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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77 Items found Print
Active Filters: Explorers & Adventurers, 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Hardcover
Amerigo Vespucci
by Nina Brown Baker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Balboa:
by Jeannette Mirsky
from Harper & Row
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Book of Famous Explorers
Young Folks Library
by Edwin Erle Sparks, editor
from Auxiliary Educational League
for 3rd-9th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Captain Cook: Pacific Explorer
by Ronald Syme
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Cartier Sails the St. Lawrence
by Esther Averill, illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky
from Harper & Brothers
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Christopher Columbus
Sowers Biographies
by Bennie Rhodes
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
by Amy Hogeboom
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Commodore Perry in Japan
by Robert Reynolds
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Daniel Boone
by James Daugherty
1st edition from Viking Press
for 4th-6th grade
1940 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Garden City Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Daniel Boone: Boy Hunter
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
David Livingstone
by Ben Alex
from Victor Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
David Livingstone: Courageous Explorer
by Renee Meloche, illustrated by Bryan Pollard
from YWAM Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
De Soto: Finder of the Mississippi
by Ronald Syme
for 3rd-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
Drake: The Man They Called a Pirate
by Jean Lee Latham
from Harper & Brothers
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Encounter
by Jane Yolen, illustrated by David Shannon
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 1st-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration of Africa
by Thomas Sterling
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Explorer's Handbook
by Marilyn Tolhurst
from Dutton Children's Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Explorers for God
by Nathan Aaseng
from Augsburg Fortress
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Ferdinand Magellan
by Ronald Welch
from Criterion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of the Inca
by Gina DeAngelis
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book History of the United States
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States - 12 Volume Set
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 1
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Great Discoveries and Amazing Adventures
by Claire Llewellyn
from Kingfisher
for 4th-8th grade
in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Explorers
by Joyce Grosseck & Elizabeth Attwood
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hero Schliemann
by Laura Amy Schlitz
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
I Sailed with Columbus
by Susan Martin
Xlibrary Copy. from Overlook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Jed Smith, Young Western Explorer
by Olive W. Burt
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Joe Meek
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Charles Fremont
by Ronald Syme, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Journal of Augustus Pelletier
Dear America
by Kathryn Lasky
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictional historical journal for 3rd-6th grade
in Dear America Books (Location: SER-DEAR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Nina Baker; illustrated by Robert Doremus
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Tamara Green
from World Almanac Library
for 2nd-4th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Kit Carson
A Discovery Book
by Nardi Reeder Campion, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson: Folk Hero and Man
by Noel B. Gerson
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
La Salle, River Explorer
Makers of America
by Alberta Powell Graham
from Abingdon Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Leif Eriksson
by Katherine B. Shippen
1st edition from Harper & Brothers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Leif the Lucky
by Erick Berry
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Marco Polo
by Charles P. Graves
from Chelsea House Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
Marco Polo
Great Names
by John Riddle, Robert Ingpen
from Mason Crest Publishers
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Marco Polo
by Charles P. Graves
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Marco Polo
by Manuel Komroff
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Marco Polo
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Manual Komroff, illustrated by Robin Jacques
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Marco Polo
from Two Lions
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Marco Polo's Adventures in China
by Milton Rugoff
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Meet Christopher Columbus
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet Christopher Columbus
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Meet the Men who Sailed the Seas
by John Dyment, Illustrated by Victor Mays
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Mission Control, This Is Apollo
by Andrew Chaikin, Victoria Kohl
from Viking Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
North Pole
A Doubleday Signal Book
by Tony Simon, Illustrated by Albert Orbaan
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Peter Freuchen's Adventures in the Arctic
by Dagmar Freuchen, ed.
from Julian Messner
for 4th-6th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
Prince Henry the Navigator
by Leonard Everett Fisher
1st edition from Atheneum
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Prisoner of the Indies
by Geoffrey Household, with map and decorations by Warren Chappell
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Real Book About Christopher Columbus
by Irvin Block, illustrated by Rus Anderson
from Garden City Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Richard Byrd
by Guernsey Van Riper, Jr.
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Roald Amundsen: A Saga of the Polar Seas
by J. Alvin Kugelmass
from Kingston House
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Sieur de La Salle
by John Paul Zronik
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Sir Walter Raleigh
by Nina Brown Baker
1st edition from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Stanley, African Explorer
by Fredrika Shumway Smith
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Story of Christopher Columbus
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Davy Crockett
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #3
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by C. B. Falls
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Marquette and Jolliet
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
They Saw America First
by John Bakeless, Katherine Bakeless
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Thomas Harriot
by Ralph Staiger
1st edition from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
True Story of Sir Francis Drake
by Will Holwood
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Westward With Columbus
by John Dyson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?
by Jean Fritz
childrens book from Putnam Juvenile
for 2nd-4th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
World Explorer: Henry Morton Stanley
World Explorer
by Charles P. Graves
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: James Cook
by Adele Deleeuw
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: John Smith
World Explorer
by Charles P. Graves, illustrated by Al Fiorentino
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: Robert Falcon Scott
by Joan Bristow
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: Sir Francis Drake
by John Foster
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Zebulon Pike
Lives to Remember
by Bern Keating, illustrated by Frank Aloise
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)