What is your favorite biography series?

[CatholicMom]

And why?

 

I'm looking for a good series to collect with all the "big ones"...Einstein, Edison, Washington, Lincoln, Rosa Parks, etc. Plus some lesser-knowns, hopefully. Preferably with really nice illustrations.

 

I need suggestions for my 4th/5th graders next year.

 

TIA!

[Julie Smith]

The only one I know of that fits what you want is the Who Was series. I think it was made with the common core standards in mind for grade three or four students.

[CatholicMom]

k thanks. I see there is also a DK Series, which looks interesting. I don't know if they are a good fit for 8-10 yr olds.

[Jay3fer]

It's not exactly a series, but we love Jeanne Bendick biographies, including:

Archimedes and the Door of Science

Galen and the Gateway to Medicine

Herodotus and the Road to History

and

Along Came Galileo

 

However, this isn't a series in the sense that it doesn't try to comprehensively cover a huge range of characters throughout history.

 

And... what I have found is that if you want good literature, ie something you and your kids will enjoy reading, the "series" books may not be your best bet. For instance, this was a great book about Copernicus, but I don't think the author has any other similar biographies. With individual books, I find you get more of a living book with an author who is passionate about the subject matter... but the trade-off is that they are not always easy to find. :-/

 

That said...

We have enjoyed most of the "Getting to Know..." books, about art, music and now science, by Mike Venezia... like these ones:

Artists

Van Gogh

Picasso

 

Composers

Johann Sebastian Bach

Ludwig Van Beethoven

 

Inventors & Scientists

Albert Einstein: Universal Genius

Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak

 

They're a bit "meatier" imo than a few of the other biography series books I've seen... but there are cartoons and other stuff that make them fun.

 

There's also a corresponding video series, but I think only artists are available.

Claude Monet

Vincent Van Gogh

 

For older kids (or yourself), Genevieve Foster books are weird but good imo.

 

Hope this helps!

[4peanuts]

Can we revive this thread? I'd like some recommendations on a series that is generally appropriate for ages 7-10 (content-wise....the girls' reading level is high so that's not an issue). Another criterion I'm looking for is that they are not written with an overt liberal/progressive slant.

 

No flames on that last one, please....I understand the idea of using conflicting viewpoints as a jumping off point for interesting debate and discussion, but I really want something that I can use as a fun reading supplement that doesn't require a lot of additional guidance on my part. I have my hands full of "teachable moments" ;)

[SEGway]

We've really enjoyed the biographies by Diane Stanley, but there aren't that many in that series, either.

[Farrar]

The best biographies aren't part of a series.

 

There are some good biography authors though. I like Diane Stanley, but David Adler and Jean Fritz are good for American history figures, and Demi is good for religious figures. There are others as well...

[8filltheheart]

I personally love the biographies in a couple out of print series for that age group.

 

Landmark Books http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/lm.htm

Signature Series http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/signature.htm

[4peanuts]

Thanks for all the tips! I am not necessarily looking here for the most in-depth or highest quality literature--just a reliable series that I can use to add to their "for fun" reading supply. My girls go through books like water and it's hard to keep up with longer books that are content-appropriate. When we are specifically studying a historical figure, I"ll take more time to search out the best quality book on that person.