Living Books about South Eastern United States/Gulf Coast

[BooksandBoys]

My children have loved the Burgess books and other Thornton Burgess books, and I have found several beautiful children's books about birds and other flora/fauna specific to our current area of the country (Colorado). My kids love learning about this and discovering it all in person when we go hiking.

 

As we're about to move to the southeastern US (we'll live about an hour north of the coast, but we'll spend time at the beaches too) for the first time, I'd like to hit the ground running with awesome books about the animals, birds, and plants of that region. My boys are still early elementary (8, 5, and almost 3), but I'm happy to read-aloud; that's a huge part of our schooling anyway. They like both narrative books and well-done nonfiction. Oh, I'd love some fiction from the area too! (As Colorado residents, we've loved Little Britches and The Prairie Thief). So, I guess I'm just asking for your favorite books about the southeastern US, regardless of "subject."

 

Thanks so much!

 

Edited because I never type correctly on my phone.

Edited May 18, 2016 by BooksandBoys

[SebastianCat]

We did a year of FL state history when my kids were in 4th and 2nd grades, and these were some of our favorites - historical fiction, some fiction set in FL, and some nonfiction.    In addition, Pineapple Press is a local publishing house that specializes in books about Florida as well as historical fiction set here:

 

·        A Land Remembered, Volume 1 ONLY (student edition – don’t read the original edition aloud to elementary aged kids) by Patrick D. Smith

·        A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole

·        The Adventures of Charlie Pierce: The American Jungle by Harvey E. Oyer 

·        The Adventures of Charlie Pierce: The Last Egret by Harvey E. Oyer

·        America’s Real First Thanksgiving by Robyn Gioia

·        Because of Winn Dixie  by Kate DiCamillo

·        El Lector by William Durbin

·        Escape to the Everglades by Edwina Raffa and Annelle Rigsby

·        The Great Florida Chase by Bob Schaller

·        Henry Flagler: Builder of Florida by Sandra Wallus Sammons

·        Illustrated Florida History by Jim Robe

·        Journeys With Florida’s Indians by Kelley G. Weitzel

·        Kidnapped in Key West by Edwina Raffa and Annelle Rigsby

·        Legends of the Seminoles by Betty Mae Jumper

·        The Missing Gator of Gumbo Limbo by Jean Craighead George

·        More Tellable Cracker Tales by Annette J. Bruce

·        Night Bird: A Story of the Seminole Indians by Kathleen V. Kudlinski

·        Panther Girl by Maity Schrecengost

·        Saving Home by Judy Lindquist

·        Solomon by Marilyn Bishop Shaw

·        The Spy Who Came in from the Sea by Peggy Nolan

·        Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

·        Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

·        The Tale of the Swamp Rat by Carter Crocker

·        Tasso of Tarpon Springs by Maity Schrecengost

·        Tellable Cracker Tales by Annette J. Bruce

·        The Timucua Indians – A Native American Detective Story by Kelley G. Weitzel

·        The Two Henrys: Henry Plant and Henry Flagler and Their Railroads by Sandra Wallus Sammons

·        The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings  (abridged version only as a read aloud for elementary ages, Penguin Readers, retold by Coleen Degnan-Veness).  Older kids (middle & high school) could probably handle the full-length version.

[ktgrok]

 The Barefoot Mailman (check for different versions but I vividly remember learning about this in school)

Foxy is a fiction book set in the Florida Keys. May be sad, I haven't read it since I was in 4th grade, but I remember my whole class loved it. 

[BooksandBoys]

Thanks, kgrok and Sebastian Cat!

[mumto2]

Pagoo by Holling, an all time favourite. Beautiful illustrations which can be turned into a great science unit study. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/937198.Pagoo. Make sure to look at the illustrations in the first review.

[BooksandBoys]

Pagoo by Holling, an all time favourite. Beautiful illustrations which can be turned into a great science unit study. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/937198.Pagoo. Make sure to look at the illustrations in the first review.

This one was on my radar as a possibility for 3rd grade anyway. Now we're definitely going to study it. I remember the tidal pools of the Florida Panhandle fondly.