George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) has been named the greatest baseball player in history but his childhood was not trouble free. When he was eight years old, his father sent him to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory and signed custody over to the Catholics who ran the school. During his time in St. Mary's, Ruth also became a qualified shirt maker. But it was Brother Matthias Boutlier, father figure in Ruth's life and the Head of Discipline at St. Mary's, who first introduced Ruth to the game of baseball. Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season and his lifetime total of 714 home runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record for 39 years.


Check out PDF samples from the Graphic Biography series here:
PDF sample of Thomas Edison's Graphic Novel.
PDF sample of Houdini's Graphic Novel.
PDF sample of The Beatles' Graphic Novel.


About Graphic Biographies:
Graphic biographies will give your children a snapshot of just how intriguing history can be. With attention-grabbing pictures and concise dialogue, even the most reluctant readers will find themselves captivated.

These very visual forms of history will not only teach your children about different historical figures, they will also be instrumental in developing their necessary inference skills.

And because of their great appeal, graphic books can also reacquaint your children, young and old alike, with the delights of reading for enjoyment as well as for education.

Fast-paced and easy-to-read, these softcover 32-page graphic biographies teach students about historical figures: those who lead us into new territory, pursued scientific discoveries; battled injustice and prejudice; and broke down creative and artistic barriers. These biographies offer a variety of rich primary and secondary source material to support teaching to standards.

Using the graphics, students can activate prior knowledge—bridge what they already know with what they have yet to learn. Graphically illustrated biographies also teach inference skills, character development, dialogue, transitions, and drawing conclusions. Graphic biographies in the classroom provide an intervention with proven success for the struggling reader.