Homeschooling Is Life! - What are the BEST Biographies to read????

• Mar. 31, 2006 - What are the BEST Biographies to read????

Posted in Some Dare Call It Entertainment

Good Morning!

We have a few younger Mom's in our group who are wondering what to read to their families. Would you mind just taking a minute to leave a comment telling me:

Which biographies were the "best" in your opinion, and why?

Where is the best source for good, "living" biographies?

I firmly believe there is no better source of history than a well written, true biography! Please take a moment and tell me so I can pass your wisdom on to a younger generation of homeschoolers, O.K?

Thank you!!!

Nancy

Comments

• Mar. 31, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Posted by frogiggie89

YWAM puts out good biographies. Or, if you like it in Historical Fiction form (like me), The Trailblazer Series is good and can be for kids as young as about 7. If you meant a particular person, Amy Carmichael is neat, as is David Livingstone.

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• Mar. 31, 2006 - Thank you Coie!

Posted by ByHisGraceInColorado

Yes, those YWAM biographies are super! I love the life of David Livingstone and George Mueller is a great read aloud!

I just got this from my friend Heather Allen:

I loved the book, Maggie Houston, by Jane Hampton Cook. It was about Sam Houston as written from the perspective of his 13-year old daughter. I wrote a review of it for TOS. I just learned that she’s written a new book, The Faith of America’s First Ladies. I plan on purchasing it for us to read as a family.

This is the review I wrote:

Maggie Houston: My Father's Honor

By: Jane Cook
www.hendricklongpublishing.com

Hendrick-Long Publishing Company
Houston, Texas

Maggie Houston: My Father's Honor is an historical fiction account of Sam Houston and his family in Texas, as told from the perspective of his 12-year old daughter, Maggie. This book takes you through times in the Texas governor's mansion when Mr. Houston took tough stances concerning slavery, and made unpopular decisions, but never wavered from what he thought was the right thing to do.

When I began reading this book, I really didn't know anything about Sam Houston. As I read, I found myself drawn to his story, especially the decisions he made and the honorable life he led.

After I had read the book and realized that everyone should read it, I read it aloud to my husband, 83-year old mother, 12 and 10 year old sons, and 7 year old daughter. As I read, everyone sat spellbound, waiting for every page turn. They all enjoyed this book and are interested in learning more about Sam Houston.

I highly recommend Maggie Houston: My Father's Honor. It is a book You will want to read from beginning to end, and then wish there was more. This would be a great addition to any homeschool library. It's not often you get to read a story from the perspective of a 12-year old. I will keep watching for other books by Jane Cook - what a great storyteller.
--Product Review by: Dr. Heather Allen, TOS Senior Analytical Consultant, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Hope that helps,

Heather

P.S. I’ll be thinking of others to add.

******************

Thank you Heather! Looking forward to more from you :)

Nancy

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• Mar. 31, 2006 - Living Books

Posted by ServingHim

>>Which biographies were the "best" in your opinion, and why?
I really enjoy the Landmark books published by Random House in the 50's and 60's. Most are now out of print. They were written by authors who knew what they were writing about and cared about it. They are living because the author brings the stories to life. Also good are the Signature Series of biographies, which were also published in the 50's.

Where is the best source for good, "living" biographies?

A good place to start to learn more about these types of books is Valerie's Living Books (www.valerieslivingbooks.com). She has hundreds of pages of reviews, books lists and more! A definte must-see for anyone interested in living books. She also has a Yahoo group which has been a source of great information. Once you join, you can get in touch with lots of people who sell living books.

The library is also a good place to buy them if they offer their discards for sale. It's worth checking out! I'm headed to a book sale this afternoon :-)
--
Elaine <><

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• Mar. 31, 2006 - Elaine, can I come too??

Posted by ByHisGraceInColorado

Thank you for mentioning those! I knew you all would come through for me and give us some great links and titles!!!

Have a great time at the book sale, and let us know what treasures you find!

Nancy

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• Mar. 31, 2006 - Not Anonymous!

Posted by Anonymous

Hey - this is Maggie who is having trouble logging in but who wants to say that she loves the Childhood of Famous Americans series. (And YWAM and Trailblazers too)

www.homeschoolblogger.com/maggiehogan

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• Mar. 31, 2006 - Biographies

Posted by LaurieBluedorn

Some years ago my daughter Ava compiled into booklet form a list of the biographies our family has read -- it's called Lives in Print. Some of our favorites are:

Madame Curie by Eve Curie (1937)
Boots and Saddles or, Life in Dakota with General Custer by Elizabeth Custer (1885)
God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew (1967)
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp (1949)
Mary Bunyan: The Dreamer's Blind Daughter by Sallie Rochester ford (1860)
The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles Lindbergh (1956)
George Mueller by Faith Coxe Bailey (1958)
Operation Escape: The Adventures of Father O'Flaherty by Daniel M. Madden (1962)
God's Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale by Brian H. Edwards (1976)

Laurie

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• Mar. 31, 2006 - Super!

Posted by ByHisGraceInColorado

Maggie, Laurie, thank you so much! This is the beginnings of a great list that will really jump start some good reading.

Everyone, be sure to check out Maggie and Lauries' websites too!

N.

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• Mar. 31, 2006 - hello

Posted by healthyhomeschool

I just stopped in to say hello and that I totally agree with your philosphy to bring into your school the things you love and what works for you!

As far as books, we are about to start a real-life adventure. If it's good, I'll post it.

Lynn

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• Mar. 31, 2006 - Guess what!?

Posted by ByHisGraceInColorado

I found several really neat books today, some at the library "sale" shelf, and one at the local thrift store---and got a couple of Landmarks, I am SO excited!

I found one that I paid 50 cents for, and it was a first edition :)
I checked on Abebooks.com and they have the same one, with the top price at around $70! Cool. Now, we just have to read it REAL carefully and tell you all about it.

Nancy

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• Apr. 1, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Posted by OreoSouza

I love reading the blogs of unschoolers. I steal my favorite ideas from unschooling moms. I've enjoyed reading your blog.

On the biographies, we like the ones we've gotten from the YWAM bookstore. Biographies of missionaries of long ago and missionaries from today.

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• Apr. 2, 2006 - Sorry it took me so long!

Posted by UndertheSky

What I have done is use several book books. I have All Through the Ages (www.nothingnewpress.com) for history, but I also use Veritas Press' catalog that has free reading as well as history titles listed by grade level. Then I use books like Books Children Love (my favorite) and Best Books (BJUP) that also list by grade and subject. I think that Books Children Love is probably available at the library, or you can make a trip to Borders or your local book store and flip through it.

The Book Tree by Elizabeth McCallum and Jane Scott was also recommended to me and is available at Veritas Press too. I think it also depends on their reading ability. My oldest girls, 5th and 3rd grades, read anything from Nancy Drew for silly fun (older series-no junk in them) to Redwall, Narnia, LOTR, Warriors into the Wild books. (These may not appeal to all people, but our family likes and enjoys fantasy and mystery.) We do a lot of history read-alouds, many from Veritas, some from Bethlehem Books, that are historical fiction and my girls will read those on their own too. (Drums of War series, The List, I am Regina, Alone Yet Not Alone, Augustine Came to Kent, The Hidden Treasure of Glaston). My oldest is going to start Ivanhoe soon.

We also get biographies of people of their choosing from the history time period we are in (Rev. War at the moment and there are a lot of those people!) and they are both interested in various science books--although not too heavily! I also really like the biographical Beautiful Girlhood books from Vision Forum. They are an easier reading level and are colorful and inspiring.

Anyway, I highly recommend the "books on books" as they have helped me find books I would never have known about. (Wreck of the Zanzibar, Toliver's Secret, Princess and the Goblin, Princess and Curdie, Because of Winn Dixie-before it was a movie, The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day-William Tyndale Historical Fiction) Then there are those companies, like Timberdoodle, that I learn from too. They sell these: Ten Girls Who Changed the World, Ten Girls Who Made a Difference, Ten Girls Who Made History and they were great. Those are most certainly biographical in orientation and my girls enjoyed them very much.

I have to say that I prefer to get my biography in the form of historical fiction and some writers are really good at doing that. The List is what we are currently reading (Veritas Press) and it has all sorts of real people mixed into a very thoroughly researched and well-written historical fiction book. They go into detail about living, medical procedures, food, clothing, behavior expectations, etc. It is fascinating. Alone Yet Not Alone is another all-time favorite. One of the very best is William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, also available at Vision Forum.

Hope that helps!

Warmly,
Kate

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• Apr. 3, 2006 - Hi Nancy

Posted by ejoyce,ink

I'm coming late to this question, and I'm so glad I am...there are such good suggestions posted by the previous commenters! Great subject - thanks! My girls all loved the biography of Amy Carmichael. We are fortunate to have a used book store nearby where we can pick up great books for very little.
Have a great week,
Eleanor

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• Apr. 3, 2006 - Biographies

Posted by Buckeyeblog

This might not be EXACTLY what you were looking for, but it's one that we have REALLY enjoyed and learned to much from...

"To the Best of My Ability" (DK?) is basically American history President by President. It includes all the Presidents up to Clinton - I got info about GW off of www.whitehouse.gov. It's entirely possible that a newer version may now include GW. One of the coolest parts of the book is that the entire 2nd half has EVERY innaugral [sp?] address! Did you know that EVERY President has mentioned God in EVERY innaugral address?

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

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