SADDLEBACK EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING

Titles in this Series

Three Watson
Irvine, CA 92618-2767
Website: www.sdlback.com

WALT DISNEY

The Beatles
Alexander Graham Bell
Daniel Boone
Davy Crockett
Marie Curie
Walt Disney
Amelia Earhart
Thomas Edison
Albert Einstein
Benjamin Franklin
HoudiniThomas Jefferson
Martin Luther King Jr.
Abraham Lincoln
Charles LindberghElvis Presley
Jackie Robinson
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Babe Ruth
George WashingtontlaW

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DWalt DisneySaddleback’s Graphic Biographies

Copyright © 2008 by Saddleback Educational Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of thepublisher.

ISBN-10: 1-59905-230-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-59905-230-4
eBook: 978-1-60291-593-0

walt disney

The name Walt Disney is known all over the world. He was the creatorof Mickey Mouse and a pioneer* in the making of animated cartoons.

For millions of people who watched his weekly television program, hewas an important part of something the family did together. He was aself-made man, and this is the story of how he did it.

He was bornin Chicago
in 1901, thefourth offive children.
His father,Elias Disney,
was working
as a building
contractor atthe time.
* to originate or take part in the development of

His mother,
Flora, wasa school
teacher
before her
marriage,but gaveit up toraise herchildren.

When Walt was four years old, the family
moved to a farm near Marceline, Missouri.

The two oldest boys
didn’t take to this newlife. They ran away fromhome and went back toChicago.
C’mon, Skinny!

There was a lot of hard work to be done,and Elias made sure that his children
did their share.
Walt’s best friend was his brother Roy.
Roy was eight years older than Walt.
Look, Roy! I made thispicture of Skinny!

That’sgreat, kid!

Walt’s father tried tomake a living sellingthe apples from his
two large orchards.
After five years heknew he couldn’t do it.
He sold the farm andthey moved to KansasCity.

walt disney

In Kansas City, Disney bought a newspaper route of 2,000 people. Royand Walt had to work for their father without pay. The other paperboys
made three dollars a week.
Roy and Walt got up at 3:30 a.m.
to deliver the morning paper.

In winter, the snow
was up to Walt’s
nose.

Brrrrr!
It’s cold!

Come on!
Wake up!

I’ll just rest here fora minute and getwarm.

When Walt woke up, he finished
his deliveries and ran all the way
to school.

He longed for the day when hewouldn’t have to work for his fatheranymore.

A year went by. Roy finished high school and left home as his olderbrothers had done.
I wish I could
go with you,Roy.

Me too, kid, but
you’ve got tofinish school.

Walt continued going to school
and delivering papers. And on
Saturdays he went to art classes
at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Very good,Walt!

Sometimes in the evening, Elias Disney let his
son go to the movies with a friend whose father
owned a theater.

The movies they saw were silent. The actors
would move their lips to speak, and theaudience could read what they were saying at
the bottom of the screen.

Walt used some of
the jokes he saw inthe movies to put
together an act for
the local amateurshows.

walt disney

In 1917, the year the United States entered World War I, Elias Disneysold the paper route and invested his money in a jelly factory in Chicago.
When the family moved, Walt stayed behind to finish the school year.
That summer he worked as a “newsbutcher” on the Santa Fe Railroad.
Get yournewspaper! Candy!
Cold drinks!

In the fall he went toChicago. He also worked in
the jelly factory and took
art classes at night.

One day, after school was out, Walt got a message from Roy. He waspassing through Chicago on his way to a navy training camp and asked
Walt to meet him at the train station.
Gee, kid! It’s great tosee you! You’ve gottenso tall!

They talked until the order was
given for Roy and the otherrecruits* to board the train.
You there! On board!
Train leaves in half aminute!

The officer had taken sixteen-yearold Walt for one of the recruits. It
made him feel proud … and it gave
him an idea.
* a newly enlisted or drafted member of the armed forces