Maybe this post should have gone up earlier in the day! But here are 10 books for the Fourth of July. And you can add them to read anytime this month or later too! I have read some of these are books (no detailed review posts yet) while a few are in my TBR. I have also provided additional reading lists at the end. Note that the books are across age groups and genres, and I have made a mention of those details where I can.
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10 Books for the Fourth of July
Discover America: From Sea to Shining Sea
Title: Discover America: From Sea to Shining Sea
Author: Katherine Lee Bates Illustrator: Julie Olson
Publishers: Shadow Mountain
Pub Date: May 6, 2014
Genre: Children’s Books
Age-Range: 2 – 6 years
Goodreads || Amazon || Book Depository || IndieBound
A book with stunning frame-worthy illustrations by Olson that take the reader on a journey with the red balloon across America to the words of the first verse of Bates’ America the Beautiful. Perfect for armchair traveling that we all need right now. Check out the book’s website for lots of great bonus content.
My Fourth of July
Title: My Fourth of July
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Publishers: Neal Porter Books
Pub Date: May 14th 2019
Genre: Children’s Books
Age-Range: 4 – 8 years
Source: Library
Goodreads || Amazon || Book Depository || Target ||
Barnes and Noble
Jerry Spinelli takes the reader to small town America, where we take part in the 4th of July celebrations with a young boy and his family. We watch as they pack up for a picnic and head out to the park, and take part in various activities with the rest of the townspeople, and end the day watching the fireworks.
The Scrambled States of America
Title: The Scrambled States of America
Author/Illustrator: Laurie Keller
Publishers: Square Fish
Pub Date: April 1, 2002
Genre: Children’s Books
Age-Range: 6 – 10 years
Goodreads || Amazon || Book Depository || Target ||
Barnes and Noble
I first bought a board game based on this book a few years ago; and the game still finds its way out every once in a while. It is fun! The book is as well – fun, I mean – and a really great way to learn about the states of America.
The Children’s Book of America
Title: The Children’s Book of America
Author: William Bennett / Illustrator: Michael Hague
Publishers: Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: November 2, 1998
Genre: Children’s Books
Age-Range: Grades K- 5
Goodreads || Amazon || Book Depository
This is a book I perused a while ago when I was looking for a book for a friend, and fell in love with what it has to offer. I now have it on hold from the library and hope to pick it up soon thanks to curbside delivery being open. I will provide a full review soon. But just a quick overview: This book is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, tall-tales and history that make it perfect for the age group.
Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen
Title: Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen
Author: Jose Antonio Vargas
Publishers: Adaptive Studios
Pub Date: June 2014
Genre: Teen & YA
Age-Range: 12 – 17 years
Source: Library
Goodreads || Amazon || Book Depository ||
I read this book as part of a class I took last year. And learned so much I did know earlier. While I have not written a review on my blog, I hope to do so soon. After all, I have lots of writing exercises I completed while reading this!
Note: I have not read the below books yet. But they are all on my TBR and based on what I have heard or read about them so far, I am looking forward to reading each one. I only have the GoodReads links to these books on the title itself.
A Young People’s History of the United States
Title: A Young People’s History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror (For Young People Series)
Author: Howard Zinn (Author), Rebecca Stefoff (Contributor)
Publishers: Triangle Square
Pub Date: June 2, 2009
Genre: Teen & YA
Age-Range: 12 – 17 years
TBH, this book is one I have only read about, not read yet at all. But the description of the book, the reviews and the current political climate of our country made me add this to my TBR. I will review it hopefully soon enough (it is a big book at 464 pages!)
1776
Title: 1776
Author: David McCullough
Publishers: Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: May 24, 2005
Genre: Teen & YA
Age-Range: 13 and up
Another big book I added to my TBR based on all I have heard about it. Dear reader, please do let me know if any of you have read it and your thoughts on the same.
This Is My America
Title: This Is My America
Author: Kim Johnson
Publishers: Random House Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: 28 Jul 2020
Genre: Children’s Fiction | Teens & YA
Age-Range: 12 – 17 years
Source: NetGalley eARC
I had requested and received this a while ago and only just downloaded it to get started on reading it. Another book that promises to keep me reading till the end.
A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America
Title: A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America
Author: Ronald Takaki
Publishers: Back Bay Books
Pub Date: Dec 1993
Genre: Sociology
The description of this 500+ page tome says that “this book recounts the history of America in the voices of the non-Anglo peoples of the United States-Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and others-groups who helped create this country’s rich mosaic culture.” It also has a Young Reader’s version so I might end up reading that one (smaller at 375+ pages!)
Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo”
Title: Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo“
Author: Zora Neale Hurston
Publishers: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub Date: May 8th 2018
Genre: Non-fiction
Source: Library
I just started reading this, and leave you with these review comments on Amazon – “Though both Hurston and Lewis are long gone, Hurston’s account of the former slave’s life serves as a timely reminder of our shared humanity—and the consequences that can occur if we forget it.” (People)
Additional Reading and Resources
- Prairie Lotus is another read I truly enjoyed – great for 10 years and up. This is the story of Hanna, a 14 year old Chinese-American, as she deals with life in the 1880s Dakota.
- Another fun read to learn more about the natural beauty of our country is the National Parks of the USA books
- Here is another list I made last year titled, well, Re(a)d, White and Blue
- And the list I made earlier about race will not go remiss here
- You will also enjoy the books that Alexis added to her must read patriotic books over at her blog PurpleShelfClub.
- and so many more……
Pin Me
Would You Rather
Another day, another question
Today’s WYR
Would you rather only read classics for the rest of your life or non-fiction?
I don’t think I want to answer this one:)
And Now, the End of This Post
Dear readers, have you read any of these books? If so, your thoughts on them? Any other recommendations? Do let me know in the comments so I can add them to our reading list!
Linking up to the Ultimate Blog Challenge and feel free to join in so you can interact with other bloggers and challenge yourself to post everyday this month.
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A great way to end the day with a super list of books. Thanks for sharing and hope you had a wonderful 4th.
Great books. I’ve always loved your book recommendations and reviews.
I like the idea of reading something related to July 4th and learning a little more. I’ll have to check out a few of these.
We have a few of these in our collection but there are several others we need to add. Great selection!
I haven’t read any of these but just yesterday my dad told me I need to read 1776.
I just read my daughter Red,White&Boom today and she loved it.
I have started catching up on my reading time and am always on a look out for a good read.
I am going to add these to my buying list.
thanks for the reco.. I have seen that book and will add it to my reading list too..
I would not have noticed these on my own – thank you!
🙂
Great list. I think that The Scrambled States of America looks very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
I love good book recommendations. Thank you for sharing!
Some great book recommendations
What a fabulous list. Thanks for sharing.
Great recommendations
Except for Zinn and Takaki, all these books/authors are new to me. Though Zinn’s perspective is now dated as far as academic historians are concerned, the “hidden history” he covers is still not as widespread throughout precollegiate curricula as it should be – so I’m glad there is now a “Young People’s” version of his classic work. Takaki’s book is also a classic, and I used to use it when teaching college history classes in my former life 🙂
Great list of books.