It can be hard to find suitable books that use primary sources well. Below are a few of our suggestions. This list is a few years old, and we will be updating it in the coming months. For a printable pdf of this list, click here.
Capstone Publishers
Captured History, 11 books, Grades 5-9
Birmingham 1963
Breaker Boys
Man on the Moon
Little Rock Girl 1957
Migrant Mother
Ground Zero
Raising the Flag
Death at Kent State
Exposing Hidden Worlds, Shadow Catcher, Face of Freedom
First-Person Histories, 6 books, Grades 3-6
Diary of Carrie Berry: A Confederate Girl
Diary of Charlotte Forten: A Free Black Girl Before the Civil War
Diary of Sallie Hester: A Colonial Quaker Girl
Diary of Sarah Gillespie: A Pioneer Farm Girl
Diary of William Bircher A Civil War Drummer
Memoir of Susie King Taylor: A Civil War Nurse
Memoir of Tillie Pierce: An Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg
Searchlight Books, Lerner Publishing
What Can We Learn from AncientCivilizations, 6 books, Gr 3-5
Tools and Treasures of Ancient Egypt
Tools and Treasures of Ancient Mesopotamia
Tools and Treasures of Ancient China
Tools and Treasures of Ancient Rome
Tools and Treasures of Ancient Greece
Tools and Treasures of Ancient Maya
National Geographic
The World Is Waiting for You, Barbara Kerley, GradesPre-K-3
One World, One Day, Barbara Kerley, Grades Pre-K-
You and Me Together, Barbara Kerley, Grades Pre-K-3
A Little Peace, Barbara Kerley, Grades K-3
Charlesbridge Publishing, with the Global Fund for Children
ComeOut and Play, Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko, Grades Pre-K-1
Children from Australia to Zimbabwe, Maya Ajmera and Anna Rhesa Versola, Grades 3-6
Children of Native America Today, Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder, Grades 3-6
Children of the U. S. A., Ajmera, Dennis, Hirschfelder , and Cynthia Pon, Grades 3-6
Abrams Books for Young Readers
Tell All the Children Our Story, Tonya Bolden, Grades4-8
Traveling the Freedom Road, Linda Barrett-Osborne, Grades 5-9
Miles to Go for Freedom, Linda Barrett-Osborne, Grades 7 up
The Girl from the Tar Paper School, Teri Kanefield, Grades 4-8
Searching for Sarah Rector,Tonya Bolden, Grades 5-9