Biographies for children inspire their thought life as well as give them good heroes to look up to. Here you will find a growing list of the great men and woman of yesteryear, yesterday and today to read about with your children.

Diane Stanley's biographies

Peter the Great by Diane Stanley
Diane Stanley has written and illustrated many fantastic books about the great people of the past. She brings to life the person by introducing the reader first to her subjects childhood and together you follow their life. Peter the Great was a driven and self motivated leader of the old Russia. You must not miss this book.

Shaka Zulu by Diane Stanley
There was never a more feared Zulu king than Shaka. In true Stanley style she lets us see the child and man behind the legend. This should be on everyone’s bookshelf, no matter where you live.

Michelangelo by Diane Stanley
In true Stanley style we meet Michelanglo. Diane weaves the art of this master into her illustrations. Along with an interesting fact filled story line, it is a great introduction to one of the great artists of the Late Renaissance period.

Leonardo by Diane Stanley
In this book we meet the great Leonardo Da Vinci! Again a master piece for children (and parents). She shows his art, inventions and thoughts in a way only she can.

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Chapter books

The following biographies for children are for those who can sit still without pictures and enjoy chapter books.

Robert Fulton – boy craftsman, Marguerite Henry When everyone thought that Bob Fulton was a dreamer, he was busy creating and designing in his a great mind. This story focuses predominantly on his childhood and includes many hilarious accounts of his antics in his pursuit of technical knowledge. This is an inspiring story of never giving up, even when the odds are against you.

Childhood of Famous American Series

Thomas Edison - young inventor, Sue Guthridge
Here is a book for all young children to be inspired by the tenacity of one young boy who tried and tried again. Our children learnt to love the boy, Edison and admire the man he became. We giggled as Thomas tried his potions on his friend and cried when he was cruelly treated by the train master. But as a mother, it taught me to validate all my children?s attempts at design and technology, because who knows what they may invent or perfect one day!

This is such a wonderful series for young minds. Our favourites have been Helen Keller, Louisa Allcott May, Louis Braille, The Wright brothers, Benjamin Franklin, Annie Oakley and Albert Einstein. These are fictionalized accounts of famous Americans childhood lives.

A search at Amazon.com will turn up the results for these great reader type biographies for your children.

Carry on Mr Bowditch, Jean Lee Latham
Little known Nathaniel Bowditch was responsible for saving many sailors lives by using his remarkable self taught maths and navigational skills to revolutionize sailing in the 1700‘s. The most remarkable thing about his life was his ability to rise up out of poverty and force his brain to learn. A stirring story for child and parent.

Not just "old guys"...

Here are some modern day biographies for children. These men are heroes in our home and across the world...

On the Bike with Lance Armstrong, Matt Christopher.

Did you know that Lance Armstrong didn't do well with team sports and was uncoordinated with ball sports? Follow his life from his early school days to when he won the Iron Kid at 12 years old and his amazing career to date. This easy to read and listen to biography is great for all children and a wonderful springboard to a Tour De France unit study theme. Order here from Kalahari.net

The Crocodile Hunter, Steve and Terry Irwin.

We wept recently as a family when we heard that Steve had been killed in a freak accident with a Stingray. But we have so many wonderful memories of him from his Croc Hunter Diaries and other programs. This book is full of full colour pictures that take you from his youth through to adulthood, meeting his wife and growing their family. A wonderful inspirational biography.

Order here through Kalahari.net

As it turns out we are not the only family who loved Steve :-) If you would like to dig a bit deeper into his life with your children be sure to check out In the Hands of a Child's Steve Irwin Lapbook

You will find some more biographies for children at my Science Book Reviews.

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