Books about Colonial Times in America

Benchmark Books

Benchmark Books.
Summary: This book describes how European settlers colonized America and founded the first colony of the New World, Jamestown. The book explores the life of the settlers in Jamestown and the founding father of the first colony. The author focuses on how the settlers survived in the colony and warded off attacks from the Indians who were already living on the land. The book goes through time tracing the history of the early settlers of the New World and the founding and settling of Jamestown. The book tells how Jamestown survived as a colony. The book describes how the settlers built a fort and other building to protect their colony from attack by the Indians. The author talks about the tobacco farming which helped Jamestown survive and become a successful permanent colony in the New World. This book is well illustrated with colorful reproduction of print, paints and documents from the time and settlement of Jamestown. The author focuses on the leaders of the colony, the hardships and how they stayed strong and survived. This book will help students see the first successful colony to become permanent amidst the hardships. The book offers a real world fill of how colonial life was in the 1600 and 1700s. The book also encompasses color dialog boxes with extra historical facts and other interesting facts and excerpts from actual settlers during that time. There are also maps for students to see where the Jamestown and other colonies settled and what they look like today on the US map.

Peachtree Publishers.
Summary: This book provides an interesting look at the colonial times through the eyes of a young boy, Sam Collier, who is excited about traveling to the New World. Sam Collier is apprentice to John Smith, the founder of the first colony, Jamestown. In the book, Sam Collier is twelve years old and he thinks is the luckiest boy in the world because he gets to journey to the New World and start a new life. Sam finds out his journey is short of exciting due to harsh times and struggle for survival. With the settling of Jamestown, settlers were unprepared. There was lack of food, the weather was harsh, many people died, and the settlers were attacked by the Indians who were already there. This book provides an introductory look into Jamestown, the first colony settled in the New World. The setting of the story starts in England and expands into the New World when Sam Collier, John Smith, and the other settlers arrived. There is controversy throughout the book because the founder of Jamestown, John Smith is not trusted by the other settlers so this causes strife. And Sam starts to wonder if he made the right decision to come to the New World. The book is filled with colorful illustrations and maps of the route traveled to the New World. Although this a fiction book and it takes a look in the colonial times, the “Author’s Note” provides clarification of what is fact and what is fiction in the book. This a good book for young readers to help with understanding the colonial era through the eyes of a twelve year old boy.

Scholastic.
Summary: This book takes a deeper look into what it was like during the colonial times when settlers came to the New World. The book provides a different view of the colonial times from travel abroad the ship, the first settlers, food, work, hardship, sickness, education, and where the new settlers lived. To help with emerging oneself into the text, the author uses photographs and illustrations from living museums and authentic historical reenactments to show how colonial people lived in the 1600 and 1700s. The author does not just make mention of names of those who come over to settle into the New World but tells how and why the New World was settled. The author is very detailed in describing how things were for the settlers. The author even includes the hardships settlers and their families faced when they arrived in the New World such as the death of many settlers due to illness. There is so much information in the book and the author provides the reader with questions to begin each new topic in the book. This will help readers with critical thinking. The book has colored sidebars with even more interesting information and historical facts about colonial times and activities to try with the class.

Scholastic.
Summary: This book talks about what life was like in colonial times for young girls and boys. It describes what living conditions were like in the New England colonies, what type of clothing girls and boys wore, where they went to school, their habits and manners, how they played, their houses, and food they ate. This is a good book to help with introducing how America came about to young learners and beginning readers. This book will help students explore and imagine life as colonial young girls and boys. The author provides excellent illustrations with the help of the illustrator, June Otani, depicting how life looked in the New England colonies. The pictures help young girls and boys see what young girls and boys looked like in the colonial times. The author does a good job answering questions about what young girls and boys did doing colonial times. Along with the questions answered about colonial times, this is a good book to help introduce young readers the colonial times. This colorful book gives young girls and boys and opportunity to live in the moment of the colonial era and gain a better understanding of American history.

Evan-Moor Corp.
Summary: This is an activity book that allows students to travel through the era of the colonial times. The book provides facts about the colonial time. This book also provides hands on approach to learning about colonial times. With assistance from the teacher, students make pockets for their adventures through colonial times. The pockets are made from construction paper and are housed with information about colonial times and the activities students complete as they travel through the colonial era. The author provides a great opportunity that places students in the middle of the colonial era. The students are recreating their own version of the book and taking journeys through the colonial era with the help of the author. The book also offers an opportunity for students do activities associated with the colonial era. Each pocket has a reference page about each activity to be completed, fast fact information about the era in colonial time, an introduction to the colonial times page, and an about page for each era discussed in the book. For example, if the discussion is about schools during the colonial era, the about sheet will say ‘About School” and the activity is associated with that topic. Students will have created their own portfolio of the colonial times for future viewing. This book does not just provide fun filled activities for learning; there is an evaluation sheet for teachers at the end of the book to assess comprehension of the information learned.

Critical Analysis Paper
Colonial times were an important part in history that led to what is now the United States of America. Voyages to the New World helped with forming of the thirteen colonies. Many of the colonies were founded on the premise of religious freedom, a topic often eluded in classrooms today. Settlers of the New World sought out a better life free of religious persecution in England. Discussion of the founding of the thirteen colonies makes for plenty of critical thinking. In order for students to understand how and why the colonies were formed they have to step backwards a few steps and learn about the many voyages made to America. Once this has been accomplished this then opens the door for what became the thirteen colonies in the New World.

Peachtree Publishers

A few titles have been chosen to help students submerge themselves into understanding colonial America. The titles chosen are appropriate and suitable for grades ranging from fourth through sixth grade. Along with the history textbook these titles can help students understand the colonial era and provide hands on approach to learning about what life was like in the colonial era. “If You Lived in Colonial Times” is a good opener for introducing the colonial era to young learners. This book is good for showing young learners about how young children lived during colonial times. This book also will help with opening students’ minds up to the thought that during that era children were not much different from today’s times. To aid further in critical thinking, “Chronicle Of America: Colonial Times, 1600-1700” is another excellent title that can be presented with the lesson to help with further understanding of the colonial era. This title provides a deeper look into the colonial era. It helps students see the more realistic side of how the early settlers lived. Students get to see the brighter side of the colonial era in, “If You Lived in Colonial Times” and the “Chronicle Of America: Colonial Time, 1600-1700” introduces the hardships the early settlers faced when they came to the new world. These two titles offer different perspective in the lives of early settlers in colonial times.

To take a glance deeper in the colonial era, “Turning Points in US History: Jamestown, Virginia provides a look into the first successful colony to survive and become permanent in the New World. There were thirteen original colonies and to gain a better understanding the lesson is broken down farther so students can examine each of the colonies. This title gives a broader look at the first successful colony in the New World, Jamestown. This book specifically discusses the hardships the settlers faced. The author focuses on how the settlers survived in the colony and warded off attacks from the Indians who were already living on the land. In this book the author discusses how the Indians attacked the new settlers. The Indians were already settled on the land that settlers formed in the thirteen colonies. This topic will cause for even greater critical thinking as to why and how settlers could inhabit a land that is already settled by Indians.

To ease the mind from all the facts associated with the colonial era. “Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier” will be introduced as extra reading and relief from all the fact filled information about the colonial era. This book provides a look into a young boy life as he voyaged from England to the New World. The interesting thing about this title is that the story is told from the perspective of a 12 year old boy. This fiction book is set in the colonial era with facts included so that student can distinguish between the facts of the book. The last title, “History Pockets: Colonial America” is a good book to provide students with a hands on approach in the colonial era. Along with critical thinking students get to live the life a colonial boy or girl with help of the History Pocket book. This title although fun filled with activities for students to do about the colonial era, provides an assessment for teachers to check for understanding at the end the lessons.

There are several titles discussing colonial America. Each author has a different perspective as to what things happened during those times. For the most part, some of the information was similar but varying views showed with discussion on how many settlers came over to settle, and how and why the Indians were disgruntled about the England settlers.