Biography by Series

One of the great benefits of a biography series is that readers can become accustomed to a reading level that works for them, and learn about a variety of people without worrying about difficulty or writing style. Some of our favorite biography series are the work of many authors, but even then there's usually a series editor to ensure consistency.

This sameness can also be a pitfall: readers (especially kids) can just get in a rut of breezing through the volumes without growing much or learning a whole lot. If you have kids who read a lot, however, this is potentially the case no matter what they're reading, and at least with a series you can have a pretty good idea where the individual authors will be coming from, whether you're familiar with them or not.

Most of the series we offer are written from a Christian perspective. While many might assume this makes them okay across the board, we do offer a caution: not all of these series offer the same level of discernment. For instance, while the Sowers Biographies are generally very good (and very popular), the editors chose to include a biography about Johnny Appleseed, a known heretic of the Swedenborgian variety.

For the most part, however, we can get behind the series we offer. Our favorite right now is probably the Christian Encounters series, which offers short but incisive biographies of great Christians who may not get as much attention as they should (like St. Patrick, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and William F. Buckley).

We do encourage you to mix things up now and then. It's easy to get in a rut, and it's easy to get familiar with an author or group of authors, and then to simply accept everything they say as Gospel truth. Reading across a spectrum of biographies will fill in gaps that may exist in your understanding, and offer different interpretations of people and events.

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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30 Items found Print
Active Filters: 1st grade (Ages 6-7), In-Stock Books & Materials
Cameron Townsend: Planting God's Word
by Renee Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
Reprint from University of Minnesota
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.95
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
1962 Reprint from Viking Press
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
D'Aulaire American Biographies Package
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$100.52
D'Aulaires' Book of Animals
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.95
Edward MacDowell and His Cabin in the Pines
by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$14.95
Elizabeth Fry
from Emerald Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
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)
$4.50 (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)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Georgia O'Keefe
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
Revised from Children's Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Hannibal
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
Jim Elliot: A Light for God
by Renee Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Jonathan Goforth: Never Give Up
by Renee Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$14.95
Value of Believing in Yourself
by Spencer Johnson, M. D.
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (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)
Value of Creativity
by Ann Donegan Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Curiosity
by Spencer Johnson, M. D.
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Dedication
by Spencer Johnson, M. D.
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Determination
by Ann Donegan Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Facing a Challenge
by Ann Donegan Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Fantasy
by Spencer Johnson, M. D.
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Honesty
by Spencer Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Imagination
by Spencer Johnson, M. D.
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Respect
by Ann Donegan Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Self-Discipline
by Ann Donegan Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Sharing
by Spencer Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Truth and Trust
by Ann Donegan Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Understanding
by Spencer Johnson
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)