Gregory, Josh. Steve Jobs.

Gregory, Josh.  Steve Jobs.   Scholastic/ Children’s Press  2013  64  22.50   ISBN 978-0-531-22606-2         ms    series: Cornerstones of Freedom       E-BN 

This is a biography at a higher reading level than the True Book version.  It is much wordier but does not add substantial information and even skips some that is included in the simpler version, but it is a good biography for middle-school readers.    Steve Jobs was an innovator, an inventor, and a man who changed the way we do things.  This text introduces him to readers through the some primary and secondary sources.  It starts with a brief look at life before computers.  The next chapter covers the first twenty years of Steve’s life, through his schooling to the founding of Apple Computer.  The next chapters present his struggles to find his place in the computing world and establish his company, and the book ends with the continuing story of Apple after the death of Steve Jobs.

 
The format of this title is very colorful and inviting for readers, with some special features, such as text blocks with related information.  There is an emphasis on identifying and discussing the other people closely associated with Jobs.  Almost every page has an illustration, and most are photographs.

Supplemental materials include two pages of influential individuals, a timeline, links to primary source documents, resources, a glossary and an index.

This title is well suited to middle-school students, who will learn much about this influential man.  The Cornerstones of Freedom series brings history to life, focusing on dramatic and defining moments in American history, and it includes primary sources. 

Steve Jobs                                                        --Joan Theal