Papers in Illinois History and Transactions for the Year (Volume 12 (1907)) Book

A collection of short essays (or excerpts) about the childhood of famous and inspiring people. Broken into several sections - artists, scientists, politicians and businessmen, and athletes - the book relies mostly on excerpts from biographies and autobiographies with a handful of original essays.

Nothing very long or substantive, but enough to hopefully grab the interest of a kid reading the book and inspire him to look for more. I wasn't familiar with a few of the people featured, but for the most part these are universally known success stories.

A good introduction to biography, and I appreciated the short format geared towards younger readers. I was also happy to read first person accounts of the childhood rather getting it from a removed narrator.