Biographies Breathe Life into History and Inspire Good Character
Both young and old benefit from reading biographies of great men and women, either for pleasure or education.
Reading the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder instilled in me a love of history when I was only seven years old. Why would a first grader love history? Because it was told as a personal story, a biography.
History texts often recount events, names, and dates in a dry fashion—the reason my husband hated history class. Other books follow a storytelling format using mini-biographies and narration to describe history. The Mystery of History chronological history texts use the latter technique.
Both young and old benefit from reading biographies of great men and women, either for pleasure or education.
The Newton Family Library biography collection primarily consists of children’s books. Now, several of the books I list as biographies are actually historical fiction. But because they tell the story of a historical person, I’ve chosen to catalog them under biographies instead of letting them get lost in the large fiction section.
Most of our children’s biographies predate the politically correct era of publication. So, they celebrate the classic historical figures of US and World History such as George Washington and Christopher Columbus.
Here’s an overview of our 170-title collection.
Biographies of Historical Figures
American History Easy Readers
George Washington: Our First President (Hello Reader! Level 2, grades K-2).
Abe Lincoln’s Hat is a cute story about how Lincoln stored important papers in his hat. (Step Into Reading Level 2, grades 1-3).
The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Step Into Reading, Level 2, grades 1-3). Granted this isn’t a typical biography. However, it does tell the story of a real dog that made history.
Random House Step-Up Books
These large-print, 80-page, illustrated children’s biographies were first published in the 1960s and 1970s. We own nine titles ranging from Meet Christopher Columbus to Meet Martin Luther King, Jr. Each hardback volume divides the story into short chapters for readers aged 8 to 10.
Troll Easy Biographies
Written for 8- to 12-year-olds, these illustrated, 48-page biographies were published from 1979 to 1986. Our collection covers the timeline from Eric The Red and Leif The Lucky to Gandhi: Peaceful Warrior. Most of our 26 titles feature people from the Age of Exploration and the American Revolutionary War.
In addition to these three non-religious series, we have several single titles about scientists, explorers, and other historical figures.
Christian Biographies
Appeal to your children’s sense of adventure, inspire their faith, and even have a good laugh with these stories about famous missionaries and other heroes of the Christian faith.
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
These action-packed Christian Heroes biographies will keep you or your child (ages 10 and up) turning the pages. A few titles are available as Audiobooks. The publisher’s website has these 50 books listed in chronological order for those who’d like to incorporate them into history lessons. For ages 5 to 10, see the 23 titles in the Heroes for Young Readers series. However, I don’t care for the rhyming text.
We own half of the Christian Heroes titles, ranging from George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans (1805-1898) to Loren Cunningham: Into All the World (1935-), founder of YWAM.
The Sower Series
Mott Media publishes The Sowers Series (ages 10 to 14) as books that build Christian character. Our library has nine of the 27 titles, ranging from scientist Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) to Mahalia Jackson: Born to Sing Gospel Music (1911-1972).
The publisher has recently released The Sower Series in ebook format for iOS and Android (scroll down the page to see this information), and Mott Media is currently offering these at a 15 percent discount. In addition, they have published their first Sower Series study guide in PDF format. The first covers Abigail Adams and has an introductory 30 percent discount price (as of September 14, 2022).
Men of Faith/Women of Faith
These biographies for ages 12 to 17 are published by Bethany House, a division of Baker Books. We own the following:
George Muller: Man of Faith and Miracles (German missionary to English orphans).
Jim Elliot (American missionary to the Aucas of Ecuador).
Mary Slessor: Heroine of Calabar (Scottish missionary to Africa).
Gladys Aylward (English missionary to China).
Missionary Stories with the Millers
Missionary Stories with the Millers contains 28 short stories about a few well-known and many unknown missionaries, most of whom lived in the twentieth century. The location of each narrative is highlighted on a world map with each chapter heading, providing geographical context.
Each account focuses on a single, action-packed incident from a missionary’s life and draws the reader in with fictionalized style. A brief historical note about the missionary closes each chapter.
Join Hudson Taylor as he tries to reach Chinese fishermen with the gospel, Dr. David Livingstone in his close encounter with a lion in Africa, and Gladys Aylward as she escapes the invading Japanese with 100 Chinese orphans.
My son enjoyed Bible smuggler David Bontrager’s encounter with a Communist Romanian border guard.
“The Tiger Is Loose!” was my favorite. While flying solo, Jack McGuckin, a Jungle Aviation Services pilot, had to act fast when a caged tiger that he was transporting got loose in the airplane mid-flight.
Louise Vernon’s Religious Heritage Series
Our collection of Louise Vernon’s historical novels includes the stories of John Wycliffe, Gutenberg, Erasmus, Menno Simons, and the Mennonites. The author tells the story from a child’s point of view. Originally written in the 1960s and 1970s, the storyline may run at a slower pace than readers ages 9 to 14 might expect, but eventually, Vernon’s prose will draw them in. See the Exodus Books homeschool store website for a longer description.
The Trailblazer Series
Writing from the perspective of a child close to a famous church history personality, Dave and Neta Jackson tell how men and women of great faith contributed to the missionary movement or had an impact on society. The authors’ (1990s style) website provides
Eight free homeschool curriculum guides.
A page where the books are listed by category.
A map that locates where the different stories take place.
A timeline that runs from 1520 (Martin Luther and William Tyndale) to 1992 (Rómul Saune in Blinded by the Shining Path).
We own five of the Trailblazer 40-book historical fiction series.
We also have Dave and Neta Jackson’s four-book Hero Tales series. Each volume has a mini biography and three stories for each of the fifteen Christian heroes featured. All the stories illustrate a particular virtue or character trait.
Before having children, I worked as a freelance writer in the Christian magazine market. For a time, I wrote a monthly author profile column for the now-defunct Christian Library Journal. I featured Dave and Neta Jackson in one of those columns. I have reprinted it here.
The Rani Adventures
Providing a humorous side to mission work is Ron Snell, a missionary kid who grew up in the Amazon jungle of Peru during the 1950s and 1960s. His parents worked as Bible translators (Summer Institute of Linguistics) with the Machiguenga Indians.
Drawing from this unusual upbringing, he wrote the trilogy “It’s a Jungle Out There!” “Life is a Jungle,” and Jungle Calls. These books contain stories that will bring tears to your eyes, either through laughter or deep emotion.
Travel down a jungle river with the young Ron and his brother, Terry, when they take a wild ride on a log. Experience their campout when Terry gets bitten by a vampire bat. Cross the Andes with his family in a beat-up car on a one-lane road over a 16,500-foot mountain pass. Mourn with the family and Indians as sickness and death come to a village.
Later, follow 17-year-old Ron to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and learn why that school banned snakes and blow darts from the dorms. (You can take the boy out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the boy.)
Watch the power of prayer in action when Ron helps to blaze a trail through the jungle for two missionary women who sought to make the first contact with a tribal group known for killing men and kidnapping women who came into their territory. A miracle happened.
Do not skip the Acknowledgment pages when reading these books, especially the one in the last book. The humor begins before page 1.
Children’s biographies aren’t just for children. Adults can enjoy them as well as a quick read to learn about a person who shaped history.
Some of this material was previously published in the post “Summer Reading” on the Academy Northwest blog (July 9, 2019).
Great amount of resources and info! Can’t wait to order a few for our grandkids