Books - Foley,MN

When I was a kid, there was a series about orphan train children, orphans from New York, I think, that were taken west. It was pretty interesting. He might also enjoy the Little House on the Prairie series, even though it's from a girl's point of view, it's really interesting how they did things alone on the prairie, especially now with the hard winter, he could compare it to the blizzard the Ingalls had to get through.

Crossing the Delaware: A History in many voices by Louise Peacock
By The dawns Early Light by Steven Kroll
Pink and say by Patricia Polacco
Grasshopper Summer by Ann Warren Turner
Children of the dust bowel the true story by Jerry Stanley

Just to name a few!
Hope he can find joy in these!!!

My daughter is 9 and doesn't really care too much about history, but has read (and enjoyed) some of the Dear America books. They are fictional journals written from a girl's point of view and there are books from different times in history. I know that she's read about the Oregon Trail and Titanic. I believe she's read a couple more, but I don't know which ones.

There is a version for boys that are fictional journals written from a boy's point of view. I haven't read any of the boy journals, but I'm guessing they would be equivalent to what my daughter is reading. If you go to Amazon and search for "My Name is America" in books, you should get a list of the different books available.

the dear america books are great. the magic tree hosue books are great although your son might be too old for them. biographies about famous people from the past would be good also. good luck and I second asking at the library the librarian should be able to help you choose some

http://www.kidsreads.com/series/index.asp
this website has descriptions of lots of series chapter books and the age of kids that would like them. hope you find one your son likes:)

Check out Charlotte Mason "Living Books". CM is a style of schooling that (in part) teaches through people who LOVE their field, and are largely fictious books. There are hundreds and hundreds of CM lists complied by parents from different time frames for those teaching history.

- ***Percy Jackson Series*** (ancient greece myths > modern times). My 8yo fell absolutely in LOVE with this series. The first book in a new series (1800s children with Egyptologist father) by the same author (Rick Riordan) just came out as well. Rick Riordan is a PERFECT author for boys this age, he has JUST the right amount of humor, a wry wit, and a lot of jokes/ depreciating humor.

- Joy Hakim : History of Us

- Spies for the Blue & the Grey ... Short stories of actual spies (male and female) during the civil war. I haven't read it in years, so peruse it first to check for appropriateness. I read it in middleschool.

- Swiss Family Robinson

- Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Suttclif. It's the Illiad set in story format. The Wanderings of Odysessus is the Oddesy version.

- Little House series

I have others, but I'm actually falling asleep as I'm writing... I can't highly enough recommend Percy Jackson. They are utterly fantastic. ((We've yet to see the movie, however. Kiddo's afraid it will "ruin" the book. Which is a first. He's a movie nut, not a big reader.))

Laura Ingalls Wilder's books are fabulous!

Definitely don't forget about the Little House on the Prairie series - real stories about a family of american pioneers! Maybe try some things Like Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, too.

The Magic Tree House books. The kids goo all over through different periods of history and my kids all love those books. I'm sure there are others but my brain is too tired to think right now. :)

I agree with the Percy Jackson series and also any books by Avi. He writes many historical fiction books that really interest boys. Also, ask your librarians at the public library they can be very helpful. Have fun!

Check out my website! www.katiebooklady.com I am a consultant for Usborne Books and we have a fabulous selection of stories for preteens & Tweens. I'd recommend our "True Stories of..." series, but once you get to the website, you can search based on your preferences. I hear that Space Cowboy is good, and we have an awesome series called Conspiracy 365. It's kind of like the TV show 24, but for kids. I know of a family that reads it aloud every night, and the kids beg to read it on their own so that they can find out what happens next. We also do home parties where people can earn free books. If you are interested, you can contact me via the website. Kudos to you for reading aloud with him! Studies have shown that when we stop reading aloud with our children is when they stop reading for enjoyment.

what about the Magic Treehouse series?

Or for additional help, contact your school's library or the local library!

Does he like sports, in particular baseball? There is a series of fictionalized books about baseball players in history by Dan Gutman. They are all titled with the name of the player followed by "and Me." For example, "Jackie and Me," (Jackie Robinson), "Honus and Me," (Honus Wagner). It's kind of a combination of sports, history and fiction. My oldest son loved them at your son's age and he wasn't a huge reader either. I think there's about 8 of them and I used to send emails to Dan Gutman encouraging him to write more because my son read them so fast!

Go to a good library, and ask a real (human) librarian. :)
Some might be a little long for age 9, but if he's interested, he'll get through them, and be a better student for his efforts.
Here's some of my favorite books from my childhood. I still read them:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Tom Sawyer
My Antonia (about pioneers)
The Good Earth (Chinese history)
Julie of the Wolves

More recent:
Bud, Not Buddy (about the American South)
A Lantern in Her Hand (about pioneer midwest)
Waterlily (about Plains Indians)

The Minnesota Historical Society publishes a lot of books about Minnesota history, often written from first person, fiction perspective.