Live History with Landmark Books Part I

Has your child wondered how it might feel to find gold in California in 1848? How about walking the streets of Philadelphia with Ben Franklin? With Landmark books, children can authentically journey through America’s (and the world- but that is another post) past with our country’s heroes. The are packed with rich history and adventure, each written with eloquent and inviting language, drawing children into the setting, meeting people they might have only heard about and never had the chance to “know”.

“The early morning sun gleamed like a bright golden coin above the California foothills. It was January 24, 1848. In all the green wilderness world there was no sight of life except a wisp of smoke from a breakfast fire, and the figure of a man walking beside a ditch that led from a nearly finished sawmill to a river. Suddenly he stopped and stared intently down.”

                                    - The California Gold Rush, May McNeer

Landmark books make these curiosities possible by taking children along on the journey, whether signing the Constitution or laying rails on the transcontinental railroad. Along the way they meet people who changed or shaped our country.

Now considered vintage (because of their age), these books were the first among historical, non-fiction books written for the middle grade reader. They were originally published by Random House in the 1940s, 50s and 60s in two categories: American and World. There are 122 titles in the American series and 63 titles in the World series all penned by award-winning authors (for example C. S. Forester, Margaret Cousins, James Daugherty and Sterling North) individually contracted to write for the series. The hardcovers are now out of print, though some titles have been edited and reprinted in paperback form.

Landmarks make wonderful additions to home libraries as they can be enjoyed by readers of all ages (I have been known to stay up late into the night eagerly turning pages). They can be found at used bookstores, garage sales, library sales or through online book sources.

“But for a boy, there were trees to climb, fish to catch, boars to sail, and canoes to paddle. There were the Commons, where Bostonians drove their cows to pasture, the marshes, the ponds, the river, and the sea. Boys built forts and stockades and played Indian, put together homemade boats and sailed the ponds as pirates, explored the woods and swam in the blue water.”

                                    - Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia, Margaret Cousins

Some our favorite physical features of the hardcovers include large font and inviting two-tone line drawings. Several of our books have that “old book smell” adding to their authentic feel.

Landmarks have been a part of our almost 20 year home education journey. My oldest son devoured Old Ironsides, his first introduction to a full-length, independently read chapter book. He was hooked, not only on the series, but also on history. (Imagine the excitement when we had the opportunity to walk aboard the U.S.S. Constitution!) Since that time, each of our children has come to better understand history from these vintage gems.

I enjoy sharing our favorites, what they have taught us and how they have influenced our children's understanding of the people and events which have shaped history, through conference workshops and local presentations. Many have never heard of these books are eager to incorporate titles into their studies and learn how they can begin collecting these treasures for their home library. Wanting to know more about how to use Landmarks in your home education program? Contact me. I'd love to share how these books have brought history to life for our family in workshop format.

Note: These non-fiction books do not neuter history. There tell of the scenes of real history, real people and real details. Some of the books include first-hand accounts which may be desired reserved for older readers. For example Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, a moving account, brilliantly written by Captain Ted W. Lawson, contains details of the injuries sustained by the crew which crashed into the China Sea during the Doolittle Raid. As with any book, parents must decide what books and materials are suitable for their children.

The 122 titles in the American category:

1      The Voyages of Christopher Columbus by Armstrong Sperry

2      The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty

3      Pocahontas and Captain John Smith by Marie Lawson

4      Paul Revere and the Minute Men by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

5      Our Independence and the Constitution by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

6      The California Gold Rush by May McNeer

7      The Pony Express by Samuel Hopkins Adams

8      Lee and Grant at Appomattox by MacKinlay Kantor

9      The Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad by Adele Gutman Nathan

10    The Wright Brothers by Quentin Reynolds

11    Prehistoric America by Anne Terry White

12    The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway

13    The Santa Fe Trail by Samuel Hopkins Adams

14    The Story of the U. S. Marines by George Hunt

15    The Lewis and Clark Expedition by Richard L. Neuberger

16    The Monitor and the Merrimac by Fletcher Pratt

17    The Explorations of Pere Marquette by Jim Kjelgaard

18    The Panama Canal by Bob Considine

19    The Pirate Lafitte and The Battle of New Orleans by Robert Tallant

20    Custer’s Last Stand by Quentin Reynolds

21    Daniel Boone by John Mason Brown

22    Clipper Ship Days by John Jennings

23    Gettysburg by MacKinlay Kantor

24    The Louisiana Purchase by Robert Tallant

25    Wild Bill Hickok Tames the Wild West by Stewart H. Holbrook

26    Betsy Ross and the Flag by Jane Mayer

27    The Conquest of the North and South Poles by Russell Owen

28    Ben Franklin and Old Philadelphia by Margaret Cousin

29    Trapper and Traders of the Far West by James Daugherty

30    Mr. Bell Invents the Telephone by Katherine B. Shippen

31    The Barbary Pirates by C. S. Forester

32    Sam Houston, the Tallest Texan by William Johnson

33    The Winter at Valley Forge by Van Wyck Mason

34    The Erie Canal by  Samuel Hopkins Adams

35    Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo by Captain Ted Lawson

36    Thomas Jefferson, Father of Democracy by Vincent Sheean

37    The Coming of the Mormons by Jim Kjelgaard

38    George Washington Carver, the Story of a Great American by Anne Terry White

39    John Paul Jones, Fighting Sailor by Armstrong Sperry

40    The First Overland Mail by Robert Pinkerton

41    Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders by Henry Castor

42    The Pioneers Go West to California by Covered Wagon by  George R. Stewart

43    Peter Stuyvesant of Old New York by Anne Erskine

44    Lincoln and Douglas: The Years of Decision by Regina Z. Kelly

45    Robert Fulton and the Steamboat by Ralph Nading Hill

46    The F. B. I by Quentin Reynolds

47    Dolly Madison by Jane Mayer

48    John James Audubon by Margaret and John Kieran

49    Hawaii, Gem of the Pacific by Oscar Lewis

50    War Chief of the Seminoles by Mary McNeer

51    Old Ironsides, the Fighting Constitution by Harry Hansen

52    The Mississippi Bubble by Thomas B. Costain

53    Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier by Ralph Moody

54    Robert E. Lee and the Road to Honor by Hodding Carter

55    Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis

56    Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan by Ferdinanad Kuhn

57    Davy Crockett by Stewart H. Holbrook

58    Clara Barton, Founder of the American Red Cross by Helen Boylston

59    The Story of San Francisco by Charlotte Jackson

60    Up the Trail from Texas by J. Frank Dobie

61    Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House by Sterling North

62    The Story of D-Day: June 6, 1944 by Bruce Bliven, Jr.

63    Rogers’ Rangers and the French and Indian War by Bradford Smith

64    The Greatest Showman: The Life of P.T. Barnum by Joe Bryan III

65    Sequoyah, Leader of the Cherokees by Alice Marriott

66    Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys by Slater Brown

67    Wyatt Earp, U.S. Marshall by Stewart H Holbrook

68    The Early Days of the Automobiles by Elizabeth Janeway

69    The Witchcraft of Salem Village by Shirley Jackson

70    The West Point Story by Colonel Red Reeder

71    George Washington, Frontier Colonel Sterling North

72    The Texas Rangers by Will Henry

73    Buffalo Bill’s Great Wild West Show by Walter Havighurst

74    Evangeline and the Acadians by Robert Tallant

75    The Story of the Secret Service by Ferdinand Kuhn

76    Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too! By Stanley Young

77    America’s First World War: General Pershing and the Yanks by Henry Castor

78    The Doctors Who Conquered Yellow Fever by Ralph Nading Hill

79    Remember the Alamo! By Robert Penn Warren

80    Andrew Carnegie and the Age of Steel by Katherine B. Shippen

81    Geronimo: Wolf of the Warpath by Ralph Moody

82    The Story of the Paratroops by George Weller

83    The American Revolution by Bruce Bliven

84    The Story of the Naval Academy by Felix Riesenberg, Jr.

85    Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr by Anna Erskine

86    Stonewall Jackson by Jonathan Daniels

87    The Battle for the Atlantic by Jay Williams

88    The First Transatlantic Cable by Adele Gutman Nathan

89    The Story of the U.S. Air Force by Robert Loomis

90    The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook

91    Heroines of the Early West by Nancy Wilson Ross

92    The Alaska Gold Rush by May McNeer

93    The Golden Age of Railroads by Stwart H. Holbrook

94    From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa by Bruce Bliven, Jr.

95    The Copper Kings of Montana by Marian T. Poole

96    Great American Fighter Pilots of World War II by Robert Loomis

97    The Story of the U. S. Coast Guard by Eugene Rachlis

98    William Penn: Quaker Hero by Hildegarde Dolson

99    John F. Kennedy and PT 109 by Richard Tregaskis

100  The Story of Oklahoma by Lon Tinkle

101  Americans into Orbit: The Story of Project Mercury by Gene Gurney

102  The Story of Submarines by George Weller

103   The Seabees of World War II by Edmund Castillo

104   The U. S. Border Patrol by Clement Hellyer

105   The Flying Tigers by John Toland

106   The U. S. Frogmen of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame

107   Women of Courage by Dorothy Nathan

108   Dwight D. Eisenhower by Malcom Moos

109   Disaster at Johnstown, the Great Flood by Hildegarde Dolson

110   The Story of Thomas Alva Edison by Margaret Cousins

111   Medal of Honor Heroes by Colonel Red Reeder

112   From Casablanca to Berlin by Bruce Blevin, Jr.

113   Young Mark Twain and the Mississippi by Harnett T. Kane

114   The Battle of the Bulge by John Toland

115   The Story of the Thirteen Colonies by Clifford Lindsey Alderman

116   Combat Nurses of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame

117   Walk in Space: The Story of Project Gemini by Gene Gurney

118   The Battle for Iwo Jima by Robert Leckie

119   Midway, Battle for the Pacific by Captain Edmund L. Castillo

120   Medical Corps Heroes of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame

121   Flat Tops: The Story of Aircraft Carriers by Edmund L. Castillo

122   The Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd by A. B. C.Whipple