This was a biography of Walt Disney. He was raised by a very strict father who made him work very hard and would often beat him. He owned a news paper company and made Walt and one of his older brothers deliver papers everyday before and after school with no pay. Walt often worked more than one job and his parents took all the extra money that he made. Walt disliked his home life very much and could not wait for the opportunity to move out and make money for himself. He finally got the chance to move out and be on his own. He started several businesses that all failed. Finally he and one of his brothers moved to California and opened their own business. They made cartoons all the while Walt was perfecting animation. He developed several new techniques that made cartoons look more realistic. His business prospered and began to make a profit. He eventually married and had two girls. He was a great family man and spent a lot of time with his children and wife. Walt persevered when a lot of people did not think his ideas would work. He finally got the idea to build his amusement park and start making full length cartoon movies.

This book was very interesting to me to see that Walt came from a very unhappy home life and made something of himself. He had a lot of dedication to his craft and really renovated a lot of techniques used in those days.

In the classroom, I could have children make their own cartoons or talk about dedication and perseverance. I could also just have a Disney movie day!

Walt Disney started out as a paperboy and factory worker for his father, who paid nothing. His brother Roy was his support, but he left soon after becoming an adult. Disney enlisted in the Red Cross Ambulance Corps to get away from home and later on started his own business several times over and was always focused on drawing and animation. He lived off of very little and was always concerned about how to better the business. He got married to one of his employees. After a bad business deal, Disney thought up Mickey Mouse. Silent films were on there way out, so Disney had to adapt, using his own voice for Mickey. He continually made his pictures better, adding color when it became available and prospering through the Great Depression. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became a huge hit. He had two daughters. He built an amazing amusement park and died at age 66 but his work lives on.

I love Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. I think he was an amazing man. Often times the most successful people are the ones who sacrifice and build things up from the very bottom. He started with nothing and built a 4 Kingdoms! Literally! It's quite inspirational.

I would apply this in a class by letting the children research how cartoons are made and letting them make some simple animations (a flip book perhaps.) We also could summarize the story and highlight all of the hardships to show the students that you can triumph, even when it seems hopeless.