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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47 Items found Print
Active Filters: Famous Women, New 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
Amelia to Zora
1st edition from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$7.95
Beyond the Myth
by Polly Schoyer Brooks
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50
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
from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$13.99
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from Bantam Books
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
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
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
Elizabeth Prentiss
by Sharon James
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$26.00
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
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)
$17.99
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 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
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: 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
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
Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Ignatius Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.95
Joan of Arc
by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99
Katherine Parr
by Brandon G. Withrow
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99 $6.50 (2 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)
$7.99
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 (3 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
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Dover Publications
for 11th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00
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 Sacagawea
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Dan Brown
from Holiday House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
Princess Ka'iulani
by Sharon Linnea
from Eerdmans
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00
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)
$7.99 $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
Story of Charlotte Mason
by Essex Cholmondeley
from Lutterworth Press
for 11th-Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$29.95
Story of Joan of Arc
by Andrew Lang
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99
Tinker's Daughter
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.99 $5.50 (1 in stock)
Unknown to History
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.99
Voice of Her Own
by Kathryn Lasky, Illustrated by Paul Lee
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Who Was Amelia Earhart?
Who Was?...Series
by Kate Jerome
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$5.99
Who Was Laura Ingalls Wilder?
by Patricia Brennan Demuth
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$6.99
With Open Hands
by Jeri Chase Ferris
from Beautiful Feet Books
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$6.99