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Explore the Ancient World Student Reseach Guide Guidelines
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Book 1
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3
  • Chapter 4

    • Book 2
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3

    • Book 3
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3

    • Book 4
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3

    • Book 5
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3

    • Book 6
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3

    • Book 7
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3
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    Book 4: The War for Independence - Chapter 1: The Colonists Protest

    Key Words: The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, French and Indian War, Declaration of Independence, Minutemen, Continental Army, Crispus Attucks, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, George III
    Fiction Books
    Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988. This story of an injured young silversmith who gets involved in the protests that lead to the War for Independence is inspiring, exciting, and sad.

    Fritz, Jean. Early Thunder. New York: Puffin Books, 1987. As conflicts between Tories and Patriots increasingly divide the townspeople, 14-year-old Daniel begins to examine his loyalty to the king. 255 pages.

    Knight, James. Boston Tea Party: Rebellion in the Colonies. Mahwah: Troll Associates, 1998. A Boston merchant describes the American colonists' act of protest against British taxation and the tea monopoly of the East India Company. 32 pages.

    Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Paul Revere's Ride. New York: Puffin, 1996. This beautifully illustrated picture book features a retelling of this famous poem. 40 pages.

    Moss, Marissa. Emma's Journal. Reprint edition 2001: Silver Whistle-Harcourt Brace & Company, 1999. Students will be captivated by the format of this book, designed to look like an actual journal. On paper that appears aged and in her own handwriting, Emma describes events in Boston leading up to the War for Independence between 1774 and 1776. 56 pages.

    O'Dell, Scott. Sarah Bishop. Boston: Scholastic, 1991 (Revised edition). Fifteen-year-old Sarah Bishop is left without a surviving member of her family at the time of the War for Independence. Her father has remained loyal to the king, and her brother has joined the rebels. When her possessions are destroyed in a raid, she is forced to find a new life on her own. 230 pages.

    Turner, Ann W. Katie's Trunk. New York: Simon & Schuster Trade, 1997. Katie, whose Loyalist family is not sympathetic to the Patriots during the War for Independence, hides in her mother's wedding trunk when the rebels invade her home. 28 pages.

    Walker, Salley M. and Ellen Beier. The 18 Penny Goose. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. An "I Can Read" book that tells the story of eight-year-old Letty who attempts to save her pet goose from marauding British soldiers during the War for Independence. 61 pages.
    Nonfiction Books
    "Boston Massacre." Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Young People. Mar. 1980. Each issue contains easy-to-read articles, primary source readings, excellent illustrations, and occasional crafts and puzzles. Web site: cobblestonepub.com. About 50 pages.

    Carter, Alden. Colonial Wars: Clashes in the Wilderness. New York: Franklin Watts, 1993. This book features key battles, military strategies, and equipment used during the French and Indian Wars, the wars that gave the British control of North America. 63 pages.

    Dickinson, Alice. The Stamp Act. New York: Franklin Watts, 1970. Read about the anger of the American colonists toward the Stamp Act passed by the British in 1765. 63 pages.

    Kroll, Steve. Boston Tea Party. New York: Holiday House, 1998. The economic events that led frustrated Patriots to dump tea off English ships into Boston Harbor are presented with clear text and watercolors that recreate the setting and add drama. An afterword and time line are included. 30 pages.

    Lukes, Bonnie L. The Boston Massacre. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1998. This book details the historical examination of the aftermath, including the trials, of the Boston Massacre of 1770. 111 pages.

    Millender, Dharathula H. Crispus Attucks, Black Leader of Colonial Patriots. New York: Aladdin Books, 1986. First issued as a part of Bobbs-Merrill's Childhood of Famous Americans series, this biography is popular with young readers. 192 pages.

    Moore, Kay and Daniel O'Leary. If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1997. Using a question and answer format, this informative book tells of the events leading up to and after the War for Independence. 80 pages.

    O'Neill, Laurie. The Boston Tea Party. Brookfield: Milbrook Press, 1996. Narrative and pictures of the events leading up to and including the Boston Tea Party and its consequences are based on primary source documents and eyewitness accounts. 64 pages.

    Penner, Lucille R. The Liberty Tree. New York: Random House, 1998. This beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of the beginning of the War for Independence, starting around 1760 and continuing to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Difficult text. 41 pages.

    Web Sites
    http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/
    Liberty! The American Revolution. The online companion to the PBS series about the War for Independence. Features lots of facts about the war, perspectives of people involved, and a game.

    http://www2.worldbook.com/features/aajourney_new/intro.shtml
    The African American Journey. Learn all about Crispus Attucks, Richard Allen, Peter Salem, and other amazing black heroes and heroines who played a major role in the War for Independence. This site is sponsored by World Book Encyclopedia.

    http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/index.html
    The History Place–American Revolution. Review a time line of events leading up to the War for Independence.

    http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~artscntr/williams
    Lafayette College of Art Collection. Home to the 1857 painting "Pulling Down the Statue of George III" by William Walcutt.

    http://smithsonianeducation.org/spotlight/start.html
    Spotlight Biography. Spotlight Biography is the Smithsonian's virtual center-stage for famous and not-so-famous American artists, soldiers and scientists, inventors and social reformers, and other interesting people.

    http://www.history.org
    Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Take a virtual field trip or two through the Colonial Williamsburg educational and outreach web site. Visit the web site's African American Experience links for additional resources.