The books listed below may be available through publishers, distributors such as bookstores or online retailers, or library systems.

Independent Reading

EASY
Austin: The Son Becomes Father
by Mary Dodson Wade, Colophon House, 1993
A biography of the Texas pioneer and hero of the Revolution.
David Crockett: Sure He Was Right
by Mary Dodson Wade. Eakin Press, 1992
A young person's biography of the frontiersman and Alamo hero.
Deaf Smith: Scout, Spy, and Texas Hero
by Jo Harper. Eakin Press, 1996
Entertaining biography of a hero of the Texas Revolution.
Jane Long: A Child's Pictorial History
by Elizabeth Dearing Morgan. Eakin Press, 1992
Easy-to-read profile of the first woman of English descent to settle in Texas.
Race to Velasco
by Paul Spellman. Hendrick-Long, 1995
Historical novel about two boys at the Battle of Velasco before the Texas Revolution.
Susanna of the Alamo
by John Jakes. Voyager Books/Harcourt Brace, 1990
A picture book story of Susanna Dickinson, who survived the Alamo with her daughter. With sound cassette.
¡Viva México! A Story of Benito Juárez and Cinco de Mayo
by Argentina Palacios. Steck-Vaughn, 1993
A picture-book story of Mexico's successful struggle against French domination.
AVERAGE
Christopher and Pony Boy
by Rita Kerr. Eakin Press, 1991
Story of a young German boy who came to Texas with Henri Castro's colony in 1846.
Elisabet Ney: Sculptor of American Heroes
by Marjorie von Rosenberg. Eakin Press, 1990
Biography of the German-born sculptor whose statues of Stephen Austin and Sam Houston are displayed in the capitol in Austin.
The Ghost of Panna Maria
by Rita Kerr. Eakin Press, 1990
Recounts the daily life of a family in Panna Maria, the first Polish settlement in Texas.
Gregorio Esparaza: Alamo Hero
by Candice Matthews. Eakin Press, 1996
Story of an Alamo soldier whose son, Enrique, survived to tell the story of the siege.
Jericho's Journey
by G. Clifton Wisler. Lodestar/Dutton, 1993
A twelve-year-old boy travels with his family from Tennessee to Texas in 1852.
A Promise at the Alamo: The Story of a Texas Girl
by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. Silver-Burdett, 1992
Story of Maria Hernandez who survived the attack on the Alamo in 1836.
Sam Houston: American Hero
by Ann Frears Crawford. Hendrick-Long, 1993
Short biography of Sam Houston with a focus on his heroic exploits at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Thistles and Bluebonnets
by Ethel Evey. Eakin Press, 1996
Suspenseful tale based on the Scottish emigration to Texas in the early 1800s.
When the Corn Grows Tall in Texas: A Story of the Texas Revolution
by Archie P. McDonald. Eakin Press, 1991
Story of an eight-year-old boy whose father joins the fight for Texas independence in 1836.
CHALLENGING
Boy of Blossom Prairie, 1993.
Kitty of Blossom Prairie, 1992.
Rebecca of Blossom Prairie, 1990.
by Maurine Walpole Liles. Eakin Press.
Biographies of a pioneer Texas family Ñ- of John Nance Garner IV, Vice-President of the United States under Franklin D. Roosevelt, and of his aunt and his grandmother who traveled from Tennessee to Texas in 1851.
A Fair Wind to Glory
by Tom Townsend. Eakin Press, 1994
Action-packed story of the schooner-of-war, Liberty, commissioned by the new Texas navy to fight in the Mexican War.
Letters to Oma: A Young German Girl's Account of Her First Year in Texas, 1847
by Marj Gurasich, Chaparral Books/Texas Christian University Press, 1989
Historical fiction, with diary entries and letters, of a young German girl who settles in Texas with her family and writes letters to her grandmother Oma.
Lone Star: A Story of the Texas Rangers
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski. Viking, 1994
Set in 1847, this short novel follows an eleven-year-old boy who dreams of joining the Texas Rangers.
Moses Austin and Stephen F. Austin: A Gone-to-Texas Dual Biography
by Betsy Warren. Hendrick-Long, 1995
A biography of Stephen Austin, the “Father of Texas,” who carried on the work of his father, Moses, in creating an American settlement in Texas.
President Mirabeau B. Lamar: Father of Texas Education
by Elizabeth Morgan. Eakin Press, 1994
First biography of the Revolution hero who became a president of the Republic and founded the public education system in Texas.
Santa Anna: Patriot or Scoundrel
by Ruby C. Tolliver. Hendrick-Long, 1993
Portrait of one of the most powerful generals in Mexican history, who continued to rule Mexico after his defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto.

Read Aloud and Reference Books

READ ALOUD BOOKS
Cowboy Bob's Critters Visit Texas Heroes
by Marjorie Von Rosenberg. Eakin Press, 1993
Delightful visit with Texas heroes like Stephen Austin and Sam Houston whose sculptures come to life with the help of Blinky, an extraterrestrial.
Did You Ever...Meet a Texas Hero?
by Marj Gurasich. Eakin Press, 1992
Young children's biographies of nine important Texans of the Revolution.
Father Miguel Hidalgo: A Cry for Freedom
by D. E. Perlin. Hendrick-Long, 1991
A picture storybook about the Mexican priest whose “grito” called for independence from Spain. (Spanish translation included.)
REFERENCE BOOKS
The Legend Begins: The Texas Rangers, 1823-1845
State House Press, 1996
A new perspective on the early years of the famous and infamous Texas Rangers.
Texas
by Mary Austin Holley. Texas State Historical Association, 1990.
Reprint of Mary Holley's account of early Texas written to stimulate new settlement.
The Texas Military Experience: From the Revolution through World War II
edited by Joseph G. Dawson III. Texas A&M University Press, 1995
Valuable compilation of Texans in warfare, including Hispanics in the Revolution, African-American frontier soldiers, army wives in the late 1800s, and the 36th Infantry Division in World War II.
The Women and Children of the Alamo
by Crystal Sasse Ragsdale. State House Press, 1994
The stories of more than a dozen women and children, survivors of the Alamo, based on their renditions of the siege.