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Best Little Stories from Virginia History

When it comes to history, few states can rival Virginia, home of eight presidents and the cradle of the American Revolution. Best Little Stories from Virginia is a collection of more than 100 stories from the four centuries since Jamestown was founded in 1607. A journalistic history, it focuses on the "feature story" angle by approaching history through the eyes of the people who lived it.
Virginia contained the first English colony in America as well as being the first place where slavery was introduced. It was both the leader of the Confederacy and a battleground of the civil rights struggles of the twentieth century. Its historic back-of-the-bus ruling in 1948 prohibited discriminatory practices on interstate buses long before the Rosa Parks case in Montgomery, Alabama, which involved city buses. Some of the stories included are:

• Don Luis de Velasco, the Indian boy who was taken away by the Spanish in 1561 and later became chief of the Algonquin tribe.
• Young George Washington, who served in English Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock’s army during the French and Indian War alongside Lt. Col. Thomas Gage, who later commanded British troops during the American Revolution.
• George Rogers Clark, whose army of 175 bedraggled, half-starved frontiersmen singlehandedly captured an important fort from much larger British forces.
• Charles Crozet, the French engineer who designed and completed the Blue Ridge Tunnel in 1856, long before the discovery of dynamite, nitroglycerine, or pneumatic drills.
• The building of the Pentagon, once known as "Somervell’s Folly" after Brig. Gen. Brehon Somervell, who conceived of it one weekend in mid-1941 as a way to gather scattered War Department personnel under one vast roof.

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State Shapes : Virginia

A state-by-state celebration of America, the State Smarts series is an exciting collection of distinctive kids books, each one custom die cut to the shape of the featured state. These books are packed with fun information including a short history, famous figures, geography, industry and environment. These books are sure to be a hit with 8-12 year olds (and grown-ups, too!).
Learn about the History of Virginia - the founding of Jamestown and the settling of Virginia, Notable places - Monticello, Mount Vernon, Civil War Battlefields, and Famous Virginians - Robert E. Lee, Pocahontas, and George Washington.

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Making Thirteen Colonies 1600-1740 (History of Us, 2)

Gr. 4-8. The second volume in the History of US series recounts the settling of the original colonies, from the founding of Jamestown in 1607 to the opening of the Wilderness Road in 1775, which allowed settlers to traverse the Appalachian range and reach the interior of the continent. Hakim writes like a storyteller, relating seventeenth-century experiences to current events and drawing analogies that make the seventeenth-century happenings intelligible. The book is laid out in a way that dispels any notion that it is a textbook: virtually every page has an illustration; sidebars give anecdotal or supplementary information; and the typeface is a respectable size. Hakim deals with the colonies one at a time, documenting their founding, their type of government, and the principal occupations of the settlers before and after they came to the New World. She sometimes urges readers to insert themselves into a situation in order to better understand the experience. Having an author question or address the reader is frequently annoying, but Hakim's comments work. Black-and-white illustrations include photographs of vintage paintings and documents, maps, line drawings, and decorative elements. Time line; bibliography.

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The First Americans, Third Edition: Prehistory-1600 (A History of US, Book 1)

Thousands of years--way before Christopher Columbus set sail--wandering tribes of hunters made their way from Asia across the Bering land bridge to North America. They didn't know it, but they had discovered a New World. The First Americans is a fascinating re-creation of pre-Columbian Native American life, and it's an adventure of a lifetime! Hunt seals with the Inuit; harvest corn on a cliff-top mesa; hunt the mighty buffalo; and set sail with Leif Erickson, Columbus, and all the early great explorers--Cabot, Balboa, Ponce de Leon, Cortes, Henry the Navigator, and more--in this brilliantly told story of America before it was America.

Buy Used: $1.90

From Colonies to Country (A History of Us, Book 3)

"From Colonies to Country: 1735-1791" is the third volume in Joy Hakim's "A History of US." This book begins with the British kicking the French out of North America and ends with the American colonists winning independence from the British. After a first chapter that establishes the principle of Freedom of the Press that would come to play a key part in not just the American Revolution but throughout the entire history of the United States, the rest of the book falls into four main sections. The first (Chapters 2-6) covers the transition as the English essentially kicked the French out of North America as a result of the French & Indian War. The second (Chapters 7-14) traces the growing dissent in the American colonies with British rule that ended in the Boston Massacre and the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The third (Chapters 15-31) details the Revolutionary War, including the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence. The final section (Chapters 32-42) covers the means by which the thirteen colonies were turned into a country through the writing and adoption of the Constitution. The back of the book contains an extensive look at great documents including not only the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but also the Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom. Hakim also talks about how to consider great documents (and stay awake while doing so). The Atlas this time around focuses on the question of how the politics of cartography comes into mapmaking.

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The New Nation (History of Us) Vol. 4

Beginning with George Washington's inauguration and continuing into the nineteenth century, The New Nation tells the story of the remarkable challenges that the freshly formed United States faced. Thomas Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana Territories (bought from France at a mere four cents an acre!), Lewis and Clark's daring expedition through this wilderness, the War of 1812 a.k.a. "Revolutionary War, Part II," Tecumseh's effort to form an Indian confederacy, the growth of Southern plantations, the beginning of the abolitionist movement, and the disgraceful Trail of Tears are just a few of the setbacks, sidetracks, and formidable tasks put in the new nation's path. Master storyteller Joy Hakim weaves these dramatic events and more into a seamless tale that's so exciting, how could it be true? But it is--it's A History of US.

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Liberty for All? (A History of Us, Book 5)

Grade 5 Up-The strengths of this series entry are a lively, engaging style; short chapters; many black-and-white illustrations; and the inclusion of lots of stories about women and minorities. Hakim's conversational storytelling style draws readers into the years from 1800 to the eve of the Civil War. Through sidebars, inserts, and the extensive use of first-hand accounts, the author lets readers experience the lives of mountain men and pioneer women, Mormons and mill workers, railroad men and stagecoach travelers. She covers traditional subjects such as the Western expansion, new inventions and developments that linked the country, the rise of manufacturing and the growth of cities, and the increasingly tense coexistence of slave-owning and free states. More depth is offered in sidebars on specific individuals and events such as the Amistad rebellion, the growing American literary and artistic movement, Nathaniel Bowditch, the whaling trade, the women's suffrage movement, and the Underground Railroad. The narrative leads readers straight to the next volume in the series to see what happens next. The format is busy and the pages have a xeroxed look, but the print is not difficult to read. A good choice for browsers, report writers, and storytellers looking for historical anecdotes.

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James Towne : Struggle for Survival

This moving account of James Towne's difficult early years is told from the viewpoint of one of its settlers and enhanced by original quotations.

During the first summer of 1607, half the James Towne colony died; food was scarce, and the settlers battled oppressive heat and sickness. Over the next few years, supply ships from England became the colony's lifeline, as they brought much-needed stores of food and carried back offerings from the new land, as well as the settlers' homesick letters.

Conditions began to improve when Captain John Smith was elected president of the colony, and James Towne soon doubled in size. While some of the settlers had been reluctant to work, Smith required participation from all, and the colonists began to take pride in improving their conditions. Furthermore, by learning the native language and befriending a Native American girl named Pocahontas, Smith was able to establish, temporarily, an uneasy peace between the settlers and the natives whose land they had taken.

As new settlers began to arrive from England though, the resources of the budding colony were strained, and in the autumn of 1609 the colony suffered a Starving Time. Deciding to abandon James Towne at last, the colonists headed back toward England, only to have their journey intercepted by a messenger, who informed the settlers that new leaders sent by the King were due to arrive in the flailing colony any day, and urged them to return.

Not for long after their arrival, the discouraged James Towne colonists were met by a new governor and a ship full of healthy passengers with enough supplies and hope to work together to ensure James Towne's survival.

Buy New: $22.60

Virginia (One Nation)

Provides an overview of the state of Virginia, covering its history, geography, economy, people, and points of interest.

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State Shapes : Virginia

A state-by-state celebration of America, the State Smarts series is an exciting collection of distinctive kids books, each one custom die cut to the shape of the featured state. These books are packed with fun information including a short history, famous figures, geography, industry and environment. These books are sure to be a hit with 8-12 year olds (and grown-ups, too!).
Learn about the History of Virginia - the founding of Jamestown and the settling of Virginia, Notable places - Monticello, Mount Vernon, Civil War Battlefields, and Famous Virginians - Robert E. Lee, Pocahontas, and George Washington.