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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Dear America Series Books

One of the book series that I grew up loving to read was the Dear America Diaries. There was one girl for each of these exciting events throughout American history and also represented different ethnic groups throughout time – slaves, Native Americans, immigrants, etc. After I read several of these, I discovered the Royal Diaries. These were the same set up but focused on the young royals. And I just learned recently that there is a series like this aimed at boys called My Name is America. I am not going to give the blub for each one (because that would take forever), but I will list those in the series and link to them. There is a little something for everyone. The books span American history from its start right up to the present. They are also frequently used in schools (I read Remember Patience Whipple in 5th grade).

Also, stay tuned later today for my giveaway announcement. I still have a few of the Dear America Diaries left from my personal collection that I am going to offer up to a lucky winner.

Dear America Diaries
They stopped producing the Dear America Series in 2004, but as of 2010 they have been picked up and being reissued as well as new books being released.

A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620
The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777
When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864
A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, Virginia, 1859
Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847
So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865
West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883
Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903
Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763
Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, RMS Titanic, 1912
A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence, Gonzales, Texas, 1836
My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880
The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory, 1868
A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, Fenwick Island, Delaware, 1861
The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864
A Coal Miner’s Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska, Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896
Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North, Chicago, Illinois, 1919
One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York, 1938
My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York, 1941
Valley of the Moon: The Diary of Maria Rosalia de Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta California, 1849
Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory, 1849
Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1932
Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, Hawaii, 1941
My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska, 1881
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: The Diary of Molly MacKenzie, Flaherty, Boston, Massachusetts, 1968
A Time for Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C., 1917
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, Perkins School for the Blind, 1932
Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards, Dalhart, Texas, 1935
When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer, New York City to the Western Front, 1917
Land of the Buffalo Bones: The Diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, an English Girl in Minnesota, New Yeovil, Minnesota, 1873
Love Thy Neighbor: The Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson, Green Marsh, Massachusetts, 1774
All the Stars in the Sky: The Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder, the Santa Fe Trail, 1848
Look to the Hills: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl, New York Colony, 1763
I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691
Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker, New York City, 1909
The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941
Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce, Portland, Maine, 1918
Cannons at Dawn: The Second Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1779 (sequel to The Winter of Red Snow, releasing May 2011)

Royal Diaries The Royal Diaries series ended in 2005, no word as to if they will be relaunched like Dear America. I read about half of this series. The subject matter of this series is teenaged royals from around the world – they cover the lives and customs. There are also facts about the real people at the end of the books.

Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544
Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 57 B.C.
Isabel: Jewel of Castilla, Spain, 1466
Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles, Austria-France, 1769
Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914
Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595
Kaiulani: The People’s Princess, Hawaii, 1889
Lady Ch’iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China, 531 A.D.
Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia, England, 1829
Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553
Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, 595 A.D.
Jahanara: Princess of Princesses, India, 1627
Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136
Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638
Elisabeth: The Princess Bride, Austria-Hungary, 1853
Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets, Massachusetts-Rhode Island, 1653
Lady of Palenque: Flower of Bacal, Mesoamerica, 749 A.D.
Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan, 1858
Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490
Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia, 1743

My Name is America
This series was also discontinued in 2004. This series has male main characters. I don’t see much YA hist-fic for boys, so this is possibly a good choice for them.

The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy, Plymouth, 1620
The Journal of William Thomas Emerson: A Revolutionary War Patriot, Boston, Massachusetts, 1774
The Journal of Augustus Pelletier: Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804
• The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds: The Donner Party Expedition, 1846
The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852
The Journal of Sean Sullivan: A Transcontinental Railroad Worker, Nebraska and Points West, 1867
The Journal of Joshua Loper: A Black Cowboy, The Chisholm Trail, 1871
The Journal of Brian Doyle: A Greenhorn on an Alaskan Whaling Ship, The Florence, 1874
The Journal of Rufus Rowe: A Witness to the Battle of Fredricksburg, Bowling Green, Va, 1862
The Journal of James Edmond Pease: A Civil War Union Soldier, Virginia, 1863
The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy, The Trail of Tears, 1838
The Journal of Finn Reardon: A Newsie, New York City, 1899
The Journal of Otto Peltonen: A Finnish Immigrant, Hibbing, Minnesota, 1905
The Journal of C.J. Jackson: A Dust Bowl Migrant, Oklahoma to California, 1935
The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp, California, 1942
The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: A World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944
The Journal of Biddy Owens: The Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948
The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty: United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968

You can check out the various teaching resources that go along with many of these books on the Scholastic website. Also, for readers, you can check out the Scholastic site with various expanded content for your enjoyment.




Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for reminding me abou these! I've been looking for books for my younger cousins, and the older one is probably ready for the My Name is America series! Yay, just in time for his birthday :)

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  2. Rowenna - Glad I could help - hope he enjoys them, that is the one series of these I haven't read any of.

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  3. I am glad they are starting reissues and adding to them. This type of book is so necessary for our youth. History is presented in a personal manner that they can relate to. They enjoy the read and actually learn something in the process. What more can we ask : )

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  4. Librarypat - I loved these books and I was upset that they stopped producing them - so happy they are back for these young readers.

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