“Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country.” ~Noah Webster
The American Adventure Series
"The American Adventure" is a series of historical fiction books from Barbour
Publishing. The 144- page paperbacks were written for boys and girls ages 8-12, but in reality the
whole family will love them. I had originally expected my 9-year-old son
to read the stories by himself, but one day I found myself reading a chapter
and I couldn't put the book down! Ever since then we have enjoyed reading
these stories together. As soon as we're done with one, we can't wait
to start on the next book. Read aloud, this series would be an excellent
introduction to American History for a second or third grader before beginning
a more formal history curriculum.
These books are well written, exciting adventure stories with kids as
the main characters. Readers will experience the children's daily way
of life and encounter historical events as seen through a child's eyes
at the time. They will discover how it felt to experience the stock market crash, live through the Great Depression, send loved ones off to war, hear that Japan surrendered in World War II, and more. How thrilling it must have been to meet John Hancock himself
at your family's print shop, or see your father come home from the Revolution
after serving with General Washington's army. Even kids who normally aren't
interested in history will like these books.
I especially like the fact that this series allows you to follow the lives of families through the generations.
You really care about what happens to them while remembering what they
have been through in the past. A young boy in one book likes to walk by
the harbor after school. In the next book he is a ship builder's apprentice.
In the book after that he has his own ship building business and a son
of his own. The subsequent books focus on his son who likes to help people
and who eventually becomes a doctor. Thus, these books connect what the
characters do as children to their success in the future.
The American Adventure books are written from a Christian perspective
and include Bible verses, prayers, hymns, and moral lessons related to
each story. They emphasize the significance of God in our country's history,
the importance of having godly character, the relevance of wholesome family
values and traditional gender roles. The series currently includes 48 books covering our nation's major historical
events from the landing of the Pilgrims through the end of World War II.
There used to be an American
Adventure Book Club in which members received a colorful timeline
poster, stickers, activity sheets, and two books each month
for $9.98 per shipment. Unfortunately, the book club no longer exists and while originally published around 1998, the books are out of print. What a shame! They are still well worth getting if you can find them. Complete sets are rare and valuable, but used copies of individual books can be purchased at Amazon Marketplace for as low as a penny apiece with $3.99 shipping. This is the best price I've seen, unless you're lucky enough to find some at a local book sale. The full series is shown below. Click on the images to check each title's availability.
Or go straight to the American Adventure page at Amazon.
P.S. If you like The American Adventure books, you will also like the Liberty's Kids DVDs!
page at Amazon.
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