Biographies - Exodus Books

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"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.

	Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis from Bobbs-Merril Co Biography for 1st-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Drawn from New England: Tasha Tudor A Portrait in Words and Pictures by Bethany Tudor, with photographs and drawings by Tasha Tudor from Philomel Books for 5th-Adult in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	First Starry Night by Joan Shaddox Isom from Charlesbridge for 4th-6th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Girl Who Drew Butterflies How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for 3rd-8th grade 2019 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner in Biographies (Location: BIO) $21.99
	John James Audubon Landmark #48 by John & Margaret Kieran, illustrated by Christine Price from Random House for 5th-8th grade in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
	Leonardo da Vinci by Jay Williams from Horizon Books for 5th-8th grade in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
	Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd 1^st edition from Dutton Children's Books for 3rd-5th grade 2004 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book in Biographies (Location: BIO) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Masters of Art: Chagall by Gianni Pozzi, illustrated by Claudia Saraceni & L. R. Galante 1^st edition from Peter Bedrick Books for 4th-8th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
	Masters of Art: Giotto and Medieval Art Lives and Works of the Medieval Artists by Lucia Corrain, illustrated by Sergio, with the assistance of Andrea Ricciardi from Peter Bedrick Books for 4th-8th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
	Masters of Art: Goya by Mariarosa Schiaffino, illustrated by Claudia Saraceni & Thomas Trojer from Peter Bedrick Books for 4th-8th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
	Masters of Art: Leonardo da Vinci Artist, Inventor and Scientist of the Renaissance Masters of Art Series by Francesca Romei, illustrated by Sergio and Andrea Ricciardi from Peter Bedrick Books Biography for 4th-8th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
	Masters of Art: Michaelangelo Master of the Italian Renaissance Masters of Art by Gabriella di Cagno, illustrated by Simone Boni & L. R. Galante from Peter Bedrick Books for 4th-8th grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
	Masters of Art: Picasso by Loria Stefano, illustrated by Simone Boni & L. R. Galante from Peter Bedrick Books for 4th-8th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
	Masters of Art: Rembrandt and Seventeenth-Century Holland The Dutch Nation and Its Painters Masters of Art by Claudio Pescio, illustrated by Sergio 1^st edition from Peter Bedrick Books for 5th-Adult in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
	Masters of Art: Van Gogh by Enrica Crispino, illustrated by Simone Boni, Francesca D'Ottavi, L. R. Galante & Ivan Stalio from Peter Bedrick Books for 4th-8th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
	Mathew Brady: Photographing History by Manual Komroff, with photographs by Mathew Brady from Encyclopedia Britannica for 5th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Matisse: Painter of the Essential Art for Children by Yolande Baillet from Chelsea House Publishing for 3rd-6th grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Norman Rockwell: Storyteller with a Brush by Beverly Gherman from Atheneum for 3rd-7th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Rembrandt and Titus by Madeleine Comora 1^st edition for 4th-8th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
	Self-Portrait: Erik Blegvad from Harper & Row for 4th-Adult in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Self-Portrait: Margot Zemach by Margot Zemach from Harper & Row for 4th-Adult in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Self-Portrait: Trina Schart Hyman from Harper & Row for 4th-Adult in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Story of Dan Beard Founder of America's Boy Scouts Grosset & Dunlap Signature #43 by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by Everett Raymond Kinstler from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 5th-9th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of John J. Audubon Grosset & Dunlap Signature #27 by Joan Howard, illustrated by Federico (Fred) Castellon from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 5th-9th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Talking to the Sun An Illustrated Anthology of Poems for Young People by Selected by Kenneth Koch and Kate Farrell from Henry Holt and Company in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	This is M. Sasek The Extraordinary Life and Travels of the Beloved Children's Book Illustrator by Olga Cerna, Pavel Ryska, and Martin Salisbury from Universe Publishing for 1st-6th grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
	Vincent Van Gogh Portrait of an Artist by Jan Greenberg, Sandra Jordan from Delacorte Press for 3rd-6th grade 2002 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
	Vincent Van Gogh Art for Young People by Peter Harrison from Sterling Publishing Co. for 4th-7th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $6.00 (1 in stock)

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