Happy Fourth of July!

The Fourth of July is the biggest community-wide celebration in my little coastal town every year. Marblehead was founded way back in 1629, and is well known for its role in the American Revolution. As such, this town loves to celebrate its history with colonial reenactments, a three-day long arts festival, live music performances, and of course, fireworks. Not just any fireworks, though, the best fireworks. 

The show begins with the harbor illumination:

{via}

And then, this:

{via}

 Our town really shines when it comes to its history, and I love that children here get to have such a personal learning experience. I wanted to find some literature that can help explain the details, so that young readers realize how truly inspiring the American Revolution can be.

I've come up with a short booklist of informational texts that help give children the full picture. What were people like back then? What did they wear? Why was the idea of a revolution so important to them? When they rallied together and cried, "Liberty or death!", what did they really mean? 

{on Goodreads}
Liberty or Death: The American Revolution, 1763-1783 by Betsy Maestro

{on Goodreads}
If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution by Kay Moore

{on Goodreads}

If You Were There in 1776 by Barbara Brenner

These texts will give children an introduction to reading non-fiction and historical books, and will hopefully help to spark their interest in the history of our country since 1776.

Enjoy the long weekend!



P.S. You may remember my bestie Allie from our Memorial Day collaboration back in May. Allie's blog, The Little Prince Project, inspires me to bring more American history and civics into my reading and I'm sure will be a great resource for me when I curate lesson plans for my future classes. Today she's featuring a lovely list of things to do on Independence Day to make the holiday a more educational and more mindful experience. She even managed to sneak in a book recommendation for adults! I encourage everyone to check out her post and explore her blog a bit!

Memorial Day Reads

Happy Memorial Day!

To celebrate the holiday and the start of the summer reading season, I've curated a list of books that feature those in military service.

Because we are talking about the military, and that's not something that I have much knowledge about, I'd like to give a little shoutout to my lovely friend Allie over at The Little Prince Project. Allie and have become super close since we met at American University our sophomore year, and have a mutual goal of becoming educators!
 Allie's passion is for civics and military education; I have learned so much from her about our country's history, the Constitution, and the military in the past few years. Allie's blog is an excellent resource for civics education, and I encourage everyone to check it out! (Plus, today she's featuring a book review-- one that might be perfect for your to-read list!)

Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell // My dad read this one and says he would give it 3 stars, mainly because he felt that the truth must have been exaggerated. It may be worth picking up still; in my experience, this sub-genre is hit and miss. It was also released as a movie this year, and I'm one of those people who prefer to read a book before going to see it in theaters.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien // This is one that I read in a literature class in my sophomore year of college. Before we read it, I guessed that it wasn't going to make it onto my list of favorites; two years later, I can still recall specific sentences that moved me. O'Brien certainly has a special aptitude for words. 

The Good Soldiers by David Finkel // This was required reading for me the summer before I entered college. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Again, this type of book isn't really my area of interest, but Finkel has such a talent for writing and this story was profound. I passed it onto my brother and it remains one of his favorites. I'd recommend this one most out of any on this list. 

The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel // As soon as previews for this movie started playing and I realized that it was based off a book, I went looking for it. I'm a huge fan of books about art. It's a pretty long read, and I have to say that I learned more about WWII in general than about the efforts to save the endangered artworks. Still, I think it's important to recognize that every service member contributes to the big picture, and I was proud that I actually finished a non-fiction work from cover to cover, as that's a pretty rare feat for me.

American Sniper by Chris Kyle // This one made it onto my dad's list of recommended biographical books. It sounds like a really interesting story, and it seems like it would appeal to those who are fans of series that are action-packed and full of intensity.