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: Authors, Playrights & Poets, 7th grade (Ages 12-13)
101 Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
from Kregel Publications
for 6th-12th grade
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$16.99
101 Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
40th Anniversary from Kregel Publications
for 6th-12th grade
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$18.99
101 Hymn Stories - audio book on CD
by Kenneth Osbeck, read by Wayne Shepherd
from Oasis Audio
for 6th-12th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
101 More Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
from Kregel Publications
for 6th-12th grade
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$18.99
Abraham Lincoln, the Writer
by Harold Holzer
from Boyds Mill Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Herge
by Michael Farr
from Last Gasp
for 4th-10th grade
in Adventures of Tintin (Location: COM-TIN)
$29.95
Albert Schweitzer
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Alpine Path
by Lucy M. Montgomery
1st edition from Fitzhenry & Whiteside
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
America's Mark Twain
by May McNeer, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Anne Bradstreet
Christian Encounters
by D. B. Kellogg
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Christian Encounters (Location: BIO-CE)
Anne Bradstreet
by Faith Cook
from Evangelical Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
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
Autobiography by Booker T. Washington
Sons of Liberty Series
from A Beka Books
for 7th-10th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Ben Franklin
Sterling Point Books
by Thomas Fleming
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Benjamin Franklin
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Bill Peet
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 4th-8th grade
1990 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Biography of Benjamin Franklin
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Blue Remembered Hills
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Blue Remembered Hills
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from William Morrow & Company
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from Bantam Books
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Elizabeth Prentiss
by Sharon James
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$26.00
Frances Hodgson Burnett: Beyond the Secret Garden
by Angelica Shirley Carpenter, Jean Shirley
1st edition from Lerner Publishing Group
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Francis Scott Key
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
George Alfred Henty
by George Manville Fenn
from Salem Ridge Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Gift of Music
by Jane Stuart Smith & Betty Carlson
3rd edition from Crossway Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$19.19
Girl From Yamhill
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.39
Great Christian Hymn Writers
by Jane Stuart Smith & Betty Carlson
from Crossway Books
for 7th-12th grade
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
Green Gables Letters
by Lucy Maud Montgomery
from Borealis
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Harriet Beecher Stowe
by Suzanne M. Coil
from Franklin Watts
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (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
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)
$1.50 (4 in stock)
Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
Signet Classics
by Helen Keller
from Living Book Press
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99
Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Invincible Louisa
by Cornelia Meigs
from Little, Brown & Company
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1934 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99
Invincible Louisa
by Cornelia Meigs
from Little, Brown & Company
for 5th-8th grade
1934 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
James Fenimore Cooper
by Isabel Proudfit
from Julian Messner
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
James Fenimore Cooper
by Donald A. Ringe
from Twayne Publishers
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
John Bunyan
by William Deal
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Journey That Saved Curious George
by Louise W. Borden
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Journey That Saved Curious George
by Louise W. Borden, illustrated by Allan Drummond
from The PJ Library
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography
by William Anderson
from HarperTrophy
for 4th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Letters to Children
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Autobiographical Letters for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.00
Lost Garden
by Laurence Yep
from Simon and Schuster
Autobiography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Mark Twain and the River
by Sterling North
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Mark Twain: Writing About the Frontier
by Jean Rikhoff
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Moon & I
by Betsy Byars
from Beech Tree Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Noah Webster
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
Biography for 7th-9th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
O Captain, My Captain
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Sterling Hundley
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$19.99
Piece of the Mountain
by Joyce McPherson
from Greenleaf Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Prairie Town Boy
by Carl Sandburg, illustrated by Joe Krush
from Harcourt
Autobiography for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Presenting Miss Jane Austen
by May Lamberton Becker
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Samuel Francis Smith
Sowers Series
by Marguerite Fitch
from Mott Media
Biography for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$7.99
Self-Portrait: Trina Schart Hyman
from Harper & Row
for 4th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Shakespeare of London
by Marchette Chute
1st edition from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Story of Benjamin Franklin
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #5
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Dan Beard
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 Helen Keller
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #45
by Lorena A. Hickok, illustrated by Jo Polseno
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Louisa May Alcott
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #35
by Joan Howard, illustrated by Flora Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Marco Polo
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #22
by Olive Price, illustrated by Frederico Castellon
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Mark Twain
Signature Books #23
by Joan Howard, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Robert Louis Stevenson
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #42
by Joan Howard, illustrated by Jo Polseno
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Theodore Roosevelt
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #14
by Winthrop Neilson, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Three Lives of Joseph Conrad
by Olivia Coolidge
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
To Be a Pilgrim
by Joyce Reason
1980th edition from Christian Literature Crusade
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Tom Paine, Freedom's Apostle
by Leo Gurko, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Trust Thyself
by James Playsted Wood
from Unknown Publisher
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Who Was Ben Franklin?
Who Was?...Series
by Dennis Brindell Fradin
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-7th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
Will Shakespeare and the Globe Theater
World Landmark #21
by Anne Terry White, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
William Shakespeare
by Iris Noble
from Julian Messner
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Winston Churchill
World Landmark #56
by Quentin Reynolds
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Yoshiko Uchida
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Julian Messner
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Young Mark Twain and the Mississippi
Landmark #113
by Harnett T. Kane
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)