The Benefit of Biographies

The Benefit of Biographies 

             

Ride along on Hudson Taylor’s first voyage to China…trek through the virgin forests of Western Pennsylvania with George Washington, the young surveyor…painstakingly sew a flag with Betsy Ross…suffer the grief of a mother dying with young Abraham Lincoln…brave the dangers of going to a remote region of Africa with David Livingstone.

All of these adventures and more will be yours and your children’s as you read biographies aloud. But this isn’t the only benefit to reading biographies to your children. The true story of a great man or woman will set before your sons and daughters a wonderful example for them to follow. The heroes of today’s society are not fit to be copied, in my humble opinion. Noble men and women of the past and present as well as the great statesmen and patriots of our country’s heritage are worthy of presenting to our children.  Yes, they all had faults since none of us are perfect, but reading biographies helps us understand the backgrounds of these people’s lives that lead to the great feats they did and their amazing accomplishments.  We see how they overcame great difficulties and how early events in their lives affected their future deeds. Let’s raise our children’s dreams to those things that are noble and good, that are unselfish and of pure motive, that are full of worthy character to be emulated. All of this can be done by reading aloud biographies to them.

Reading the tales of great people also indirectly teaches history to your children. This is so much more effective than a straight historical account in a textbook. The people of history “come alive.” After all, what is history? The stories of people involved in the circumstances of life.

Many series of biographies are available today. Not everything you find though will be good for your family. Choose carefully. Remember that more biographies published currently will be different in perspective from those published in the first half of the 1900s.

Your children may take while to learn to really appreciate a good biography because this type of literature is rarely assigned or read today. Sadly! And when was the last time you read a biography?

Here are some series and authors I can highly recommend, many that are available in my library.

Early/middle elementary:

Childhood of Famous Americans biographies

Discovery biographies (also the World Explorers, Americans All, and Native Americans series by this same publisher)

Step-Up biographies

Genevieve Foster’s biographies

Middle/upper elementary:

Signature biographies

Some of the Landmark titles are biographies

Piper biographies

Opal Wheeler’s biographies

Clara Ingram Judson’s biographies

Sower series biographies – about great Christians

The Young….biographies

Men and Women of Faith series

Jean Lee Latham’s biographies

North Star biographies

Ronald Syme’s biographies

Upper elementary and up:

Messner biographies

Albert Marrin’s books – some of them are biographical

Immortals of History series

Makers of History series by Jacob Abbot and John S.C. Abbott

Makers of American History series by Jacob Abbott and John S.C. Abbott

Any others you would like to suggest?

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