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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308 Items found Print
Active Filters: Fiction by Genre
26 Fairmont Avenue
by Tomie De Paola
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
26 Fairmount Avenue
by Tomie dePaola
from Mondo Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
A. Lincoln and Me
by Louise W. Borden
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Against the World
by Henry Coray
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95
Agatha Christie: An Autobiography
by Agatha Christie
2012 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
AIO Imagination Station Book #21
by Marianne Hering
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
Aku-Aku
by Thor Heyerdahl
from Rand McNally
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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
All Creatures Great and Small
James Herriot Series Book 1
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$18.00
All Things Bright and Beautiful
James Herriot Series Book 2
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-12th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$18.00
All Things Wise and Wonderful
James Herriot Series Book 3
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.99
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)
At Her Majesty's Request
by Walter Dean Myers
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 5th-8th grade
2000 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
At Home with Beatrix Potter
by Susan Denyer
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
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
Bad News for Outlaws
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99
Basher Five-Two
by Scott O'Grady & Michael French
from Yearling
Autobiography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
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)
Best of James Herriot
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 10th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Best of James Herriot
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 10th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Betrayal
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Better Known as Johnny Appleseed
by Mabel Leigh Hunt, illustrated by James Daugherty
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 5th-9th grade
1951 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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 Sacred Page
Book of Books #2
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Smuggler
by Louise Vernon
from Herald Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Book About Christopher Columbus
by Ruth Belov Gross, Illustrated by Syd Hoff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Golden Deeds
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.99
Book of Valor
by Mary Aquinas
2007 reprint from Seton Press
for 6th grade
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Born Free
by Joy Adamson
Anniversary from Pantheon Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Born Free
by Joy Adamson
Anniversary from Pantheon Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Born in the Year of Courage
by Emily Crofford
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Boy
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Boy
by Roald Dahl
1999 reissue from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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)
$17.99
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)
Brendan Voyage
Modern Library Exploration
by Tim Severin
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
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
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Delacorte Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
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)
Buddy's Crazy True-Life Adventures
Buddy Davis Amazing Adventures
by Buddy Davis
from Answers in Genesis
for 3rd-6th grade
in Short Stories (Location: LIT-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Captive Princess
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
New Edition from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.99
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
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch - Audio CD
by Jean Lee Latham
from Well-Trained Mind Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$32.95
Charlotte in Giverny
by Joan MacPhail Knight
Reprint from Chronicle Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Chasing Vermeer
Balliet Art Mystery Series
by Blue Balliett, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
Mystery & Suspense for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Children of Summer
by Margaret J. Anderson, illustrated by Marie Le Glatin Keis
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
Reprint from University of Minnesota
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.95
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
1962 Reprint from Viking Press
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks
by F. J. Gould
from Yesterday's Classics
Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Romans
by F. J. Gould, Reteller
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Chimney Sweep's Ransom
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
Chimney Sweep's Ransom
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
Chord of Steel
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Come on Seabiscuit
by Ralph Moody
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Coming On Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (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)
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 Animals
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.95
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'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$29.95
D'Aulaires' Book of Trolls
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$22.95
Danger in the Desert
by Roger Cohen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
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)
Davy Crockett
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Constance Rourke, illustrated by Walter Seaton
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-7th grade
1935 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Dead End in Norvelt
by Jack Gantos
from Square Fish Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Doctor Like Papa
by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, Illustrated by James Bernardin
First Edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Earth is the Lord's
by Taylor Caldwell
from Literary Guild of America
for 11th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Egg and I
by Betty MacDonald
from HarperCollins
Biography for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Endurance
by Alfred Lansing
from Tyndale House
for 9th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Every Living Thing
by James Herriot
1st edition from St. Martin's Press
for 8th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Every Living Thing
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.99
Farewell Summer
by Ray Bradbury
1st edition from William Morrow & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Fatty Legs
by Christy Jordan-Fenton, Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
from Annick Press
for 5th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Fifty Famous People
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.95
Forbidden Gates
by Denise J. Williamson
from Bob Jones University Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Fortunate Grandchild
by Miss Read
1st US Edition
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
Freedom's Fruit
by William H. Hooks
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine
by Jeanne Bendick
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Gentle Annie
by Mary Francis Shura
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictionalized Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
George Alfred Henty
by George Manville Fenn
from Salem Ridge Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Girl From Yamhill
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.39
Girl in a Cage
Stewart Quartet
by Jane Yolen, Robert Harris
from Speak
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman
by Gladys Aylward
from Moody Press
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Glimpses of Truth
Book of Books #1
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
God's Mountain Man
by Esther Vogt
from Gospel Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Good Queen Bess
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from HarperCollins
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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