Memoir Picture Books

Shortcut by Donald Crews

I enjoyed this memoir.  A lady at a workshop had read this to us so I had heard it before and I actually bought it after she introduced it to us.  I liked how the story was written along with the illustrations.  It built excitement when when he yelled, “Get off the tracks!”  This story reminded me of the train tracks above my grandparent’s house.  When I was a little girl my grandmother and I would run outside when we heard the train coming to watch it go by.  The closer I got to it the better.  We would also take walks on the train track when a train was not near by.

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco

I always enjoy reading Patricia Polacco’s books.  I enjoyed this story, too.  It really bothered Tricia that her brother could do everything better than she could.  After making a wish, things changed.  This story has such a sweet ending.  The illustrations are wonderful, too.

Family Pictures by Carmen Lomas Garza

This is a nice memoir where the author has told a story on each page using the pictures.  The pictures are memories from when she grew up in Texas.  It shares her Latino culture.  I like how the book is written in English and also in Spanish.  If studying memoir in the class, this would be one that I would use with my younger students because I believe they could eventually publish something similar.  They would be able to tell about a memory and have a picture to go with it.  I would begin by reading only a few pages with younger students.