Biographies

"Did they tell you stories about the saints of old,
stories about their faith?
Stories like that make a boy grow bold,
stories like that make a man walk straight..."

Rich Mullins, Boy Like Me, Man Like You

Stories about people have a way of affecting us in ways other stories can't. The Bible is primarily stories about people, and it is through these multiple biographies that we understand human nature, the history of redemption, and even to a great extent God Himself. The purpose behind any other biography is largely the same—to help us understand what it means to be human from the examples (sometimes even the bad examples) of those who have preceded us.

The biographies we have chosen for this section represent those of great leaders in history, social and military heroes, and Christian saints past and present who struggled to conform their lives to Christ's perfect example. We have avoided for the most part biographies of history's villains and chronic immoralists, not because they aren't interesting but because they don't represent lives worthy of imitation. We've also decided not to focus on athletes, actors, and celebrities, unless they've made important contributions outside their fields. That's not to say everyone found here was above reproach or even a Christian, but they all demonstrated real human virtues for which they are remembered.

Biographies are also useful for better understanding of a given historical period. While history books can provide good overviews of a period or events, the intimate detail of a good biography can better illustrate a time period and what it was like to be alive then. This also serves to demonstrate the universality of human nature, that people will behave basically the same during any given period and in any given place. Sometimes we get the impression that people of the past, especially people like missionaries and ministers, were somehow more pious than we are—the personal view offered by a good biography dispels this myth and offers encouragement that not even the best men and women are any closer to perfection than we are.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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150 Items found Print
Active Filters: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Trade Paperback, New Books & Materials
101 Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
from Kregel Publications
for 6th-12th grade
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$16.99
101 Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
40th Anniversary from Kregel Publications
for 6th-12th grade
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$18.99
101 More Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
from Kregel Publications
for 6th-12th grade
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$18.99
Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg
from Graphia
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln
by James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$21.95
Against the World
by Henry Coray
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95
Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Along Came Galileo
by Jeanne Bendick
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
America's War Heroes
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$10.39
Archimedes and the Door of Science
by Jeanne Bendick
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95
Archimedes and the Door of Science
by Jeanne Bendick
from Purple House Press
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.99
Artist of the Reformation
by Joyce McPherson
from Greenleaf Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
Augustine Came to Kent
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Barbara Willard
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson
from Square Fish Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Beyond the Myth
by Polly Schoyer Brooks
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50
Bible Smuggler
by Louise Vernon
from Herald Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Bill Peet
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 4th-8th grade
1990 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Black Like Me
by John Howard Griffin & Robert Bonazzi
35th anniversary from Signet Classics
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Boy on the Wooden Box
by Leon Leyson
Reprint from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
Christopher Award
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$9.99
Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Young Reader's Edition)
by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer
from Rocky Pond Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
Bring Your Eyes and See
International Adventures
by Steve Goode, Mary Goode
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$12.00
Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
2015 Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Catherine's War
by Julia Billet and Claire Fauvel, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger
from Harperalley
for 7th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$12.99
Champions of Invention
Champions of Discovery
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$4.79 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Champions of Science
Champions of Discovery
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$4.79 $3.50 (2 in stock)
Chance to Die
by Elisabeth Elliot
from Revell Publishing
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$22.99
Charles Mulli
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Children of the Storm
by Natasha Vins
from Bob Jones University Press
Autobiography for 8th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Co. Aytch
by Sam Watkins
from Touchstone
Historical Non-fiction for 8th-Adult
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$17.00
Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Coronation of Glory
Reformation Trail Series #12
by Deborah Meroff
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.95
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
D. L. Moody
by Kevin Belmonte
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Christian Encounters (Location: BIO-CE)
$12.00
D. L. Moody
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Webster
Sowers Series
by Robert Allen
from Mott Media
Biography for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99
David Livingstone
by C. Silvester Horne
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75
Davy Crockett
by David Crockett
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Dayuma
by Ethel Emily Wallis
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$14.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Egg and I
by Betty MacDonald
from HarperCollins
Biography for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Elizabeth I
by Jacob Abbott, updated for the present day reader by Knox Merkle
from Canon Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
Ernest Shackleton
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Every Falling Star
by Sungju Lee and Susan McClelland
from Amulet Books
for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Faithful Spy
by John Hendrix
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Final Race
by Eric T. Eichinger,
from Tyndale House
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine
by Jeanne Bendick
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95
George Frideric Handel
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99
Gift of Music
by Jane Stuart Smith & Betty Carlson
3rd edition from Crossway Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$23.99
God's Smuggler
by Brother Andrew
from Chosen Books
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Great Adventurers of the Twentieth Century
by Ron Tagliapietra
from Bob Jones University Press
Biography Anthologies for 8th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$12.95
Heart Strangely Warmed
by Louise A. Vernon
from Herald Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Helen Roseveare
by Janet and Geoff Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Here I Stand
by Roland H. Bainton
from Meridian Book
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
35th Anniversary Edition from Chosen Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99
History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
Hitler
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Autobiography for 4th-8th grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
If I Perish
by Esther Ahn Kim
from Moody Press
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.99
Inventors & Scientists
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$10.39
Invincible Louisa
by Cornelia Meigs
from Little, Brown & Company
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1934 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99
Jane Austen
Christian Encounters
by Peter Leithart
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
Biography for 8th-Adult
in Christian Encounters (Location: BIO-CE)
$12.00
Jason Lee
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
Biography for 7th-9th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Jed Smith
by Frank Latham
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.50 $6.00 (1 in stock)
John Bunyan
by William Deal
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75 $5.00 (1 in stock)
John Calvin, Genius of Geneva
Reformation Trail Series #07
by Lawrence Penning
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.95
John Flynn
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
John Muir: My Life with Nature
by John Muir, Joseph Cornell
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
John Newton
by Janet & Geoff Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca
Dover editions
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$10.95
Journey That Saved Curious George
by Louise W. Borden
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Kitty, My Rib
by E. Jane Mall
from Concordia Publishing House
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography
by William Anderson
from HarperTrophy
for 4th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
by Mildred R. Taylor
Reissue from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Letters to Children
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Autobiographical Letters for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.00
Life and Death of Adolf Hitler
by James Cross Giblin
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
2003 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99
Life of General Stonewall Jackson
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Life of George Washington
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75
Life of J.E.B. Stuart
by Mary Williamson
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75
Life of Washington
by Josephine Pollard
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Lights in the Northwest
by Richard M. Hannula
from Sound Summit Books
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$17.95
Lights in the Northwest - Teacher's Supplement CD-ROM
by Richard M. Hannula
from Sound Summit Books
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$15.95
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99 $7.50 (5 in stock)
Little White Farm House in Iowa
Precious Memories Book 1: The First 10 Years
by Carol Brands
from Inheritance Publications
for 4th-9th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$9.00
Little Yellow Farm House in Iowa
Precious Memories Book 2: Years 11-17
by Carol Brands
from Inheritance Publications
for 4th-9th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$9.00
Live Like a Jesus Freak
by dc Talk
from Bethany House
for 5th-8th grade
in Devotionals (Location: XCL-DEV)
$16.00 $7.50 (3 in stock)
Living on the Devil's Doorstep
International Adventures
by Floyd McClung
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$14.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Lord God Made Them All
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.99
Louis Zamperini
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Luther the Leader
by Virgil Robinson
from A. B. Publishing, Inc.
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95 $4.00 (4 in stock)
Man Who Laid the Egg
by Louise Vernon
from Herald Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Marco Polo for Kids
by Janis Herbert
from Chicago Review Press
Biography/Activity Book for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$17.95
Mark Twain and the River
by Sterling North
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Martin Luther
by J. A. Morrison
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.50
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