My family just spent the past year studying this time period in American History, and I want to share our favorite books we read this year, as well as a list of other living books on the subject. The following is a compilation of living books about the time period in America that includes the Colonial, French/Indian Wars, Revolutionary War, and the birth of the Constitution. I’ve listed the books that my family read this year and enjoyed the most (“Our Favorites”), as well as books other families have enjoyed and recommend.

My family studies history in a four-year cycle, so we will come back to this time period in four years. As we read through more books and find new favorites, I’ll add them to our list. Our favorite books were the ones that were easy to narrate (my boys shared the stories with friends and families for days afterward) and left an impression on their hearts and minds. Not all books will reach children in the same way; so I encourage you to explore your local library and don’t limit the books you read to just the ones on my family’s favorite list.

Our Favorites

• King George, What Was His Problem? by Steve Sheinkin (Spine)
• A Ben of All Trades: The Most Inventive Boyhood of Benjamin Franklin by Michael Rosen
• Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word by Sarah Jane Marsh
• A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent, Anne Rockwell
• Henry and the Cannons by Don Brown
• Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Lafayette: A Revolutionary War Tale by Nathan Hale
• Anna Strong: Spy During the American Revolution
• Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ill. By Ted Rand (historical fiction)
• The Scarlet Stocking Spy (Tales of Young Americans) by Trinka Hakes Noble (historical fiction)
• Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence by Gretchen Woelfl
• Aaron and Alexander: The Most Famous Duel in American History by Don Brown
• Ticktock Banneker’s Clock by David Gardner 
• An Inconvenient Alphabet: Ben Franklin & Noah Webster’s Spelling Revolution by Beth Anderson
• Balderdash! John Newberry and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books
• George Washington’s Teeth by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora
• The Escape of Oney Judge by Emily Arnold McCully
• Benjamin Franklin by Kathleen Krull (biography)
• Answering the Cry for Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle (compilation of biographies)
• The Arrow Over the Door by Joseph Bruchac
• The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth Spearhead George

Picture Books

• A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley by Kathryn Lasky
• The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies and Melissa Sweet 
• Benjamin Franklin by Ingri and Parin D’Aulaire
• Ben Franklin’s Big Splash by Barb Rosenstock, or
• A Ben of All Trades: The Most Inventive Boyhood of Benjamin Franklin by Michael Rosen
• The Leather Apron Club by Jane Yolen
• Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word by Sarah Jane Marsh
• Henry and the Cannons by Don Brown
• They Called Her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell
• Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette
• Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Lafayette: A Revolutionary War Tale by Nathan Hale
• A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent, Anne Rockwell
• Anna Strong: Spy During the American Revolution
• Leave It to Abigail!: The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Adams, Barb Rosenstock
• Revolutionary Rogues: John Andre and Benedict Arnold by Selene Castrovilla
• Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy by Nathan Hale 
• The Scarlet Stocking Spy (Tales of Young Americans) by Trinka Hakes Noble (historical fiction)
• Revolutionary Prudence Wright: Leading the Minute Women in the Fight for Independence by Beth Anderson (historical fiction)
• Tricking the Tallyman by  Jacqueline Davies (historical fiction)
• Independence Cake: A Revolutionary Confection Inspired by Amelia Simmons, Deborah Hopkinson (historical fiction)
• Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ill. By Ted Rand (historical fiction)
• Katie’s Trunk by Ann Turner (historical fiction)
• Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution, Jean Fritz
• Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence by Gretchen Woelfl
• Aaron and Alexander: The Most Famous Duel in American History by Don Brown
• Dear Benjamin Banneker by Brian Pinkney
• Ticktock Banneker’s Clock by David Gardner 
• W is for Webster by Tracey Fern
• An Inconvenient Alphabet: Ben Franklin & Noah Webster’s Spelling Revolution by Beth Anderson
• Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the True Story of an American Feud
• Balderdash! John Newberry and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books
• George Washington’s Teeth by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora
• Big George: How a Shy Boy Became President Washington by Matt Phelan
• The Escape of Oney Judge by Emily Arnold McCully

Biographies

• Benjamin Franklin by Kathleen Krull (128 pgs)
• Susanna’s Midnight Ride by Libby Carty McNamee (230 pgs)
• Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots by Dharathula H. Millender (192 pgs)
• Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie Bober (272 pgs)
• What Are You Figuring Now? A Story About Benjamin Banneker by Jeri Ferris (64 pgs)
• Alexander Hamilton by Jean Fritz (144 pgs)
• Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin by Jean Lee Latham
• Robert Fulton and the Steamboat by Ralph Nading Hill
• Never Caught: The Story of Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong (Young Readers Edition)
• Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (age 9+)
• Answering the Cry for Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle

Historical Fiction

• The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dagliesh (beginning reader)
• The Arrow Over the Door by Joseph Bruchac
• The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth Spearhead George
• The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz
• Tolliver’s Secret by Esther Brady Woods
• Felicity, American Girl Series
• Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes
• The Seeds of America Trilogy by Laurie Halse Anderson (336 pgs)