An Effective Use of Quotes

I admire Doreen Rappaport's use of quotes in her picture book biography, Jack's Path of Courage: the Life of John F. Kennedy.  

 Here's a line of text: "Jack's mother read to her children every night;" Underneath that was a direct quote from Jack's mother: "He always read more than any of the others."

The book includes quotes from Jack's father and Jack himself.

Rather than a slice of life approach this book starts with his childhood and ends with his death. In this case, it is appropriate. Students might be asked the date of his death and the information is right at hand.

Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells: the Daring Life of a Crusading Journalist by Philip Dray is a picture book biography of the enterprising African American woman who began life as a slave  and then went on to become a teacher and journalist who exposed the evil practice of lynching.

When her parents died Ida began teaching to support her siblings. This snippet reflects the preparation Ida made:
"Her aunt lowered the hems of Ida's dresses and taught her to put her hair up. When she saw herself in the mirror, Ida couldn't believe her eyes: she looked like a grown-up!"

The back-matter includes additional information about Ida, lynching and a bibliography.

 The title  is the signature Ida used for her writing.