Beacons of Light: Lighthouses  •  Gail Gibbons ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1992 •  HARD COVER  • 40 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) An illusrtated survey of American lighthouses for children ages 5 to 8. (USE217, $16.00)
Birdie's Lighthouse  •  Kimberly Bulcken Root  •  Deborah Hopkinson LITERATURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 32 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) A taut, compelling account of one little girl's brave vigil set on Turtle Island, Maine in 1855. Birdie Holland steps in to save the day when her father, the lighthouse keeper, falls ill. For readers ages 4 to 9. (USE218, $6.99)
Eyewitness American Revolution  •  Stuart Murray HISTORY •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 64 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) The colonial era and American Revolution get the Eyewitness highly visual treatment in this book, which reveals not only the political climate of the times but also the prevailing fashions, foodstuffs and dwellings. Of course the founding fathers figure large. Recommended for kids ages 9-12. (USA40, $15.99)
Eyewitness Civil War  •  John Stanchak HISTORY •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 64 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) The Civil War gets the big-picture treatment in this Eyewitness book, which features excellent, photographs and illustrations of costumes, household appliances, weapons and other artifacts that reveal the climate of the era. Ages 9-12. (USA46, $19.99)
Homer Price  •  Robert McCloskey LITERATURE •  1972 •  PAPER  • 146 PAGES The first book in McCloskey's endearing the Homer Price series, this collection including the wonderfully illustrated tale of a wildly malfunctioning doughnut machine. This unassuming boy also manages to foil a bank robbery (with the help of his pet skunk). All Homer's adventures are set in Centerburg, a fictional but recognizably New England town. For ages 8-12. (USE295, $6.99)
If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution  •  Kay Moore  •  Daniel O'Leary HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 80 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) One in Scholastic's nonfiction series about daily life and customs throughout history, this one focusing on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. in the second half of the 18th century. With colorful illustrations and the kinds of interesting facts that draw young readers in. Ages 9-12. (USA41, $5.99)
If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War  •  Kay Moore  •  Anni Matsick HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 64 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) One in Scholastic's nonfiction series about daily life and customs throughout history, this one focusing on 1860-65. With colorful illustrations and the kinds of interesting facts that draw young readers in. Ages 9-12. (USA45, $5.99)
Little Maid of Provincetown  •  Alice Turner Curtis  •  Wuanita Smith LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) One in a series of novels about colonial American girls, this book follows an eight-year-old patriot and Cape Cod native as she carries an important letter on the minutemen's behalf. Ages 9-12. (USE276, $9.95)
Looking for Red  •  Angela Johnson LITERATURE •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 128 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS An acclaimed novel about bereavement, set in a Cape Cod town. The sea is at the center of the story, for Mike's brother red disappears into it. Ages 10-14. (USE278, $15.95)
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere  •  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  •  Christopher Bing LITERATURE •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 40 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) A beautifully illustrated edition of Longfellow's classic poem, featuring scratchboard engravings, maps and facsimile documents (including Revere's own deposition describing his ride). For children 7 to 10. (BOS18, $18.95)
The Race to Save the Lord God Bird  •  Phillip Hoose NATURAL HISTORY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 208 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) An engaging and well-researched history of the ivory-billed woodpecker, and the struggles surrounding its survival. It's a suspenseful and entertaining book about modern conservation and environmental issues for middle-school readers, featuring John James Audubon and others. The bird, only recently rediscovered, once ranged across the southeastern United States. With black-and-white photographs throughout. (BRD30, $21.00)
Revenge of the Whale, The True Story of the Whaleship Essex  •  Nathaniel Philbrick EXPLORATION •  2004 •  HARD COVER • YOUNG ADULTS The tale of the Nantucket whaleship Essex for middleschoolers. This is the ship, rammed and sunk by a whale in 1820, that inspired Moby Dick. Adapted by Philbrick from his best-selling adult book. (USE315, $16.99)
Seabird  •  Holling C. Holling LITERATURE •  1978 •  PAPER  • 61 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) Whether you're at the coast or on the ocean, this children's book is excellently appropriate reading. An illustrated classic, it follows the history of American seafaring through the eyes (and adventures) of a carved ivory gull. Across four generations and around the world, by whaler, clipper, steamer and airplane, the gull witnesses life at sea. Ages 9-12. (OCE79, $11.95)
The Sign of the Beaver  •  Elizabeth George Speare LITERATURE •  1984 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS A young adult classic. Thirteen-year-old Matt, on his own in the wilds of colonial Maine, learns about friendship and bravery from a young Indian boy. Elizabeth George Speare is among our finest writers of historical fiction for young adults, and this book is a textured, vivid portrait of Maine of long ago. For readers 10 and up. (USE222, $6.50)
Stories from Where We Live, The North Atlantic Coast  •  Sara St. Antoine  •  Paul Mirocha  •  Trudy Nicholson LITERATURE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 290 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) A substantial anthology of writings about this North American ecoregion, from Newfoundland south to Delaware -- wonderfully useful as a young person's guide to people, nature and place. It includes Native American myths, historical accounts and modern short stories, as well as black-and-white drawings and maps. Ages 9 to 14. (USE252, $10.95)
Whale (Eyewitness Books)  •  Frank Greenaway NATURAL HISTORY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 72 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) This highly visual overview of whales, dolphins, seals, and other marine mammals, their habitats, means of communication, and biology is geared for 9-12 year olds. (BST10, $15.99)
Whaling Days  •  Carol Carrick  •  David Frampton HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 40 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) A portrait of coastal New England in the heyday of the whaling industry, illustrated with woodcut prints by David Frampton. The text is simple. Ages 4-8. (OCE80, $7.95)
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May?  •  Jean Fritz  •  Margot Tomes BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1997 •  PAPER  • 48 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) If only all colonial historians possessed Jean Fritz's flair for characterization, we'd probably think the Stamp Act was the most interesting thing ever. Fritz turns her hand to the life of the orator Patrick Henry, who grew up poor in Virginia and rose high enough to say "Give me liberty, or give me death." Ages 9-12. (USA43, $6.99)
Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?  •  Jean Fritz  •  Margot Tomes  •  Trina Schart Hyman BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1999 •  PAPER  • 48 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) An extremely cheerful, unsanctimonious biography of the man who so boldly signed the Declaration of Independence. Ages 9-12. (USA42, $5.99)