages your child to learn in a new way. Inspiration kicks in almost immediately however, the motivation and the drive to maintain this inspiration takes years of focus and commitment.
Hence, inspiration should be introduced at a young age!
Here are a few ways how reading biographies to your children can benefit them.
1. A peek at the world through a fresh lens.
Every person has their own unique and interesting storyline. The beginnings, climaxes, the falls and even the endings are all different. However, some experiences are bound to be shared by few or many. Learning about their experiences will give you a new perspective on various issues, might even prepare you for when you face the same situation in life.
2. Acknowledge a hero.
Understanding the struggles it took to become a hero or leader is important because it shows the realities of life. A biography outlines the reasons their efforts are admirable and why their story is worth sharing.
It teaches children to seek success but to also understand that success does not come without challenge.
3. Talks about real people doing real things.
This is important because the drive to do something equally great increases within a child once they know the person the biography was based on, is real and the stories, the hardships, and the success were real too. The reality of it all would impact a child a lot more than a fictional story.
Have you ever felt the desire to suddenly make the world a better place or to become known as a hero after watching movies like ‘Apollo 13’, ‘The theory of everything’, ‘Mission Mangal’? These are all movies based on true stories of heroes and great minds. Movies, however, can sometimes be exaggerated just a little bit but biographies are rather the raw and unfiltered versions of these movies. Your child would feel the same desire but even more after they are introduced to the habit of reading biographies.
4. Learn about history.
History allows us to create a better understanding of the world. You can’t build a framework on which to base your life without understanding how things work in the world, or at least used to work in the world.
They can show significant snippets into the lives of men and women who made breakthroughs in science, mathematics and even the arts. Biographies allow readers to learn the history and can make your children fall in love with history!
5. Teaches life lessons:
Biographies would help a child understand the struggles of life and how to tackle them. As children learn about the challenges that people have overcome, they can make relevant connections to their own lives.
Isaac Newton wrote in a letter to his friend, Robert Hooke,
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Reading biographies can help children to see further because of what people have achieved. The life lessons in biographies would teach a person how to navigate through life. This can teach children perseverance, self-discipline, confidence, selflessness, how to deal with failure and even provide them with courage.
Now that you know how beneficial reading biographies is for kids, you must be wondering where to start? As biographies have proven to be useful in self-discovery especially for children, the world of literature has dedicated a whole genre to Biographies for children.
Here are a few suggestions on biographies you could start reading to your kids!
Children intrigued by Science and Mathematics:
- The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos by Deborah Heiligman
- The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of The Genius Ramanujan by Robert Kanigel
- Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helaine Becker
- The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth by Paul Hoffman
- Who was Neil Armstrong by Roberta Ewards
A fascination with traveling, music, cooking and arts?
These books got you covered!:
- Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsay
- Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and his Orchestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney
- Vincent’s Colors produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd
- You Wouldn’t Want to Sail With Christopher Columbus! by Fiona Macdonald
A little nudge to get your creativity flowing?
Biographies of famous poets and writers will get you going!
- A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks by Alice Faye Duncan
- Enormous SMALLNESS: A Story of E. E. Cummings by Matthew Burgess
- Anne Frank by Josephine Poole
- Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai
- Going Solo by Roald Dahl
Biographies for budding athletes:
- Brothers at Bat by Audrey Vernick
- Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win by Rachel Ignotofsky
- The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game by Nancy Churnin
- Who Was Kobe Bryant? by Ellen Labrecque
- The Story of Simone Biles: A Biography Book for New Readers by Rachelle Burk
Random biographies to pass time but would hold value in your child’s life!
- Grandfather Gandhi by Arun Gandhi
- The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein
- Bon appétit! The Delicious Life of Julia Childs by Jessie Hartland
- Daredevil: The Daring Life of Betty Skelton by Meghan Macarthy
- Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis
- The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull
From biographies, children can see how mere humans are capable of extraordinary feats in all areas of endeavor.
Therefore, learning from other people’s experiences can be seen as a great tool to guide the youth into becoming successful, innovative, independent people who can strive through hardships as the secrets of success are hidden in the lives of other people who have already journeyed through life.
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
Don’t forget to leave a comment and share if you believe your children should have a good read with biographies!
