The Free Library

Core Knowledge Foundation

Voices in History

Discover inspiring true stories that pair perfectly with the Core Knowledge curriculum. These biographies introduce children to the remarkable individuals who shaped history while adding depth and context to your current lessons. Ideal for parents and teachers looking for meaningful supplemental reading that brings historical figures to life.

Showing 29 books

Abraham Lincoln

Voices in History

History & Geography, Language Arts

Abraham Lincoln 🎧

Defender of a Nation

Abraham Lincoln grew up to become the 16th president of the United States. He was born into a humble background, and as a boy had...

By Kathryn Erskine

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Alexander Graham Bell

Voices in History

History & Geography

Alexander Graham Bell

Voice of the Future

From the moment Alexander Graham Bell was born, communication was at the center of life: his father was a speech instructor, and his mother was...

By Katy S. Duffield

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Alexander Hamilton

Voices in History

History & Geography, Language Arts

Alexander Hamilton

Building a Nation

You might know Alexander Hamilton as a Founding Father of America. But did you know he was born on a tropical island? Did you know...

By Anne Marie Pace

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Anne Hutchinson

Voices in History

History & Geography, Language Arts

Anne Hutchinson

Banished

Anne Hutchinson and her family sailed across a vast ocean in search of a new life in the English Colonies of North America. Their life...

By Anne Marie Pace

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Benjamin Banneker

Voices in History

History & Geography

Benjamin Banneker

A Colonial Genius Shining in the Darkness

Born in Maryland in the 1700s, Benjamin Banneker lived an extraordinary life. As an African American, he faced racial prejudice. But despite the times in...

By Dionna L. Mann

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Benjamin Franklin

Voices in History

History & Geography, Language Arts, Science

Benjamin Franklin

Let the Experiment Be Made

Ben Franklin’s extraordinary life still inspires us today. As a young man he sought adventure, became a skilled and successful printer, an inventor, an author,...

By Fran Cannon Slayton

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Booker T Washington

Voices in History

History & Geography

Booker T Washington

Turning Nothing Good into Something Fine

Little Booker’s life began without a last name, without a father, and without freedom. His first years were spent in slavery, laboring from the age...

By Dionna L. Mann

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Chief Standing Bear

Voices in History

History & Geography, Language Arts

Chief Standing Bear

Fight for His Homeland

Standing Bear grew up where the Niobrara and Missouri rivers meet. He and his Ponca tribe members fished and hunted, sang and danced, and watched...

By Patricia Morris Buckley

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Cleopatra

Voices in History

History & Geography, Language Arts

Cleopatra

The Goddess Queen

Cleopatra was born into the Greek ruling family of Ancient Egypt. Her world was one of strength, war, and men—and Cleopatra was eager to leave...

By Beth Kephart

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Dolores Huerta

Voices in History

History & Geography, Language Arts

Dolores Huerta

Songs of Justice

As a child, Dolores Huerta loved to sing. As an adult, she continued to raise her voice—speaking, chanting, and singing—for the rights of farm workers...

By Beth Kephart

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Dorothea Dix

Voices in History

History & Geography

Dorothea Dix

On a Mission

Subjected to her parents’ poverty, robbed of a carefree childhood, and forced to live under the unforgiving eye of a stern aunt, a young Dorothea...

By Anne Marie Pace

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Eleanor of Aquitaine

Voices in History

History & Geography, Language Arts

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Fearless Queen

In Medieval Europe, shortly after the death of her beloved father, Eleanor of Aquitaine found herself betrothed for one reason: protection. At the time, the...

By Sara Holdren

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