COLONIAL AMERICA <BR>1600 - 1775

KEY: jP = Picture Books; jZ = 1st and 2nd Grade Readers; jE = 3rd and 4th Grade Readers; JF = 5th Grade and Up

COLONIAL AMERICA
1600-1775

updated 11/08

Picture Books


Beginning to Read Books

Benchley, Nathaniel SAM THE MINUTEMAN
Young Sam joins his father and the Minutemen to challenge the British in Lexington before they can get to the guns and ammunition stored in Concord.
1969 62 p.


3rd and 4th Grade Books

Bulla, Clyde Robert A LION TO GUARD US

1609, London. Left on their own in London, three impoverished children draw upon all their resources to stay together and make their way to the Virginia colony (Jamestown) in search of their father.
1981 115 p.

Harness, Cheryl THREE YOUNG PILGRIMS

Mary, Remember, and Bartholomew are among the pilgrims who survive the harsh early years in America and see New Plymouth grow into a prosperous colony. 1620-1621.
1992 unpaged

Hermes, Paticia SEASON OF PROMISE
ELIZABETH'S JAMESTOWN COLONY DIARY

My America series, book 3
In, 1610, 10-year-old Elizabeth continues a journal of her experiences living in Jamestown, as her brother Caleb rejoins the family, a new, strict governor comes to the colony, and her father considers remarriage.
2002 103 p.

Krensky, Stephen THE PRINTER'S APPRENTICE
In 1735 in New York City, a young printer's apprentice learns about the importance of freedom of speech when the printer Peter Zenger is arrested and tried for writing articles criticizing the government.
1995 100 p.

LittleSugar, Amy THE SPINNER'S DAUGHTER
When Elspeth, a hardworking Puritan girl, receives a cornhusk doll from an Indian boy, her mother fears that Elspeth will become idle. Connecticut.
1994 30 p.

Moskin, Marietta LYSBET AND THE FIRE KITTENS
December 1662, Dutch colony of New Amsterdam on Mana-ha-ta Island. 9-year-old Lysbet is left alone overnight. While her mother is tending to the birth of her sister's child, and her brother and pa are detained, Lysbet lets the fire in the fireplace go out. She improperly lays a new one and goes out skating. The result is a house fire and a furious hunt to find her pet cat that is having kittens.
1973 46 p.

Moss, Marissa EMMA'S JOURNAL
THE STORY OF A COLONIAL GIRL

From 1774 to 1776, Emma describes in her journal her stay in Boston, where she witnesses the British blockade and spies for the American militia.
1999 unpaged

Tripp, Valerie FELICITY TAKES A DARE
American Girls Short Stories
All winter Felicity has wanted to go to the Williamsburg town fair, but her foolhardy actions in trying to feed the racehorses spoil the fun and teach her a lesson.
2001 27 p.

Tripp, Valerie FELICITY'S NEW SISTER
American Girls Short Stories
Although she is tired of the responsibility of being the oldest sister, Felicity realizes how much her family means to her when a carriage accident puts her pregnant mother in danger. Includes a section on babies in the late 1700's.
1999 27 p.

Tripp, Valerie FELICITY'S DANCING SHOES
American Girls Short Stories
. In colonial Williamsburg, 9-year-old Felicity's dancing skills improve when she changes from wearing clumsy shoes to dainty slippers but ultimately she learns that "Gracefulness is , in the foot, not the shoe."
2000 26 p.

Tripp, Valerie CHANGES FOR FELICITY
A WINTER STORY

The outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775 brings drastic changes to Felicity's life in Williamsburg, affecting both her family and her friendship with Elizabeth.
1992 69 p.

Tripp, Valerie FELICITY DISCOVERS A SECRET
In 1774 Williamsburg, Virginia, Felicity helps the irritable Mrs. Burnie do laundry and learns a secret that seems to explain her behavior. Includes notes on the history of eyeglasses and instructions for making a pair of lorgnettes, glass lenses attached to elegant handles.
2002 32 p.

Tripp, Valerie FELICITY LEARNS A LESSON
A SCHOOL STORY

Shortly before the Revolutionary War, nine-year-old Felicity, who lives in Williamsburg, is torn between supporting the tariff-induced tea boycott and saving her friendship with Elizabeth, a young loyalist from England.
1991 69 p.

Tripp, Valerie FELICITY SAVES THE DAY
A SUMMER STORY

During a visit to her grandfather's plantation in Virginia during the summer of 1775, Felicity's loyalty is torn between her father and Ben, her father's apprentice.
1992 67 p.

Tripp, Valerie FELICITY'S SURPRISE
Christmas in Williamsburg means a dancing party at the Governor's Palace for Felicity, but her mother becomes very ill and cannot finish the special blue gown.
1991 69 p.

Tripp, Valerie HAPPPY BIRTHDAY, FELICITY
As her tenth birthday approaches, Felicity is excited by her grandfather's visit, but she is also concerned about the growing tensions between the colonists and the British governor in Williamsburg.
1992 69 p.

Tripp, Valerie MEET FELICITY: AN AMERICAN GIRL
In Williamsburg in 1774, nine-year-old Felicity rescues a beautiful horse who is being beaten and starved by her cruel owner.
1991 69 p.


5th Grade and Up

Avi ENCOUNTER AT EASTON
The doomed flight of two young indentured servants from their unkind master brings together an unlikely assortment of people in a mid-18th century Pennsylvania town. sequel to Night Journeys. 1768.
1980 138 p.

Avi NIGHT JOURNEYS
Pennsylvania-New Jersey border in 1768. Two young indentured servants escape into Pennsylvania and receive help from 12-year-old Peter York and his guardian, Everett Shinn, a devout Quaker.
1979 143 p.

Clapp, Patricia CONSTANCE: A STORY OF EARLY PLYMOUTH
14-year-old Constance Hopkins keeps a journal of her life beginning with her family's arrival on the Mayflower in 1620. Plymouth deals with winters which kill half of the settlers to Constance's marriage at 20.
1968 255 p.

Collier, James Lincoln & Christopher MY BROTHER SAM IS DEAD
During the American Revolution, Tim Meeker must choose between his Tory father and his brother who is a patriot.
1974 216 p.

Cooney, Caroline THE RANSOM OF MERCY CARTER
In 1704, in the English settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts, 11-year-old Mercy and her family and neighbors are captured by Mohawk Indians and their French allies, and forced to march through bitter cold to French Canada, where some adapt to new lives and some still hope to be ransomed.
2001 249 p.

Field, Rachel CALICO BUSH
1743. Marguerite Ledous, happy, loved, used to dancing and sewing fancy little stitches, finds life dramatically changed when left a penniless orphan. After arriving in America her family dies and she is taken in by the Sargents who are moving to the wilderness of Maine. Marguerite becomes Maggie, a bound-out servant and spends her 13th year helping the family hope with Indians, wild animals, bitter cold and frontier dangers.
1931 201 p.

Fleischman, Paul SATURNALIA
In 1681 in Boston, 14-year-old William, a Narraganset Indian captured in a raid six years earlier, leads a productive and contented life as a printer's apprentice but is increasingly anxious to make some connection with his Indian past.
1990 109 p.

Harrah, Madge MY BROTHER, MY ENEMY
Determined to avenge the massacre of his family, 14-year-old Robert Bradford joins Nathaniel Bacon's rebel army in hopes of wiping out the Susquehannock Indians of Virginia. 1676.
1997 128 p.

Hildick, E.W. HESTER BIDGOOD
Investigatrix of Evill Deedes

13-year-old Hester Bidgood and her 15-year-old friend Rob Macgregor investigate the stoning and branding of a kitten in a New England town caught in the grip of witchcraft rumors during the year 1692.
1994 141 p.

Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas PRISCILLA FOSTER
Hannah hears Granny Priss recount her involvement in the Salem witch trials of 1692 and the terrible consequences that occured when Granny Priss, as a young girl, joined Ann Putnam in accusing many innocent women of being witches.
1997 121 p.

Jacobs, Paul Samuel JAMES PRINTER
A NOVEL OF REBELLION

Although he has lived and worked as a printer's apprentice with the Green family in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for many years, James, a Nipmuck Indian, finds himself caught up in the events that lead to a horrible war. King Philip's War 1675-1676.
1997 216 p.

Jones, Elizabeth McDavid MYSTERY ON SKULL ISLAND
American Girl History Mysteries

In 1724, 12-year-old Rachel and her friend Sally discover a pirates' hiding place on a deserted island near Charles Town, South Carolina, and they suspect it may be connected to the woman who will soon become Rachel's stepmother.
2001 173 p.

Kirkpatrick, Katherine TROUBLE'S DAUGHTER
The Story of Susanna Hutchinson, Indian Captive

When her family is massacred by Lenape Indians in 1643, 9-year-old Susanna, daughter of Anne Hutchinson, is captured and raised as a Lenape. Based on a true story. New York state, what is now the Bronx.
1998 224 p.

Lasky, Kathryn BEYOND THE BURNING TIME
When, in the winter of 1692, accusations of witchcraft surface in her small New England village, 12-year-old Mary Chase fights to save her mother from execution.
1994 265 p.

Lasky, Kathryn A JOURNEY TO THE NEW WORLD:
THE DIARY OF REMEMBER PATIENCE WHIPPLE

Dear America series
12-year-old Mem presents a diary account of the trip she and her family made on the Mayflower in 1620 and their first year in the New World.
1996 170 p.

Lawlor, Laurie VOYAGE TO A FREE LAND. 1630
American Sisters
The story of the Garret family during their voyage from England aboard the Arbella and the hard winter of 1630-1631. Puritans seeking religious freedom in Massachusetts.
1999 178 p.

Lough, Loree FIRE BY NIGHT
The Great Fire Devastates Boston
The American Adventureseries
While living in Boston in 1635 and 1636, thirteen-year-old Philip and his family survive in a hurricane and a devastating fire while holding to their faith in God.
1998 137 p.

Luttrell, Wanda STRANGER IN WILLIAMSBURG
Sarah's Journeyseries
sequel to Home on Stoney Creek
Continues the adventures of now twelve-year-old Sarah, who has come from Kentucky to Williamsburg for schooling, only to become embroiiled with Revolutionary War spies.
1995 191 p.

Lutz, Norma MAGGIE'S CHOICE
Jonathan Edwards and the Great Awakening

The American Adventureseries
The death of a young slave girl in Boston, as well as a religious revival led by Jonathan Edwards during the Great Awakening, prompt Maggie to make an important decision.
1999 140 p.

Lutz, Norma Jean SMALLPOX STRIKES
Cotton Mather's Bold Experiment
The American Adventureseries
When a smallpox epidemic strikes Boston in 1721, eleven-year-old Rob becomes the sole caregiver of his stepfather and brother during their time of illness.
1998 140 p.

Nixon, Joan Lowery ANN'S STORY: 1747
Young Americans. Colonial Williamsburg
Ann, a young girl in 18th century Williamsburg, wants to become a doctor like her father, but she is not allowed even to study Latin or mathematics.
2000 118 p.

Nixon, Joan Lowery CAESAR'S STORY: 1759
Young Americans. Colonial Williamsburg
After having been a slave on Carter's Grove plantation near Williamsburg, Virginia. since childhood, Caesar finally finds a way to plan his own future.
2000 133 p.

Nixon, Joan Lowery JOHN'S STORY: 1775
Young Americans. Colonial Williamsburg
The year 1775 is an explosive one--both for the colony of Virginia and eleven-year-old John Nicholas's family. The tensions are rising between England and the colonies...
2001 167 p.

Nixon, Joan Lowery MARIA'S STORY: 1773
Young Americans. Colonial Williamsburg
In this fourth story in the Colonial Williamsburg Young Americans series, nine-year-old Maria Rind is faced with assuming responsibilities of the family printing business after the death of her father.
2001 167 p.

Nixon, Joan Lowery NANCY'S STORY: 1765 Young Americans. Colonial Williamsburg
. In 1765, 12-year-old Nancy worries about the effect of the British Stamp Act on her father's silversmith business in Williamsburg and about how to get along with her new stepmother.
2000 146 p.

Nixon, Joan Nixon WILL'S STORY:1771
Young Americans. Colonial Williamsburg
12- year-old Will Pelham's father is the goaler for the city of Williamburg. Mr. Pelham took the job only a few months ago, and Will still feels uncomfortable with the prisoners in the cells beneath his family's living quarters.
2001 131 p.

Osborne, Mary Pope STANDING IN THE LIGHT
The captive diary of Catharine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763

Quaker girl's diary reflects her experiences growing up in the Delaware Valley of Pennsylvania and her capture by Lenape Indians in 1763.
1998 159 p.

Petry, Ann TITUBA OF SALEM VILLAGE
Salem Witch Trials, 1692 condemns Tituba, a slave from Barbados.
1964 254 p.

Rinaldi, Ann THE FIFTH OF MARCH
14-year-old Rachel Marsh, an indentured servant in the Boston household of John and Abigail Adams, is caught up in the colonists' unrest that eventually escalates into the massacre of March 5, 1770.
1993 321 p.

Rinaldi, Ann THE JOURNAL OF JASPER JONATHAN PIERCE
A PILGRIM BOY

A 14-year-old indentured servant keeps a journal of his experiences on the Mayflower and during the building of the Plimoth Plantation in 1620 and 1621.
2000 155 p.

Rinaldi, Ann THE SECRET OF SARAH REVERE
. Paul Revere's daughter describes his rides and the intelligence network of the patriot community prior to the American Revolution. 1775-76, Boston.
1995 310 p.

Rinaldi, Ann TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS
16-year-old Jem and her servant struggle to keep things going at home in Trenton, New Jersey, when the family men join the war for independence from the British king. Battle of Trenton, 1776.
1986 238 p.

Rosenberg, John YOUNG GEORGE WASHINGTON: THE MAKING OF A HERO.
A fictionalized biography with emphasis on the early life, of the Virginia farmer's son who would eventually become a Revolutionary War leader and first President of the United States.
1997 168 p.

Ruemmler, John SMOKE ON THE WATER
A Novel of Jamestown and the Powhatans

Near Jamestown in 1622, a young English boy and the son of a Powhatan Indian chief find themselves caught up in the growing animosity between their peoples.
1992 171 p.

Smith, Claude THE STRATFORD DEVIL
Stratford, Connecticut, 1651. The Puritan strong hold of Stratford is ravaged by wolves, bad weather, a fire and brimstone preacher. When a bounty is put on wolf pelts, a stranger named Purvis comes to live with Ruth and her mother. By curious events Ruth learns that Purvis is her birth father, she survives a wolf attack with the Indian Nimrod's help, and is eventually accused of witchcraft after her husband dies within hours of their marriage.
1984 192 p.

Spear, Elizabeth George CALICO CAPTIVE
August 1754. Miriam's town of Charleston, New Hampshire is shattered by warhoops as the Indians take townspeople prisoner. Marched through the wilderness to the north, and sold to the French in Montreal they are held for ransom. Takes place at the brink of the French and Indian War.
1957 272 p.

Spear, Elizabeth George THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND
April 1687 Wethersfield in Connecticut colony. Kit Tyler finds Puritan life in Connecticut Colony radically different from life in Barbados. Difficulty in conforming eventually causes her to be tried as a witch, but a handsome seaman comes to her rescue.
1958 249 p.

Weitzman, David OLD IRONSIDES
A fictionalized account of the design and construction of the U.S.S. Constitution, told throughout the eyes of a boy whose father is one of the shipċ carpenters. Launched October 21, 1797. Built in a Boston shipyard between 1794 and 1797.
1997 31 p.

Wisler, G. Clifton THIS NEW LAND
12-year-old Richard Woodley, a Pilgrim (Saint), tells the story of his voyage to the New World upon the Mayflower. Set sail in July, 1620 after 66 days at sea, they land near Cape Cod. Gradually the 100 passengers dwindle to half that number, as lack of food, shelter and sanitation takes its toll.
1987 122 p.