Must-Read US History Book List for Homeschool - Free Printable

Great for any homeschool family studying United States History (and especially Classical Conversations during Cycle 3!), this US History Book List covers Columbus to September 11. Free printable list at the end of this post!

If you’re like me, you’re reading this sometime mid-spring when the old school year starts to feel worn out, and you itch to just throw your lesson plans out the window and head for the hills. Or maybe you’re new to homeschool and it’s the end of August and you don’t know where to begin.

Either way, you’re in the right place, because a great school year starts with a great book list. Every homeschooler in the United States will study our country’s history at several points in their child’s education. So this is a book list for everyone! In particular, this list coordinates with the weekly themes of our Classical Conversations program during Cycle 3.

This is our family’s fourth time through U. S. History study, and we’ve read many great books over the years. As I put together this US History book list, I realized we have much to explore in the huge buffet that is American literature for children! I’m excited about that prospect.

But it’s also daunting. This book list helps be be strategic as I plan our year. I hope with this CC Cycle 3 US History book list, you can also create a rich literary year for your homeschool.

US History Book List for CC Cycle 3

This year, I’m homeschooling grades 6 and 8. As the boys have grown, we’ve read through many great titles over the years. That’s the beauty of “spiraling” curriculum: our understanding deepens each time we cycle through.

I’ve also included some books related to our CC science topics of Human Anatomy and Chemistry, but those topics are not well-developed in this list.

US History Book List Organization

The book list presented here is mostly organized by Classical Conversations Cycle 3 weekly history themes. However, there are some “general” categories for history, geography, fine arts, and science. If a book fits a particular week, I have placed it in that week. If not, it ended up in the “general” section.

Each section is organized NOT alphabetically, but more by age-range. So the easier books are likely at the top of the list, and the Grade 5+ books would be at the bottom. It is not perfectly organized, but generally.

At the end of this post, I have a free PDF download of this US History book list, so you can print it out and keep track of which titles you read year after year!

This U. S. History Read-Aloud book list is perfect for any family studying U. S. History, geography, authors, and artists. Even if you’re not in Classical Conversations, you will find this PDF book list a useful breakdown of what to read week by week in your homeschool study of U. S. History!

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U. S. History Book List Selection Criteria

If I thought last year’s Medieval to Modern European History book list was vast… this year’s list far surpasses that one. There are simply so many options for American people, places, and events. Every single person or topic you could think of has easily a half dozen AMAZING choices. I’m sure I have missed some of everybody’s favorite titles, but I had to set some limiting factors for this list.

Age-appropriateness

I have a 6th and 8th grader this year. We continue to read text-heavy picture books. Yes, even at this age, picture books provide a wonderful opportunity to cover a lot of ground quickly. However, I limited preschool-level pictures books to only those that contributed something I couldn’t find in other titles (I have identified these in purple on the printable). Generally, the picture books and easy readers included have more text, and are suitable for 4-8 years olds.

The fiction and non-fiction read-aloud books will hold the interest of most K-6th grade students. I included a small handful of books for Grades 5+ (these are indicated in red text on the printable, and books that fell into Challenge A, I marked as “ChA” – you might choose to read those now as a preview, or hold off until your child starts Challenge years.).

Christian Values

Not every book on the list is religious. In fact, many are secular, but I chose books that hold with our values for content and language. If you spot something I overlooked, please make me aware – some of these books I read quite some time ago. With a list this long, there are some titles I have never read, however, I did extensively search through the samples on Amazon, and read many reviews to get a sense of what was included.

There are a small number of books where readers noted objectionable elements (language, negative cultural depictions, or violence), however, also noted the book had value in other ways (historically accuracy, one-of-a-kind, or otherwise). Sometimes, a book written during a particular time period can give us good insight about the past, and if presented carefully to older students, provide opportunity to foster dialectic discussions about the way people have been viewed over time. So I kept a few of these books on the list, but I marked them with an * asterisk.

While I highly recommend parents preview EVERY book, these * books should definitely be previewed. I suggest looking them up on Amazon, because you will see there what people have objected to, and why I kept them on the list anyway.

Living Books

We often talk about books being “high-quality” and “readable.” But those terms can be subjective. The Charlotte Mason concept of Living Books gives us better definition of what makes a book “good” for a child’s education. A Living Book has these qualities (adapted from Simply Charlotte Mason):

Convey the author’s passion in conversational style – often narrative (story) based.
Construct well-told stories using strong word choices and well-developed characters, plot, or organization.
Create a lasting impression – because it sparks the imagination or inspire the heart – a living book will draw the listeners in and create desire to discuss the book and leave a lasting impression.
Contain character-building ideas – the reader/listener will be shaped and changed by the ideas contained in the book. A book of facts cannot do this work.

Variety

I tried to balance fiction, non-fiction, biography, and even add in some poetry. There are a good number of picture books, readers, and longer chapter books, as well as some reference books. While this list is heavy on history topics, the printable includes selections of science, math, and fine arts topics, especially where they overlap with U.S History.

I tried to include choices for families with kids at different stages. So, you might see a biography of Harriet Tubman in picture book and chapter book format. Pick the one that best fits your children. Or, if you like, read both! It’s up to you.

When it comes to topics like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, there are so many choices, I listed three or four. Choose whatever piques your interest (or is available at your library!). This book list is NOT an assignment you must get through. Remember you will return to this list in three years and have a chance to cover more books!

Achievability

I can overwhelm myself with a book list that is not do-able in a year’s time. I, want to #readallthebooks. However, this book list strives to curate carefully more than compile exhaustively. It’s an attempt at a year of literature study for my kids, so I had to limit myself to what can possibly be read in nine to ten months. Therefore, if I found a topic/week had too many titles, or if there were titles that covered similar ground, I made some hard choices.

Even so, I am STILL not going to read all 400 books on this list. I am going to pare this list back for our family to about 1/4 or less for this particular year. And that is okay – the important part is to cultivate a love of reading, and make rich deposits in our children’s literary memory bank!

Reference Books and Series Books

There are MANY reference books available for this time period. I listed a few key books that are handy to have all year round to dip in and out of as time allows. Where the book list was “thin” on a topic, I listed some reference books. But otherwise, I narrowed the field on those, because sometimes too many of the same style of book gets boring, and reference books don’t always make great read-aloud titles. They are better or report and research writing. Feel free to add additional reference books in as you see fit.

These publishers offer illustrated reference books with consistent quality:

DK
Kingfisher
Usborne (now, Paper Pie)
We the People
Cornerstones of Freedom
True Books
Witness to History

Series Books

There truly is such a thing as “too many books, too little time!” Series books provide ample reading opportunities for this time period. I love series books, because they support independent readers and can be reliable book grabs at the library.

Because of the overwhelming quantity of materials, I limited the inclusion of series books on this US History book list unless the book choices for the topic was thin. So many of these series have a range of U. S. History titles, you might want to consider adding some of these back in if your family loves a particular series:

Magic Tree House American series
Who Was? America Boxed Set
You Wouldn’t Want to Be… series
Christian Heroes Then and Now (or Christian Heroes for Young Readers) – the YWAM books
Hands-on History
The Sowers Series
You Choose History
Childhood of Famous Americans
Landmark Books

Time Period

CC Cycle 3 covers U. S. History from the exploration of Columbus through September 11th, 2001, which is over 500 years of time. Since history is horizontal, we could spend a tremendous amount of time trying to cover all that was happening during this era. For instance, World War I and II are European wars, but eventually involved the United States of America.

Last cycle, I limited the World War books to the ones that featured European involvement. In the same way, this cycle, I tried to limit the books on this list to cover the U. S. aspects and involvement in the war. You will find a little bit of overlap from the Cycle 2 list.

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How to use this CC Cycle 3 US History Book list

Some weeks of this US History Book List have ample books on the weekly topic and others are lighter. For example, Week 1 has 11 books, but week 19 only has 5. Don’t expect that you will read every book from every week (unless you’re super ambitious!). Here is how I plan:

First, I check off the books we have already read.
Then, I select about twenty “must-read” chapter books for our morning time read-aloud titles. It can take us 2+ weeks to get through a 100-200 page book. If you’re at the picture book stage, you will of course, select at least double that amount!
Next, I check my local library to see what titles are available. This often limits my selections as well. I usually request holds for 3-4 weeks at a time. If a book I really want isn’t available, I use some of my homeschool budget at my favorite second hand stores:
- Savers
- Thiftbooks – Great rewards program! If you sign up with my link and spend $30, we both get a FREE book!
- Better World Books – Get $5 off $30 order with my link

TIP: The books labeled as picture books (PB) will be less than 50 pages, and usually not have as much text. The read-aloud (RA) books are generally between 100-250 words. You can check on Amazon to see how long a book is, and plan your reading that way too.

How we read books in our homeschool:

Some books (like non-fiction titles with topical sections) might not get fully read, or they might get read out of order. We might browse selections that fit the current week.

Sometimes we play “catch-up” during the break weeks of CC. We might read a selection of shorter picture books at this time.

Sometimes I shift a few titles to bedtime reading status, so we can cover more ground. Getting Dad involved is key here!

If a book is not gripping us (maybe it’s too advanced), I feel free to “abandon” or “postpone” the title to another time. Please do not feel tied to any book – not every book will be a home run for your kids!

The pictures below are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

U. S. History Book List by Week

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION] I started linking to each book, however, that became a daunting task! 🙂 Until I finish that, you can shop these books in my Amazon Storefront!

So here we go – it’s a wide feast of reading that awaits you as you study U. S. History with this book list!

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U.S. History Book List – GENERAL REFERENCE

The Story of the World Vol 3 CD The Story of the World Vol 4 CD A Child’s History of the World Encyclopedia of World History The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia When on Earth?The Children’s Book of America U.S. History Bites Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry

U. S. Geography Books & Reference

Surrounded By Sea: Life on a New England Fishing Island The Brooklyn Bridge: The story of the world’s most famous bridge and the remarkable family that built it Mississippi Going North Stone Fox Welcome to the Sea of Sand Squirrel and John Muir Up on Denali: Alaska’s Wild Mountain Storm Run: The Story of the First Woman to Win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race The Adventures of Balto: The Untold Story of Alaska’s Famous Iditarod Sled Dog Balto and the Great Race (Totally True Adventures): How a Sled Dog Saved the Children of Nome Geography from A to Z: A Picture Glossary Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air The Kingfisher Atlas of the Modern World

Columbus & Exploration

Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus – Peter Sis (PB) (BIO)
Christopher Columbus – Ingri & Edgar d’Aulaire (PB) (BIO)
Christopher Columbus – Stephen Krensky (R) (BIO)
Columbus – Demi (PB) (BIO)
Lief the Lucky – Ingri & Edgar d’Aulaire (PB) (BIO)
A Fine Dessert – Emily Jenkins (PB) (F)
Pedro’s Journal – Pam Conrad (RA) (F)
Exploration and Conquest: The Americas After Columbus: 1500-1620 – Betsy Maestro (PB) (NF)
Explorers Who Got Lost – Diane Sansevere-Dreher (PB) (NF)
First Voyage to America: From the Log of the “Santa Maria” – Christopher Columbus (REF) (NF)
You Wouldn’t Want to Sail With Christopher Columbus! – Fiona Macdonald (PB) (NF)

The Pilgrims & The Colonial Era

Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving – Eric Metaxas (PB) (BIO)
Squanto, Friend Of The Pilgrims – Clyde Robert Bulla (RA) (BIO) (IEW)
Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving – Joseph Bruchac (PB) (BIO)
Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier – Gail Langer Karwoski (RA) (BIO)
A Lion to Guard Us – Clyde Robert Bulla (RA) (F)
Across the Wide Dark Sea: The Mayflower Journey – Jean Van Leeuwen (PB) (F)
Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy – Kate Waters (RA) (F)
Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl – Kate Waters (RA) (F)
The Mighty Mastiff of the Mayflower – Peter Arenstam (RA) (F)
Three Young Pilgrims – Cheryl Harness (RA) (F)
Almost Home: A Story Based on the Life of the Mayflower’s Mary Chilton – Wendy Lawton (RA) (F)
Alone Yet Not Alone: Their Faith Became their Freedom – Tracy Leininger Craven (RA) (F)
A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple – Kathryn Lasky (RA) (F)
1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving – Catherine O’Neill Grace (PB) (NF)
Colonial Living – Edwin Tunis (REF) (NF)
If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 – Ann McGovern (PB) (NF)
Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage – Plimoth Plantation (REF) (NF)
N.C. Wyeth’s Pilgrims – Robert D. San Souci (PB) (NF)
Pilgrims Of Plymouth – Susan E Goodman (PB) (NF)
Stories of the Pilgrims – Margaret Pumphrey (RA) (NF)
The Mayflower Compact – Elizabeth Raum (REF) (NF)
The New Americans: Colonial Times: 1620-1689 – Betsy Maestro (REF) (NF)
The Pilgrims of Plimoth – Marcia Sewall (PB) (NF)
The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving – Ann McGovern (PB) (NF)
The Thanksgiving Story – Alice Dalgliesh (PB) (NF)
You Wouldn’t Want to Sail on the Mayflower! – Peter Cook (PB) (NF)
Om-Kas-Toe – Kenneth Thomasma (RA) (F)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Elizabeth George Speare (RA) (F)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch – Jean Lee Latham (RA) (F) (ChA)
The Adventurous Life of Myles Standish and the Amazing-but-True Survival Story of Plymouth Colony – Cheryl Harness (REF) (NF)
American Documents: The Mayflower Compact – Judith Lloyd Yero (REF) (NF)
The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World – Nathaniel Philbrick (REF) (NF)

Boston Tea Party & The American Revolution

George Washington’s Breakfast – Jean Fritz (PB) (BIO)
John Adams Speaks for Freedom – Deborah Hopkinson (R) (BIO)
Paul Revere and the Bell Ringers – Jonah Winter (R) (BIO)
Paul Revere’s Ride (Step into Reading) – Shana Corey (R) (BIO)
Robert Fulton Boy Craftsman – Marguerite Henry (RA) (BIO)
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? – Jean Fritz (RA) (BIO)
Arrow over the Door – Joseph Bruchac (RA) (F)
Mr. Revere and I – Robert Lawson (RA) (F)
Sam the Minuteman (I Can Read) – Nathaniel Benchley (R) (F)
George the Drummer Boy (I Can Read) – Nathaniel Benchley (R) (F)
America’s Paul Revere – Esther Hoskins Forbes (RA) (NF)
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? – Jean Fritz (RA) (NF)
Boston Tea Party – Pamela Duncan Edwards (PB) (NF)
Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George? – Jean Fritz (PB) (NF)
Francis Marion and the Legend of the Swamp Fox – Kate Salley Palmer (PB) (NF)
Let It Begin Here!: Lexington & Concord – Dennis Brindell Fradin (PB) (NF)
Paul Revere’s Ride by Longfellow/Rand – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (PB) (Poetry) (NF)
The Boston Tea Party by Russell Freedman – Russell Freedman (RA) (NF)
We Were There at the Boston Tea Party – Robert N. Webb (RA) (NF)
What Was the Boston Tea Party? – Kathleen Krull (RA) (NF)
You Wouldn’t Want to Be at the Boston Tea Party! Peter Cook (PB) (NF)

Declaration of Independence & The American Revolution

Benjamin Franklin – Ingri D’Aulaire (RA) (BIO)
Thomas Jefferson – DK Publishing (REF) (BIO)
Thomas Jefferson and the Ghostriders – Howard Goldsmith (RA) (BIO)
Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library – Barb Rosenstock (PB) (BIO)
Thomas Jefferson’s Feast (Step into Reading) – Frank Murphy (R) (BIO)
Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys by Gauch – Patricia Gauch (RA) (F)
Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos – Lawson, Robert (RA) (F)
Calico Bush – Rachel Field (RA) (F)
The Minute Boys of Bunker Hill – Edward Stratemeyer (RA) (F)
The Minute Boys of Lexington – Edward Stratemeyer (RA) (F)
American Documents: The Declaration of Independence – Judith Lloyd Yero (REF) (NF)
Give Me Liberty: The Story of the Declaration of Independence – Russell Freedman (PB) (NF)
The Declaration Of Independence – Sam Fink (RA) (NF)
The Declaration of Independence from A to Z – Catherine Osornio (PB) (NF)
The Declaration of Independence in Translation: What It Really Means (Kids’ Translations) – Amie Jane Leavitt (PB) (NF)
The Fourth of July Story – Alice Dalgliesh (PB) (NF)
The Journey of the One and Only Declaration of Independence – Judith St. George (PB) (NF)

George Washington & The American Revolution

George Washington – Ingri D’Aulaire (RA) (BIO)
George Washington’s World – Genevieve Foster (RA) (BIO)
A Voice of Her Own The Story of Phyllis Wheatley – Kathryn Lasky (RA) (BIO)
Gingerbread for Liberty – Mara Rockliff (PB) (F)
Guns for General Washington: A Story of the American Revolution – Seymour Reit (RA) (F)
Phoebe the Spy – Judith Griffin (RA) (F)
The Cabin Faced West – Jean Fritz (RA) (F)
Toliver’s Secret – Esther Wood Brady (RA) (F)
Brighty of the Grand Canyon – Marguerite Henry (RA) (F)
Queen of the Falls – Chris Van Allsburg (PB) (BIO)
Fever, 1793 – Laurie Halse Anderson (RA) (F)
A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution – Betsy Maestro (RA) (NF)
A New Nation: The United States: 1783-1815 – Betsy Maestro (RA) (NF)
George vs. George: The American Revolution As Seen from Both Sides – Rosalyn Schanzer (PB) (NF)
The Light and the Glory for Children : Discovering God’s Plan for America from Christopher Columbus to George Washington – Peter Marshall (RA) (NF)
An American Plague – Jim Murphy (REF) (F)

Louisiana Purchase

North American Indians – Douglas Gorsline (PB) (NF)
DK North American Indian – David Murdoch (IB) (NF)
The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon – Jacqueline Davies (PB) (NF)
A Picture Book of Davy Crockett – David A. Adler (RA) (BIO)
Daniel Boone: Frontier Adventures – Brandt, Keith (BIO) (BIO)
David Crockett Creating a Legend – Mary Dodson Wade (BIO) (BIO)
Davy Crockett: A Life on the Frontier – Stephen Krensky (RA) (BIO)
Diary of an Early American Boy: Noah Blake 1805 (Dover Books) – Eric Sloane (RA) (BIO)
Lewis and Clark and Me: A Dog’s Tale – Laurie Myers (RA) (F)
Seaman’s Journal: On the Trail With Lewis and Clark – Patricia Reeder Eubank (RA) (F)
The Captain’s Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe – Roland Smith (RA) (F)
How We Crossed The West: The Adventures Of Lewis And Clark – Rosalyn Schanzer (RA) (NF)
Lewis and Clark: The Story of Our Nation from Coast to Coast, from 1801 to 1850 – Sally Senzell Isaacs (RA) (NF)
Louisiana Purchase – Peter Roop (RA) (NF)
Of Courage Undaunted – James Daughtery (RA) (NF)
Seaman: The Dog Who Explored the West With Lewis and Clark – Gail Langer Karwoski (RA) (NF)
The Lewis & Clark Expedition: Join the Corps of Discovery to Explore Uncharted Territory – Carol A. Johmann (REF) (NF)
The Louisiana Purchase: Would You Close the Deal? – Elaine Landau (RA) (NF)
What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition? – Judith St. George (RA) (NF)
You Wouldn’t Want to Explore With Lewis and Clark! – Jacqueline Morley (RA) (NF)

War of 1812 & The Monroe Doctrine

Scrambled States of America – Laurie Keller (PB) (NF)
How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A. – Marjorie Priceman (PB) (F)
The Great Little Madison – Jean Fritz (RA) (BIO)
Justin Morgan Had a Horse – Marguerite Henry (RA) (F)
Once on This Island – Gloria Whelan (RA) (F)
Francis Scott Key and “The Star Spangled Banner” – Lynea Bowdish (PB) (BIO)
By the Dawn’s Early Light: The Story of the Star-spangled Banner – Steven Kroll (PB) (NF)
The Star Spangled Banner in Translation: What It Really Means (Kids’ Translations) – Elizabeth Raum (RA) (NF)
The Star-Spangled Banner – Peter Spier (RA) (NF)
The Town that Fooled the British: A War of 1812 Story – Lisa Papp (RA) (NF)
The War of 1812: Expanding & Preserving the Union – Jill Mulhall (REF) (NF)
What Caused the War of 1812? – Sally Senzell Isaacs (REF) (NF)
The Little Man in the Map: With Clues to Remember All 50 States – E. Andrew Martonyi (PB) (NF)
Storm on the Desert – Carolyn Lesser (PB) (F)
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain – Alice Dalgliesh (RA) (F)
Mountain Born – Elizabeth Yates (RA) (F)
My Side of the Mountain (Puffin Modern Classics) – Jean Craighead George (RA) (F)

Missouri Compromise & The Underground Railroad

Dred and Harriett Scott: A Family’s Struggle For Freedom – Gwenyth Swain (RA) (BIO)
Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman – Monica Kulling (RA) (BIO)
Harriet Tubman and the Freedom Train – Sharon Gayle (PB) (BIO)
Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story – Ellen Levine (PB) (BIO)
Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride – Andrea Pinkney (PB) (BIO)
Up from Slavery – Booker T. Washington (RA) (BIO)
The Courage of Sarah Noble – Alice Dalgliesh (RA) (F)
The Matchlock Gun – Walter D. Edmonds (RA) (F)
Amos Fortune, Free Man – Elizabeth Yates (RA) (F)
Follow the Drinking Gourd – Jeanette Winter (PB) (F)
Freedom Song: The Story of Henry “Box” Brown – Sally M. Walker (PB) (F)
The Drinking Gourd – F. N. Monjo (R) (F)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Young Folks’ Edition – Harriet Beecher Stowe (RA) (F)
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom – Carole Boston Weatherford (PB) (F)
By the Great Horn Spoon! – Sid Fleishmann (RA) (F)
If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad – Ellen Levine (RA) (NF)
What Was the Underground Railroad? – Yona Zeldis McDonough (RA) (NF)
What was the Missouri Compromise? And other questions about the Struggle over Slavery – Wendy Hint Lanier
Sign of the Beaver – Elizabeth George Speare (RA) (F)
The Last River: John Wesley Powell and the Colorado River Exploring Expedition – Stuart Waldman (RA) (BIO)
Mississippi – Diane Siebert (PB) (NF)
Sierra – Diane Siebert (PB) (NF)

Slavery & Secession of the Southern States

Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman (Step-Into-Reading) – Monica Kulling (RA) (BIO)
Harriet Tubman and the Freedom Train – Sharon Gayle (PB) (BIO)
Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story – Ellen Levine (PB) (BIO)
Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride – Andrea Pinkney (PB) (BIO)
Follow the Drinking Gourd – Jeanette Winter (PB) (F)
Freedom Song: The Story of Henry “Box” Brown – Sally M. Walker (PB) (F)
The Drinking Gourd – F. N. Monjo (R) (F)
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom – Carole Boston Weatherford (PB) (F)
By the Great Horn Spoon! – Sid Fleishmann (RA) (F)
Dred and Harriett Scott: A Family’s Struggle For Freedom – Gwenyth Swain (RA) (BIO)
Up from Slavery – Booker T. Washington (RA) (BIO)
Amos Fortune, Free Man – Yates, Elizabeth (RA) (F) (ChA)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Young Folks’ Edition – Harriet Beecher Stowe (RA) (F)
If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad – Ellen Levine (RA) (NF)
What Was the Underground Railroad? – Yona Zeldis McDonough (RA) (NF)
Minn of the Mississippi – H. C. Holling (PB) (F)
Paddle-to-the-Sea – H. C. Holling (PB) (F)
Seabird – H. C. Holling (PB) (F)

Manifest Destiny & Westward Expansion

Dakota Dugout – Ann Turner (PB) (F)
Bound for Oregon – Jean Van Leeuwen (RA) (F)
Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland Trail – Elvira Woodruff (RA) (F)
Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers* – Ralph Moody (RA) (F)
Little House Nine-Book Box Set – Wilder, Laura Ingalls (RA) (F)
Rachel’s Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl – Marissa Moss (RA) (F)
Rip van Winkle – Washington Irving (RA) (F)
Sarah, Plain, and Tall – Patricia MacLachlan (RA) (F)
Tucket’s Travels: Francis Tucket’s Adventures in the West, 1847-1849 – Gary Paulsen (RA) (F)
A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840 – Barbara Greenwood (RA) (NF)
The Mormon Trail – Elaine Landau (REF) (NF)
What Was the Gold Rush? – Joan Holub (RA) (NF)
Which Way to the Wild West? – Steve Sheinkin (RA) (NF)
Dandelions – Eve Bunting (RA) (F)
How Jackrabbit Got His Very Long Ears – Heather Irbinskas (PB) (F)
I Have Heard of a Land – Joyce Carol Thomas (PB) (Poetry) (F)
I’m in Charge of Celebrations – Byrd Baylor (PB) (Poetry) (F)
The Secret Valley – Clyde Robert Bulla (RA) (F)
Daily Life in a Covered Wagon – Paul Erickson (REF) (NF)
If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon – Ellen Levine (RA) (NF)
Life on the Oregon Trail (Picture the Past) – Sally Senzell Isaacs (RA) (NF)
Prairie School (I Can Read) – Bill Farnsworth (R) (NF)
Ten Mile Day: And the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad – Mary Ann Fraser (PB) (NF)
The Mexican-American War – John DiConsiglio (REF) (NF)
Voices from the Oregon Trail – Kay Winters (RA) (NF)
Wagon Wheels (I Can Read) – Barbara Brenner (RA) (NF)
Caddie Woodlawn – Carol Ryrie Brink (RA) (F)

Civil War & Abraham Lincoln

Brick by Brick – Charles R. Smith (PB) (NF)
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass – Russell Freedman (RA) (BIO)
Abraham Lincoln’s World – Genevieve Foster (RA) (BIO)
Lincoln and His Boys – Rosemary Wells (RA) (BIO)
Meet Abraham Lincoln – Barbara Clay (BIO) (BIO)
Abraham Lincoln and the Heart of America – Jim Weiss (CD) (BIO)
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule – Harriette Gillem Robinet (RA) (F)
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 – Lauren Tarshis (RA) (F)
Mr. Lincoln’s Drummer – G. Clifton Wisler (RA) (F)
Freedom Crossing – Margaret Goff Clark (RA) (F)
Divided in Two: The Road to Civil War, 1861 – James R. Arnold (REF) (NF)
Letters for Freedom: The Civil War – Douglas M. Rife (REF) (NF)
What Was the Battle of Gettysburg? – Jim O’Connor (RA) (NF)
Abe’s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln – Doreen Rappaport (PB) (BIO)
John Henry – Julius Lester (PB) (BIO)
Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero – Marissa Moss (RA) (BIO)
Robert Henry Hendershot: True Stories from America’s Past – Susan E. Goodman (RA) (BIO)
Sarah Emma Edmonds Was a Great Pretender: The True Story of a Civil War Spy – Carrie Jones (RA) (BIO)
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale – Deborah Hopkinson (RA) (F)
The Last Brother: A Civil War Tale – Trinka Hakes Nobel (PB) (F)
Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation – Pat Sherman (PB) (NF)
Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend – Justine Fontes (RA) (NF)
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln – Jean Fritz (R) (NF)
Fields of Fury: The American Civil War* – James M. McPherson (REF) (NF)
Two Miserable Presidents: The Amazing, Terrible, and Totally True Story of the Civil War – Steve Sheinkin (RA) (BIO)
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott (RA) (F)
With Lee in Virginia A Story of the American Civil War – GA Henty (RA) (F)
Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story – Andrea Pinkney (RA) (F)
Rifles for Watie – Harold Keith (RA) (F)

Civil War & Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant

Oxcart Man – Donald Hall (PB) (F)
Miss Rumphius – Barbara Cooney (PB) (NF)
One Morning in Maine – Robert McCloskey (PB) (F)
Thy Friend, Obadiah – Brinton Turkle (PB) (F)
Apples to Oregon: Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains – Deborah Hopkinson (PB) (F)
Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire – Janet and Geoff Benge (RA) (BIO)
Tree in the Trail – H. C. Holling (PB) (F)
America the Beautiful – Katharine Lee Bates (PB) (NF)
Mojave – Diane Siebert (PB) (NF)
Gray Fox: Robert E. Lee and the Civil War – Burke Davis (CD) (BIO)
The Education of Little Tree * – Forrest Carter (Audio) (F)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin – Marguerite Henry (RA) (F)
Eyewitness Civil War – DK Publishing (REF) (NF)
A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee – David A. Adler (PB) (BIO)
Mary Walker Wears the Pants – Cheryl Harness (PB) (BIO)
The Story of Ulysses S. Grant – Tamara Smith (PB) (BIO)
Hitty: Her First Hundred Years – Rachel Field (RA) (F)
Louisa May’s Battle – Kathleen Krull (PB) (F)
The Birchbark House – Louise Erdrich (RA) (F)
Thee, Hannah! – Marguerite de Angeli (PB) (F)

14th Amendement

Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky – Faith Ringgold (PB) (F)
George Washington Carver – Janet and Geoff Benge (RA) (BIO)
Frederick Douglass, The Lion Who Wrote History – Walter Dean Myers (PB) (BIO)
Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – Dorren Rappaport (PB) (BIO)
Words Set Me Free: The Story of Frederick Douglas – Lisa Cline Ransome (PB) (BIO)
Dear Benjamin Banneker – Andrea Davis Pinkney (PB) (F)
Heart and Soul, The Story of America and African Americans – Kadir Nelson (RA) (NF)
Everybody Paints – Susan Goldman Rubin (REF) (NF)
Grandma Moses – Mike Venezia (PB) (BIO)
DK Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr. – Amy Pastan (RA) (BIO)

Industrial Age & Tycoons

Liberty Arrives! – Robert Byrd (PB) (NF)
The Story of Thomas Alva Edison – Margaret Cousins (RA) (BIO)
Smokestacks and Spinning Jennys: Industrial Revolution – Sean Price (PB) (NF)
Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail – Laurence Anholt (PB) (F)
The Man who Loved Libraries: The Story of Andrew Carnegie – Andrew Larsen (PB) (F)
All About America: The Industrial Revolution – Hilarie N. Staton (PB) (NF)
The Early American Industrial Revolution, 1793-1850 – Katie S. Bagley (PB) (NF)

Immigration & Theodore Roosevelt

Through Georgia’s Eyes – Rachel Victoria Rodriguez (PB) (BIO)
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! – Jean Fritz (RA) (BIO)
Theodore Roosevelt: An American Original – Janet and Geoff Benge (RA) (BIO)
Young Teddy Roosevelt – Cheryl Harness (PB) (BIO)
Hannah’s Journal: The Story of an Immigrant Girl – Marissa Moss (RA) (F)
The Singing Tree – Kate Seredy (RA) (F)
At Ellis Island: A History in Many Voices – Louise Peacock (PB) (NF)
Ellis Island: Coming to the Land of Liberty – Raymond Bial (RA) (NF)
If Your Name Was Changed At Ellis Island – Ellen Levine (RA) (NF)
The Met Georgia O’Keeffe: She saw the world in a flower – Gabrielle Balkan (PB) (BIO)
My Name is Georgia – Jeanette Winter (PB) (BIO)
Teddy Roosevelt: The People’s President – Sharon Gayle (R) (BIO)
Teedie: The Story of Young Teddy Roosevelt – Don Brown (PB) (BIO)
The Camping Trip that Changed America – Barb Rosenstock (PB) (BIO)
The Extraordinary Music of Mr. Ives – Joanne Stanbridge (PB) (BIO)
To Dare Mighty Things: The Life of Theodore Roosevelt – Dorren Rappaport (PB) (BIO)
You’re On Your Way, Teddy Roosevelt – Judith St. George (PB) (BIO)
At Home in a New Land – Joan Sandin (RA) (F)
Fiona’s Lace – Patricia Polacco (PB) (F)
Grandfather’s Journey – Allen Say (PB) (F)
Landed by Milly Lee – Milly Lee (RA) (F)
Peppe the Lamplighter – Elisa Bartone (PB) (F)
The Arrival – Shaun Tan (PB) (F)
The Gift by Marcia Freeman – Marcia S. Freeman (PB) (F)
The Matchbox Diary – Paul Fleishman (PB) (F)
The Memory Coat – Elvira Woodruff (PB) (F)
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree – Gloria Houston (PB) (F)
When Jessie Came Across the Sea – Amy Hest (PB) (F)
Coming to America: The Story of Immigration – Betsy Maestro (PB) (NF)
Dreaming Of America: An Ellis Island Story – Eve Bunting (PB) (NF)
Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty – Linda Glaser (PB) (NF)
The Legend of the Teddy Bear – Frank Murphy (PB) (NF)
Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia OKeeffe Painted What She Pleased – Amy Novesky (PB) (BIO)
Georgia O’Keeffe – Mike Venezia (PB) (BIO)
On the Horizon – Lois Lowry (RA) (Poetry) (F)

WWI & President Wilson

Littlejim – Gloria Houston (RA) (F)
Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion – Linda Granfield (PB) (NF)
Thank you, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving – Laurie Halse Anderson (PB) (BIO)
Christmas in the Trenches – John McCutcheon (PB) (NF)
Disasters at Sea – Andrew Donkin (R) (NF)
War Game: Village Green to No-Man’s-Land – Michael Foreman (RA) (NF)
Norman Rockwell – Mike Venezia (PB) (BIO)
Norman Rockwell: Storyteller With A Brush – Beverly Gherman (RA) (BIO)
Rockwell: A Boy and His Dog – Loren Spiotta-DiMare (PB) (BIO)

19th Amendment & The Great Depression

Esperonza Rising – Pam Munoz Ryan (RA) (F)
Miss Paul and the President: The Creative Campaign for Women’s Right to Vote – Dean Robbins (PB) (BIO)
Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles – Mara Rockliff (PB) (F)
Out of the Dust – Karen Hesse (RA) (F) (Poetry)
Children of the Dust Bowl – Jerry Stanley (IB) (NF)

WWII & Pearl Harbor

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Story of Our Nation from Coast to Coast, from 1929 to 1948 – Sally Senzell Isaacs (PB) (BIO)
Jacob DeShazer: Forgive Your Enemies – Janet and Geoff Benge (BIO) (BIO)
Echo – Pam Munoz Ryan (RA) (F)
Going Solo (Age 12 and up) – Roald Dahl (BIO) (F)
Journey to Topaz – Yoshiko Uchida (RA) (F)
Snow Treasure – Marie McSwigan (RA) (F)
Twenty and Ten – Claire Huchet Bishop (RA) (F)
The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey – Louise W. Borden (RA) (BIO)
The Unbreakable Code – Sara Hoagland Hunter (PB) (F)
Cher Ami: Based on the World War I Legend of the Fearless Pigeon – Melisande Potter (PB) (NF)
Franklin and Winston: A Christmas That Changed the World – Douglas Wood (PB) (NF)
Pearl Harbor (Ready To Read) – Stephen Krensky (R) (NF)
Pearl Harbor National Geographic – William Allen (REF) (NF)
The USS Arizona – R. Conrad Stein (RA) (NF)
D-Day Landings: The Story of the Allied Invasion – Richard Platt (R) (NF)
Roy Lichtenstein (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists) – Mike Venezia (PB) (BIO)
Whaam! The Art and Life of Roy Lichtenstein – Susan Goldman Rubin (PB) (NF)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt – Russell Freedman (REF) (BIO)
The Chestry Oak – Kate Seredy (RA) (F)

NATO, Communism, & The Cold War

Homer Price – McCloskey, Robert (RA) (F)
Spying and the Cold War – Michael Burgan (IB) (REF) (NF)
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain – Peter Sis (RA) (NF)
BOMB: The Race to Build – and Steal – the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon – Steve Sheinkin (CB)
Ronald Reagan: Fortieth President 1981-1989 – Mike Venezia
Richard Wurmbrand: Love Your Enemies – Janet and Geoff Benge (CB)
Breaking Stalin’s Nose – Eugene Yelchin (CB)
Where is the Kremlin? – (CB)
Cold War Correspondent (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #11): A Korean War Tale – Nathan Hale (Comic)
A Night Divided – Jennifer A Nielsen (RA) (F)

Brown vs. The Board of Education

The Erie Canal – Peter Spier (PB) (NF)
Martin Luther King Jr.: The Story of Our Nation from Coast to Coast, from 1948 to 1976 – Sally Senzell Isaacs (RA) (BIO)
The Story Of Ruby Bridges – Robert Coles (PB) (BIO)
Through My Eyes – Ruby Bridges (RA) (BIO)
A Dream Of Freedom – Diane Mcworter (REF) (NF)
I Have a Dream – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (PB) (NF)
Cracking the Wall: The Struggles of the Little Rock Nine – Eileen Lucas (PB) (NF)
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball – Kadir Nelson (RA) (NF)
What’s the Supreme Court? – Nancy Harris (REF) (NF)
The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal – Cheryl Harness (PB) (NF)
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins – Carole Boston Weatherford (PB) (NF)
Look to the Stars – Buzz Aldrin (PB) (NF)
Remember: The Journey to School Integration – Toni Morrison (RA) (NF)
Freedom Summer – Deborah Wiles (PB) (F)
Peter Tchaikovsky – Mike Venezia (PB) (BIO)
Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration* – Shelley Marie Tougas (RA) (BIO)

U.S. Astronauts

Mission Control, This is Apollo: The Story of the First Voyages to the Moon – Andrew Chaikin (RA) (NF)
Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon – Judy Donnelly (R) (NF)
Spacebusters: The Race to the Moon – Philip Wilkinson (R) (NF)
One Giant Leap – Robert Burleigh (PB) (NF)
Reaching for the Moon – Buzz Aldrin (PB) (NF)
Space Heroes: Amazing Astronauts – Caryn Jenner (R) (NF)
Destination: Moon – James Irwin (PB)
Godspeed John Glenn – Richard Hilliard (PB)
You Wouldn’t Want to be on Apollo 13! – Ian Graham (PB)
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women & the Space Race – Margot Lee Shetterley (PB)

September 11, 2001

I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001 – Lauren Tarshis (RA) (F)
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers – Mordecai Gerstein (PB) (BIO)
America Is Under Attack: September 11, 2001: The Day the Towers Fell – Don Brown (RA) (NF)
The Little Chapel that Stood – A. B. Curtiss (PB) (NF)

Preamble & U.S. Government

American Documents: The Constitution – Paul Finkelman (PB) (NF)
If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution – Elizabeth Levy (PB) (NF)
Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution – Jean Fritz (RA) (NF)
We the People: The Story of Our Constitution – Lynne Cheney (PB) (NF)
Our Living Constitution, Grades 5 – 8: Then and Now – Good Apple (REF) (NF)
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out – Various Authors (RA) (NF)

Bill of Rights & U. S. Presidents

American Documents: The Bill of Rights – Judith Lloyd Yero (REF) (NF)
So You Want to Be President? – Judith St. George (PB) (NF)
The Buck Stops Here – Alice Provensen (PB) (NF)
The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents – Susan Katz (Poetry) (NF)
U.S. Presidential History Bites – Solomon Schmidt (RA) (NF)
Yo Millard Fillmore!: (And all those other Presidents you don’t know) – Will Cleveland (RA) (NF)
Don’t Know Much About the Presidents – Kenneth Davis (PB)

Get a Printable Copy of this US History Book List!

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