History: Boring?! No Way!

That's right! Reading about history does not have to be boring.  In fact, it can be downright fun!  Here are some tips to help make reading about history part of your family's summer fun.

• Select a good book.  Steven Kreis (2000), author of "The History Guide," writes, "Reading history can be a satisfying experience... ...It all depends on the book you are reading."  He goes on to say that readers of history need to find books that transport them through time and space.  One way to know if the book you want to read is one of these "transporting" books is to do a good preview of the book.  When you preview a book do the following things:

• Find the title and the author.  Are you familiar with this writer?  Have you read any of their other work?  Does the book include additional information about the author?
• Look at the front and back cover.  What kind of information can you get from the covers?
• If the book includes summaries or excerpts, read them.
• Read any introductory material, like dedications or forwards.
• Look through the table of contents and read chapter names.
• Check out any illustrations

• Find activities that you can do which are centered on the theme of the book.  If you are reading about the Civil War go and visit a reenactment. If you are reading about dinosaurs visit a museum and see their skeletons and other fossils.  If the book has a movie version watch the film (after you finish the book because the book is always better).

• Read with someone else.  Having a partner or reading group always makes reading about history more fun because you can discuss what you learn with others.

• Use a notebook or reading journal to keep track of all the interesting things you learn.

Learning about our history doesn't have to be a boring task.  Make it as fun as you want it to be!  This week's featured books are a great way to get started.

This Week's Featured Books:

David Catrow takes an important, but often difficult to understand piece of history and explains it to kids in a very enjoyable manner.  The book includes a forward, written by Catrow, and a glossary of terms so that young readers can learn the meanings of all those important words that form the foundation of our constitution.

Author(s): David Catrow
Audience: Ages 5-10
Length: 32 pages
Language: English
Publisher: Puffin Books (2002)
ISBN-10: 0142402761
ISBN-13: 978-0142402761

This Corretta Scott King Illustrator Award winning book takes the powerful poem, written by Langston Hughes and pairs it with equally powerful images created by Bryan Collier to promote the promise of equality guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.

Author(s): Langston Hughes
Audience: Ages 4 amd up
Length: 40 pages
Language: English
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers (2012)
ISBN-10: 1442420083
ISBN-13: 978-1442420083

In this story, a family is torn apart by the Revolutionary War.  Tim has always looked up to his brother Sam, but when Sam joins the Revolutionary Army to fight the British Tim is torn between having to choose his brother or his father, who supports the British rule.  Not only does Tim have to decide between his brother and his father, but he must also decide if he is going to join the rebels or enlist in the British army and fight against his brother.

Author(s): James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Audience: Ages 12 and up
Length: 240 words
Language: English
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (2005)
ISBN-10: 0439783607
ISBN-13: 978-0439783607

Tom Morris is just a kid when the Declaration of Independence is signed.  So, when the British respond by raiding his village of New Haven and burning house to the ground, he doesn't know what to do.  After his family is forced to live in the pigpen, Tom decides to help the rebels.  In doing so, he gains a new appreciation for the Declaration of Independence.

Author: Wilma Pichford Hayes
Audience: Ages 10 and up
Length: 64 pages
Language: English
Publisher: Coward-McCann (1959)
ASIN: B0007E1SOK