Modern American History Great Books List

Modern American History Book List:
Turn of the Century  to Turn of the Millennium

Welcome !

If you’ve been following this series of free history curriculum and the companion great books and learning resources already,  thanks and welcome back!

We now have a …
Complete FREE History Curriculum from Ancient Civilizations through the year 2000 ! ! 

If you’re just finding it, the Free Ancient World History Curriculum series is a chronological history study that begins with  Ancient Civilizations and travels all the way through the
Middle Ages & the Renaissance…. And most recently I have added the FREE  Early American History and Modern American History Curriculums as well !

This Great Books List is intended to be a companion resource for the NEWEST part in the FREE History Curriculum series-
Modern American History.

These Great History Book Lists are meant to offer you a quality selection of resources to help really make these studies come alive !

The list is arranged in categories so you can find what you need quickly!

*Modern American History Literature   (Historical Fiction/Biographies)
*Modern American History Resource/Informational Books  (Non-fiction)
*Activity Guides   (Hands-On Learning Guides)
*Modern American History Movies
*History Kits

Now on to the
Modern American History Book List !

–>  This post contains affiliate links.  There will NOT be any additional charge to you if you click to Amazon through these links, but I will make a small commission if you do!  So thanks ahead for supporting my work !  🙂

Modern American History Book List
Turn of the Century to Turn of the Millennium

*Literature for Modern American History:

*The Journal of Finn Reardon
*Samantha: An American Girl
*Dear America:  Hear My Sorrow
*Orphan Trains:  An Interactive History Adventure
*Madman In Manhattan
*Ellis Island:  An Interactive History Adventure
*Letters From Rifka
*Dreams In the Golden Country
*The Orphan of Ellis Island
*Bully For You, Teddy Roosevelt !
*The Memory Coat
*Tonight on the Titanic  and  Non-Fiction Companion
*Voyage on the Great Titanic
*Secrets On 26th Street

*The Night Flyers
*Stubby, WWI’s Bravest Dog
*Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales- WW1
*Knit Your Bit: A World War 1 Story
*The Poppy Lady
*The Great Gatsby
*WW1, An Interactive History Adventure
*Five Children on the Western Front
*The Skylarks War
*War Horse
*10 True Tales- WW1  Heroes

*Moon Over Manifest
*The Dust Bowl – An Interactive History 
*Survival In the Storm- A Diary of Grace Edwards
*American Girl Kit
*Grapes of Wrath
*The Great Depression An Interactive History
*Blue Willow
*Rudy Rides the Rails
*Hot Dog! Eleanor Roosevelt Throws a Picnic

*Early Sunday Morning 
*The House of Sixty Fathers
*A Spy On the Homefront
*Voices at Whisper Bend
*Number the Stars
*Escape to the Hiding Place
*Paper Wishes
*Molly:  An American Girl
*World At War, 1944 ,  Danger in the Darkest Hour ,  and World War II
*The Hiding Place
*I Am David
*Good Night, Mr. Tom
*Who Was Anne Frank?  and   Diary of Anne Frank /  Young Readers Version
*Franklin & Winston: A Christmas
*The Attack On Pearl Harbor- An Interactive History Adventure
*When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
*The Boy In the Striped Pajamas
*The Book Thief
*The Boy on the Wooden Box
*Dear America:  The Fences Between Us

*Hidden Figures  (Young readers edition)
and Counting on Katherine (for the Littles)
*Reaching the Moon
*Look to the Stars
*What Goes Up

*Peacebound Trains
*Echoes of the White Giraffe
*SeeSaw Girl
*The Name Jar
*The Spy Catchers of Maple Hill
*The Korean War-  An Interactive History

*A Big Day for Baseball  and  Non-Fiction Companion
*Story of Ruby Bridges
*Freedom Summer
*Rosa
*The Help
*Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
*Jackie’s Nine
*The Watson’s Go To Birmingham
*A Sweet Smell of Roses
*With the Might of Angels
*10 True Tales- Young Civil Rights Heroes

*My Name Is America: The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty
*True Heroes
*Little Cricket
*Cracker, the Best Dog in Vietnam!
*Escape From Saigon
*Heroes Next Door- Hornet 24
*Dear America: Where Have All the Flowers Gone ?
*The Vietnam War-  An Interactive History 
*10 True Tales-  Vietnam War Heroes

*Kiss the Dust
*Eleven
*Towers Falling 
*Shadow
*I Survived the September 11th Attacks
*10 True Tales- Heroes of 9/11
*The War In Afghanistan-  An Interactive History
*10 True Tales-  War Heroes, Voices From Iraq

*Early American History Resource/Informational  Books:

*A Child’s History of the World
*Story of the World – Volume 4

*Welcome to Samantha’s World,   Welcome to Kit’s World,   and
Welcome to Molly’s World

–Samantha’s Ocean Liner Adventure
–Kit’s Railway Adventure
–Molly’s Route 66 Adventure

*DK Find Out!  (for younger students) and DK Eyewitness Books (for middle school ages) , and DK Smithsonian Books (for older students and adults) are laid out similarly to the “Welcome to …” books above… 
–DK Encyclopedia of American History
–DK Titanic – Eyewitness   
–DK WWI- Find Out! or DK World War I- Eyewitness  or    DK Smithsonian WWI
–DK World War II- Eyewitness    or    DK Smithsonian WWII
–DK Vietnam War- Eyewitness  or    DK Smithsonian Vietnam War
–DK Universe- Find Out! or DK Space! -Eyewitness or DK Space! Smithsonian

There are also a whole series of DK Biographies, if your family enjoys them.  My kids really liked the photos in the DK books.  Just including a few so you can check them out.
–Martin Luther King Jr. DK Biography
–Albert Einstein DK Biography
–John F. Kennedy DK Biography

*What Is…. ?   Who Is…?
Another great series with lots of Modern American History choices.  I’m listing a few, but there are lots of other ones that would be a good fit. 
–What Was Ellis Island ?
–What Were the Roaring Twenties ?
–What Was the Great Depression ?
–Who Was Theodore Roosevelt ?   &    Who Was Eleanor Roosevelt?
–What Was Pearl Harbor ?
–What Was D-Day ?
–Who Were the Tuskegee Airman ?
–What Was the Holocaust ?
–Who Was Anne Frank ?
–Who Was Rosa Parks ?
–What Was the Vietnam War?
–What Is NASA ?
–Who Was Neil Armstrong ?
–What Were the Twin Towers ?
–Who Is Barak Obama ?

*Fashions of the Roaring 20’s   (Coloring Book)
*The Story of World War 1 (Coloring Book)
*Airplanes of World War 1  (Coloring Book)
*Color Your Own Patriotic Posters   (Coloring Book)
*The Story of World War 2 (Coloring Book)
*Airplanes of the Second World War   (Coloring Book)
*History of the Civil Rights Movement  (Coloring Book)
*History of Space Exploration    (Coloring Book)
*Apollo 11- First Men on the Moon   (Coloring Book)

*Activity Guides for Early American History Unit:

        

*The 21 Activities for Kids Series !
– The Industrial Revolution- 21 Activities
– Henry Ford-  21 Activities
– Theodore Roosevelt – 21 Activities
– World War 1 –  21 Activities
– World War 2-  21 Activities
– Albert Einstein-  21 Activities
– The Civil Rights Movement-  21 Activities
– The Apollo Missions-  21 Activities

–Discovering Great Artists- Hands-On Guide

–Samantha’s Cookbook      and  Craft Book
–Kit’s Friendship Fun  and   Kit’s Cooking Studio
–Molly’s Craft Book  and  Cookbook

*Movies for Early American History:

*NOTE: Since many of these movies are most likely available at your local library, or to stream free or inexpensively if you have Amazon Prime, family movie night would be a great way to end each section of study!  As always please preview all movies.  Every child/family is different in what they are ready to assimilate.

*Samantha:  An American Girl Holiday
*Newsies
*Sergeant York
*A Dog of Flanders
*Valiant
*War Horse   –> PG-13
*The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
*Sgt. Stubby:  An American Hero
*The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler
*Kit Kittredge:  An American Girl
*Sounder
*The Journey of Natty Gann
*The Dust Bowl- PBS
*Molly:  An American Girl On the Homefront
*The Sound of Music
*I Am David
*The Hiding Place  (and Return to the Hiding Place)
*My Dog Skip
*Night Crossing
*Melody 1963- An American Girl Story
*Ruby Bridges
*The Watsons Go to Birmingham
*October Sky
*Hidden Figures
*Apollo 13

Wishing you and your family a great adventure in learning !

*More History Book Lists To Check Out-

**Ultimate History Book List For Kids**

*Section 1:  Ancient Civilizations & the Old Testament & Book List
*Section 2: Ancient Egypt  (includes Ancient China)   &  Book List
*Section 3:  Ancient Greece  &  Book List
*Section 4:  Ancient Rome  &   Book List
*Section 5:  The Middle Ages &  Book List

**Also, in this series,  FREE Early American History Curriculum  and   FREE Modern American History Curriculum  !

*Early American History Books & Resources List
*Modern American History Books & Resources List
*Great Books & Resources for American History Unit Studies
(These go along with the American Girl Unit Studies, but have TONS of other resources as well.  You will also find a CHRISTMAS section with some super fun ideas for Holiday Homeschooling!)

**Be sure to check out the new posts in the History Top 10’s Series for even MORE  learning FUN!

+Top 10 History PODCASTS
+Top 10 History SONGS
+Top 10 History TIMELINES
+Top 10 History AUDIOBOOKS
+Top 10 History MOVIES
+Top 10 History BOOKS
+Top 10 History GAMES
+Top 10 History HANDS-ON
+Top 10 History PRINTABLES
+Top 10 History FIELD TRIPS

And a bonus…
+Top 10 History for the HOLIDAYS

Hope these lists are helpful !
I’d love to know what YOU are using too !

Be sure to leave a comment and I’ll add your suggestions !

You can also follow my  History Pinterest Boards for the best of the best Pinterest history ideas !   I will be adding to them frequently.

*Modern American History Board
*Early American History Board

* Ancient Civilizations Board
* Ancient Egypt Board
* Ancient Greece Board
* Ancient Rome Board
*Middle Ages & the Renaissance Board

–>FREE Modern American History Curriculum !
Do you know what favorite American food was invented at the 1904 World’s Fair?
Would you have passed the naturalization exam at Ellis Island ?
Find out what the “D” in D-Day means.
Who won the great Space Race ?
Though this period of our history is wracked with terrible wars, we can find mixed in, the stories of some AMAZING and very inspiring people !
Happy learning !

—>  FREE Early American History Curriculum !

Were the Vikings really as treacherous as depicted?
What happened to the Lost Colony at Roanoke?
What did quilts have to do with the Underground Railroad?
I hope you’ll love this study as much as we did!

If you’ve just joined in, you may like to check out the first curriculum post
–> Free Ancient World History Curriculum    or the others in this series…

*Section 1:  Ancient Civilizations & the Old Testament
+FREE History of Ancient Civilizations/Old Testament Curriculum Lesson Plans
+FREE Ancient Civilizations / Old Testament Printable History Cards
+Ancient Civilizations/OT Printable PDF Version
+FREE 21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Civilizations
+21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Civilizations Printable PDF 
+Ancient Civilizations/OT Great Books Reading List

*Section 2: Ancient Egypt  (includes Ancient China)
+FREE History of Ancient Egypt/China Curriculum Lesson Plans
+Ancient Egypt/China Curriculum Printable PDF Version
+Ancient Egypt Printable History Cards
+FREE 21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Egypt
+21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Egypt Printable PDF Version
+Ancient Egypt/China Great Books List !

*Section 3:  Ancient Greece
+FREE History of Ancient Greece Curriculum Lesson Plans
+ Ancient Greece History Curriculum- Printable PDF
+ Printable Ancient Greece History Cards
+ Ancient Greece Books and Resources List
+FREE 21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Greece- History Starters
+21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Greece-  PDF Version

*Section 4:  Ancient Rome
+FREE History of Ancient Rome Curriculum Lesson Plans
+ Ancient Rome History Curriculum- Printable PDF
+ Ancient Rome Books and Resources List
+Printable Ancient Rome History Cards
+FREE 21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Rome-  History Starters
+21 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Rome-  PDF Version

*Section 5: Middle Ages & the Renaissance
+ FREE History of the Middle Ages Lessons Plans
+ Middle Ages History Curriculum-  Printable PDF
+ Books and Resources List
+ Printable Middle Ages History Cards
+ FREE 21 30 Fascinating Facts About the Middle Ages
+ 21 30 Fascinating Facts About the Middle Ages- Printable PDF Version