silver Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 I'm looking for some non-fiction books for history for my son. We have a textbook/spine. I don't want to add historical fiction. I'd like well written non-fiction historical books that are good for middle school aged kids. Where is a good source to find these books? It seems like book options I find listed on various curricula websites tend to be picture books or historical fiction. I'd prefer some sort of source for finding books that I can use when he expresses interest in a topic, but if you know of a not-to-be-missed title, please share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 I've never seen an overarching resource for things like this. It's a tricky age - kids this age can often start reading popular adult nonfiction about history. If you look at YA nonfiction history on a book website like Amazon, then that's definitely one place to start. You'll have to do some sorting through things that don't fit or are a bit silly (when I just did this search on Amazon, the #2 book was something about Harry Potter) but many of those books will be good (the #1 was The Boys Who Challenged Hitler, which is supposed to be good). Also, look for young reader's editions of popular adult nonfiction books - it's surprising how many there are now! I'm using one for The Code Book for the online class I'm teaching. But there are so many - for People's History, Unbroken, Finest Hours, etc. The best author in YA nonfiction is definitely Steve Sheinkin. Everything by him is great. Bomb is my favorite, but he's written so many wonderful nonfiction history books. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Cold War and spycraft: The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Mcintyre. (Aldrich Ames as the CIA traitor, and a Russian KGB agent working for MI6.) Manifest Destiny, the Donner Party, migration to California: The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny by Michael Walls. Dust bowl: The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan. History of Texas, Civil War, Texas Rangers, buffalo hunters: Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Don't know of a booklist that fits what you're looking for, but I had good success in searching the elementary and teen nonfiction book shelves of the branch of the library near me. And also browsing local library's online card catalog for additional books to put on hold and have them shipped over to the branch near me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 1 hour ago, Lori D. said: Don't know of a booklist that fits what you're looking for, but I had good success in searching the elementary and teen nonfiction book shelves of the branch of the library near me. And also browsing local library's online card catalog for additional books to put on hold and have them shipped over to the branch near me. I've not had much luck blindly choosing non-fiction from the library catalog. They have a lot of boring, poorly written books. You know the type? It's almost a weird cross between an encyclopedia entry and a public school textbook. Or it's a cluttered book full of factoids. I can plan to take longer trips to the library to browse the shelves. I usually request books online and then just return books, pick up my holds, and leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Try cross referencing what you see in the library catalog with online bookstore or Goodreads pages for the book. It may give you a sense of whether it's a book that at least looks promising. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 What time period is your son studying? Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Guesthollow has a history bookshelf link that is decent, but slim. SOTW activity guides have non-fiction recommendations. My personal favorites for middle school, though, are ones that I have carefully chosen, often from recommendations here: Oxford University Press' Middle Ages set Story Of Science The World In The Time Of....(some are better than others) Letters Of Note (yes, there are books as well as the website) The "Newspaper" series: Roman Times, Egyptian Gazette, etc.. These are slim and probably more aimed at upper elementary, but they each provide a fun perspective. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 He's doing medieval right now and will be doing ealy modern starting in May. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 One book I liked was Rats, Bulls & Flying Machines: A History of the Renaissance & Reformation (Core Chronicles Ser. 1). https://www.amazon.com/Rats-Bulls-Flying-Machines-Renaissance/dp/1890517186/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546733259&sr=8-1&keywords=Rats+reformation You might also see if any of the books by Albert Marrin might work for you; I'd describe them as meaty non-fiction. https://www.amazon.com/Albert-Marrin/e/B001H6PVE6/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1546733387&sr=8-1 Regards, Kareni 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 34 minutes ago, Kareni said: One book I liked was Rats, Bulls & Flying Machines: A History of the Renaissance & Reformation (Core Chronicles Ser. 1). https://www.amazon.com/Rats-Bulls-Flying-Machines-Renaissance/dp/1890517186/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546733259&sr=8-1&keywords=Rats+reformation LOVE that book! (:D 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) Seconding HomeAgain's suggestion of the Oxford University Press Medieval and Early Modern World series: does your library have these? They are terrific and do come with excellent bibliographies which might help you find more resources (here's the one book I looked up as a sample recommendation -- it is part of a "Portraits in Science" series so maybe that's one useful spot to begin). Maybe worth it just for the bibliographies, you could always photocopy those pages to have as a reference. Did I mention the bibliographies in the OUP series? 😉 Just sayin'. You can also hit the Charlotte Mason sites. Ursa Minor has secular booklists that are rigorous and include many contemporary authors (though I find sometimes their main curriculum suggestions are not age-appropriate). If your child tolerates old-fashioned writing, Ambleside Online has older books, with all the various pluses and minuses that go along. The Build Your Library curriculum has a good deal of non-fiction, too. DK's Eyewitness books go over well when my boys have an interest in something, but they may not be the level you want. Often, though, I find an Amazon search for "DK + [subject of interest]" yields a worthwhile title, or that the Amazon page for the DK book on a subject yields links to other books that may be more in-depth. Edited January 31, 2019 by serendipitous journey 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Some of the Landmark titles might be appropriate. Some of the books in the series are definitely written toward a younger audience, but some are more complex and written on the subject in a more accessible way for middle schoolers. For example Shirer's Rise and Fall of Hitler https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Adolf-Hitler/dp/039480547X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 combined with Reynold's Winston Churchill make a great combo. https://www.amazon.com/Winston-Churchill-World-landmark-books/dp/B0007DME1I i did a search to see if I couple find a link separating them out by avg grade level. This link gives their titles: http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/lm.htm This link shows how varied the reading levels can be https://www.perma-bound.com/SearchExact-Series/"Landmark Books" If a title fits your needs, you can search for more info on that particular title. I also really like the American Heritage Jr Library series http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/american.htm and the Horizon-Caravel books. http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/horizon.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 I am organizing our history shelves, and just found this series: National Geographic World History Biographies. Here's the publisher site. They are a sort of mix between standard non-fiction and encyclopedia/DK-style, and I like the one we have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 On 1/4/2019 at 11:31 AM, Lori D. said: Don't know of a booklist that fits what you're looking for, but I had good success in searching the elementary and teen nonfiction book shelves of the branch of the library near me. And also browsing local library's online card catalog for additional books to put on hold and have them shipped over to the branch near me. This is what we did. Found lots of sources, diaries, and interesting nonfiction just by searching.the topics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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