.... Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 Does anyone have a favorite book - could be nonfiction or fiction - about or set during the American Revolution? I'm putting together a unit study on the AR and I don't have much so far. I plan to do this in March, so I have a lot of time to research. Everything I find seems to be elementary/middle school level. Also, everything seems to be a lap book for an 8 year-old. So far, I'm seeing: Jackdaws American Revolution packet - but, sheesh, that's $70!! I would buy it if it were half that. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Smithsonian: The American Revolution: A Visual History - gets great reviews - it's 400 pages, so it sounds like it has a lot of info Drive-thru History - this gets mixed reviews, so I'm not sure.... Thanks for any ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur Actress Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 Yankee Doodle Boy by Joseph Plumb Martin. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted December 16, 2019 Author Share Posted December 16, 2019 Has anyone read A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution by Johann Doehla? It looks like it's only available used, but the samples look interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 Just a few quick notes: - Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin -- there is very little about the American Revolution in this -- just a bit in the short part 4, where he was sketching out a broad overview, as he died before fleshing out that section in detail - Jackdaws American Revolution -- Abe.books has it used for $46 Videos: - Liberty -- 6 hour PBS documentary - 1776 -- a musicalBiography: - John Adams (McCullough) -- and/or the 2008 mini-series based on the book (covers his role in the first 50 years of the nation) Historical Fiction (late middle school level): - Seeds of America trilogy: Chains, Forge, Ashes (Anderson) - Woods Runner (Paulsen) - My Brother Sam is Dead (Collier) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 (edited) Some of my favorites... Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis Revolutionary Summer by Joseph Ellis John Adams by David McCullough (or watch the miniseries) 1776 by David McCullough The American Spirit by David McCullough Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick Stanford's Reading Like a Historian has nice bits on primary sources-- a nice *free* alternative to Jackdaws... here's the ones on the American Revolution And a historical fiction series I like is Arundel, Rabble in Arms, and others by Kenneth Roberts Edited December 16, 2019 by Zoo Keeper added links 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 1776 by McCullough. See if your library has the illustrated version, which has lots of period maps, paintings, and engravings. Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Sharra. Does a good job of conveying that declaring independence wasn't a foregone conclusion. The Liberty! series mentioned above is very good. We also love the 1776 musical and Hamilton. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted December 17, 2019 Author Share Posted December 17, 2019 The sample for 1776 by McCullough looks very good. Does it only cover the start of the war? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted December 17, 2019 Author Share Posted December 17, 2019 (edited) So, looking around, I found The Duel: The Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Anyone read that? Looks interesting. After reading the summary of My Brother Sam is Dead, I am totally sold on that one. lol I would like to make a list of primary source documents to read also. Obviously, the Declaration of Independence.... I'm seeing that the Library of Congress website has a big list of them - along with pictures of the originals. Edited December 17, 2019 by Evanthe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Common Sense by Thomas Paine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 10 hours ago, Evanthe said: The sample for 1776 by McCullough looks very good. Does it only cover the start of the war? Its focus is on the events of the Revolution that happened during 1776. So, not really the end of the war. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 (edited) The National Archives site is wonderful. https://www.archives.gov/education Scroll down to the bottom of the page for links to other pages--FoundersOnline was lots of fun (for me!) I'm a history lover with only one child (so far) who actually reads and talks history with me. He's my one who read most of Sonlight and Ambleside and more. We could go on bunny trails for hours. 🙂 The others merely tolerate it. Edited December 18, 2019 by Zoo Keeper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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