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Charlotte Mason also championed the reading of narrative history. She recognized that biographies put names and faces to the facts of the international timeline. Unlike the typical self-help book, a biography doesn't beat you over the head with strategies and 12-step programs. They teach valuable personal life-lessons gently through story. Biographies are subtle, but effective character builders.
While there are a lot of great biography series for kids, the Childhood of Famous Americans books is one of the best. Written by numerous authors in the 1940s through the 1960s, each of these easy-to-read, illustrated chapter books details the life of a boy or girl who grew up to be an American hero--from statesmen to inventors, artists to sports figures. Most of the books can only be found in vintage condition. However, many of the most popular titles have been reprinted by Simon & Schuster under the name History's All Stars.
I've gathered a list of 100 of my favorites. (The entire series includes over 200 titles.) Because so many noteworthy lives overlap each other, my list could not be ordered entirely chronologically. But, I've separated them by historical era for easy use in creating unit studies and homespun curricula.
Admittedly, some of these titles are hard to come by, but don't despair. All of them can be found. You just gotta dig deep. Keep this list handy when you're scouring your favorite homeschool deal-finding sites or when you're cruising the yard sale circuit looking for free or cheap books.
The Pilgrims
James Oglethorpe by Aileen Parks
Myles Standish by Augusta Stevenson
Pocahontas by Leslie Gourse
Squanto by Augusta Stevenson
Virginia Dare by Augusta Stevenson
William Bradford by Bradford Smith
William Penn by Miriam Mason
The Colonial Fight for Independence
Ben Franklin by Augusta Stevenson
Betsy Ross by Ann Weil
Ethan Allen by Gertrude Winders
George Rogers Clark by Katharine Wikie
George Washington by Augusta Stevenson
John Hancock by Kathryn Cleven
John Paul Jones by Dorothea Snow
Martha Washington by Jean Wagoner
Molly Pitcher by Augusta Stevenson
Nathan Hale by Augusta Stevenson
Patrick Henry by Thomas Barton
Paul Revere by Augusta Stevenson
Tom Jefferson by Helen Monsell
A New Nation
Abigail Adams by Jean Wagoner
Alec Hamilton by Helen Higgins
Andy Jackson by Augusta Stevenson
Dan Webster by Bradford Smith
Dolly Madison by Helen Monsell
Eli Whiney by Dorothea Snow
John Quincy Adams by Ann Weil
Zack Taylor by Katharine WilkieWestward Exploration
Brigham Young by Polly Jordan and Lucy FrisbeeBuffalo Bill by Augusta Stevenson
Crazy Horse by George Stanley
Daniel Boone by Augusta Stevenson
Davy Crockett by Aileen Parks
Geronimo by George Stanley
James J. Hill by Mildred Comfort
Kit Carson by Augusta Stevenson
Meriwether Lewis by Charlotta Bebenroth
Narcissa Whitman by Ann Warner
Sacagawea by Flora Seymour
Sam Houston by Augusta Stevenson
William Henry Harrison by Howard Peckham
Zeb Pike by Augusta Stevenson
A Nation Divided
Abe Lincoln by Augusta StevensonClara Barton by Augusta Stevenson
Harriet Beecher Stowe by Mabel Widdemer
Harriet Tubman by Gertrude Winders
Jeff Davis by Lena de Grummone
Mary Todd Lincoln by Katharine Wilkie
Robert E. Lee by Helen Monsell
Tom Jackson by Helen Monsell
U.S. Grant by Augusta Stevenson
Reconstruction and Expansion
Allan Pinkerton by Kathryn Borland and Helen SpeicherAndrew Carnegie by Joanne Henry
Booker T. Washington by Augusta Stevenson
Chief Joseph by Olive Burt
Frederick Douglass by George Stanley
George Custer by Augusta Stevenson
George Pullman by Elisabeth Myers
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by Grace Melin
Laura Ingalls Wilder by Beatrice Gormley
Louisa Alcott by Jean Wagoner
Mark Twain by Miriam Mason
Sitting Bull by Augusta Stevenson
Susan Anthony by Helen Monsell
Tom Edison by Guthridge
George Dewey by Laura Long
Jane Addams by Jean Wagoner
John Philip Sousa by Ann Weil
Joseph Pulitzer by Hortense Myers
Juliette Low by Helen Higgins
Teddy Roosevelt by Ed Parks
Wilbur and Orville Wright by Augusta Stevenson
Will and Charlie Mayo by Marie Hammontree
Amelia Earhart by Jane Howe
Babe Ruth by Guernsey Van Riper Jr.
Douglas MacArthur by Laura Long
Dwight D. Eisenhower by George Stanley
Franklin Roosevelt by Ann Weil
George S. Patton by George Stanley
Harry S. Truman by George Stanley
Helen Keller by Katharine Wilkie
Henry Ford by Hazel Aird
Herbert Hoover by Mildred Comfort
Jackie Robinson by Herb Dunn
Jesse Owens by M.M. Eboch
John F. Kennedy by Lucy Frisbee
John Glenn by Michael Burgan
Lyndon B. Johnson by Thomas Barton
Martin Luther King Jr. by Dharathula Millender
Neil Armstrong by Montrew Dunham
Robert Frost by Ellen Wilson
Ronald Reagan by Montrew Dunham
Rosa Parks by Kathleen Kudlinski
Woodrow Wilson by Helen Monsell
George Custer by Augusta Stevenson
George Pullman by Elisabeth Myers
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by Grace Melin
Laura Ingalls Wilder by Beatrice Gormley
Louisa Alcott by Jean Wagoner
Mark Twain by Miriam Mason
Sitting Bull by Augusta Stevenson
Susan Anthony by Helen Monsell
Tom Edison by Guthridge
Turn of the Century
Annie Oakley by Ellen WilsonGeorge Dewey by Laura Long
Jane Addams by Jean Wagoner
John Philip Sousa by Ann Weil
Joseph Pulitzer by Hortense Myers
Juliette Low by Helen Higgins
Teddy Roosevelt by Ed Parks
Wilbur and Orville Wright by Augusta Stevenson
Will and Charlie Mayo by Marie Hammontree
Modern History
Albert Einstein by Marie HammontreeAmelia Earhart by Jane Howe
Babe Ruth by Guernsey Van Riper Jr.
Douglas MacArthur by Laura Long
Dwight D. Eisenhower by George Stanley
Franklin Roosevelt by Ann Weil
George S. Patton by George Stanley
Harry S. Truman by George Stanley
Helen Keller by Katharine Wilkie
Henry Ford by Hazel Aird
Herbert Hoover by Mildred Comfort
Jackie Robinson by Herb Dunn
Jesse Owens by M.M. Eboch
John F. Kennedy by Lucy Frisbee
John Glenn by Michael Burgan
Lyndon B. Johnson by Thomas Barton
Martin Luther King Jr. by Dharathula Millender
Neil Armstrong by Montrew Dunham
Robert Frost by Ellen Wilson
Ronald Reagan by Montrew Dunham
Rosa Parks by Kathleen Kudlinski
Woodrow Wilson by Helen Monsell
My son loves these books. I have found a ton of them very inexpensive on Betterworldbooks.com AND shipping is always free!
ReplyDeleteThese book are good and had very good attetion fathering material in it that all the childerns will love to read this my daughter love to read this and she read many time and always she seems very happy while reading this. Keep doing these sort of work for childerns.
ReplyDeleteAre they the same as the modern ones in paperback? I loved the hardback ones our school library had as a kid and read them all.
ReplyDeleteYes. The paperbacks are just newer versions of the hardbacks. But the content is exactly the same.
DeleteSome are missing…
ReplyDeleteThank you for this! My son wanted to read the ones we got "in order" and I went on a google search for a chronological list of the books. This was exactly what I was looking for!
ReplyDeleteThere is a volume about Lou Gehrig for sure. His parents were immigrants and he wanted them to be proud of him :)
ReplyDeleteThis was not meant to be an exhaustive list. It is just 100 of the titles put in chronological order.
DeleteI have been looking around at various website to purchase copies from the original series. As far as I can tell, the original series had 22 to 240 books total. Simon and Schuster renamed the series to American All-Stars and has whittled their offerings down to 10% of the original number.
DeleteCan I assume that original books are now only available in used versions or by reading the photocopies on archive.org (e.g https://archive.org/search?query=childhood+of+famous+americans) ??