Early American History Picture Books – Exploration through The Revolution

I use living books to teach most subjects in our Charlotte Mason homeschool. When my kids are in 1st-3rd grade, I use wonderful picture books to teach American history. These years are not about building a deep understanding, but rather whetting my children’s appetites for history. My goal is to spark their curiosity and bring historical events to life in their imaginations.

While we use Mater Amabilis for the majority of our homeschool curriculum, I personally have my children read This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall on their second trip through American history in middle school. My students also study United States History again in more depth in high school.

I’ve put together the list of picture books I used this year to teach my child U.S. History from Exploration to The American Revolution. In addition to reading the picture books in chronological order, we also practice notebooking, narration, and copywork with the books. My child has a Schoolnest U.S. History notebook that he will continue to add to until it is full.

I’ve pulled my books from my own personal home library, the booklist from Simply Learning Together (I also used the coloring pages she provided and some of the YouTube videos she has linked in her curriculum), as well as the further reading for American History recommended by Mater Amabilis.

You can find all of these books in my Amazon List here!

Exploration

• Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire
• Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire

Roanoke and Jamestown

• Roanoke: The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple
• Jamestown New World Adventure by James E. Knight

Native Americans

• Pocahontas by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire
• North American Indians
• The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin and David Shannon (I enjoy adding tales to our studies.)
• Squanto’s Journey : The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruhac

The Pilgrims

• Sarah Morton’s Day by Kate Waters
• Samuel Eaton’s Day by Kate Waters
• The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgiesh
• Who’s That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? by Jean Fritz
• If You Sailed on the Mayflower by Ann McGovern

Colonial Times

• Chronicle of America Colonial Times 1600-1700
• Benjamin Franklin by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Auliere
• If You Lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGovern
• George Washington by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Auliere

The Revolution

• George vs. George: The American Revolution as Seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer
• The Boston Tea Party by Pamela Duncan Edwards
• Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• The 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgiesh

Chapter Books

I chose a few chapter books for family read aloud time. These were some of my son’s favorite read alouds of the year!

• A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla
• Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla
• The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz
• Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady

This year was so much fun exploring early American history! In addition to the books and narrations, I try to take my kids on education field trips, too! We have visited some Revolutionary Museums and we learned so much. I highly recommend doing that if you are able!