25 Must-Read American History Living Books for the Elementary Years
Learning about American history is fun when you learn through reading living books: engaging stories of real people, or inspired by real people, that draw you into the different time periods just as though you were experiencing them yourself!
The Charlotte Mason method of teaching history uses living books, which is one of the reasons why history comes alive for our kids. If you’re looking for books to use in your American history lessons, here is our list of must-read living books for the elementary years.
American History Spines for a Charlotte Mason Homeschool
If you’re looking for a history spine to use for the elementary years, we heartily recommend these, which you can read over several years:
1. This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall
This all-encompassing history of the United States starts with the English exploration and the colonies, all the way to the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. The book contains close to 100 stories are grouped into 7 time period, starting with the pioneers and ending with stories of the United States under the Constitution.
2. George Washington’s World by Genevieve Foster
This unique take on the life of George Washington includes stories of everything else that was happening in the different parts of the world throughout his life, from 1732 to 1799. For example, when he was a young man, Benjamin Franklin was the most famous American, France was led by Louis XV, and England by George II. It was also the time when Mozart and Bach were wowing the world with their musical prowess.
This can be a good history spine for children in middle to upper elementary.
Early American History Living Books
Check out these books that make early American history come alive:
3. A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla
Three years ago, Amanda Freebold’s father traveled across the ocean to the new colony in America, leaving her with her mother and younger siblings. But now her mother has died, so Amanda makes the decision to bring her brother and sister to America to find their father. Despite the difficulties of the ocean travel, Amanda has a little brass lion’s head that belonged to her father to keep them safe.
4. The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty
In the early 1600s, William Bradford and a group of friends fled England and its mandatory membership in the Church of England, stopping in Holland before deciding to sail to America for a new life of religious freedom. Despite the harsh winter and numerous deaths among the first settlers. they pressed on, until a group of pilgrims finally made it through.
5. Pocahontas and the Strangers by Clyde Robert Bulla
Read about the strength of this extraordinary Native American girl who fought to bring peace between her father’s tribe and the white-faced strangers.
6. Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla
This is the biography of Squanto, the Indian of the Wampanoag tribe who had been sold into slavery in Spain. He had traveled with English explorers, and when he finally returned to America, he was able to befriend and help the pilgrims at Plymouth.
7. Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac
In this picture book, read about how the Mayflower lands on Native American shores, welcomed by Squanto, who teaches the newcomers how to survive in the land. With a good harvest gathered, both natives and newcomers come together in a feast that continues to be celebrated in centuries to come.
8. The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh
Follow Damaris, Constance, and Giles Hopkins as they board the crowded Mayflower to start a new life in the New World. They welcome a new brother born during the journey and arrive to face cold, hunger, and sickness in the small colony. To their surprise, the Native Americans help them pull through their first year in their strange new home—starting a tradition to celebrate for generations to come.
9. The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
The year is 1707, and Sarah Noble and her father journeys through the wildnerness to build a home for their family. Her mother always encourages her to “keep up your courage, Sarah Noble,” which was not always easy to do: how do you keep brave in the midst of dark woods, with animals and Indians all around?
10. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Matt is a 13-year-old boy whose father leaves him in charge of their new cabin in the wilderness of Maine while he goes to get his mother and siblings. He knows he can survive, but when a white stranger steals his gun, he’s left defenseless and at a loss how to hunt for food. But he meets a native boy named Attean, of the Beaver tribe, who teaches him
11. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Kit Tyler is a 16-year-old who arrives in colonial Connecticut in 1687 and struggles living with a family she has never met. Then she becomes friends with Hannah Tupper, whom the colonists believe to be a witch, making things even more difficult for Kit with the townspeople.
12. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
See how frontier life is for Caddie Woodlawn, a young girl torn between wanting to run wild with the boys and pleasing her mother, who wants her to be a proper lady like her cousin Annabelle. Things don’t get any easier when she forms an unlikely friendship with a Native American.
13. Little House on the Prairie Series
This is our absolute favorite in getting a slow but steady dose of how life was during the early years of frontier life. We love how the set follows Laura Ingalls as she grows up in different homes and confront the challenges of pioneer life with her family.
Read more about the series in this post.
Living Books About the Revolutionary War
If you want the Revolutionary War to be “real” to your kids, we recommend the following books:
14. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Christopher Bing
This amazing picture book brings this famous poem to life, bringing this American hero to life amid historical fact and rich imagination. Bing also adds material to help you follow the British campaign, such as maps, documents, all woven together in excellent engraved art.
15. Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins
This classic of children’s historical fiction brings us right into the Revolutionary War through the eyes of 14-year-old Johnny Tremain, who, as an apprentice silversmith, has a bright future ahead—until he hurts his hand in an accident. Forced to look for other work, he becomes a horse-boy, which eventually throws him right into the middle of the American Revolution.
16. Poor Richard by James Daugherty
Get to know Benjamin Franklin as both the man and the artist through this excellently written biography. The man who would soon become a statesman, orator, writer, and leader in the American Revolution lived through turbulent times but confronted them with passion.
17. Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober
Although Abigail Adams is usually seen just as the mother of one president and the wife of another. But through her letters to family and friends, we see her as a first-hand witness as the Revolutionary War gathers steam, with soldiers frequently stopping at her house for a glass of water—which was just one of the ways she was personally involved in the war effort.
18. Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution by Gretchen Woelfle
See the role that African Americans played in the fight for freedom while joining the British and American armies. This collection showcases thirteen stories of people who answered the call for freedom, with an emphasis on their choices and how these helped change America.
Living Books About the New Nation and Western Expansion
Let’s move along the history timeline and check out our next batch of American history living books:
19. George Washington’s Breakfast by Jean Fritz
This picture book is an engaging tale of a young boy named George who started researching what George Washington had for breakfast. Not only does it give you a first experience of the first president, it also shares interesting ideas about how to do research. Best for younger ages and perhaps more for a free-read.
20. Of Courage Undaunted by James Daughterty
Follow the extraordinary journey of Meriweather Lewis and William Clark from St. Louis 3555 miles all the way to the Pacific Ocean! The simple but powerful storytelling is based on original accounts, giving us a glimpse of the real dangers and exciting adventures that the team encountered in their journey west.
21. Little Britches by Ralph Moody
The book is an autobiographical account of Ralph Moody’s childhood in the early 1900s, when his family moved to a Colorado ranch, giving us a first-hand glimpse of ranch life. But what happens when Ralph needs to take his father’s place at the ranch?
Living Books About Slavery and the Civil War
Here we come to a dark part of America’s history, but one that our children will understand better through the eyes of the main characters:
22. Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
See the turbulent years of the Civil War through the eyes of Jethro Creighton, who is only nine years old when the book opens in the year 1861. The conflict between the North and South divides Jethro’s family, and we see him coming of age over the five years of the tumultuous war.
23. Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
Jeff Bussey is a 16-year-old who’s excited to join the Union volunteers. The year is 1861, and Jeff is looking forward to fight for the North and win the war soon. But as weeks turn to months, the excitement starts to wear off and the war takes it toll on Jeff and his friends. Then, to his surprise, he finds himself among enemy troops, giving us a look at the war from both sides of the fence.
Living Books for American History from the Great Depression Onwards
I personally believe the period during the Great Depression is an important time for our children (and us, too!) to study. Here are some good choices for living books for the upper elementary years:
24. No Promises in the Wind by Irene Hunt
This is the heartbreaking story of three boys who run away from a difficult home at the peak of the Great Depression. Two of them join the circus and experience the challenges of earning their own living even from a very young age.
25. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Experience the height of the Depression through the life of Cassie Logan, a young colored girl who goes through the pains of racial injustice at the hands of their neighbors while her family struggles with financial difficulties in a desperate fight to keep their land.
We also loved the sequels, Let the Circle be Unbroken and Road to Memphis. If you want, you can use all three books as a set for your upper elementary student.
Using Living Books for Charlotte Mason American History Lessons
If you are homeschooling using the Charlotte Mason approach, we believe these books can make American history come alive for our children. Some of them you can use as actual school books, while others you can add to their free read pile.
If you want, you can even schedule all these books from first to sixth grades and you will have covered most of the important aspects of American history through stories that will likely stay with your children even as they grow up!
