CurriConnects Book List - Colonial America
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Colonial America
Colonial America was a time between the settlement at Jamestown in 1607 and the creation of the Declaration of Independence. It was a time of growth for the colonies and the period laid the foundation for what would become the new nation. This list includes fiction and nonfiction books about life during Colonial America.
Picture Books
1607: A New Look at Jamestown - Karen Lange, (978-1426300127), Non-fiction
Interest level: 3-6, Lexile: 780
Students become colonists in this book that brings history to life.
Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak - Kay Winters, (978-0147511621), Fiction
Interest level: 4-7, Lexile: 640
Ethan, the printer’s son, hears that the British are going to tax tea. He runs around Boston to let his friends and neighbors know. Each person he meets gives their opinion of the new tax.
Hornbooks and Inkwells - Verla Kay, (978-0399238703), Fiction
Interest level: K-3, Lexile: 324
School in the Colonial Era was much different than it is today. Readers can join Peter and John Paul during a typical school day.
John, Paul, George, and Ben - Lane Smith, (978-0786848935), Fiction
Interest level: K-3, Lexile: 660
Strong people with strong personalities can change the world. The Founding Fathers are described by their traits and how they used these traits throughout their lives.
Ox-Cart Man - Donald Hall, (978-0140504415), Fiction
Interest level: K-3, Lexile: 1130
The Ox Cart Man packs his wares and travels to Portsmouth to sell his goods. He buys the goods his family needs for the following year
Pilgrim Cat - Carol Antoinette Peacock, (978-0807565322), Fiction
Interest level: K-3
A girl newly arrived to the American Colonies finds comfort in the presence of the cat she discovered while traveling.
Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving - Joseph Bruchac, (978-0152018177), Non-fiction
Interest level: K-3, Lexile: 750
Squanto welcomed the Pilgrims in 1620. Told from Squanto’s point of view, this narrative nonfiction biography tells how he acted as an envoy to the English settlers.
Tattered Sails - Verla Kay, (978-0399233456), Fiction
Interest level: K-3
Thomas, Edward, Mary Jane, and their parents leave London for the New World. The journey across the Atlantic is arduous, but the family perseveres to take their first steps into a new land.
The Salem Witch Trials - Jane Yolen, (978-0689846205), Non-fiction
Interest level: 1-6
This book gives background on the happenings surrounding the Salem Witch Trials in colonial America.
You Wouldn’t Want to Be an American Colonist - Jacqueline Morley, (978-0531245026), Non-fiction
Interest level: 3-6, Lexile: 780
Middle Grade Books
1609: Winter of the Dead - Elizabeth Massie, (978-0812590937), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7
Two orphans, dreaming of an ideal city, find their dreams in collapse as they view the realities of colonial life in a failing Jamestown.
An Angry Drum Echoed - Pamela Mueller, (978-0968509784), Fiction
Interest level: 6-9
A Creek Indian from Georgia served as an interpreter in colonial America, epitomizing the spirit of cooperation between the Native Americans and the English.
Blood on the River - Elisa Carbone, (978-0142409329), Fiction
Interest level: 2-9, Lexile: 820
Samuel Collier works as an assistant to John Smith in new world James Town, even though he is only 12 years old.
Jefferson’s Sons - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, (978-0142421840), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7, Lexile: 600
Poison in the Colony - Elisa Carbone, (978-0425291856), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7, Lexile: 740
Problems in Plymouth - Marianne Hering, (978-1589976320), Fiction
Interest level: 2-4
Cousins patrick and Beth time travel to the Plymouth Colony where they meet a host of historical personalities including the Native American Squanto.
Surviving Jamestown - Gail Karwoski, (978-1561452453), Fiction
Interest level: 5-8, Lexile: 820
John Smith's page, Sam Collier, lives through the voyage to America and the difficult conditions during the first years of Colonial America.
The Devil's Door - Paul Thompson, (978-0766033870), Fiction
Interest level: 4-5
Sarah's father ends up in prison after the two of them move to Salem, MA to view the witch trials, and Sarah tries to help him get out of his confinement.
The Sacrifice - Kathleen Duble, (978-0689876516), Fiction
Interest level: 4-9, Lexile: 720
The mother of two pre-teen girls tries to prove her daughters' innocence after they are imprisoned for witchcraft.
The Starving Time - Patricia Hermes, (978-0439369022), Fiction
Interest level: 2-4
Elizabeth Barker's diary reveals the deteriorating conditions in colonial Jamestown as hunger and illnesses ravage the population.
Who's Saying What in Jamestown, Thomas Savage? - Jean Fritz, (978-0142414019), Non-fiction
Interest level: 2-4, Lexile: 810
This biography follows Thomas Savage, who settled in early Jamestown, as he learns Algonquin and interprets during the Colonial Era.
Yankee Doodle America: The Spirit of 1776 from A to Z - Wendell Minor, (978-0399240034), Non-fiction
Interest level: 2-5
The pages of this alphabet book contain interesting facts about the American Colonial Period and the subsequent revolution.
Young Adult Books (ages 12-18; Grades 7 and up)
Colonial and Early American Journalism - Patrice Sherman, (978-1502634696), Non-fiction
Interest level: 7-10
The press helped spread the message of independence. This book explains how the press helped to influence early America.
Freedom Bound - Jean Baxter, (978-1553801436), Fiction
Interest level: 5-10
Charlotte leaves Canada to rescue her husband Nick in South Carolina, and, in the process, frees several young slaves.
My Lady, Pocahontas - Kathleen Kudlinski, (978-1477817117), Fiction
Interest level: 6-10
Nuttagwon and Pocahontas bond as they work to help their people find peace with the colonists.
Pocahontas - Joseph Bruchac, (978-0152054656), Non-fiction
Interest level: 4-12, Lexile: 970
This biographical account describes the relationship between Pocahontas and John Smith and the surrounding culture.
The Mourning Wars - Karen Steinmetz, (978-1596432901), Fiction
Interest level: 5-12, Lexile: 910
This fictionalized account of a Mohawk Indian attack on Deerfield, Massachusetts portrays the kidnapping of a young girl and many other residents.
The Scarlet Letter - P.Craig Russell, adapter, (978-1597071628), Fiction
Interest level: 7-12
This classic of American literature tells the story of Hester Prynne who bore a child out of wedlock in the Puritan Era but refused to reveal the name of her lover.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speare, (978-0547550299), Fiction
Interest level: 7-10, Lexile: 850
A Barbados transplant encounters difficulties adjusting to Puritan life in Connecticut.
Witch Child - Celia Rees, (978-0763642280), Fiction
Interest level: 5-12, Lexile: 760
Mary Newbury travels from England to Massachusetts and becomes a witch in Salem in this story seen through journal entries.