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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138 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Trade Paperback
Abigail Adams: Girl of Colonial Days
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Jean Brown Wagoner
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Abraham Lincoln
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Adventures of Richard Wagner
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Alexander Calder
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Alexander the Great
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
Andy Warhol
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Ben Carson
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
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
Billy Graham
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Billy Sunday
Sowers Series
by Robert Allen
from Mott Media
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99
Blind Girl's Song
from Christian Focus Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
Botticelli
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Buffalo Bill
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Changing China for Christ
Trailblazers
by Nancy Drummond
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
Charles Mulli
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Christopher Columbus
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Christopher Columbus
Sowers Series
by Bennie Rhodes
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Clara Barton
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Claude Monet
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Claude Monet
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Columbus
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Count Zinzendorf
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
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
D. L. Moody
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Daniel Boone
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Davy Crockett
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Douglas MacArthur
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Dwight Eisenhower
by Janet & Geoff Benge
from Emerald Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Edgar Degas
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
2nd edition from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
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)
$13.95
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
Ernest Shackleton
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Finish the Race
by John Keddie
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
Francis Asbury
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biographies for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland: Early Years
by Opal Wheeler, illustrated by Christine Price
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland: Later Years
by Opal Wheeler, illustrated by Christine Price
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Frederick Douglass: The Right to Dignity
from Emerald Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
George Washington
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
George Washington
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
George Washington Carver
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Girl Who Loved Mountains
Trailblazers
by Lucille Travis
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
Gladys Aylward
Heroes of the Faith
by Sam Wellman
from Barbour Publishing
Missionary Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Handel at the Court of Kings
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
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 Roseveare
by Janet and Geoff Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
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
Jackson Pollock
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
James Chalmers
Torchbearers
by Irene Howat
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
Jim Henson
by Leslie Gourse, Illustrated by Robert S. Brown
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
John Adams
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
John Flynn
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
John Newton
by Janet & Geoff Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Joseph Haydn
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Julius Caesar
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
Leif the Lucky
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Leif the Lucky
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from University of Minnesota
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Leonardo Da Vinci
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
Revised from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Louis Zamperini
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Ludwig Beethoven and the Chiming Tower Bells
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
Mahalia Jackson
Sowers Series
by Evelyn Witter
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Maps of the United States
by Emerald Books
from Emerald Books
for 4th-6th grade
in United States Geography (Location: GEO-REFUS)
$19.99
Meriwether Lewis
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Meriwether Lewis
by Charlotta M. Bebenroth
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 2nd-5th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Michelangelo
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
Picture Book Biographies for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mildred Cable
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Milton Hershey
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Mozart the Wonder Boy
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Nero
Makers of History
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
Norman Grubb
by Janet & Geoff Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
On His Majesty's Service
by Irene Howat
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
Pablo Picasso
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
Pablo Picasso
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Paganini, Master of Strings
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Peter Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker Ballet
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
Pocahontas
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Raphael
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Rembrandt
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
Revised from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Richard Wurmbrand
by Janet and Geoff Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Robert Schumann and Mascot Ziff
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Ronald Reagan
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Rosa Parks: Young Rebel
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Sebastian Bach
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Sharpened Sword
by Catherine Mackenzie
from Christian Focus Publications
for 4th-6th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
South Sea Island Rescue
CF4Kids Trail Blazers
by Kay Walsh
from Christian Focus Publications
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
$4.50 (2 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)
$13.95
Story of Peter Tchaikovsky
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Teresa of Calcutta
Sowers Series
by D. Jeanene Watson, illustrated by Robert E. Lawson
from Mott Media
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Theodore Roosevelt
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Two Margarets: Danger on the Hill
Torchbearers
by Catherine MacKenzie
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
Vincent Van Gogh
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Vincent Van Gogh
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
Revised from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Voice That Woke the World
by Lucille Travis
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in TorchBearers & TrailBlazers (Location: BIO-TRAIL)
Who Is Sonia Sotomayor?
Who Was?...Series
by Megan Stine, illustrated by Dede Putra
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-5th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Who Was Abraham Lincoln?
Who Was?...Series
by Janet Pascal
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$5.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Who Was Albert Einstein?
Who Was?...Series
by Jess Braillier
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$6.99
Who Was Alexander Graham Bell?
Who Was?...Series
by Bonnie Bader
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$5.99
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