McCulley, Emily Arnold. The Bobbin Girl. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1996. This fictional story of ten-year-old Rebecca Putney is based on the life of a mill girl from Lowell, Massachusetts during the 1830s. 30 pages.

Paterson, Katherine. Lyddie. London: Puffin Books, 1995. Lyddie Worthen is a young Vermont farm girl who goes to work in a mill in Lowell to help support her family. This book chronicles three years in her life. Difficult text. 182 pages.

Spier, Peter. The Erie Canal. New York: Doubleday, 1970. The words of the song "The Erie Canal" make up the text for this colorfully illustrated book about traveling on the Erie Canal. 36 pages.

Clements, Gillian. The Picture History of Great Inventors. New York: Knopf, 1994. A catalog of inventions, illustrated with colorful cartoon-style drawings. Features 50 inventors along with events of the time. 77 pages.

Collins, Mary. The Industrial Revolution. Danbury: Children's Press, Inc., 2000. Focuses on the Industrial Revolution in the United States and the change from an agricultural society to one based on machines and factories. 30 pages.

Fisher, Leonard Everett. Tracks Across America: The Story of the American Railroad, 1825-1900. New York: Holiday House, 1992. The story of the building of the railroad, with photographs, maps, and drawings. Difficult text. 192 pages.

Harness, Cheryl. The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal. New York: Macmillan, 1995. This beautifully illustrated book uses history, science, and mathematics to tell the story of the Erie Canal. Unpaged.

Levinson, Nancy Smiler. She's Been Working on the Railroad. New York: Lodestar Books, 1997. We think of men working on the railroads, but many women overcame the resistance of men to become welders, engineers, and owners of railroads. This book chronicles their stories, with archival and contemporary photos. 104 pages.

"The Mill Girls." Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Young People. Mar. 2001. Each issue contains easy-to-read articles, primary source readings, excellent illustrations, and occasional crafts and puzzles. Web site: cobblestonepub.com. About 50 pages.

Smith, Elizabeth S. Cloth. New York: Walker and Company, 1985. Discusses fabrics, the history of the textile industry, and the state of the industry today. This book is out of print but available at libraries. 60 pages.

Stein, R. Conrad. The Story of the Erie Canal. Danbury: Children's Press, Inc., 1985. An interesting and informative account of the construction of the 363 mile canal connecting Albany and Buffalo. 32 pages.

Toynton, Evelyn. Growing Up in America: 1830-1860. Brookfield: Millbrook, 1995. The lifestyles and daily activities of a New England family, a slave family, a pioneer family, a Sioux family, and an urban family are examined. A good reference; difficult text. Illustrated with period drawings. 96 pages.

http://www.cprr.org/
The Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum. The Central Pacific Railroad workers had the hard task of blasting through the Sierra Nevada mountains to connect the Pacific Ocean with the Union Pacific Railroad. The history of the Central Pacific Railroad and its workers is included in this web site. You can also find historic photographs of the men who risked their lives to build the transcontinental railroad.

http://www.eliwhitney.org/
The Eli Whitney Museum. The web site for the Eli Whitney Museum, built near Whitney's home, includes information about Whitney and his inventions, a photo gallery of the museum and the surrounding area, as well as a "virtual museum" about Whitney, fellow inventors, and the spirit of innovation.

http://inventors.about.com/od/indrevolution/
Major Inventions–The Industrial Revolution. Sponsored by About.com, this web site includes information about the major inventions that started the Industrial Revolution. Read about the Industrial Revolution, view a time line, and take a closer look at the inventions of the steamboat, the steam engine, and steel. This site is always changing, so you can refer to it often for new information.

http://www.nps.gov/lowe/2002/home.htm
Lowell National Historical Park. Francis Cabot Lowell's mill town has been preserved as a historical park. Read Lowell's biography and find out how his inventions changed history. You also can find information about canals, early American manufacturing, and the lives of the "mill girls" and immigrants who worked 12 hours a day.

http://www.morsehistoricsite.org/
Locust Grove–The Samuel Morse Historic Site. Samuel Morse's New York home has been converted into a museum. The web site includes a biography, a list of his most important inventions, as well as a tour of his house and gardens.

http://www.pbs.org/neighborhoods/history/
PBS: History. This PBS site contains biographies of famous Americans and articles on major events in U.S. history.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
National Geographic. Discover maps of the world, historical photographs, and interactive adventures on the National Geographic site.

http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/bjpinchbeck/bjsocial.html
BJ Pinchbeck's Homework Helper. Use this discoveryschool.com site to connect to a variety of social studies links covering topics from world geography to American history

http://earlyamerica.com/
Archiving Early America. Find primary source documents, paintings of early Americans, maps, and more!

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi
America's Library. This site sponsored by the Library of Congress includes features such as "Meet Amazing Americans," "Jump Back in Time," "Explore the States," and "See, Hear, and Sing."