Autobiographies list.pdf  (Interest Level 3rd grade and up)

Remember: An autobiography is a biography book that a person writes about him or herself!

*Autobiographies are shelved with the Biographies by the person’s last name unless otherwise noted in parentheses below.

Ada, Alma Flor.  Where the Flame Trees Bloom. [AR BL 6.1, Pts. 2.0]
Included are 11 stories about the relatives and friends that were part of the author’s childhood in Cuba.

Berenstain, Jan & Stan. (J927 BER) Down a Sunny Dirt Road: an Autobiography. [AR BL 6.8, Pts. 6.0]
In alternating chapters, Stan and Jan Berenstain, creators of the Berenstain Bears, tell their own stories from early childhood until their marriage, then continue the tale together to the present.

Boitano, Brian. Boitano’s Edge: Inside the Real World of Figure Skating. [AR n/a] Olympic ice skating champion Brian Boitano describes the sport of figure skating and his own experiences as a skater. 

Bridges, Ruby. Through My Eyes. [AR BL 5.9, Pts. 2.0]
Ruby Bridges recounts the story of her involvement, as a six-year-old, in the integration of her school in New Orleans in 1960.

Brown, William Wells. From Slave to Abolitionist: The Life of William Wells Brown. [AR n/a]
William Wells Brown was born a slave, but when freed, devoted his life to the abolitionist movement.

Bulla, Clyde Robert. A Grain of Wheat: a Writer Begins. [AR n/a]
The author describes his early years up until the age of ten growing up on a Missouri farm and how he decided to be a writer.

Carle, Eric. Flora and Tiger: 19 Very Short Stories from my Life [AR n/a]
The author recalls experiences from his childhood in Germany and his later life in the United States, all connected in some way to animals.

Cleary, Beverly. A Girl from Yamhill: A Memoir. [AR BL 6.5, Pts. 11.0]
The popular children's author relates her childhood.

Cole, Joanna. (J813.54 COL) On the Bus with Joanna Cole: A Creative Autobiography. [AR BL 5.8, Pts. 1.0]
The author discusses her life, how she came to be a writer, where she gets her ideas, and what is involved in producing a book.

Dana, Jr., Richard Henry. (Classics J910.45 DAN) Two Years Before the Mast. [AR BL 7.7, Pts. 26.0]
In 1834, Richard Dana, went from Harvard student to common seaman, sailing from California to Cape Horn. This journal survives as one of the most vivid accounts of the relationship between man and sea.

De Paola, Tomie. 26 Fairmont Avenue. (A Fairmont Ave. Book #1) [AR n/a]
The first book in the autobiography series in which children’s author-illustrator Tomie De Paola describes his experiences at home and at school when he was a boy.

Douglas, Frederick. Escape from Slavery: The Boyhood of Frederick Douglas in His Own Words. [AR n/a]
A shortened autobiography presenting the early life of the slave who became an abolitionist, journalist, and statesman.

Fleischman, Sid. The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer’s Life. [AR BL 6.2, Pts. 7.0]
The autobiography of the Newbery Awarding-winning children’s author who set out from childhood to be a magician.

Foreman, Michael. War Boy: A Country Childhood. [AR BL 6.1, Pts. 1.0]
A moving personal narrative of a child's stay in the English countryside during World War II.

Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. [AR BL 6.5, Pts. 14.0]
A thirteen-year-old Dutch-Jewish girl records her impressions of the two years she and seven others spent hiding from the Nazis before they were discovered and taken to concentration camps.

Garner, Eleanor Ramrath. (J940.54 GAR) Eleanor’s Story: An American Girl in Hitler’s Germany. [AR BL 6.4, Pts. 15.0]
This is a chilling story of a young American girl and her family and how they survived in Germany during World War II.

Hautzig, Esther (J940.548 HAU) The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia. [AR BL 6.3, Pts. 10.0]
During World War II, when she was eleven years old, the author and her family were arrested in Poland by the Russians as political enemies and exiled to Siberia. She recounts here the trials of the following five years spent on the harsh Asian steppe.

Huynh, Quang Nhoung (J959.7 HUY) The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam. [AR BL 6.1, Pts. 4.0]
A collection of personal reminiscences of the author’s youth in a small village on the central highlands of Vietnam.

James, Will. Lone Cowboy: My Life Story. [AR n/a]
The Newbery Medal winning author of Smoky the Cowhorse tells his story.

Jiang, Ji-Li (J951 JIA) Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution. [AR BL 5.0, Pts. 8.0]
An memoir of a Chinese girl, her family, and how their lives became a nightmare during Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s.

King-smith, Dick. Chewing the Cud. [AR BL 6.9, Pts. 7.0]
Dick King-Smith recounts his life from soldier to farmer to salesman to factory worker to teacher to, finally, author.

Layson, Annelex Hofstra. (J940.531 LAY) Lost Childhood: My Life in a Japanese Prison Camp During World War II. [AR BL 5.8, Pts. 3.0]
In descriptive, truthful language, experiences of a family and other Dutch residents on the island of Java are shared after they were interred by the Japanese in 1942 in a prison camp, where they spent three years.

Lester, Helen. Author: A True Story. [AR BL 3.8, Pts. 0.5]
Children's author Helen Lester describes her life from age three to adulthood.

Little, Jean. Little by Little. [AR BL 4.6, Pts. 8.0]
Powerful memoir of the author's childhood and adolescence and her battle to overcome failing eyesight.

London, Jonathan. Tell Me a Story. [AR BL 3.7, Pts. 0.5]
The author of "Froggy Gets Dressed" and other Froggy tales, discusses his life, his daily activities, where he gets his ideas, and how he writes.

Lowry, Lois. Looking Back: A Book of Memories. [AR BL 5.5, Pts. 2.0]
Using family photographs and quotes from her books, the author provides glimpses into her life.

Mah, Adeline Yen.( JR HIGH Paperback M) Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter. [AR BL 5.7, Pts. 8.0]
The author paints an authentic portrait of twentieth-century China while telling the story of her painful childhood and her courage and ultimate triumph over despair.

North, Sterling. (J599.74443 NOR) Rascal. [AR BL 7.1, Pts. 7.0]
The author recalls his adventures with his pet raccoon, Rascal, during his carefree childhood in a small Midwestern town at the close of World War I.

Parks, Rosa. Rosa Parks: My Story. [AR BL 6.2, Pts. 6.0]
Rosa Parks' life story reveals the deliberate choices she made that earned her the title "Mother to a Movement."

Paulsen, Gary. My Life in Dog Years. [AR BL 5.6, Pts. 3.0]
The author describes how dogs have impacted his life from childhood through the present day, recounting the stories of his first dog, Snowball, in the Philippines; Dirk, who protected him from bullies; and Cookie, who saved his life.

Peet, Bill. Bill Peet: An Autobiography. [AR BL 6.9, Pts. 3.0]
The well-known author and illustrator relates the story of his life and work.

Ripken, Jr., Cal. Cal Ripken, Jr: Play Ball! [AR BL 3.3, Pts. 0.5]
This is a simple biography of the highly honored player for the Baltimore Orioles, who in 1995 broke the record for playing the most games in a row.

Robinson, Jackie. Breakthrough to the Big League: the Story of Jackie Robinson. [AR n/a]
The story of the baseball star who was the first black player to be accepted by a major league team.

Say, Allen. Drawing from Memory. [AR BL 4.1, Pts. 1.0]
Chronicling his journey as an artist during World War II, when he apprenticed under Noro Shinpei, Japan's premier cartoonist, this book is Allen Say's own story of his path to becoming the renowned artist he is today.

Scieszka, Jon. (J813.53 SCI) Knucklehead: Tall tales and mostly True Stories of Growing Up Scieszka. [AR BL 4.6, Pts. 2.0]
Part memoir, part scrapbook, this trip down memory lane provides a unique glimpse into the formation of a creative mind and a free spirit.

Siegal, Aranka (J943.9 SIE) Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944. [AR BL 5.5, Pts. 10.0]
Nine-year-old Piri describes the bewilderment of being a Jewish child during the 1939-1944 German occupation of her hometown in Hungary and relates the ordeal of trying to survive.

Sis, Peter. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 1.0]
Artist Peter Sis describes what it was like growing up in a Communist country and discusses how Western culture influenced his life. 

Tallchief, Maria. Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina. [AR BL 5.1, Pts. 0.5]
Ballerina Maria Tallchief describes her childhood on an Osage reservation, the development of her love of dance, and her rise to success in that field.

Uchida, Yoshiko. The Invisible Thread. [AR BL 6.5, Pts. 5.0]
Children's author Yoshiko Uchida describes growing up in Berkley, California, as a Nisei, second-generation Japanese American, and her family's internment in a Utah concentration camp during World War II.

Zhang, Song Nan (J951 ZHA) A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night: An Autobiography in Art. [AR BL 5.8, Pts. 1.0]
A Chinese artist recounts his life with illustrations—from fleeing Japanese invaders as a boy in Shanghai in 1944, to working in labor camps under the harsh Communist regime, to sympathizing with the Tiananmen Square demonstrators in 1989.