The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History

Brief Description: Short non-fiction stories of well-known and obscure people and events from American history

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Date Range: 1565-2000

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Original Publication: 2006

Suitable for Grades: 4-7th

Target Audience: Middle Grade

Librarian's Review

This collection of one hundred chronologically ordered stories starts and ends in Florida, with the 1565 founding of St. Augustine to the contested presidential election of 2000. Each story, charmingly illustrated by Roger Roth, is two to four pages long and stands on its own.  A handful of stories are connected in some way to other stories. This is not a comprehensive presentation of American history, but rather the author’s own “patchwork quilt of history.”

Some of the stories are already well known, but the most interesting stories here tell of more obscure people and events, such as where the phrase “Uncle Sam” comes from, how bananas were introduced to North America, how Henry “Box” Brown got his nickname, or what inspired Herman Melville’s story about a giant whale.  This would be a great book for a parent or grandparent to read aloud to young history enthusiasts.

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