Besides learning valuable lessons from iconic folks who've come before, biographies make valuable resource materials for school reports. These bios are smart reads for kids ages 6 to 12.

"Handel, Who Knew What He Liked" by M.T. Anderson; illustrated by Kevin Hawkes; Candlewick Biographies; 48 pages; $14.99.

George Frideric Handel knew what he liked, whether it was sneaking off to a duke's castle to play the organ or ordering 45 pounds of mountain snow to chill his wine. Most of all, since early childhood, Handel wanted to play music. And so he did, even when nobody wanted to listen to his operas or when the fireworks show he created for an event caused a horrible fire.

Handel remained true to his grand music, even when popular new singers became the rage and others made fun of his pomp and circumstance. In the end, Handel grew blind and began to give up. Still, his burial in Westminster Abbey drew 3,000 fans.

Hawkes flowy writing is entertaining, with fun accounts of physical duels, live birds released at shows and other zesty anecdotes. Kids will be inspired by the true story of a musical genius.

"Isaac Newton: The Scientist Who Changed Everything" by Philip Steele; National Geographic World History Biographies; 64 pages; $7.99.

Created in a reference/scrapbook-style manner, with sidebars, timelines, maps, photographs and illustrations, National Geographic's World History Biographies series is superbly classy.

In "Isaac Newton," Steele tells the chronological story of the iconic scientist, from his promising days as a young lad in school to his time at Cambridge University, where he didn't do so well, perhaps working on his own projects. Eventually, Newton discovered invaluable lessons about math and science. His discoveries about gravity made space travel possible, and his findings on optics and calculus are legendary. Young scientists-to-be will love this exciting biography.

Also from the series, "Mozart: The Boy Who Changed the World With His Music" by Marcus Weeks, is so lively it feels like stepping into Mozart's world.

"Who is Bob Dylan? (Who Was ... ?)" by Jim O'Connor; illustrated by John O'Brien and Nancy Harrison; Grosset & Dunlap; 112 pages; $4.99.

Jumping to the relatively modern world, this super-cool chronicle of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Bob Dylan is exciting and penned smartly toward kids. A little longer than the above biographies, Jim O'Connor's easy reading tome tells Dylan's story, from childhood to his rise as a star, but also includes relative sidebars. "Acoustic Versus Electric," for example, clearly exemplifies the differences between the two types of guitars, as it relates to Dylan's story. "Bob Dylan's Aliases" lists the 10 different names Dylan worked under, from Boo Wilbury to Tedham Porterhouse, though his birth name is Bobby Zimmerman.

Want zesty fun in a biography? This one's it!

Also from the same series, "Who Was Christopher Columbus?" by Bonnie Bader and illustrated by Nancy Harrison brings an exciting realism to the New World explorer's history.

"Jackie Robinson: American Hero" by Sharon Robinson; Scholastic; 48 pages; $14.75 hardcover/$4.99 paperback.

With the popularity of the fantastic movie "42" comes a slew of amazing books about the baseball legend. This sleek, colorful biography, penned by Jackie Robinson's daughter, introduces a new generation to the sports hero who also broke color barriers and shook up the civil rights movement.

Sharon hopes reading about her father's persevering story will empower kids to be the best they can be. Her inspirational book contains plenty of photographs, a glossary and author Q and A. She ends her fabulous book (for ages 7 and up) with this quote from Jackie: "A life is not important except for the impact it has on other lives."

The movie "42," by the way? A real winner, just like its subject.

To find out more about Lee Littlewood and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.