INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN HISTORY
 

GENERAL READING

Level 1
Short Stories of Famous Men in History by James Reynolds – not just American history – Alexander the Great to Douglas MacArthur
Little People Who Became Great by Laura Large
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans by Edward Eggleston

OTHER RESOURCES
Ballads of American History by Fred Cooper - CD


YEAR 1: TERM 1 (Explorers and Pioneers)


CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

Level 1
Columbus by Ingri & Edgar D'Aulaire
Where Do You Think You Are Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz

Level 2
Pedro’s Journal by Pam Conrad
He Went With Christopher Columbus by Louise Andrews Kent

OTHER

Level 2
By Right of Conquest by G.A.Henty


YEAR 1: TERM 2 (Stories of Virginia)

VIRGINIA

Level 1
A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH

POCAHONTAS

Level 1
Pocahontas by Ingri & Edgar D'Aulaire
Pocahontas by Doherty
Pocahontas and the Strangers by Clyde Bulla


YEAR 1: TERM 3 (Stories of New England)

PILGRIMS

Level 1
If You Sailed on the Mayflower by Ann McGovern
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Bulla
The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh
Who’s That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? by Jean Fritz

Level 2
The Landing of the Pilgrims (Landmark Book)

MAINE
Level 2
Calico Bush by Rachel Field – young French girl becomes an indentured servant in Maine
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

CONNECTICUT
Level 2?
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

OTHER
Level 1
If You Lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGovern

YEAR 2: TERM 1 (Stories of the Middle and Southern Colonies)

CATHOLIC HISTORY
Level 1
Mother Seton [Vision Book Series]
Priest on Horseback by Eva K. Betz

NEW YORK
Level 1 / 2
Peter Stuyvesant: Dutch Military Leader by Arthur M. Schlesinger

PENNSYLVANIA
Level 1
The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz

BEN FRANKLIN

Level 1
Benjamin Franklin by Ingri & Edgar D'Aulaire
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia by  Margaret Cousins
What’s the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? by Jean Fritz
Ben and Me by Robert Lawson

Level 2
Poor Richard by James Daughtery


YEAR 2: TERM 2 (Stories of the French in America; The Struggle for Liberty)

CATHOLIC HISTORY

Level 2
Kateri Tekakwitha: Mohawk Maid  [Vision Book Series]
Louis Jolliet & Father Jacques Marquette by Daniel E. Harmon
Father Marquette and the Great Rivers by August Derleth [Vision Book Series]
St. Isaac and the Indians by Milton Lomask [Vision Book Series]

MISSISSIPPI

Level 2
La Salle and the Exploration of the Mississippi by Daniel E. Harmon

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

Level 1
The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds

Level 2
Madeleine Takes Command  by Ethel Brill

NATIVE AMERICANS

Level 1
Om-Kas-Toe by Kenneth Thomasma

Level 2
The Book of Indians by Holling C.Holling
Indian Boyhood by Charles Eastman

BOSTON TEA PARTY

Level 2
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

PAUL REVERE

Level 1
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz
Mr. Revere and I by Robert Lawson

OTHER

Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare


YEAR 2: TERM 3  (Stories of the Struggle for Liberty)

Level 1
If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution by Elizabeth Levy
Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George? by Jean Fritz
Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz
Will You Sign Here, John Hancock by Jean Fritz
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? by Jean Fritz
Why Don’t You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? by Jean Fritz
The Winter at Valley Forge by James Knight
Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady
Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin

Level 2
The American Revolution by Bruce Bliven (Landmark Book)
Gettysburg (Landmark Book)
Guns for General Washington by Seymour Reit
John Paul Jones by Norma Jean Lutz
Ethan Allen by Virginia Aronson
The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery

GEORGE WASHINGTON

Level 1
George Washington by Ingri & Edgar D'Aulaire
Meet George Washington by Joan Heilbroner

Level 2
The Bulletproof George Washington by David Barton


YEAR 3: TERM 1 (Stories of the US Under the Constitution)

Level 1
Carry On Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates

THOMAS JEFFERSON

Level 1
Meet Thomas Jefferson by Marvin Barrett

OTHER

Level 1
Susanna of the Alamo: a True Story by John Jakes
The Mexican Story by May McNeer and Lynd Ward – Catholic perspective


YEAR 3: TERM 2 (Gold Rush; Civil War)

Level 1
Turn Homeward Hannalee by Patricia Beatty

WESTERN EXPANSION

Level 1
Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Buffalo Bill by Ingri & Edgar D'Aulaire

Level 2
Incredble Journey of Lewis and Clark by Rhoda Blumberg
Pioneers Go West  (Landmark Book)

GOLD RUSH

Level 1
By The Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman – read aloud for younger children, independent read for Level 2

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Level 1
Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman by Dorothy Sterling

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Level 1
Abe Lincoln by Ingri & Edgar D'Aulaire

Level 2
Lincoln: a Photobiography by Russell Freedman
Abe Lincoln (Landmark Book)

CIVIL WAR

Level 1
The Monitor and the Merrimacby Richard Conrad Stein
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit
The Perilous Road by William O. Steele
This Hallowed Ground: The Story of the Union Side of the Civil War by Bruce Catton - gives a sense of the political forces behind events, all written in an accessible but engaging style. Out of print.


YEAR 3: TERM 3  (Civil War to World War I)

CATHOLIC HISTORY
Level 1
Young Life of Mother Katharine Drexel by Claire Jordan Mohan
Mother Cabrini [Vision Book Series]

WORLD WAR I

Level 1
World War I by Kent

OTHER

Level 1
Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
The Terrible Wave by Marden Dahlstedt – Pennsylvania flood of 1889
Hero Over Here by Kathleen Kudlinski
You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? by Jean Fritz

INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH HISTORY
 
Most of the historical fiction suggested here is aimed at the 8 to 12 year old age group so has been listed under Level 2.  Many of these books could be read aloud to children at the older end of Level 1.

Note: I have not read all these books. Many are by authors I know to be good; some are titles gathered from reliable homeschooling catalogues and book lists; others are simply books or titles I have come across that sound promising. Most books written before the 1970s are of higher quality than recent books and are unlikely to have inappropriate content so I have included a number of these. Unfortunately they are also often out of print, but many can be easily found used, or are available in libraries.  

* Books marked with an asterisk are recommended reading


YEAR 1: TERM 1

Level 1

ST.PATRICK

Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland (Tomie de Paola) – simply told story, beautifully illustrated picture book. For younger children.
* And God Blessed the Irish by Chris Driscoll.

KING ARTHUR

There are many retellings of the Arthurian legends, but because of some the subject matter (romance and the adultery of Arthur’s wife Guinevere) they need to be treated with caution. Good for younger children are two picture books:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady by Selina Hastings
King Arthur by Geraldine McCaughrean. A new retelling for younger children. Pre-read to ascertain suitability for your family.

Level 2

CELTIC BRITAIN

Warrior Scarlet by Rosemary Sutcliff - the story of a bronze age boy with a disabled arm, and how he becomes a warrior. Moving and well-told.
Beric the Briton by G.A.Henty – I have to admit I don’t enjoy Henty’s books, but a lot of people do. They tend to appeal particularly to boys. Although some of his books have an anti-Catholic bias, I think those set outside the Reformation period are unlikely to be problematic.

ROMAN BRITAIN

* The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff - classic story set in Roman Britain. First of a trilogy, followed by
The Silver Branch and The Lantern Bearers.
The Capricorn Bracelet by Rosemary Sutcliff – a collection of six stories following the members of a single family through 300 years of Roman Britain. Good insight into life in the Roman army.
Word to Caesar by Geoffrey Trease – good author
Between the Forest and the Hills by Ann Lawrence – fun and fantasy, set during the later years of Roman Britain

KING ARTHUR

The King Who Was and Will Be by Kevin Crossley-Holland – not a retelling of Arthurian legends, but a mine of information about them. Answers questions such as “was Arthur real”, describes aspects of medieval knighthood, tells “who’s who” in the Arthur stories, describes how the stories came into being, and is colourfully illustrated.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green.
King Arthur …by Andrew Lang. Classic retelling.


YEAR 1: TERM 2

Level 1

ANGLO-SAXONS

Beowulf by Kevin Crossley-Holland – illustrated version of the story of Beowulf. 
Well told but with rather bizarre black-and-white pictures. Not suitable for sensitive children.

VIKINGS

The Orchard Book of Vikings by Robert Swindells – illustrated collection of stories taken from Norse mythology.

Level 2

CHRISTIAN CONVERSION

* Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard (pub.Bethlehem Books) - the story of an Anglo-Saxon boy brought up in Rome, who travels to England with his father as part of St.Augustine’s mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons.
Sea Stranger, Fire-Brother and Earth Father by Kevin Crossley-Holland – three stories about St.Cedd, missionary to the East Saxons, and Wulf, a Saxon boy he converts. Set in the 7th century. Originally published as three separate short books. Out of print.

ANGLO-SAXONS

Two good retellings of the Anglo-Saxon classic poem Beowulf are:
Beowulf the Warrior by Ian Serraillier
Dragonslayer: The Story of Beowulf by Rosemary Sutcliff

Books about King Alfred (all out of print except Henty):
The Dragon and the Raven by G.A.Henty
Mist Over Athelney by Geoffrey Trease
The Namesake by C.Walter Hodge, together with a sequel, The Marsh King

VIKINGS

* Beorn the Proud by Madeleine Polland (pub.Bethlehem Books) - a 12 year old Irish girl sees her village destroyed by Viking raiders and is taken captive by Beorn, a Viking boy. A strong Christian theme, as the girl is determined not to abandon her Christian faith and tries to teach the young Viking that humility can be better than pride. Top quality historical fiction for children.
Viking! by Kevin Crossley-Holland - Viking mythology
Viking Dawn, The Road to Miklagard, Viking Sunset (trilogy) and other books by Henry Treece – stories based on surviving Viking sagas. Well-written but also some graphic descriptions of violence. For older (say 10+) and less sensitive children. Out of print.
Tales of the Norsemen by Roger Lancelyn Green.


YEAR 1: TERM 3

Level 2

NORMAN CONQUEST

The Battle of Hastings (Scholastic Double Take series) – story of the Battle of Hastings told from both sides.
Wulf the Saxon by G.A.Henty
Some out of print books set at the time of the Norman Conquest:
Harold Was My King by Hilda Lewis
Hounds of the King by Geoffrey Trease - story of King Harold in 1066
The King's Shadow by Elizabeth Alder - historical fiction about Norman Conquest based on Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
The Striped Ships by Eloise Jarvis MacGraw – set after the Norman Conquest. A Saxon girl helps to make the Bayeux Tapestry. A good book, but hard to find.
Shield Ring by Rosemary Sutcliff

ROBIN HOOD

The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green – classic version of the Robin Hood story by a friend of C.S.Lewis
Bows Against the Barons by Geoffrey Trease

PLANTAGANETS

* The Hidden Treasure of Glaston by Eleanor Jewett (Bethlehem Books) – a crippled boy is left at Glastonbury Abbey during the reign of Henry II.
* If All The Swords in England by Barbara Willard (Bethlehem Books) – twin boys find themselves separated, one in the service of King Henry II and the other a clerk in the entourage of the future saint Thomas Becket
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.Konigsburg – story of Eleanor of Aquitaine told by her friends as they wait in heaven for the possible arrival of her husband, King Henry II. Rather humorous, but not necessarily theologically accurate, take on purgatory.
The Lost Baron by Allen French (Bethlehem Books)– set in Cornwall in 1200
Winning His Spurs by G.A.Henty – story of the 3rd Crusade with Richard the Lionheart


YEAR 2: TERM 1

Level 1

The Minstrel in the Tower by Gloria Skurzinsky
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges –picture book, beautifully illustrated and based on Spenser’s Faerie Queen.
Saint George and the Dragon by Geraldine MacCaughrean – picture book
The Runaway Serf by Geoffrey Trease - for younger children (out of print)

Level 2

* Castle Diary: the Journal of Tobias Burgess, Page by C.Platt and M.Riddell – illustrated account of the life of a young page in a medieval castle. Fun!
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Grey
In Freedom’s Cause by G.A.Henty – story of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce and the Scottish fight against England
St.George for England by G.A.Henty – early part of the 100 Years’ War between France and England
The Gauntlet by Ronald Welch – a modern boy shares his ancestors’ adventures in a 14th-century Welsh castle
Bowman of Crecy by Ronald Welch – a band of outlaws from the Welsh borders take join Edward III’s army during the 100 Years’ War

YEAR 2: TERM 2

Level 2

PEASANTS REVOLT

A March on London by G.A.Henty –story of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381

CHAUCER

The Canterbury Tales by Geraldine MacCaughrean – illustrated retelling of Chaucer (Puffin Classics).

FIFTEENTH CENTURY

At Agincourt by G.A.Henty – story of a page in France who fights for Henry V at Agincourt.

Cynthia Harnett’s quartet of books set in England during the 15th century are classics of children’s historical fiction. The books do not need to be read in order. Confusingly they have different titles in the UK and the US.
Ring Out Bow Bells [US title: The Sign of the Green Falcon] by Cynthia Harnett – set in London in the time of Henry V.
The Writing on the Hearth [US title: The Cargo of the Madalena] by Cynthia Harnett – a young clerk is caught up in the political intrigues of the mid-15th century
The Load of Unicorn [US title: Caxton’s Challenge] by Cynthia Harnett – the son of a family of scriveners (scribes or copyists) is apprenticed to William Caxton, pioneer of printing.
* The Woolpack [US title: The Merchant’s Mark] by Cynthia Harnett – two children uncover a plot to ruin the boy’s father, a wool merchant. Very detailed and accurate picture of the late medieval wool trade. The story includes childhood betrothal.

Two out of print books set in this period:
The Gentle Falcon by Hilda Lewis – story of Isabella of France, the child bride of Richard II, told by a young lady-in-waiting.
Here Comes Harry by Hilda Lewis – a boy apprentice befriends the young Henry VI

YEAR 2: TERM 3

Level 1

HENRY VIII

Henry, King to Be by Geoffrey Trease

Level 2

ELIZABETH I

Elizabeth I: The Royal Diaries by Kathryn Lasky – the Royal Diaries series is very patchy, with unfortunate content in some. I have not heard anything bad about this one, but pre-read.
Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal by Robert Reilly (pub.Bethlehem Books) – an Irish queen and her son struggle against Queen Elizabeth of England
Stars of Fortune by Cynthia Harnett – four children (ancestors of George Washington) try to free Princess Elizabeth from imprisonment.

CATHOLIC HISTORY

Edmund Campion by Harold Gardiner (Vision book) – story of an Elizabethan saint and martyr. Unfortunately not one of the better told Vision books.
St.Thomas More by ???? (Vision book)
St.Thomas More by M.V.Woodgate

SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare: His Work and His World by Michael Rosen – engaging introduction to Shakespeare: the man, his times and his work. Includes synopses of four of his plays. Beautifully illustrated.
Bard of Avon by Diane Stanley
* Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease – two runaway children fall in with a group of strolling players. An adventure story involving Shakespeare and a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood and sequel, Shakespeare’s Scribe – historical fiction.

YEAR 3: TERM 1

Level 1

CIVIL WAR

When the Drums Beat by Geoffrey Trease – story for younger children set during English Civil War. Out of print.

Level 2

CIVIL WAR

Children of the New Forest by Captain Maryatt – classic 19th century fiction about a family of children forced to fend for themselves during the English Civil War
Hunt Royal by David Scott Daniell – story of the escape of the future King Charles II from his Roundhead pursuers during the English Civil War.

PLAGUE

Children of Winter by Berlie Doherty – three children spend a winter hidden in a barn alone in an attempt to escape the plague.

FIRE OF LONDON

Master Cornhill by Eloise Jarvis MacGraw – a boy returns to London after the plague of 1665 to find his family gone. Tells how he builds a new life and survives the great fire of 1666.
Popinjay Stairs by Geoffrey Trease - story focused on Samuel Pepys

JAMES II

Martin Hyde by John Masefield – story of the Monmouth Rebellion against James II.
Can be downloaded free from www.gutenberg.net.
Trumpets in the West by Geoffrey Trease – set at the time of the overthrow of James II (1688). Musical theme, involving the composer Henry Purcell
Note: There was a strong anti-Catholic element in the overthrow of James II. I do not know to what extent this may be reflected in either of these books.

LITERATURE

Pilgrim’s Progress by Geraldine MacCaughrean – retelling for children of classic Christian allegory by John Bunyan. Protestant, but one of the great works of religious literature.

YEAR 3: TERM 2

Level 1
NAPOLEONIC WARS

The Spy Catchers by Geoffrey Trease – set during the Napoleonic Wars when England was under threat of invasion. For younger children.

Level 2

ARCHITECTURE

The Great House by Cynthia Harnett – one of her less well known books, aimed at slightly younger children than her others. Story of two children in the 1690s, with an underlying architectural theme. Out of print.

JACOBITES

Bonnie Dundee by Rosemary Sutcliff – tells the story of one of the heroes of the Jacobite rebellion.
Flame Coloured Taffeta by Rosemary Sutcliff – a young girl cares for an injured man. Is he smuggler? Or a Jacobite?
Bonnie Prince Charlie – A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden by G.A.Henty
The Young Pretenders by Barbara Leonie Picard – a young girl and her brother, both secret supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie, hide a man they imagine to be an escaping Jacobite.

GEORGE III

Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George? by Jean Fritz – George III and the American Revolution.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Dagger in the Sky by Alan Gibbons – set during the Industrial Revolution. Two children with very different backgrounds meet (mill owner / mill worker). Out of print
The Black Lamp by Peter Carter – out of print
 
NAPOLEONIC WARS

With Moore at Corunna by G.A.Henty – war in the Spanish peninsula and sequel Under Wellington’s Command

YEAR 3: TERM 3

Level 2

QUEEN VICTORIA

Queen Victoria (Noel Streatfeild)  [World Landmark series] – excellent, but out of print
Victoria, May Blossom of Britannia, England 1829 (Anna Kirwan) [Royal Diaries series]

VICTORIAN SOCIETY

The December Rose by Leon Garfield – story of a boy chimney sweep.
The Butty Boy by Jill Paton Walsh – a young girl accidentally runs away on a canal boat
Thursday’s Child by Noel Streatfeild – three children run away from an orphanage
Facing Death by G.A.Henty – story of life as a coal miner in the 1800s
The Gate in the Wall by Ellen Howard – a young girl mill worker’s life changes when she gets a job on a canal boat

MEDICINE

The Blue Death by Judy Allen – true story of the 1854 London cholera outbreak and the doctor who discovered the cause of the disease.

TECHNOLOGY

No Horn at Midnight by Geoffrey Trease – adventure story set around early years of the railways
The Sentinels by Peter Carter

BOOKS SET IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND

Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce – classic story of a boy who discovers a time slip between the twentieth century and the Victorian age.
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell – tear-jerking classic story of a horse
The Warden's Niece by Gillian Avery - a girl runs away from school to live with her uncle, an Oxford academic. She joins the boys next door for lessons with an eccentric tutor, and learns how to use a library to solve a mystery. Fun.
The Greatest Gresham by Gillian Avery - a Bohemian family moves to Victorian suburbia.