Chelli Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 My dd12 is studying Early American history this year and I need some recommendations for a good, living book style, biography of Christopher Columbus. My problem is all the ones I've found for her age are "Rah! Rah! Isn't Columbus amazing!" All the books I've found that present a more balanced view of who he was are usually for adults/college. Is there a book out there that's a combination of both, middle grade reading level and also a balanced view? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 The reading level is on the easier side (8-12 yo), and it's not a biography, but has she read Pedro's Journal? It would be an easy book to balance out the reading of a biography that focused on the positives too much. It definitely brings out some of the negatives in Columbus' character and actions. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 (edited) It's not a biography, but it is non-fiction: Who Was First? Discovering the Americas by Russell Freedman. You could also add some carefully chosen excerpts from primary sources. I saw a number of good lesson plan sets which revolved around primary sources, coming from different angles on Columbus. Edited November 23, 2016 by Kfamily 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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