Ice Story: Shackleton's Lost Expedition

Ice Story: Shackleton's Lost Expedition

Written by: Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

"A recounting of the amazing story of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the ploar explorer, and his ill-fated Antartic expedition on the ship Endurance. With a crew of twenty-seven men, Shackelton set out to cross Antarctica in 1914. A month and a half into the trip, the ship was crushed by pack ice. The men survived living on the ice, moving from ice floe to ice floe, and eventually setting sail across the treacherous Weddell Sea in lifeboats. They were finally saved when Shackleton and five others made it to an inhabited island in one of the lifeboats. They surrived the impossible time after time, due almost entirely to Shakleton's heroic and wise leadership."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.time.com/time/2003/adventures/ashackleton.html

Who Was First? Discovering America

Who Was First? Discovering America

Written by: Russell Freedman

"Many generations of American school children were taught that Columbus discovered America, and a holiday reminds us every October. But historical investigation in recent years has shown us otherwise. There is evidence that adventurers, explorers, traders, and nomads from various parts of the globe set foot on American soil long before 1492. And expeditions that landed in the Americas reported people already living there—indicating that America had been “discovered” before.

Russell Freedman brings his legendary skills as researcher and storyteller to this fresh and intriguing look at the American past. Colorful legends and first-person accounts are woven into the riveting narrative, which also illuminates the way historians and mapmakers have gathered, evaluated, and recorded information throughout the ages."

Product Description

Online Resources:
http://www.dcfaward.org/Activities/2008-09%20Reviews%20and%20Discussion%20Questions.htm#WHO_WAS_FIRST_

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Written by: Elizabeth G. Speare

"Orphaned Kit Tyler, raised on the island of Barbados, is an outsider in her relatives’ stern Puritan community in Massachusetts colony. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond. But when Kit’s friendship with the “witch” is discovered, she herself is accused of witchcraft."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.create.cett.msstate.edu/create/classroom/lplan_view.asp?articleID=121
http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/Childrens_Literature/CHL0228.html

How We Crossed The West: The Adventures Of Lewis And Clark

How We Crossed The West: The Adventures Of Lewis And Clark

Written by: Rosalyn Schanzer

Easy Readability

"A simplified version of the diaries of Lewis and Clark; in an introduction, Schanzer explains how she condensed much of the excitement and adventure of the 40 volumes into this one. The book follows the route mapped out on the end papers, beginning with President Jefferson's request that the two explore the west, and ending when Lewis and Clark return two years later to St. Charles (near St. Louis), long after everyone thought they'd died. In that time the two men discovered many new animals and plants, met with Indian tribes, and created new maps of the uncharted territories. Schanzer often breaks up the page into a series of vignettes with captions, effectively covering many of their experiences in a small space. Her drawings include portraits of the members of the expedition and other details that make an already authentic text all the richer."

Kirkus Reviews

Online Resources:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/

The Adventurous Life of Myles Standish and the Amazing-but-True Survival Story of Plymouth Colony

The Adventurous Life of Myles Standish and the Amazing-but-True Survival Story of Plymouth Colony

Written by: Cheryl Harness

Easy Readability

"Instead of a standard biography, Harness chronicles the history of the Plymouth Pilgrims from their troubles in England to their first years in North America, with the focus on Standish. Separating documented history from speculation, the narrative explains religious movements, introduces key figures, and gives a balanced account of Pilgrim-Indian relationships. In contrast to many Pilgrim histories, the tone is casual (e.g., "Without Squanto the translator, these English wouldn't be able to go around getting cozy with everybody, messing up the balance of power.") Harness' familiar detailed pictures appear here as prints. A bibliography of resources is appended, along with lists of Mayflower passengers, recommended Web sites and places to visit. A reader-friendly approach to history."

Booklist Review

Online Resources:
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/MylesStandish.php

1607: A New Look at Jamestown

1607: A New Look at Jamestown

Written by: Karen Lange

Easy Readability

"In 1994, scientists unearthed important new evidence about the original Jamestown fort. The work is ongoing and has changed many established ideas about the early settlers. 1607 incorporates these findings and offers a fascinating look at archaeology in action. Color photographs of costumed interpreters and re-created buildings from the Jamestown Settlement living-history museum depict both English and Native American ways of life. Varying perspectives of the period are represented, including evidence that suggests that Native women married English settlers and lived at the fort; how the arrival of English women changed the dynamics of the settlement; and the importance of indentured servants versus the relatively small presence of African slaves. Attractive, engaging, and informative, this title should be in every collection."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=269
http://www.virtualjamestown.org/page2.html

Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage

Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage

Written by: Peter Arenstam, John Kemp, Catherine O'Neill Grace, & Plimoth Plantation

Easy Readability

"Plimoth Plantation and the National Geographic Society come together to tell the true story behind the legendary voyage of the Mayflower. A meticulously researched work, Mayflower 1620 offers children a compelling, fresh account of this much-told story.

Vibrant photography of a rare reenactment using the Mayflower II leads readers imaginatively into the narrative. The vivid and informative text explores the story behind the exhibits at the living-history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Primary sources record what the voyagers wore, what they ate, and telling details of their journey. First-person accounts reveal the hopes and dreams they carried. Readers share in the long hours at sea, and in the dangers faced after landfall. Extensive end notes, a map, a detailed chronology, and a bibliography round out the full story of the Mayflower.

Readers experience a new look at this seminal historical event through the eyes of those who now regularly inhabit the world of the pilgrims—the actors who interpret the Pilgrim Voyage. This eye-opening book teaches children the value of closely reexamining everything we think we know."

Product Description

Online Resources:
http://www.plimoth.org/

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

Written by: Jean Fritz

Easy Readability

"The history of the Lost Colony is more than a simple tale of settlers who disappeared, leaving a cryptic message behind. Fritz weaves the tangled threads of historical records, the multiple voyages, and the large cast of significant figures into a single narrative that enables children to envision the main events as well as many colorful details. The presentation is surprisingly traditional in some ways, from a Eurocentric reference to America as the "newfound land" to the anecdote (undocumented, as the appended notes acknowledge) about Sir Walter Raleigh's laying his coat across a puddle for Queen Elizabeth. In four chapters, Fritz discusses the English exploration of the region, the settlement on Roanoke Island, the mysterious disappearance of the colonists, and the conjectures, hoaxes, and evidence that have fueled speculation about the colony for 400 years."

Booklist Review

Online Resources:
http://www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/sunda/mystery/roanoke_files/frame.htm
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/roanoke1.htm
http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/Colonization_Roanoke.html

Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus

Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus

Written and Illustrated by: Peter Sis

Easy Readability

"The 15th century comes vividly alive in this splendidly original picture book about Christopher Columbus. The straightforward text combines documented fact and legend, while the pictures show Columbus' gradual emergence from a fortress of medieval belief as he begins to realize his dream of finding a new route to the Orient."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/columbus.html

Columbus and the World Around Him

Columbus and the World Around Him

Written by: Milton Meltzer

"In a smoothly flowing, intelligent, and colorful style, Meltzer presents the scant known facts about Columbus' early life, highlights all four of his voyages to the New World, and ends with a portrait of a confused and sickly old man, still fantasizing about the fabulous treasures he never saw.

Meltzer paints a bold and unbiased picture of Columbus as a boastful, confident dreamer who refused to believe that the land he discovered was anything other than the eastern edge of the Asian continent. His determination to win a monarch's support for his voyages and his stubborn drive to continue against terrible odds are attributed not only to his desire for wealth but also to his dubious interest in converting heathens. The torture and slaughter of innocent native Americans presents another, less heroic perspective. Meltzer exhibits informed knowledge of his subject; his well-researched use of primary sources, such as logs and other first-hand accounts is exemplary."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://www.columbusnavigation.com/
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ColumbusDay.htm

Roanoke: A Novel of the Lost Colony

Roanoke: A Novel of the Lost Colony

Written by: Sonia Levitin

"Sixteen-year-old orphan William Wythers, is eager to try life in the New World. He and the other settlers face an arduous voyage and difficult months ahead on Roanoke Island, off the coast of Virginia. Yet there is a wonderful freedom in defining the rules for this new world in America. And when William falls in love with a young Native American woman, it seems that life is going to be happy after all.

But when John White arrives from England with fresh supplies for the settlement, not a single person remains. Who knows what happened? An unsolved mystery in American history comes brilliantly alive in Sonia Levitin's historical novel about the lost colony in Roanoke."

Publishers Synopsis

Online Resources:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0302_040302_lostcolony.html
http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/roanoke-colony.htm/printable

What's the Deal? Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase

What's the Deal? Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase

Written by: Rhoda Blumberg

"This historic account discusses Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It includes the main characters involved in the purchase, maps, timeline, copies of letters, and the effects of the Louisiana Purchase on later developments in U.S. history."

Social Studies Center (SSC)

Online Resources:
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=297