Biography by Genre

There are a lot more genres of biographies than we have listed here, but they aren't included because we simply don't have titles to put in them. Again, these categories are in place to help you narrow the focus of your search, and to find the book you need with as little frustration as possible.

Autobiographies & Memoirs are books written by the person about whom they're about. Autobiographies are explicitly biographical, written in order to impart information about the author's life and context; memoirs, on the other hand, are often more creative, and are usually about something bigger than the details of the subject's life.

While we don't encourage getting all your history from fiction (or even most of it), a good Biographical Novel will combine the best elements of fiction and biography into a personal portrait that imparts both the essence of the subject's life, and the cultural context in which he or she lived. Plus, they're just more fun to read.

You won't find any of these for people who lived more than a couple hundred years ago, but Photobiographies can be especially useful for helping readers understand the person and era they're learning about. Often times these don't have as much outright information as a more traditional biography, but enough quality photographs are a good compensation.

For younger kids (though there are some great ones for older readers, too), Picture Book Biographies help us visualize who it is we're reading about....or simply keep us interested. The best ones do both, and the very best ones do both while still highlighting the artist's vision and interpretation of people and events.

Different genres will fill different needs; if you're working on a big project or unit study, it's a good idea to select titles from all of them. The goal of listing them here is to help narrow your search; as our collection expands, we'll likely be adding genres to the list, and shaping your search results in increasingly precise and illuminating ways.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes 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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63 Items found Print
Active Filters: 1st grade (Ages 6-7), Used 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)
Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Art from Her Heart
by Kathy Whitehead, illustrated by Shane W. Evans
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Auntie Anne
by Anne Beiler, illustrated by Freiman Stoltzfus
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Before They Were Authors
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Brave Girl
by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Camille Pissarro
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Charles Darwin's Around-the-World Adventure
by Jennifer Thermes
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Christians With Courage
by Ruth Johnson Jay
from Accelerated Christian Education
for 1st-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by Elaine Murray Stone
500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois
by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Drum Dream Girl
by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Elizabeth Leads the Way
by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon
from Square Fish Publishing
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Enemies of Slavery
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)
by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Eye for Color
by Natasha Wing, Art by Julia Breckenreid
from Henry Holt and Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Henry Ford
by Dina El Nabli
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
I Can Read About Johnny Appleseed
by J. I. Anderson, illustrated by Drew Brook Cormack
from Troll Associates
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion
by Andrea Gianopoulos
1st edition from Capstone Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Joe Louis
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Terry Widener
from Gulliver Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
John Brown: One Man Against Slavery
by Gwen Everett, Illustrated by Jacob Lawrence
from Rizzoli International Publications
for 1st-3rd grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
John, Paul, George & Ben
by Lane Smith
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny Appleseed
by Eva Moore
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Johnny Appleseed
by Gini Holland
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95 $5.00 (3 in stock)
King's Day
by Aliki
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00 (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)
Life and Work of Auguste Rodin
by Richard Tames
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Work of Frederic Remington
by Ernestine Giesecke
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Work of Henry Moore
by Sean Connolly
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mack Made Movies
by Don Brown
from Roaring Brook Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Man Named Washington
by Gertrude Norman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Man Who Walked Between The Towers
by Mordicai Gerstein
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Man Who Walked Between The Towers
by Mordicai Gerstein
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Martin Luther King, Jr
by Carol Hilgartner Schlank, Barbara Metzger, illustrated by John Kastner
from Gryphon House
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Brothers' Flying Machine
by Jane Yolen
from Little, Brown & Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Name is Georgia
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Name is York
by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
from Rising Moon Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from InquisiCorp Corporation
Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln
Picture Book Biography
by David A. Adler
from Trumpet Club
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-1st grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Dwight David Eisenhower
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Helen Keller
by David A. Adler, John C. Wallner, Alexandra Wallner
from Trumpet Club
Biography for Preschool-1st grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison
by David A. Adler, illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner
from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison
by David A. Adler
from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ponce de Leon
by Trish Kline
from Rourke Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Rare Treasure
by Don Brown
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Secret World of Walter Anderson
by Hester Bass, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
from Candlewick Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Skyrockets for the President
by Florence Laughlin, illustrated by George Roth
Stated First Printing from Rand McNally
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans
by Edward Eggleston
from Lost Classics Book Co.
Narrative History for 1st-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans
by Edward Eggleston
2015 Reprint from Martino Fine Books
Narrative History for 1st-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Strongest Man in the World: Louis Cyr
by Nicolas Debon
from Groundwood Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Jefferson
by James Cross Giblin
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Two Very Little Sisters
by Carol Carrick, illustrated by Erika Weihs
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Unfading Beauty
by Tracy M. Leininger
from His Seasons
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Courage
by Spencer Johnson, illustrated by Steve Pileggi
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
William Shakespeare
by Mick Manning & Brita Granstrom
from Frances Lincoln
for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)