Books for Independent Reading
VERY EASY
America: My Land, Your Land, Our Land- by W. Nikola-Lisa
(Multicultural)
Lee & Low 1996 (32p)
Fourteen artists of diverse backgrounds illustrate Nikola-Lisa's poem that reflects the beauty and contrasts of America.
- Lucky's 24-Hour Garage
- by Daniel Kirk
Hyperion 1996 (32p)
In this tribute to America's love of cars, the reader experiences a typical day in a typical service station in 1939.
- Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea
- by Vera B. Williams
Greenwillow 1988 (48p) Scholastic 1990 paper
This perennial favorite is a collection of postcards that young Stringbean Coe sends to his family during a cross-country trip with his older brother Fred.
- A Is for Aloha
- by Stephanie Feeney
(Multicultural)
University of Hawaii 1985 (64p)
This photo essay uses the ABC format to show Hawaii and the everday experiences of Hawaiian children.
- Carolina Shout
- by Alan Schroeder
(Multicultural)
Dial 1995 (32p)
In the Charleston, South Carolina, of an earlier era, Delia hears the songs, or “shouts,” of the Waffle Man, the Pepper-Sauce Man, and other vendors selling their wares.
EASY
- On Call Back Mountain
- by Eve Bunting
Scholastic Blue Sky 1997 (32p)
Two boys on Call Back Mountain become friends with an old man who returns each summer to work as lookout in the mountain's fire tower and await the return of the wolves driven away by fires years earlier.
- Fair!
- by Ted Lewin
Lothrop 1997 (40p)
The author captures the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of a typical American county fair.
- The Milkman's Boy
- by Donald Hall
Walker 1997 (32p)
Based on family history, Hall tells the story of a dairy farmer who thought the new invention of pasteurization was just a fad--until his daughter fell ill.
- American Too
- Elisa Bartone
(Social Studies)
Lothrop 1996 (32p)
After Rosina and her family arrive in New York just after World War I, she is eager to become Americanized and gets her wish in an unexpected way.
- Shaker Hearts
- by Ann Turner
(Social Studies)
Harper 1997 (40p)
The author celebrates the way of life of the Shakers, who arrived in America in 1774, led by an Englishwoman named Ann Lee, and established communities in several states.
- Barn
- by Debby Atwell
Houghton 1996 (32p)
A country barn is witness to changing American events and people, from the late eighteenth century through the present day.
- Spring Across America
- by Seymour Simon
Hyperion 1996 (32p)
The author continues his pictorial series on the seasons
across America with a colorful look at spring.
- A New England Scrapbook: A Journey Through Poems, Prose,
and Pictures
- by Loretta Krupinski
Harper 1994 (40p)
Through her decriptions, the verse of several poets, and her colorful art, Krupinski provides a memorable glimpse of New England's quaint villages and rocky coasts.
- Konnichiwa! I Am a Japanese-American Girl
- by Tricia Brown
(Multicultural)
Holt 1995 (48p)
Lauren Kamiya, from San Francisco's Japantown, explains how she and her family embrace both Japanese and American cultures.
- Along the California Trail
- by Pat Muñoz Ryan
(Multicultural)
Charlesbridge 1996 (32p) also paper
The narrator, Carmen, takes the reader on a tour of California, pointing out information about its history and geography. Also available in Spanish asEn el camino de California.
AVERAGE
- Allison
- by Allen Say
(Multicultural)
Houghton 1997 (32p)
A young adopted Korean girl is dismayed when she discovers she looks more like her favorite doll than either of her parents and becomes confused about her identity.
- Arctic Son
- by Jean Craighead George
(Multicultural)
Hyperion 1997 (32p)
The author's grandson is given the Eskimo name Kupaaq by an Inupiat village leader.
- Buffalo Days
- by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith
(Multicultural)
Holiday 1997 (32p)
In this photo essay, ten-year-old Clarence Tree Irons and his family take part in the annual Crow Fair and Rodeo to celebrate their cultural history.
- Princess of the Press: The Story of Ida B. Wells-Barnett
- by Angela Shelf Medearis
(Multicultural)
Lodestar 1997 (48p)
Wells-Barnett overcame adversity to become a teacher, journalist, lecturer, and civil-rights leader.
- Gertrude Chandler Warner and the Boxcar Children
- by Mary Ellen Ellsworth
Whitman 1997 (65p)
This biography of the woman who introduced millions of readers to Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Berany Alden -- the Boxcar Children -- focuses on Warner's early life when she lived across the street from the railroad tracks and on how she came to write the series.
- Old Ironsides
- by David Weitzman
(Social Studies)
Houghton 1997
A young boy whose father is one of the ship's carpenters offers an account of the design and construction of the U. S. S. Constitution.
- Mist Over the Mountains: Appalachia and Its
People
- by Raymond Bial
Social Studies
Houghton 1997 (48p)
The customs and traditions of the mountain people from the region known as Appalachia have been handed down through generations.
- The Apaches
- by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
(Multicultural)
Holiday 1997 (32p)
The author discusses the lives, traditions, and ceremonies of the six Apache tribes: the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Mescalero, Kiowa-Apache, Lipan and Western Apache.
- One Nation, Many Tribes: How Kids Live in Milwaukee's Indian Community
- by Kathleen Krull
(Multicultural)
Lodestar 1995 (48p)
In her latest latest book about children in ethnic neighborhoods, the author focuses on Indian children in Milwaukee.
- Cowgirl Dreams: A Western Childhood
- by Jennifer Dewey
Boyds Mills 1995 (114p)
The author relates experiences from her own youth, growing up on a ranch in northern New Mexico.
- Apache Rodeo
- by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith
(Multicultural)
Holiday 1995 (32p)
Felecita, a White Mountain Apache living in Arizona, loves to collect basketball cards and watch television, but she also loves to participate in traditional Apache customs and participate in the summer rodeo.
- The Cherokees
- by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
(Multicultural)
Holiday 1996 (32p)
In another of her First Americans series, the author relates the history of the Cherokee nation, from their creation myths through their lives in contemporary society.
- Cowboys: Roundup on an American Ranch
- by Joan Anderson
Scholastic 1996 (48p)
This photo essay offers a realistic at contemporary ranch life in New Mexico by focusing on the participants n a grueling two-weel cattle roundup.
CHALLENGING
- Famous Hispanic Americans
- by Janet Nomura Morey and Wendy Dunn
Cobblehill 1996 (208p)
The accomplishments of fourteen well-known Hispanic Americans, including Gloria Estefan, Felipe Alou, Gigi Fernandez, Paul Rodriguez, and Carolina Herrera, are recounted.
Now Out of Print
- Mowing
- by Jessie Haas
- From the Hills of Georgia:An Autobiography in
Paintings
- by Mattie Lou O'Kelley
- Spanish Pioneers of the Southwest
- by Joan Anderson
Now Available in Paperback
- Sugaring Time
- by Kathryn Lasky
Aladdin
- Families: Poems Celebrating the African American Experience
- by Dorothy S. Strickland and Michael R. Strickland
Boyds Mills
- The Great Migration: An American Story
- by Jacob Lawrence
Harper
- Amelia's Road
- by Linda Altman
Lee & Low
- Amish Home
- by Raymond Bial
Houghton
- Fly Away Home
- by Eve Bunting
Clarion
- The Pool Party
- by Gary Soto
Dell
Now Available in Spanish
- Skylark (Como una alondra)
- by Patricia MacLachlan
- Blue Willow (Sauce azul)
- by Doris Gates
- Amelia's Road (Camino de Amelia)
- by Linda Altman
Lee & Low