Book Recommendations
For Kids
American Adventure series (Barbour)
I read only half-way through the series as a kid (some program was sending them to me, two books every month. For some reason that stopped, and I never got around to buying them somewhere else). But those I read, I loved. They are written from a Christian perspective for kids ages 8-12. (Though I continued to love them even as I got older.) They take the reader through American history, starting with the Mayflower and ending with World War II. My favorite book was #22 Time for Battle (when the Civil War broke out). (Fiction)
Dear America series (Scholastic)
Diaries of American girls throughout American history. Though the diaries themselves are fictional, they bring history alive to the reader. Every book has a historical note at the end which includes photos and other illustrations about the events, times, and places in the book. I read many of them as a kid and have never forgotten the lessons in them. My favorite author was Kristiana Gregory. I especially recommend her book The Winter of Red Snow, which is about the American Revolutionary War. I read it multiple times, along with the other books by the same author--The Great Railroad Race, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie, and Seeds of Hope (all set in the mid 19th century). Another of my favorites is A Picture of Freedom by Patricia McKissack.
My Name is America series (Scholastic)
A spin-off of the Dear America series, this one is about American boys throughout history. I haven't read as many of these, but one in particular sticks out in my mind--The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852 by Laurence Yep. It's one of the thickest in the series, but well worth the read.
My America (Scholastic)
Another spin-off of Dear America, this one geared for younger girls. I have only read two of these books (the first two that came out). I especially enjoyed Five Smooth Stones by Kristiana Gregory. *As of February 8th, 2012, I have read all three of Hope's Diaries (those by Gregory); they are all excellent! I enjoyed them immensely, even just now reading the last two now when I'm nearly 24. :)
American Adventure series (Barbour)
I read only half-way through the series as a kid (some program was sending them to me, two books every month. For some reason that stopped, and I never got around to buying them somewhere else). But those I read, I loved. They are written from a Christian perspective for kids ages 8-12. (Though I continued to love them even as I got older.) They take the reader through American history, starting with the Mayflower and ending with World War II. My favorite book was #22 Time for Battle (when the Civil War broke out). (Fiction)
Dear America series (Scholastic)
Diaries of American girls throughout American history. Though the diaries themselves are fictional, they bring history alive to the reader. Every book has a historical note at the end which includes photos and other illustrations about the events, times, and places in the book. I read many of them as a kid and have never forgotten the lessons in them. My favorite author was Kristiana Gregory. I especially recommend her book The Winter of Red Snow, which is about the American Revolutionary War. I read it multiple times, along with the other books by the same author--The Great Railroad Race, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie, and Seeds of Hope (all set in the mid 19th century). Another of my favorites is A Picture of Freedom by Patricia McKissack.
My Name is America series (Scholastic)
A spin-off of the Dear America series, this one is about American boys throughout history. I haven't read as many of these, but one in particular sticks out in my mind--The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852 by Laurence Yep. It's one of the thickest in the series, but well worth the read.
My America (Scholastic)
Another spin-off of Dear America, this one geared for younger girls. I have only read two of these books (the first two that came out). I especially enjoyed Five Smooth Stones by Kristiana Gregory. *As of February 8th, 2012, I have read all three of Hope's Diaries (those by Gregory); they are all excellent! I enjoyed them immensely, even just now reading the last two now when I'm nearly 24. :)