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.
Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
Subcategories by Grade
Subcategories
124 Items found Print
Active Filters: Famous Women, In-Stock Books & Materials
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)
Abigail Adams
by Natalie S. Bober
from Simon Pulse
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
Abigail Adams Package (FACE)
by Rosalie J. Slater, Evelyn Witter
from Foundation for American Christian Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Principle Approach (Location: HSR-METPA)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Alice
by Stacey A. Cordery
from Viking Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Amelia Earhart
DK Biography
by Tanya Lee Stone
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (6 in stock)
Amelia Earhart
by Francene Sabin and Joanne Mattern, illustrated by Karen Milone
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Amelia to Zora
1st edition from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$7.95
Benazir Bhutto
by Englar, Mary
1st edition from Compass Point Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy Ross
Leaders of the American Revolution
by Vicki Cox
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Beyond the Myth
by Polly Schoyer Brooks
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50
Book of Margery Kempe
by Margery Kempe
1st edition from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.00 (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
Combat Nurses of World War II
Landmark #116
by Wyatt Blassingame, illustrated by Gil Walker
from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$13.99
Combat Nurses of World War II
Landmark #116
by Wyatt Blassingame
Photo Edition from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$15.99
Cora Frear
by Susan E. Goodman
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Cup of Cold Water
Chosen Daughters
by Christine Farenhorst
from P&R Publishing
for 4th-6th grades
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from Bantam Books
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
DK Biography: Marie Curie
by Vicki Cobb
from DK Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Dr. Oma
Chosen Daughters
by Ethel Herr
from P&R Publishing
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
Eighty Days
by Matthew Goodman
from Ballantine Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Eighty Days
by Matthew Goodman
from Ballantine Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Elisabeth Elliot
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Elizabeth Prentiss
by Sharon James
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$26.00
Extravagant Hunger
by Anne Zimmerman
from Counterpoint, LLC
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Famous American Women - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Gregory Guiteras
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$4.99
Florence Nightingale
by Laura E. Richards
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95
Florence Young
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Freedom's Pen
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
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)
$21.99
Grandma Moses
Women of Our Time
by Zibby Oneal, illustrated by Donna Ruff
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Hallelujah Lass
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
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)
Harriet Tubman
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Harriet Tubman
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Lisa Halvorsen
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Tubman
by Frances T. Humphreville
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Helen Keller
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Helen Keller
DK Readers Level 3
by Leslie Garrett
from DK Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Helen Keller: From Tragedy to Triumph
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Katharine Elliot Wilkie
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
Signet Classics
by Helen Keller
Reprint from Signet Classics
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.95
Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
by Helen Keller
from Dover Publications
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 $2.50 (2 in stock)
Hiding Place - A Graphic Novel
by Corrie Ten Boom, adapted by Mario DeMatteo, illustrated by Ismael Castro
from Chosen Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$23.99
Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Pocahontas
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Invincible Louisa
by Cornelia Meigs
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Isobel Kuhn
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Jeanne Guyon
by Jeanne Guyon
1st Ed. from Whitaker House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Ignatius Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Joan of Arc
by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99
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
DK Biographies
by Kathleen Kudlinski
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Joni
by Joni Eareckson Tada
from Zondervan
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Juliette Low, Girl Scout Founder
by Helen Boyd Higgins
from Patria Press, Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Katherine Parr
by Brandon G. Withrow
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99 $6.50 (1 in stock)
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Letters of Narcissa Whitman 1836-1847
by Narcissa Whitman
from Ye Galleon Press
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$12.00 (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)
Listening to Crickets
by Candice F. Ransom
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (5 in stock)
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)
Lonely but Not Alone
by HRH Wilhelmina, Princess of the Netherlands
from McGraw-Hill
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Louisa May Alcott: Her Girlhood Diary
by Louisa May Alcott
from Troll Medallion
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Marie Curie
by Ibi Lepsckey
from Trumpet Club
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Marie Curie
Good and the Beautiful Library Level 8
by Robin McKown
from The Good and the Beautiful
for 6th-8th grade
in GATB Science & Health (Location: CUR-GABSc)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Marie Curie's Search for Radium
by Beverley Birch
from Barron's
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Marie Curie's Search for Radium
by Beverley Birch, illustrated by Christian Birmingham
from Barron's
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mary Slessor
by Basil Miller
from Zondervan
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
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
Mysterious Journey
by Martha Wickham
from Soundprints
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Outrageous Women of the American Frontier
Outrageous Women
1st edition from Jossey-Bass
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$9.00 (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 & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Living Book Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$17.99
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Purple House Press
for 11th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$17.99
Picture Book of Florence Nightingale
by David A. Adler, illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner
Repackaged from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Sacagawea
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Dan Brown
from Holiday House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Princess Ka'iulani
by Sharon Linnea
from Eerdmans
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00
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)
Rachel Carson
by Melissa Stewart
from Ferguson Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Radiant
by Richard Hannula
from Canon Press
for Nursery
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$18.00
Real Jane Austen
by Paula Byrne
1st edition from HarperTrophy
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$29.99
Remember the Ladies
Creative Minds Biographies
by Jeri Chase Ferris, Illustrated by Ellen Beier
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Sacajawea
by Joseph Bruchac
from Graphia
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.99
Saint Joan: The Girl Soldier
by Louis de Wohl
from Ignatius Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Scholastic Encyclopedia of Women in the United States
by Sheila Keenan
Revised from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Secret Soldier
by Ann McGovern
1st Edition Trade Paperback from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention
Events That Shaped America
by Dale Anderson, Sabrina Crewe
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Separate Battle
Young Readers' History of the Civil War
by Ina Chang
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 5th-8th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Separate Battle
Young Readers' History of the Civil War
by Ina Chang
from Scholastic Reference
for 5th-8th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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
Sophie Takes to the Sky
by Katherine Woodfine, illustrated by Briony May Smith
from Kane Miller
for 1st-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Story of Alice Ball
by Jennifer Lerud
from The Good and the Beautiful
for 1st-3rd grade
in GATB Science & Health (Location: CUR-GABSc)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Story of Charlotte Mason
by Essex Cholmondeley
from Lutterworth Press
for 11th-Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$29.95
Story of Good Queen Bess
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #18
by Alida Sims Malkus, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Purple House Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99
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)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Harriet Tubman
Dell Yearling Biography
by Kate McMullan
from Yearling
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
12