The Benefit of
Biographies
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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