Any must-reads for early American Hist for 5th grade?

[Chrysalis Academy]

We're about to delve into the American Revolution and early American history. I put together a book list for Miss P, and she's kind of stalling on it. I'm not exactly sure why, and I'm not sure whether to push her to read all or part of the books that remain, or whether to just let it go.

 

Whenever I get into this kind of quandry, I ask myself, "What is the goal of this assignment?" Well, in this case, it is to develop a fuller and richer understanding of the historical period than you can from just reading history text(s). But I wonder, if she isn't engaged enough in the books to read them with alacrity herself (she is an eager reader), then will reading the book meet the goal?

 

Anyway, here is what she has read so far:

Ben and Me - really liked it, but finds Mr. Revere and I boring and doesn't want to finish it

The Witch of Blackbird Pond - we did as a read aloud, as it is one of my favorites

The Sign of the Beaver - really liked it

Calico Captive - really liked it

 

Here is what is on the "to-read" list:

Sarah Bishop - she is reading this currently, but doesn't seem to be enjoying it much, and only picks it up when I remind her to.

Johnny Tremaine

Carry on, Mr. Bowditch

The Notorious Benedict

 

Johnny Tremaine and Carry on Mr B I see on lots of people's favorite lists, but I haven't read either (so obviously you can grow up to be an educated human being without them ;)). Are they worth making her try them? Or should I just let it go and let her read what she wants?

 

Books she has read and enjoyed this year include:

When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead

11 Birthdays - Wendy Mass

A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass

Island of the Blue Dolphins -Scott O'Dell

Ella Enchanted - Gale Carson Levine

Knight's Castle - Edward Eager

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle

 

So I don't think it's a book difficulty issue. She is good about saying when something is too hard for her - she wanted to read Hound of the Baskervilles after doing the summary in WWS, took a stab at it, and asked if we could do it as a read aloud instead.

 

Thoughts? What would you do? Any must reads on my list, or got any other must reads from this time period? Or do I just let it go?

[Chris in VA]

I thought Johnny Tremaine was really slow at the beginning, but it picks up.

We read Carry on Mr B and sorta liked it, but it was a little choppy for us (IIRC, people keep dying...).

 

Witch of Blackbird Pond is one of my all-time favs. :D

 

If you want a poignant book that is well-written, My Brother Sam is Dead is quite good, but if she's sensitive, maybe not. It's about the Revol. War.

 

Even tho it's easy, we really like The Matchlock Gun (people get shot, tho...:lol:--just laughing because that's rather obvious...).

 

We liked Jean Fritz' book about a young girl on the frontier who's family gets a visit from George Washington...ah, can't recall the title, but it's "famous."

 

LOVED Cinnabar, The One O'Clock Fox--about a fox on George W's property (he makes a visit to our church ;) so it's extra-special to us), if you want a period book that is more of an animal fantasy.

 

Oh, and when you get there, please read Caddie Woodlawn--it's set in the 1860's. Some folks put the Civil War into the last bit of Year 3 in the history rotation, some do it in Year 4.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Thoughts? What would you do? Any must reads on my list, or got any other must reads from this time period? Or do I just let it go?

 

I try to balance letting my dd know that sometimes she needs to read books that don't enthrall her with keeping our days enjoyable. I find that the more we're doing the more willing I am to let her skip books that truly don't interest her. She does it so rarely that it's not been an issue. If it happened all the time, I might feel differently.

 

There are so many good books. There's no need to waste precious time on ones that she isn't connecting with--no matter how highly recommended.

 

Sometimes I will later find my dd reading the same books she refused to read earlier. So if you already own them, keep them.

 

Just my 2cents. :)

[thowell]

Not sure what level it is as we read it as a read aloud but my kids really loved Winter Of The Red Snow for the Revolutionary War. We all shed tears on this book.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I thought Johnny Tremaine was really slow at the beginning, but it picks up.

We read Carry on Mr B and sorta liked it, but it was a little choppy for us (IIRC, people keep dying...).

 

Witch of Blackbird Pond is one of my all-time favs. :D

 

If you want a poignant book that is well-written, My Brother Sam is Dead is quite good, but if she's sensitive, maybe not. It's about the Revol. War.

 

Even tho it's easy, we really like The Matchlock Gun (people get shot, tho...:lol:--just laughing because that's rather obvious...).

 

We liked Jean Fritz' book about a young girl on the frontier who's family gets a visit from George Washington...ah, can't recall the title, but it's "famous."

 

LOVED Cinnabar, The One O'Clock Fox--about a fox on George W's property (he makes a visit to our church ;) so it's extra-special to us), if you want a period book that is more of an animal fantasy.

 

Oh, and when you get there, please read Caddie Woodlawn--it's set in the 1860's. Some folks put the Civil War into the last bit of Year 3 in the history rotation, some do it in Year 4.

 

Yes, she loved Caddie Woodlawn! Loved it! She will no doubt want to read it again when we get there.

 

She is sensitive, about people dying and/or animals suffering. I looked at My Brother Sam is Dead and The Bloody Country, but decided not based on the content review - I think he sees his mom get killed and scalped in one of them? Yeah, that would not go over too well with her.

 

I put Cinnibar on hold, she has liked other Henry books. I'll try and find the Jean Fritz thing. Thanks for the suggestions!

[UmMusa]

Subbing so I can check this out.

[Dani n Monies Mom]

The Fritz book is The Cabin Faced West.

Mocassin Trail

Phoebe the Spy

The Year of Ms. Agnes

Anything by Kenneth Thomasma

By The Great Horn Spoon

Freedom Train

 

These were some of my dd's favorites for US History.

 

I remember Johnny Tremain being a 'dense' book, meaning the language and rhythm were difficult to read, as it was published in 1943. However, it was well worth the effort. The imagery in the book is really wonderful. We did that and Carry on Mr. B as read-alouds.

 

Carry on Mr. B may not be great for sensitive types. It seems someone died, without preamble, in almost every chapter, though nothing graphic, just very matter-of-fact. We did, however, enjoy the book.

 

Ava

[Chris in VA]

Oh, By the Great Horn Spoon (and anything by Sid Fleischman) is wonderful! Very funny.

 

I also second the Ken Thomasma books. They are written from a Native American perspective. I liked the one about the Mormon girl caught in the snowstorm with the NA girl, and the one about Sacajewea's Shoshone friend. Easy to find the titles on Amazon...

[Chrysalis Academy]

I try to balance letting my dd know that sometimes she needs to read books that don't enthrall her with keeping our days enjoyable. I find that the more we're doing the more willing I am to let her skip books that truly don't interest her. She does it so rarely that it's not been an issue. If it happened all the time, I might feel differently.

 

There are so many good books. There's no need to waste precious time on ones that she isn't connecting with--no matter how highly recommended.

 

Sometimes I will later find my dd reading the same books she refused to read earlier. So if you already own them, keep them.

 

Just my 2cents. :)

 

Thanks for the 2 cents! This is exactly how I feel, particularly the bolded, but I'm also wanting to push her - just a little - to read things that are a bit outside of her comfort zone, whether content or difficulty level. This is the first time she's been unenthusiastic about several books in a row, and I'm trying to figure out if it is because they are more difficult (and she is being a little lazy, which I want her to work through) or if they really just aren't interesting? How to know?

 

Always searching for that elusive balance! :D

[Chrysalis Academy]

The Fritz book is The Cabin Faced West.

Mocassin Trail

Phoebe the Spy

The Year of Ms. Agnes

Anything by Kenneth Thomasma

By The Great Horn Spoon

Freedom Train

 

These were some of my dd's favorites for US History.

 

I remember Johnny Tremain being a 'dense' book, meaning the language and rhythm were difficult to read, as it was published in 1943. However, it was well worth the effort. The imagery in the book is really wonderful. We did that and Carry on Mr. B as read-alouds.

 

Carry on Mr. B may not be great for sensitive types. It seems someone died, without preamble, in almost every chapter, though nothing graphic, just very matter-of-fact. We did, however, enjoy the book.

 

Ava

 

 

Great suggestions, and they are good potential substitutions for what I had picked - seem to be right there at the same reading level. I will put them all on hold and give her the choice of a plethora of books!

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Always searching for that elusive balance! :D

 

I sure have enough scrapes and bruises from all the times I've lost mine. I'm always teetering on the edge of something. :tongue_smilie:

[RootAnn]

We did American History last year (link in my sig). I don't remember my oldest balking at any of her individually assigned books, but she has to read at least three chapters before she complains. (That's a rule in our house.) I'd preread all of them, so I knew which ones were dry or difficult and we did those as read alouds, audiobooks, or I allowed her to skip them if she didn't like them after three chapters.

 

For example, I really disliked Johnny Tremain, but other parents I know IRL rave about how their kids loved it. So, we got it on audiobook. My kids made it through almost the whole thing before they, too, could stand it no more. (And my kids LOVE audiobooks.)

 

Same thing with Lincoln: A Photobiography. I know it is a bit strange to get a photobiography on audiobook, but ... *yawn* There was no way they'd make it through reading it themselves and my eyes kept glazing over when I tried to read it to myself. They asked me to stop the audio before the first CD was finished. The one thing I remember clearly is the reader on the audiobook was the only person I've ever heard pronounce 'wh' (as in Whig) like Elle said we should /hw/. Crazy stuff.

 

On that note:

 

Here is what is on the "to-read" list:

Sarah Bishop

 

Never heard of it. If she's past chapter 3, I recommend you don't remind her about that one again.

 

Johnny Tremaine

Carry on, Mr. Bowditch

 

Skip Johnny with my permission. Read Carry On, Mr. B aloud if you do it at all. (We slogged through it for the historical & mathematical value, but didn't enjoy it. DH was in the Navy & is on a navigational kick, so we had to make it through. It was a depressing book.)

 

The Notorious Benedict

 

Never heard of it. Try the three-chapter rule.

 

The other books people have been recommending are good. (Well, except for Thomasma's Om-Kas-Toe. I don't know how such an exciting plot could be written in such a dull way, but he managed it. We liked Naya Nuki, though.) Try the three chapter rule. ... and if she can't get that far, try it as a read aloud for a bit. If you can't stomach it, don't make her. My humble opinion!

[Dani n Monies Mom]

It took me a while, but I finally remember the book Sarah Bishop. That's a Scott O'Dell book, if I'm remembering correctly. While his books are good, they always seemed a bit of a stretch for this age. In fact, I thought I remember seeing this in a high school core, possibly Sonlight?

 

I agree that there are so many good books out there for US History that she can probably skip a few with no issues.

 

Ava

[Woodland_Mom]

Here's what we read:

 

Almost Home - Mayflower& Pilgrims

The Sign of the Beaver - Colonial life among Indians

Guns of Thunder - French & Indian War

Amos Fortune, Free Man - Slave trade

Johnny Tremain - Pre-Revolutionary War - Boston

Ben and Me - Life of Benjamin Franklin

Bold Journey - Lewis & Clark

Bound for Oregon - Pioneers & the west

Courage to Run - Harriet Tubman & slavery

Iron Scouts of the Confederacy - Civil War

 

I can say that we enjoyed all of them! I personally LOVED "Almost Home" and "Sign of the Beaver". My boys really enjoyed "Ben and Me" "Amos Fortune", and "Iron Scouts of the Confederacy"

[Farrar]

The one book I would add that I didn't see mentioned was The Birchbark House. It's so good.

[Dani n Monies Mom]

We are actually reading that right now!! It is really good, we are enjoying it a lot.

 

That being said, the prologue is a bit descriptive/graphic. It surprised me with the somberness and sadness of the situation. The reading level is very appropriate for this age, though.

 

We are only half way through, so don't know about anything else that's like the prologue. The book is very funny and reminds me of Caddie Woodlawn in it's mischievous writing style.

 

Ava

[momtoamiracle]

The one book I would add that I didn't see mentioned was The Birchbark House. It's so good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was coming to post that one! Excellent book!

 

 

 

You could also

Ok at Ann Rinaldis Stitch in time series.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Thanks everybody! She finished Sarah Bishop (yes, it's the Scott O'Dell book) last night without any further prompting from me - we'll talk about it today. I got a bunch of these other suggestions and I'm going to let her choose, and I like the 3-chapter rule. I think we might try Johnny Tremaine as a read-aloud but I think we'll skip Mr. B. - when I look at it it doesn't appeal to me much as a read-aloud, so I shouldn't inflict it on her! :tongue_smilie:

 

I think the trouble is she honestly doesn't like "dark" books, or books with killing, suffering, etc. and let's face it, these books are about a war, so it's a little hard to avoid it! It's kind of a dilemna, right? She is still very young, and I don't want to push her into darker, more grown-up reading before she is ready, but there are a lot more "dark" books coming up as we get into early modern & modern history . . . I suppose at some point the sensitivity will get lost in the growing up, along with a lot of the innocence she has now, but I don't think it's a bad thing to protect that for awhile longer . . . What do you guys think?

 

It seems like it is more troubling to her in the context of real/historical reality - Harry Potter didn't bother her, even the later books, nor has more fantasy-type writing like The Princess and Curdie, but these historical novels are tougher for her.

[shukriyya]

Toliver's Secret is another I haven't seen mentioned. And yes, absolutely take into her account her sensitivities and allow her the grace of unfolding at her own pace. That is one of the huge benefits of homeschooling imo :)

[Momling]

My older daughter really liked "Chains" and "Fever 1793" by Laurie Anderson, BUT I would hold off on them until your daughter is older because they do involve darker themes that a sensitive kid might have trouble with.