With the last of the 1700s behind us, my sons and I have moved fully into the 19th century with this month’s batch of U.S. history books, which cover 1800-1850.
As with last month, we’ve got a mix of returning favorites and titles that are new to us, as well as a mix of nonfiction, historical fiction, and tall tale. I’ll report back in a few weeks on the titles that went over best with seven-year-old S and two-year-old F. In the meantime, here’s a rundown of the bounty from our local libraries:
- Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
- The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal by Cheryl Harness
- Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac and illustrated by Diana Magnuson
- Voices of the Alamo by Sherry Garland and illustrated by Ronald Himler
- Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad by Pamela Duncan Edwards and illustrated by Henry Cole
- A Place Called Freedom by Scott Russell Sanders and illustrated by Thomas B. Allen
(A note about this one: One of the first results you’ll see in a web search for this title is a New York Times review by Christopher Paul Curtis casting doubt on the historical accuracy of Sanders’ tale of an early African-American settlement. However, I did find an article about New Philadelphia — the first such town — that suggests that A Place Called Freedom may not be farfetched after all. It’s too bad there’s no author’s note from Sanders to provide context or background for his story.)
- Margaret Knight, Girl Inventor by Marlene Targ Brill and illustrated by Joanne Friar (I’ve also got my eye on Emily Arnold McCully’s brand-new Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor)
- A pair of eager-to-please biographies by Robert M. Quackenbush: Quick Annie, Give Me a Catchy Line!: A Story of Samuel F.B. Morse and Oh, What an Awful Mess!: A Funny Book About the Invention of Rubber, about Charles Goodyear
- Mr. Emerson’s Cook by Judith Byron Schachner
- Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
- By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman
I had already picked all these books when I discovered a suggested reading list of American Historical Fiction in Picture Book Format from the University of Iowa. I’ll undoubtedly turn to this list for ideas next month and beyond, and as always, I’d love to hear your suggestions of great books I missed this time around.
What a great bunch of books, and what a great time period to be reading about. I can’t wait till we get there (we’re moving rather slowly chronologically through world and North American history, and are still in the 17th century). I hope you and the kids have a great time.
One book on the Underground Railroad that’s especially good for very young readers (I’m thinking of your youngest) is “Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky” by Faith Ringgold. My kids have also enjoyed all of the “Drinking Gourd” books, which tie in nicely with our science studies (one-two cross discipline punches, I suppose lol):
“The Drinking Gourd” by F.N. Monjo (an I Can Read History book); “Follow the Drinking Gourd” by Jeannette Winter and “Follow the Drinking Gourd” by Bernardine Connelly (who apparently couldn’t think of a different title…).
By the way, you might want to pair the Emerson book with “Father, We Thank You,” a picture book by Mark Graham based on Emerson’s poem.
And THANK you for the picture book list! May have to mention it over at my blog today : )
What a great bunch of books, and what a great time period to be reading about. I can’t wait till we get there (we’re moving rather slowly chronologically through world and North American history, and are still in the 17th century). I hope you and the kids have a great time.
One book on the Underground Railroad that’s especially good for very young readers (I’m thinking of your youngest) is “Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky” by Faith Ringgold. My kids have also enjoyed all of the “Drinking Gourd” books, which tie in nicely with our science studies (one-two cross discipline punches, I suppose lol):
“The Drinking Gourd” by F.N. Monjo (an I Can Read History book); “Follow the Drinking Gourd” by Jeannette Winter and “Follow the Drinking Gourd” by Bernardine Connelly (who apparently couldn’t think of a different title…).
By the way, you might want to pair the Emerson book with “Father, We Thank You,” a picture book by Mark Graham based on Emerson’s poem.
And THANK you for the picture book list! May have to mention it over at my blog today : )
What a great bunch of books, and what a great time period to be reading about. I can’t wait till we get there (we’re moving rather slowly chronologically through world and North American history, and are still in the 17th century). I hope you and the kids have a great time.
One book on the Underground Railroad that’s especially good for very young readers (I’m thinking of your youngest) is “Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky” by Faith Ringgold. My kids have also enjoyed all of the “Drinking Gourd” books, which tie in nicely with our science studies (one-two cross discipline punches, I suppose lol):
“The Drinking Gourd” by F.N. Monjo (an I Can Read History book); “Follow the Drinking Gourd” by Jeannette Winter and “Follow the Drinking Gourd” by Bernardine Connelly (who apparently couldn’t think of a different title…).
By the way, you might want to pair the Emerson book with “Father, We Thank You,” a picture book by Mark Graham based on Emerson’s poem.
And THANK you for the picture book list! May have to mention it over at my blog today : )