How We Are Smart

Musician Tito Puente. Ballerina Maria Tallchief. Explorer Matthew Henson. Congresswoman Patsy Mink. These are some of the people profiled in this book. They are well known for different reasons, but they also have something in common. They were all smart!

Readers will learn that being smart is about more than doing well in school. There are eight ways to be smart, and they are reflected in how a person uses his or her body, relates to the natural world, responds to music and art, and more. When readers see how the people in this book used their smarts, they will learn about themselves too, and their own unique ways of being smart. Back-of-book information about the eight intelligences, along with activities, enhance the learning experience.

Lively storytelling and striking illustrations introduce readers to the empowering theory of multiple intelligences - and the adventure of discovering how they are smart!

W. Nikola-Lisa is the author of numerous award-winning children's books, among them Bein' with You This Way, Summer Sun Risin', and My Teacher Can Teach Anyone!, all published by Lee & Low Books. A professor of education at National-Louis University in Evanston, Illinois, Nikola-Lisa lives in Chicago with his wife. To find out more about W. Nikola-Lisa, visit his website: nikolabooks.com.

Sean Qualls is the illustrator of Powerful Words, a Parents' Choice Award winner, and The Baby on the Way, praised by Booklist for its 'intimate artwork.' A full-time artist, Qualls has also created illustrations for magazines, newspapers, advertisements, and corporate publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and their son. Visit him online at seanqualls.com or at his artist page.