Book picks similar to
Susanna of the Alamo: A True Story by John Jakes
history
non-fiction
childrens
children
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims
Clyde Robert Bulla - 1954
Tells of the adventurous life of the Wampanoag Indian, Squanto.
The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower, or John Howland's Good Fortune
P.J. Lynch - 2015
Lynch brings a Mayflower voyager’s story to vivid life.At a young age, John Howland learned what it meant to take advantage of an opportunity. Leaving the docks of London on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to Pilgrim John Carver, John Howland little knew that he was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.By his great good fortune, John survived falling overboard on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and he earned his keep ashore by helping to scout a safe harbor and landing site for his bedraggled and ill shipmates. Would his luck continue to hold amid the dangers and adversity of the Pilgrims’ lives in New England?John Howland’s tale is masterfully told in his own voice, bringing an immediacy and young perspective to the oft-told Pilgrims’ story, P.J. Lynch captures this pivotal moment in American history in precise and exquisite detail, from the light on the froth of a breaking wave to the questioning voice of a teen in a new world.
My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Christine King Farris - 2003
Martin Luther King Jr., joins with celebrated illustrator Chris Soentpiet to tell this “outstanding” (School Library Journal) and inspirational story of how one boyhood experience inspired a movement that would change the world as we know it.Mother Dear, one day I’m going to turn this world upside down. Long before he became a world-famous dreamer, Martin Luther King Jr. was a little boy who played jokes and practiced the piano and made friends without considering race. But growing up in the segregated south of the 1930s taught young Martin a bitter lesson—little white children and little black children were not to play with one another. Martin decided then and there that something had to be done. And so he began the journey that would change the course of American history.
The Butterfly
Patricia Polacco - 2000
Until the night Monique encounters "the little ghost" sitting at the end of her bed. When she turns out to be--not a ghost at all--but a young girl named Sevrine, who has been hiding from the Nazis in Monique's own basement, how could Monique not be surprised! Playing upstairs after dark, the two become friends until, in a terrifying moment, they are discovered, sending both of their families into a nighttime flight. In the tradition of Pink and Say, Patricia Polacco once again dips into her own family's history to reveal her Aunt Monique's true story of friendship from the French Resistance.
Jefferson's Sons
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - 2011
The lighter-skinned children have been promised a chance to escape into white society, but what does this mean for the children who look more like their mother? As each child grows up, their questions about slavery and freedom become tougher, calling into question the real meaning of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."Told in three parts from the points of view of three of Jefferson's slaves - Beverly, Madison, and a third boy close to the Hemings family - these engaging and poignant voices shed light on what life was like as one of Jefferson's invisible offspring.
John Henry
Julius Lester - 1994
It's a deadly contest of man-vs-machine written with such power that this African-American folk hero becomes as awesome as a force of nature, yet as familiar as an older brother. Pinkney's stunning art shows John Henry's energy bursting from nature. Full color.
Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing
James Rumford - 2004
The task he set for himself was daunting. Sequoyah knew no English and had no idea how to capture speech on paper. But slowly and painstakingly, ignoring the hoots and jibes of his neighbors and friends, he worked out a system that surprised the Cherokee Nation—and the world of the 1820s—with its beauty and simplicity. James Rumford’s Sequoyah is a poem to celebrate literacy, a song of a people’s struggle to stand tall and proud.
The Nutcracker Comes to America: How Three Ballet-Loving Brothers Created a Holiday Tradition
Chris Barton - 2015
But how did this 19th-century Russian ballet become such a big part of the holidays in 21st-century America?Meet Willam, Harold, and Lew Christensen, three small-town Utah boys who caught the ballet bug in the early 1900s. They performed on vaudeville and took part in the New York City dance scene. Russian immigrants shared the story of The Nutcracker with them, and during World War II, they staged their own Christmastime production in San Francisco. It was America's first full-length version and the beginning of a delightful holiday tradition.
Mama's Bank Account
Kathryn Forbes - 1943
This bestselling book inspired the play, motion picture, and television series I Remember Mama.
Meet Thomas Jefferson
Marvin Barrett - 1967
Jefferson thought that many English laws and taxes were unfair, so he studied hard to become a lawyer and help make better laws. Soon he and others came to believe that the colonies should become a new country, and Jefferson was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence. As the third president of the United States, he focused on exploring the country and making it grow. His fairness and love of learning made him one of the most beloved presidents of all time.
The Story of Mankind
Hendrik Willem van Loon - 1921
Hendrik Willem van Loon's ability to convey history as a fascinating tale of adventure has endeared this book to countless readers. 280 drawings.
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Eleanor Coerr - 1977
And then the dizzy spells start. Soon gravely ill with leukemia, the "atom bomb disease," Sadako faces her future with spirit and bravery. Recalling a Japanese legend, Sadako sets to work folding paper cranes. For the legend holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again. Based on a true story, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes celebrates the extraordinary courage that made one young woman a heroine in Japan.
The Buffalo Are Back
Jean Craighead George - 2010
This stirring picture book tells the dramatic story, following bison from the Plains Indians to the cowboys, Teddy Roosevelt to the Dust Bowl, and from the brink of extinction to the majestic herds that now roam our national parks. Paired with gorgeous paintings by landscape artist Wendell Minor, Jean Craighead George’s engaging text will inspire a new generation to understand and protect nature’s delicate balance.
Remember: The Journey to School Integration
Toni Morrison - 2004
These unforgettable images serve as the inspiration for Ms. Morrison’s text—a fictional account of the dialogue and emotions of the children who lived during the era of “separate but equal” schooling. Remember is a unique pictorial and narrative journey that introduces children to a watershed period in American history and its relevance to us today. Remember will be published on the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ending legal school segregation, handed down on May 17, 1954.
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
Jean Lee Latham - 1955
Nathaniel Bowditch grew up in a sailor’s world—Salem in the early days, when tall-masted ships from foreign ports crowded the wharves. But Nat didn’t promise to have the makings of a sailor; he was too physically small. Nat may have been slight of build, but no one guessed that he had the persistence and determination to master sea navigation in the days when men sailed only by “log, lead, and lookout.” Nat’s long hours of study and observation, collected in his famous work, The American Practical Navigator (also known as the “Sailors’ Bible”), stunned the sailing community and made him a New England hero.