Reading Lists - American Colonial Period

The following books are recommended for children in grades 4-8. This list was compiled by using the on-line catalog of the Louisville Free Public Library. All books may not be available in every branch and there may only be single copies available. For more information or to verify the information listed below, you may want to check the Louisville Free Public Library's listings directly.

• Aptheker, Herbert. Early Years of the Republic. New York: International Publushers , 1976. 167 pp.
• Bigelow, Barbra. American Revolution. Detroit: UXL, 2000. 188 pp.
  Provides in-depth background and interpretation of the American Revolution, with short biographies of people relevant to the topics discussed in each chapter.
• Bober, Natalie. Countdown to Independence. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2001. 342 pp.
  Examines the people and events both in American colonies and in Great Brittan between 1760 and 1776 that led to the American Revolution.
• Burgan, Michael. Colonial and Revolutionary Times. New York: Franklin Watts, 2003. 144 pp.
  A guide to the major people, places, ideas, and events of the colonial and Revolutionary times.
• Canfield, Cass. Samuel Adams's Revolution, 1765-1776. New York: Harper and Row, 1976. 140 pp.
• Collier, James Lincoln. My Brother Sam is Dead
  Recounts the tragedy that strikes the Meeker family during the Revolutionary War when one son joins the rebel forces while the rest of the family tries to stay neutral in a Tory town.
• Cuyler, Margery. Battlefield Ghost
  When fourth grader John and his sister Lisa move into an old house in Princeton, New Jersey, they find it haunted by the ghost of a Hessian soldier from the Revolutionary War and try to reunite him with the ghost of his beloved horse.
• Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain
  After injuring his hand, a silversmith's apprentice in Boston becomes a messenger for the Sons of Liberty in the days before the American Revolution.
• Franchino, Vicky. Betsy Ross. Chanhanssen: Child's World. 2003. 32 pp.
  A brief introduction to the life and accomplishments of American patriot Betsy Ross, credited with making the first American flag.
• Fritz, Jean. Can’t You Make them Behave, King George? Coward-McCann, Inc. 1977. 48 pgs.
  Illustrated by Tomie De Paola and applicable to upper elementary and middle grades. A Humorous and humanizing depiction of King George III, and an informational book that provides King George ’s perspective on America and the Revolutionary War.
• Fritz, Jean. Early Thunder
  Events rapidly transpiring in Salem, Massachusetts in 1774-1775 force 14-year-old Daniel West to re-examine his loyalties, and finally, to change from Tory to Whig.
• Giblin, James C. George Washington: A Picture Book Biography. Illustrated by Michael Dooling. Scholastic Books, 1992.
  Nicely illustrated biography of Washington from his childhood to his final days.
• Griffith, Judith Berry. Phoebe the Spy
  During the Revolutionary War, Phoebe Fraunces has a chance to save the life of General George Washington while he has dinner at the Mortier House in New York City.
• Hull, Mary. The Boston Tea Party in American History. Springfield: Enslow Publishers. 1999. 128 pp.
  Presents the people and events connected with the dynamic episode called the Boston Tea Party, which helped to spawn the American Revolution.
• Jensen, Dorothea. Riddle of Pencroft Farm
  Lars Olafson's move to a farm near Valley Forge brings him friendship with the ghost of an eighteenth-century ancestor who recounts for him his adventures in that part of Pennsylvania during the American Revolution.
• McGovern, Ann. If You Lived in Colonial Times. Illustrated by June Otani. Scholastic Books, 1964.
  Answers questions about daily life in the colonies such as, "What happened if you misbehaved in school?" How did people get their news?" "Did children worry about table manners?"
• Myers, Anna. Keeping Room
  Left in charge of the family by his father who joins the Revolutionary War effort, thirteen-year-old Joey undergoes such great changes that he fears he may be betraying his beloved parent.
• Quackenbush, Robert M. Daughter of Liberty
  A chance encounter with General George Washington in upstate New York during the Revolutionary War leads a young woman to volunteer for a dangerous mission involving the retrieval of valuable papers.
• Reit, Seymour. Guns for General Washington
  Frustrated with life under siege in George Washington's army, nineteen-year-old Will Knox and his brother Colonel Henry Knox undertake the task of moving 183 cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston in the dead of winter.
• Zall, Paul. Becoming American. Hamden: Linnet Books, 1993.
  Includes letters, diaries, journals ,of twenty young people from all walks of life, reflecting their experiences in the pivotal period in American history from 1767 to 1789.