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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83 Items found Print
Active Filters: Famous Women, Hardcover
A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Amy Carmichael: Rescuing the Children
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Taft Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Angel of Mercy
by Rachel Baker
from Julian Messner
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank, translated by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt
Book Club Edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
At Home with Beatrix Potter
by Susan Denyer
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
Bad Girls Throughout History
by Ann Shen
from Chronicle Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy Ross and the Flag
Landmark #26
by Jane Mayer
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre
by Robert Van Nutt, Stewart Ross
1st edition from Viking Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Clara Barton
Landmark #58
by Helen Dore Boylston
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Cleopatra of Egypt
World Landmark #50
by Leonora Hornblow
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Combat Nurses of World War II
Landmark #116
by Wyatt Blassingame
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Dolly Madison
Landmark #47
by Jane Mayer
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Edith Wharton
by Olivia Coolidge
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Biography for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
by Lucile Davis
from Capstone Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Elizabeth Prentiss
by Sharon James
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$26.00
Elizabeth the Great
by Elizabeth Jenkins
from International Collectors Library
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Emily Dickinson On Love
by Emily Dickinson
from Barnes & Noble
for 7th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
First Lady of the Theatre: Sarah Siddons
by Molly Costain Haycraft
from Kingston House
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Frances Hodgson Burnett: Beyond the Secret Garden
by Angelica Shirley Carpenter, Jean Shirley
1st edition from Lerner Publishing Group
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Gertrude Chandler Warner and the Boxcar Children
by Mary Ellen Ellsworth
1st edition from Albert Whitman & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Girl Who Drew Butterflies
by Joyce Sidman
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 3rd-8th grade
2019 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
Harriet Beecher Stowe
by Noel Bertram Gerson
1st edition from Henry Holt and Company
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Beecher Stowe
by Suzanne M. Coil
from Franklin Watts
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Helen Keller
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
2008 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Heroines
by Rebecca Hazell
1st edition from Abbeville Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Heroines of the Early West
Landmark #91
by Nancy Wilson Ross
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
I Am Rosa Parks
by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins, illustrated by Wil Clay
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Illustrious Americans - Volume 1
by Edward Everett Hale
from Mantle Ministries
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Illustrious Americans - Volume 2
by Edward Everett Hale
from Mantle Ministries
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
It Can't Be Done, Nellie Bly!
by Nancy Butcher
1st edition from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Jane Addams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jenny Lind's America
by Frances Cavanah
from Chilton Book Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Joan of Arc
by Josephine Poole
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Joan of Arc
by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Robert Rayevsky
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Joan of Arc
by Jay Williams
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Joan of Arc of Domremy
by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from Harcourt
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Joni Eareckson Tada: Her Story
by Joni Eareckson Tada, Joe Musser, Steve Estes
from Inspirational Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lady Jane Grey
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Last Princess
by Fay Stanley; illustrated by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biographies for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Life & Times of Elizabeth I
by Massimo Rossaro
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Linda Richards
A Discovery Book
by David R. Collins
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lives of Extraordinary Women
by Kathleen Krull
from Harcourt Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Louisa May Alcott: Her Life
by Catherine Owens Peare, illustrated by Margaret Ayer
from Henry Holt and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lucretia Mott
A Discovery Book
by Doris Faber
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Madam President
by Catherine Thimmesh, Illustrated by Douglas B. Jones
from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Maria
by Maria von Trapp
from Creation House
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mary Slessor: Courage in Africa
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Mistress Bradstreet
by Charlotte Gordon
from Little, Brown & Company
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Moses
by Carole Boston Weatherford
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
2007 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
My Name is Georgia
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
People at the Center of Women's Suffrage
by Deborah Kops
1st edition from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Picture Book of Amelia Earhart
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Picture Book of Rosa Parks
by David A. Adler; illustrated by Robert Casilla
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Pioneer Girl
by Clara Ingram Judson, illustrated by Genevieve Foster
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Queen of the Falls
by Chris Van Allsburg
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Queen Victoria
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Rachel Carson
by Melissa Stewart
from Ferguson Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Real Jane Austen
by Paula Byrne
1st edition from HarperTrophy
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$29.99
Sacajawea of the Shoshones
by Della Gould Emmonds
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Seven Queens of England
by Geoffrey Trease
from Vanguard Press
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
So Tall Within
by Gary D. Schmidt, Illustrated by Daniel Minter
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Story of Amelia Earhart
Signature Books #33
by Adele de Leeuw, illustrated by Harry Beckhoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Annie Oakley
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #37
by Edmund Collier, illustrated by Leon Gregori
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Clara Barton
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #25
by Olive Price, illustrated by Ruth Ives
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Edith Cavell
Signature Books #47
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Gerald McCann
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Eleanor Roosevelt
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #48
by Lorena A. Hickok, illustrated by William Barss
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Florence Nightingale
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #10
by Margaret Leighton, illustrated by Corinne B. Dillon
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Good Queen Bess
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #18
by Alida Sims Malkus, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of Helen Keller
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #45
by Lorena A. Hickok, illustrated by Jo Polseno
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Jacqueline Kennedy
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #51
by Alida Malkus, illustrated by Michael Lowenbein
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Joan of Arc
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #19
by Jeannette C. Nolan, illustrated by Pranas Lapé
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Louisa May Alcott
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #35
by Joan Howard, illustrated by Flora Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Madame Curie
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #46
by Alice Thorne, illustrated by Federico Castellon
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Martha Washington
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #32
by Jeannette C. Nolan, illustrated by Corinne B. Dillon
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Pocahontas
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #21
by Shirley Graham, illustrated by Mario Cooper
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
To Heaven on Horseback
by Paul Cranston
from Julian Messner
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Wangari's Trees of Peace
by Jeanette Winter
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Warrior Queens
by Vicky Alvear Shecter, illustrated by Bill Mayer
from Boyds Mill Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Women of Courage
Landmark #107
by Dorothy Nathan
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Women Who Made a Difference
by Jeff Bloch, Malcolm Forbes
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for 8th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$3.00 (1 in stock)