Books in American Story series

Take a journey through history with students in grades 4–7 using Life in the Colonies! This 64-page book includes information on building and living in a log cabin, preparing food, candle and soap making, livestock, occupations, and etiquette rules. Activities include word searches, fact-or-opinion questions, and creative writing. The book includes answer keys, time lines, and suggested reading lists.

More than 100 tales of the supernatural, drawn from Tidewater Virginia to the Lone Star State, are included in this collection. McNeil's introduction traces themes peculiar to the South, such as the screaming bridge and the levitating railroad light. Line drawings contribute to the mood of the stories; an index references various Southern localities by town and state.

It began in Boston, with angry colonists objecting to the tyranny of a king who ruled from an ocean away. It was voiced by patriots such as Sam Adams and Patrick Henry and echoed by citizens from New England all the way to the Carolinas. It was fought by many -- colonists and patriots, Loyalists and slaves, Frontiersmen and Indians, British and French soldiers. Over more than ten years, sides were taken, guns drawn, lives lost. But through it all, one man -- a general from Virginia named George Washington -- held the young colonies together and led them to victory, beating almost impossible odds. History lovers Betsy and Giulio Maestro tell this true story of extraordinary times, incredible drama, and the birth of a new nation.

Take a journey through history with students in grades 4–7 using The American Revolution. This 64-page book includes information on what caused the American Revolution, the Boston Tea Party, Yankee Doodle, Benjamin Franklin, the Declaration of Independence, the flag, and the Constitution. Activities include word searches, fact-or-opinion questions, and creative writing. The book includes answer keys, time lines, and suggested reading lists.

Partisan politics and division between Americans of different political parties are constantly in the news. However, political division is not a new thing in the United States, and readers are introduced to the history of political parties as they explore how the early divisions between the Founding Fathers are still reflected in many ways today. The insightful main text and sidebars include annotated quotations to provide first-person perspectives on the various political parties that have had an impact on American democracy. Primary sources and a detailed timeline provide additional information about this timely topic.

It began in Boston, with angry colonists objecting to the tyranny of a king who ruled from an ocean away. It was voiced by patriots such as Sam Adams and Patrick Henry and echoed by citizens from New England all the way to the Carolinas. It was fought by many -- colonists and patriots, Loyalists and slaves, Frontiersmen and Indians, British and French soldiers. Over more than ten years, sides were taken, guns drawn, lives lost. But through it all, one man -- a general from Virginia named George Washington -- held the young colonies together and led them to victory, beating almost impossible odds. History lovers Betsy and Giulio Maestro tell this true story of extraordinary times, incredible drama, and the birth of a new nation.

Back by popular demand, these timeless, scary and spine-tingling thrillers are collected together for young readers.Collected by Richard and Judy Dockrey Young, the powerhouse couple whose scary stories showcase the height of horror, the dreadful tales within this book are organized by themes: "The Classic Urban Legends" - the most popular of the scary legends, unverified but repeated as is they were true, with contemporary settings and subject matter; "A Terror Tour of Our Nation" includes stories across, sideways, and up and down all of North America; "Jump!" stories that end with the teller yelling the final words; "Laugh Yourself to Death" to give ourselves a break of humor; and "Our Favorite Horror Tales" that highlight the fear of unnatural beings and events. Publishers Weekly wrote, "These snappy thrillers deliver the sheer shiver power that kids value most. Thanks to their brevity (only a few are longer than four pages) and the swift delivery of their delightfully creepy punch lines, these tales will hold particular appeal for reluctant readers."

Recognized as PLA/ALLS Best New Books for New Adult ReadersJim May writes the stories of his youth, growing up in the rural Midwest between the Truman and the JFK eras, where trading stories was as common as trading horses, and frequently required the same skills. Neighboring, as his mother called it, was part of the social fabric. These 18 poignant and humorous stories of life's joys and trials told with the freshness of youth, yet tempered with the wisdom of age evoke a simpler time in our nation's history without romanticizing the inherent hardships. These barnyard stories teach readers the importance of caring, citizenship and resourcefulness.

When most Americans think of the civil rights movement, they think of the organized struggle for equality in the 1950s and 1960s. However, the civil rights movement actually has its roots in the Reconstruction era of the late nineteenth century as the country tried to rebuild itself after the Civil War. In this book, students will read accounts from early civil rights activists and leaders like Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Booker T. Washington, as well as from mainstays of the later movement like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Other primary sources, such as poems and Supreme Court decisions, fill in the details about the fight against racial injustice in the United States. Students will gain a better understanding of the long road to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation.