True Story Bookshop

Let’s encourage our kids’ hobbies by giving them true stories about people who share their interests. Do you know kids who love sports, space, or singing? Animals, art, or activism? Food or fashion? I have book recommendations for them here at my True Story Bookshop and interviews with the authors on my True Story Blog.

 

Karlin Gray is the author of picture-book biographies ANNE and HER TOWER OF GIRAFFES (Kids Can Press, Sep. 6, 2022), SERENA: THE LITTLEST SISTER, and NADIA: THE GIRL WHO COULDN’T SIT STILL as well as AN EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY MOTH. Her first graphic novel will be published in 2024. Some of Karlin’s favorite bookstores are Elm Street Books, Books of Wonder, Between the Covers, Warwicks, and Books Inc.

 

True Story Bookshop TikTok Link
Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette 'Daisy' Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure
Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!: Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll
Niki Nakayama: A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites
Once Upon a Fairy Tale House: The True Story of Four Sisters and the Magic They Built
Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head
Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Journey to Justice
Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas
Miep and the Most Famous Diary: The Woman Who Rescued Anne Frank's Diary
The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs
Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein
An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America
A True Wonder: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything
Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds
Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer's Historic Boston Marathon
Piece by Piece: Ernestine's Gift for President Roosevelt
Jimmy's Shoes: The Story of Jimmy Choo, Shoemaker to a Princess
The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their Own Soccer Field
Once Upon a Fairy Tale House: The True Story of Four Sisters and the Magic They Built
Curve & Flow: The Elegant Vision of L.A. Architect Paul R. Williams
Piece by Piece: Ernestine's Gift for President Roosevelt
Virginia Wouldn't Slow Down!: The Unstoppable Dr. Apgar and Her Life-Saving Invention
Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
Jonas Hanway's Scurrilous, Scandalous, Shockingly Sensational Umbrella
The Brilliant Calculator: How Mathematician Edith Clarke Helped Electrify America
The Girl Who Heard the Music: How One Pianist and 85,000 Bottles and Cans Brought New Hope to an Island
How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower
Railroad Engineer Olive Dennis
On the Corner of Chocolate Avenue: How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America
Steve Jobs
Manjhi Moves a Mountain
Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood
The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau
Marcel's Masterpiece: How a Toilet Shaped the History of Art
Three Lines in a Circle: The Exciting Life of the Peace Symbol
A Tulip in Winter: A Story about Folk Artist Maud Lewis
Unbound: The Life and Art of Judith Scott
Snowflake Bentley: A Caldecott Award Winner
The Snail
Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards: The Making of Make Way for Ducklings
Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son
The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons
A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of the Snowy Day
Franz's Phantasmagorical Machine
The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon: The True Story of Alan Bean
Through the Window: Views of Marc Chagall's Life and Art
Starflower: The Making of a Poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay
Celia Planted a Garden: The Story of Celia Thaxter and Her Island Garden
Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty
A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks: Volume 3
On Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson
Dave the Potter (Caldecott Honor Book): Artist, Poet, Slave
Rise!: From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou
Enormous Smallness: A Story of e. e. cummings
Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams
Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!: Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll
Song in a Rainstorm: The Story of Musical Prodigy Thomas Blind Tom Wiggins
Pitch Perfect and Persistent!: The Musical Debut of Amy Cheney Beach
The Girl Who Heard the Music: How One Pianist and 85,000 Bottles and Cans Brought New Hope to an Island
Shakira
Freddie Mercury
Jazz Age Josephine
Dolly!: The Story of Dolly Parton and Her Big Dream
The Greatest Song of All: How Isaac Stern United the World to Save Carnegie Hall
The Singer and the Scientist
Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion
Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge
Gizmos, Gadgets, and Guitars: The Story of Leo Fender
Nina: A Story of Nina Simone
Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing
If Lin Can: How Jeremy Lin Inspired Asian Americans to Shoot for the Stars
The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their Own Soccer Field
Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice
Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team
An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America
Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer's Historic Boston Marathon
Billie Jean!: How Tennis Star Billie Jean King Changed Women's Sports
Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams
Courage in Her Cleats: The Story of Soccer Star Abby Wambach
Pele
Sarah and the Big Wave: The True Story of the First Woman to Surf Mavericks
Yusra Swims
The Ashe Brothers: How Arthur and Johnnie Changed Tennis Forever
Marvelous Mabel: Figure Skating Superstar
Martina and Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports
Charlotte and the Nutcracker: The True Story of a Girl Who Made Ballet History
Finding My Dance
Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins
Jazz Age Josephine
Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova
Ready to Fly: How Sylvia Townsend Became the Bookmobile Ballerina
A Girl Named Rosita: The Story of Rita Moreno: Actor, Singer, Dancer, Trailblazer!
Bunheads
Jimmy's Shoes: The Story of Jimmy Choo, Shoemaker to a Princess
Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds
Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head
A Perfect Fit: How Lena "Lane" Bryant Changed the Shape of Fashion
Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe
Mae Makes a Way: The True Story of Mae Reeves, Hat & History Maker
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909
Just Being Audrey
The Spacesuit: How a Seamstress Helped Put Man on the Moon
Bloom: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli
Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Fashion Designer Ann Cole Lowe
Along Came Coco: A Story about Coco Chanel
Polka Dot Parade: A Book about Bill Cunningham
Jonas Hanway's Scurrilous, Scandalous, Shockingly Sensational Umbrella
Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas
Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds
Brothers in Arms: A True World War II Story of Wojtek the Bear and the Soldiers Who Loved Him
Darwin's Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular
Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards: The Making of Make Way for Ducklings
Just Wild Enough: Mireya Mayor, Primatologist
Helen Thayer's Arctic Adventure: A Woman and a Dog Walk to the North Pole
The Cat Man of Aleppo
Mister and Lady Day: Billie Holiday and the Dog Who Loved Her
Anne and Her Tower of Giraffes: The Adventurous Life of the First Giraffologist
She Heard the Birds: The Story of Florence Merriam Bailey
Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship
A Voice for the Spirit Bears: How One Boy Inspired Millions to Save a Rare Animal
The Old Man and the Penguin: A True Story of True Friendship
The Elephants Come Home: A True Story of Seven Elephants, Two People, and One Extraordinary Friendship
If Lin Can: How Jeremy Lin Inspired Asian Americans to Shoot for the Stars
The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore
Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette 'Daisy' Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure
Hope for Ryan White
Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice
Door by Door: How Sarah McBride Became America's First Openly Transgender Senator
The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs
An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America
Three Lines in a Circle: The Exciting Life of the Peace Symbol
Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued
A True Wonder: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything
Harriet's Ruffled Feathers: The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds
Curve & Flow: The Elegant Vision of L.A. Architect Paul R. Williams
Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer's Historic Boston Marathon
Stand as Tall as the Trees: How an Amazonian Community Protected the Rain Forest