Books for Independent Reading
VERY EASY
- Mowing
- by Jessie Haas
Greenwillow 1994 (24p)
Nora helps her grandfather mow the fields by looking out for birds and small animals.
- Happy Birthday, Dr. King
- by Jean Marzollo
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1993 (32p)
The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Available in Spanish asFeliz cumpleaños, Martin Luther King, Hijo.
- Chang's Paper Pony
- by Eleanor Coerr
(Multicultural)
Harper 1988 (64p); also paper
Chang and Grandpa Li have come to California from China to seek gold.
- Peppe the Lamplighter
- by Elisa Bartone
Lothrop 1993 (32p)
Peppe's father wants more for his son than a job as a lamplighter.
- America the Beautiful
- by Katherine Bates
(Music)
Atheneum 1993 (32p)
The story of how “America the Beautiful” came to be written.
- Wagon Wheels
- by Barbara Brenner
(Multicultural)
Harper 1993 (64p); also paper
An African American family travels to Kansas in the 1870s.
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- by Nikki Giovanni
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1994 (32p)
A poem that celebrates community life in the summer.
EASY
- Amelia's Road
- by Linda Altman
(Multicultural)
Lee & Low 1993 (32p)
A young girl finds a way to overcome the hardships of moving.
- When I Was Young in the Mountains
- by Cynthia Rylant
Dutton 1982 (32p); also paper
The author describes her childhood in Appalachia.
- The Long Way Westward
- by Joan Sandin
Harper 1981 (64p); also paper
Story of a Swedish family on their way to America in 1868.
- Fly Away Home
- by Eve Bunting
Clarion 1991 (32p)
A homeless father and son live in an airport.
- Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing
- by James Weldon Johnson
(Music)
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1995 (32p)
The illustrated lyrics to the song often called the African American National Anthem.
- The Golly Sisters Go West
- by Betsy Byars
Harper 1986 (64p); also paper
The irrepressible May-May and Rose head west in search of adventure.
- Giants in the Land
- by Diana Appelbaum
Houghton 1993 (32p)
Giant pine trees, over 259 feet, once grew all over New England.
- Autumn Across America
- by Seymour Simon
Hyperion 1993 (32p)
A breathtaking look at the country in its most colorful season.
- Gonna Sing My Head Off! American Folk Songs for Children
- by Kathleen Krull
(Music)
Knopf 1992 (160p)
A collection of toe-tapping, hand-clapping tunes celebrating America's history.
AVERAGE
- Sarah, sencilla y alta (Sarah, Plain and Tall)
- by Patricia MacLachlan
Text in Spanish.
- Skylark
- by Patricia MacLachlan
Harper 1994 (64p)
During a drought, Sarah takes Anna and Caleb to her home in Maine, but soon the children miss the prairie.
- A Child's Alaska
- by Claire Murphy
(Multicultural)
Alaska Northwest 1994 (48p)
An inviting look at Alaska and its native peoples.
- Immigrants
- by Martin W. Sandler
Harper 1995 (96p)
Details the journeys of immigrants and their lives in their new country.
- The Heartland
- by Diane Siebert
Harper 1989 (32p); also paper
Poems that celebrate the farms and farmlife of mid-America.
- On an Island in the Bay
- by Patricia Mills
North-South 1994 (28p)
A photo essay that celebrates the remote islands of the Chesapeake Bay.
- Spanish Pioneers of the Southwest
- by Joan Anderson
(Multicultural)
Dutton 1989 (64p)
Hispanic influences in the southwestern United States.
- If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island
- by Ellen Levine
Scholastic 1983 (80p)
Profiles Ellis Island and why many immigrants came to America.
- Powwow
- by George Ancona
(Multicultural)
Harcourt 1993 (48p)
A photo essay of a contemporary powwow including Crow, Cree, Lakota, Cheyenne, and other Native American peoples.
- Sugaring Time
- by Kathryn Lasky
Macmillan 1986 (64p)
The Lacey family of Vermont makes maple syrup.
- In Coal Country
- by Judith Hendershot
Knopf 1987 (48p) paper
A girl tells what it was like growing up in a coal-mining town.
- Amish Home
- by Raymond Bial
Houghton 1993 (40p)
The lifestyle and traditions of the Amish people.
- The Secret Valley
- by Clyde Robert Bulla
Harper 1993 (112p); also paper
A family heads for California in search of gold.
- From Sea to Shining Sea series
- by Dennis Fradin
Childrens 1991-1994 (64p)
Series of state books, featuring history, geography, and people. Some titles available in Spanish.
- Hello USA series
- by various authors
Lerner 1994 (72p)
Individual state books reflecting the richness and diversity of America.
- John Henry
- by Julius Lester
(Multicultural)
Dial 1994 (40p)
The legend of an African American folk hero.
- Families: Poems Celebrating the African American Experience
- selected by Dorothy S. Strickland and Michael R. Strickland
(Multicultural)
Boyds Mills 1994 (32p)
- Tales from Gold Mountain: Stories of the Chinese in the New World
- by Paul Yee
(Multicultural)
Macmillan 1990 (64p)
Eight stories based on Chinese immigrant experiences.
- The Pool Party
- by Gary Soto
(Multicultural)
Delacorte 1993 (106p)
Rudy gets an invitation to a pool party from the richest girl in school.
CHALLENGING
- Blue Willow
- by Doris Gates
(Social Studies)
Puffin 1976 (176p)
Janey treasures her migrant family's blue willow plate for its scene of a peaceful home.
- Cut from the Same Cloth: American Women of Myth, Legend, and Tall Tale
- by Robert San Souci
Philomel 1993 (144p)
Stories with female heroines, real and mythical, from America's past.
- The Great Migration: An American Story
- by Jacob Lawrence
(Art)
Harper 1993 (28p)
Paintings by Jacob Lawrence and a poem by Walter Dean Myers about African Americans moving from the south.
- Ida Early Comes Over the Mountain
- by Robert Burch
Viking 1980 (152p); Avon 1982 paper
The eccentric Ida becomes the Sutton family's new housekeeper.
- From the Hills of Georgia: An Autobiography in Paintings
- by Mattie Lou O'Kelley
(Art)
Little 1986 (32p)
Through folk art, O'Kelley shows her parents' farm in Georgia in the early 1900s.
- The Navajo
- by Susan Stan
(Multicultural)
Rourke 1989 (32p)
A historic look at these early Native Americans. Available in Spanish asLos Navajo.
Books for Teachers to Read Aloud
- From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs
- compiled by Amy L. Cohn
(Music)
Scholastic 1993 (400p)
A vast collection of American stories and music illustrated by Caldecott-winning artists.
- Brighty of the Grand Canyon
- by Marguerite Henry
Macmillan 1991 (224p); also paper
A tale about a prospector and his burro includes the history of the Grand Canyon.
- Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry
- by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Simon 1994 (144p)
A collection of poems and some folk songs about America, arranged chronologically.