We envision a future where people actively work to dismantle injustices and build a more peaceful, equitable world.

Biographies

A list of Jane Addams awarded biographies, sorted by Teaching Books.

A Line Can Go Anywhere: The Brilliant, Resilient Life of Artist Ruth Asawa

by Caroline McAlister and Jamie Green

(Finalist, 2026)

Barracoon

Barracoon

by Zora Neale Hurston, Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, and Ibram X. Kendi

(Chapter Book Finalist, 2025)

Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior

Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior

by Carole Lindstrom and Bridget George

(Finalist, 2024)

Hero Like Me, A

A Hero Like Me

by Jen Reid, Angela Joy, and Leire Salaberria

(Finalist, 2024)

Sanctuary: Kip Tiernan and Rosie's Place, the Nation's First Shelter for Women

Sanctuary: Kip Tiernan and Rosie’s Place, the Nation’s First Shelter for Women

by Christine McDonnell and Victoria Tentler-Krylov

(Books for Younger Children Honor, 2023)

Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas

Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas

by Jeanne Walker Harvey and Loveis Wise

(Finalist, 2023)

Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge

Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge

by Ray Anthony Shepard and Keith Mallett

(Honor, 2022)

Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb

Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb

by Veronica Chambers and Rachelle Baker

(Finalist, 2020)

Brave. Black. First.: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World

Brave. Black. First.: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World

by Cheryl Willis Hudson and Erin K. Robinson

(Finalist, 2020)

Malala's Magic Pencil

Malala’s Magic Pencil

by Malala Yousafzai and Kerascoët

(Winner, 2018)

Girl from the Tar Paper School, The: Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of the Civil Rights Movement

The Girl from the Tar Paper School: Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of the Civil Rights Movement

by Teri Kanefield

(Winner, 2015)

Marching to the Mountaintop: How Poverty, Labor Fights & Civil Rights Set the Stage for MLK Jr.'s Final Hours

Marching to the Mountaintop: How Poverty, Labor Fights & Civil Rights Set the Stage for MLK Jr.’s Final Hours

by Ann Bausum

(Honor, 2013)

Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

by Linda Glaser and Claire A. Nivola

(Winner, 2011)

Delivering Justice: W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights

Delivering Justice: W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights

by James Haskins and Benny Andrews

(Winner, 2006)

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier

(Winner, 2002)

This Land Is My Land

This Land Is My Land

by George Littlechild

(Winner, 1994)

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery

by Russell Freedman

(Honor, 1994)

Road from Home, The: The Story of an Armenian Girl

The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl

by David Kherdian

(Winner, 1980)

Words Matter: The Story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, and the White Rose Resistance

by Anita Fitch Pazner and Sophie Casson

(Finalist, 2026)

Seeker of Truth: Kailash Satyarthi's Fight to End Child Labor

Seeker of Truth: Kailash Satyarthi’s Fight to End Child Labor

by Srividhya Venkat and Danica da Silva Pereira

(Picture Book Finalist, 2025)

How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee

How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee

by Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison

(Finalist, 2024)

Justice Ketanji: The Story of US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

Justice Ketanji: The Story of US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

by Denise Lewis Patrick and Kim Holt

(Finalist, 2024)

Because of You, John Lewis

Because of You, John Lewis

by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Keith Henry Brown

(Finalist, 2023)

Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader

Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader

by Michelle Duster and Laura Freeman

(Honor, 2023)

She Caught the Light: Williamina Stevens Fleming: Astronomer

She Caught the Light: Williamina Stevens Fleming: Astronomer

by Kathryn Lasky and Julianna Swaney

(Finalist, 2022)

Mother Jones and Her Army of Mill Children

Mother Jones and Her Army of Mill Children

by Jonah Winter and Nancy Carpenter

(Finalist, 2020)

Only Woman in the Photo, The: Frances Perkins & Her New Deal for America

The Only Woman in the Photo: Frances Perkins & Her New Deal for America

by Kathleen Krull and Alexandra Bye

(Finalist, 2020)

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark

by Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley

(Honor, 2017)

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation

by Duncan Tonatiuh

(Winner, 2015)

Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride

Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride

by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney

(Honor, 2010)

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai

by Claire A. Nivola

(Winner, 2009)

Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing

Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing

by James Rumford

(Honor, 2005)

Molly Bannaky

Molly Bannaky

by Alice McGill and Chris K. Soentpiet

(Winner, 2000)

Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story

Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story

by Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee

(Honor, 1998)

Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave

Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave

by Virginia Hamilton

(Winner, 1989)

Escape to Freedom: A Play about Young Frederick Douglass

Escape to Freedom: A Play about Young Frederick Douglass

by Ossie Davis

(Honor, 1979)

Unstoppable John: How John Lewis Got His Library Card—And Helped Change History

by Pat Zietlow Miller and Jerry Jordan

(Finalist, 2026)

The Sacred Stone Camp

by Rae Rose and Aly McKnight

(Finalist, 2026)

Force of Nature: A Novel of Rachel Carson

Force of Nature: A Novel of Rachel Carson

by Ann E. Burg and Sophie Blackall

(Chapter Book Finalist, 2025)

To Boldly Go

To Boldly Go

by Angela Dalton and Lauren Semmer

(Finalist, 2024)

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement

by Angela Joy and Janelle Washington

(Books for Younger Children Winner, 2023)

Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and His Glorious Book

Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and His Glorious Book

by Tonya Bolden and Eric Velasquez

(Finalist, 2023)

When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's Lost Generation and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision

When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl’s Story of Virginia’s Lost Generation and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision

by Yolanda Gladden, Keisha Morris, and Tamara Pizzoli

(Finalist, 2023)

I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story

I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story

by Martha Brockenbrough, Grace Lin, and Julia Kuo

(Finalist, 2023)

When Stars Are Scattered

When Stars Are Scattered

by Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed, and Iman Geddy

(Finalist, 2020)

Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean's Biggest Secret

Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean’s Biggest Secret

by Jess Keating and Katie Hickey

(Honor, 2021)

Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story

Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story

by Caren Stelson

(Winner, 2017)

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909

by Michelle Markel and Melissa Sweet

(Winner, 2014)

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

by Tanya Lee Stone

(Honor, 2010)

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II

by Lita Judge

(Honor, 2008)

Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen

Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen

by Michelle Roehm McCann, Luba Tryszynka-Frederick, and Ann Marshall

(Honor, 2004)

Through My Eyes

Through My Eyes

by Ruby Bridges and Margo Lundell

(Winner, 2000)

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman

by Kathleen Krull and David Diaz

(Winner, 1997)

Mischling, Second Degree: My Childhood in Nazi Germany

Mischling, Second Degree: My Childhood in Nazi Germany

by Ilse Koehn

(Honor, 1978)

Upstairs Room, The

The Upstairs Room

by Johanna Reiss

(Honor, 1973)

Up, Up, Ever Up!: Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains

Up, Up, Ever Up!: Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains

by Anita Yasuda and Yuko Shimizu

(Picture Book Finalist, 2025)

Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust

Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust

by Elisa Boxer and Amy June Bates

(Finalist, 2024)

Mother of a Movement, The

The Mother of a Movement

by Rob Sanders and Sam Kalda

(Finalist, 2023)

Song for the Unsung, A: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington

A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington

by Carole Boston Weatherford, Rob Sanders, and Byron McCray

(Picture Book Winner, 2024)

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone

by Traci N. Todd and Christian Robinson

(Finalist, 2022)

Highest Tribute, The: Thurgood Marshall's Life, Leadership, and Legacy

The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership, and Legacy

by Kekla Magoon and Laura Freeman

(Finalist, 2022)

Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote

Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote

by Veronica Chambers

(Honor, 2021)

Fred Korematsu Speaks Up

Fred Korematsu Speaks Up

by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi

(Honor, 2018)

First Step, The: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial

The First Step: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial

by Susan E. Goodman and E.B. Lewis

(Honor, 2017)

Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers

Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers

by Sarah Warren and Robert Casilla

(Honor, 2013)

Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson

by Eloise Greenfield and George Ford

(Winner, 1976)

We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin

We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin

by Larry Dane Brimner

(Winner, 2008)

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

by Kathleen Krull and Yuyi Morales

(Winner, 2004)

Circuit, The: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child

by Francisco Jiménez

(Honor, 1998)

Endless Steppe, The: Growing Up in Siberia

The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia

by Esther Hautzig

(Winner, 1969)

Short Life of Sophie Scholl, The

The Short Life of Sophie Scholl

by Hermann Vinke

(Winner, 1985)

Profiles in Courage

Profiles in Courage

by John F. Kennedy

(Winner, 1964)

Champions of Peace: Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize

Champions of Peace: Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize

by Edith Patterson Meyer

(Winner, 1960)

The One & Only Googoosh: Iran’s Beloved Superstar

by Azadeh Westergaard

(Finalist, 2026)

Let Us March On!: James Weldon Johnson and the Silent Protest Parade

Let Us March On!: James Weldon Johnson and the Silent Protest Parade

by Yohuru Williams, Michael G. Long, and Xia Gordon

(Picture Book Finalist, 2025)

Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality

Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality

by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and Alex Bostic

(Honor, 2025)

Until Someone Listens

Until Someone Listens

by Estela Juarez, Lissette Norman, and Teresa Martínez

(Finalist, 2023)

Because Claudette

Because Claudette

by Tracey Baptiste and Tonya Engel

(Finalist, 2023)

Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book

Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book

by Keila V. Dawson and Alleanna Harris

(Finalist, 2022)

Lizzie Demands a Seat!: Elizabeth Jennings Fights for Streetcar Rights

Lizzie Demands a Seat!: Elizabeth Jennings Fights for Streetcar Rights

by Beth Anderson and E.B. Lewis

(Finalist, 2020)

Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon

Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon

by Kelly Starling Lyons and Laura Freeman

(Finalist, 2020)

Before She Was Harriet

Before She Was Harriet

by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome

(Honor, 2018)

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the Selma Voting Rights March

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the Selma Voting Rights March

by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Elspeth Leacock, Susan Buckley, and P.J. Loughran

(Winner, 2016)

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

by Sy Montgomery

(Honor, 2013)

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

by Phillip Hoose

(Honor, 2010)

Ain't Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry

Ain’t Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry

by Scott Nelson and Marc Aronson

(Honor, 2009)

Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case

Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case

by Chris Crowe

(Books for Older Children Honor, 2004)

Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange

Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange

by Elizabeth Partridge

(Honor, 1999)

Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor

Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor

by Russell Freedman and Lewis Wickes Hine

(Winner, 1995)

First Woman in Congress, Jeannette Rankin

First Woman in Congress, Jeannette Rankin

by Florence Meiman White

(Winner, 1981)

Jane Addams: Pioneer for Social Justice

Jane Addams: Pioneer for Social Justice

by Cornelia Meigs

(Winner, 1971)

Jane Addams Peace Association