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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122 Items found Print
Active Filters: 2nd grade (Ages 7-8), Hardcover
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)
Abraham Lincoln (hardcover)
by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire; edited by Rea Berg
75th Anniversary from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 1st-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$21.95
Adoniram Judson: A Grand Purpose
by Renee Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Amy Carmichael: Rescuing the Children
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Taft Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Anselm of Canterbury
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
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)
Athanasius
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Augustine of Hippo
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Beethoven
by Reba Paeff Mirsky
from Follett
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Before They Were Authors
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Between the Lines
by Sandra Neil Wallace; illustrated by Bryan Collier
from Simon and Schuster
for 2nd-6th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Boy Who Drew Birds
by Jacqueline Davies
New title from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by Bryan Mealer, William Kamkwamba
Reprint from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Boy, a Mouse, and a Spider
by Barbara Herkert, illustrated by Lauren Castillo
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Brave Girl
by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Bright Path
by Don Brown
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Brothers at Bat
by Audrey Vernick
from Clarion Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
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)
Choosing Brave
by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington
from Roaring Brook Press
for 1st-4th grade
2023 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
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)
Church History ABCs
by Ned Bustard, Stephen J. Nichols
from Crossway Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$13.59
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)
Columbus: The Triumphant Failure
by Oliver Postgate & Naomi Linnell
from Franklin Watts
for 2nd-5th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Cruise of Mr. Christopher Columbus
A Really Truly Story
by Sadyebeth & Anson Lowitz
from Lerner Publishing Group
Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
David Livingstone: Courageous Explorer
by Renee Meloche, illustrated by Bryan Pollard
from YWAM Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Diego Rivera
by Duncan Tonatiuh
First Edition from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Enemies of Slavery
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eric Liddell: Running for a Higher Prize
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Taft Meloche & Bryan Pollard
illustrated edition from YWAM Publishing
Picture Book Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
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)
Finding Narnia
by Caroline McAlister, Illustrated by Jessica Lanan
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
Galileo
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Macmillan
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
George Muller: Faith to Feed Ten Thousand
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
George Washington: America's Patriot
Heroes of History for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from Emerald Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Girl From the Tar Paper School
by Teri Kanefield
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Gladys Aylward: Daring to Trust
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Taft Meloche & Bryan Pollard
illustrated edition from YWAM Publishing
Picture Book Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Glass Town
by Michael Bedard, Illustrated by Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobson
from Atheneum
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Great Adventure of Christopher Columbus
by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Tomie dePaola
from Putnam & Grosset Group
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Heroes
by Rebecca Hazell
from Abbeville Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Hole Story of the Doughnut
by Pat Miller
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning
by Rosalyn Schanzer
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
How I Learned Geography
by Uri Shulevitz
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 2nd-5th grade
Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$21.99
How Sweet the Sound
by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Frank Morrison
from Atheneum
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
I Am Rosa Parks
by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins, illustrated by Wil Clay
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown
by Mac Barnett
First Edition from Balzer & Bray
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$17.99
Joan of Arc
by Josephine Poole
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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: Heroine of France
by Ann Tompert
1st edition from Boyds Mill Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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 Calvin
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
1st edition from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$18.00
John Owen
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
John Ronald’s Dragons
by Caroline McAlister, Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$21.99
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)
Journey to Freedom
by Charles W. Carey Jr.
from Child's World
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Tamara Green
from World Almanac Library
for 2nd-4th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Karl, Get Out of the Garden!
by Anita Sanchez
from Charlesbridge
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
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)
Librarian Who Measured the Earth
by Kathryn Lasky
from Little, Brown & Company
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Lights! Camera! Alice!
from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (2 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)
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)
Make Way
by Angela Burke Kunkel, illustrated by Claire Keane
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
Mama Miti
by Donna Jo Napoli & Kadir Nelson
1st edition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 1st-3rd grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
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
by Paul L. Maier
1st edition from Concordia Publishing House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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)
Marvelous Mattie
by Emily Arnold McCully
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Mary Slessor: Courage in Africa
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
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
My Brothers' Flying Machine
by Jane Yolen
from Little, Brown & Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Fellow Americans
by Alice Provensen
1st edition from Harcourt Children's Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$5.00 (3 in stock)
My Name is Georgia
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Nate Saint: Heavenbound
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Taft Meloche & Bryan Pollard
illustrated edition from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Nick Vujicic: No Limits
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Taft Meloche & Bryan Pollard
illustrated edition from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Davy Crockett
by David Adler
from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Picture Book of George Washington
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Picture Book of Paul Revere
by Alexandra Wallner, David A. Adler, John Wallner
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Picture Book of Rosa Parks
by David A. Adler; illustrated by Robert Casilla
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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 Jefferson
by David A. Adler, John C. Wallner
from Holiday House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Pilot and the Little Prince
by Peter Sís
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Pioneering on the Plains
Frontiers of America
by Edith McCall, illustrated by Carol Rogers
from Children's Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Poem for Peter
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
from Penguin Putnam
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Poor Richard in France
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Brinton Turkle
from Henry Holt and Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Power Tales Biographies - Set of 5
by Della Mae Rasmussen, Phyllis Colonna, Virginia Swenson, Lawrence Tamblyn, illustrated by Stephen P. Krause
from Power Tales
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Prince Henry the Navigator
by Leonard Everett Fisher
1st edition from Atheneum
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Priscilla Alden
from Silver Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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)
Radiant Child
by Javaka Steptoe
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
2017 Caldecott Medal
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Rare Treasure
by Don Brown
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Right Word
by Jen Bryant
from Eerdmans
for 1st-4th grade
2015 Caldecott Honor Book, 2015 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
River of Words
by Jen Bryant
First Edition from Eerdmans
for 1st-4th grade
2009 Caldecott Honor Book, Sibert Medal
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.00
Saint Francis
by Brian Wildsmith
from Eerdmans
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
12