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.

	Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1951 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Anthony Burns by Virginia Hamilton from Scholastic Inc. for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis from Laurel-Leaf Books Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade 2000 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $3.50 (2 in stock)
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	Escape to Freedom A Play About Young Frederick Douglass by Ossie Davis from Puffin Books Biographical Drama (play) for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $3.00 (1 in stock)
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	Freedom's Children Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories by Ellen Levine from Penguin Putnam Biography for 4th-8th grade in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV) $7.99
	George Washington Carver Inventor and Educator Heroes of the Faith by Sam Wellman from Barbour Publishing for 4th-8th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $2.50 (1 in stock)
	Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Beecher Preachers by Jean Fritz from PaperStar Books Biography for 5th-8th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $6.99
	Harriet Tubman Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry from HarperCollins Biography for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Harriet Tubman Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry from HarperCollins Biography for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $9.99
	Harriet Tubman: Freedom's Trailblazer Childhood of Famous Americans by Kathleen V. Kudlinski from Aladdin Paperbacks Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA) $7.99
	House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks for 4th-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
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	Jackie Robinson: Young Sports Trailblazer Childhood of Famous Americans by Herb Dunn from Aladdin Paperbacks for 3rd-6th grade in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA) $7.99
	Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker Childhood of Famous Americans by M. M. Eboch from Aladdin Paperbacks for 3rd-6th grade in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA) $7.99
	M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton from Aladdin Paperbacks for 6th-10th grade 1975 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
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	One More Valley, One More Hill The Story of Aunt Clara Brown by Linda Lowery from Random House Books for Young Readers for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Ray Charles: Young Musician Childhood of Famous Americans by Susan Sloate from Aladdin Paperbacks for 3rd-6th grade in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA) $6.99
	Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1977 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Puffin Modern Classics by Mildred Taylor from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1977 Newbery Medal winner in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Shoes for Everyone A Story about Jan Matzeliger by Barbara Mitchell from Carolrhoda Books, Inc. Biography for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $8.95 $6.00 (4 in stock)
	Sojourner Truth Ain't I a Woman? by Patricia & Frederick McKissack from Scholastic Inc. Biography for 4th-7th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $6.99
	Sojourner Truth: Voice for Freedom Childhood of Famous Americans by Kathleen V. Kudlinski from Aladdin Paperbacks for 3rd-6th grade in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA) $7.99
	Sounder by William H. Armstrong from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade 1970 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Story of Harriet Tubman Conductor of the Underground Railroad Dell Yearling Biography by Kate McMullan from Yearling Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Thurgood Marshall: Young Justice Childhood of Famous Americans by Montrew Dunham from Aladdin Paperbacks Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA) $7.99
	To Be a Slave by Julius Lester from Scholastic Inc. Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade 1969 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.99
	To Be a Slave Puffin Modern Classics by Julius Lester, illustrated by Tom Feelings from Puffin Books Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade 1969 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis from Laurel-Leaf Books for 5th-8th grade 1996 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	Words by Heart by Ouida Sebestyen from Yearling Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.50

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