Books with author Lynda Arnez

Perhaps one of the most harrowing journeys in US history, traveling the Underground Railroad was dangerous, long, and often very uncomfortable. Men, women, and children often had to walk hundreds of miles to safe houses, usually at night, and stay in cramped quarters until it was safe for them to keep moving. Readers learn what it was like to travel on the Underground Railroad through the eyes of a child escaping slavery. From food to traveling conditions, the narrators unique perspective will enhance readers understanding of what it was like to be a slave in early America.

Living on a new homestead often meant pioneer families had to start with nothingno house, no fields, and no neighbors. Pioneer children were expected to work just as hard as their parents. They cooked, gathered firewood, and helped in the fields, as well as going to school part of the year. Readers learn just how different life was for children on the frontier during the second half of the 19th century. Told from the perspective of a young pioneer girl, the main content covers food, clothing, and community, and historical images feature common family scenes.

From washing our hands to brushing our teeth, the ways people stay clean are easy enough for even young kids to do. With a fun, encouraging tone, the main content of this book focuses on the age-appropriate ways readers can be responsible for keeping their own bodies clean. Including cooperating with parents, this book is written for new readers' cognitive development and reading comprehension development. Full-color photographs support the text and provide real-life examples to inspire readers to keep clean.

Traveling to live in a new country can be terrifying, especially to a child. Leaving behind family, friends, and places you know and love is something everyone can relate to. In this book, readers board a boat with an immigrant child going to the United States for the first time. The first-person narration introduces readers to Ellis Island and the many immigrants coming to America during the late 1800s and early 1900s, including their reasons for doing so. Historical images and fact boxes add context to this important social studies topic.

Shortly after the birth of the United States, many people headed west to settle the new territory of the frontier. They journeyed by wagon for months on end and faced bad weather, sickness, and fears of hostile Native Americans. Historians know a lot about these wagon train journeys because of the many diaries kept by travelers! Readers meet a young wagon train traveler and, through this first-person account, learn about life on the Oregon Trail. Informational fact boxes add historical context to this narrative while images from the time period enhance the main content.

For the native peoples of the Great Plains, history is broken into two periods: before horses arrived and after. The Spanish introduced horses to these native groups around 1540, and their lives were heavily impacted. No longer did they have to hunt buffalo on foot. They could ride the speed of the herd through parts of modern-day Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, Texas, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and more. Readers learn much more about the lifestyles of the native peoples of the Great Plains, including their societal structure, relationship with early European settlers, and more. Historical images and full-color photographs illustrate the main content while fun fact boxes add even more social studies information.