Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Discovery Biographies: Living History with Living Books

Garrard Publishing Company's Discovery biographies have been some of our favorite reads, encouraging independent reading in newly fluent readers. These books are often the next choice after Step-Up books, also biographies.

Discovery biographies are historical adventures written for little learners at the mid-elementary level. The cover copy on one book states "Discovery Books have been tested by the Spache Readability Formula and edited so they can be read by children in grades 2-4". We found our later elementary learners also enjoy these books due to the engaging content and find much satisfaction in finishing a book in one day.

The books--we especially like the hardcovers--offer full page, three-color illustrations with larger font size. Garrard states "all facts are authentic for they have been carefully checked by leading sources for historical accuracy". This series has definitely opened another reading level of living books for us!

We have not read all the titles, choosing to save some titles for later learning. Also, note the varied covers. Nice to have visuals when shopping a used bookstore or garage sale.

Presidents

Title
Author
Ulysses S. Grant: Horseman and Fighter
Colonel Red Reeder
Abraham Lincoln: For the People
Anne Colver and Polly Anne Graff
Andrew Jackson: Pioneer and President
John Parlin
Thomas Jefferson: Author of Independence
Anne Colver and Polly Anne Graff
John F. Kennedy: New Frontiersman
Charles P. Graves
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Four Times President
Wyatt Blassingame
Theodore Roosevelt: Man of Action
James C. Beach
Harry S. Truman: People's President
David Collins
George Washington: Father of Freedom
Steward Graff

First Ladies

Title
Author
Abigail Adams: Dear Partner
Helen Stone Peterson
Mary Todd Lincoln: President's Wife
LaVere Anderson
Dolly Madison: Famous First Lady
Mary Richmond Davidson
Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World
Charles P. Graves
Martha Washington: First Lady of the Land
LaVere Anderson

Explorers, Navigators, Aviators, Adventurers

Title
Author
Amelia Earhart: Pioneer in the Sky
John Parlin
Henry Hudson: Captain of the Ice Bound Seas
Carl Carmer
Charles Lindbergh: Hero Pilot
David R. Collins

Men and Women of the Frontier

Title
Author
Buffalo Bill: Wild West Showman
Mary Richardson Davidson
Daniel Boone: Taming the Wilds
Katherine E. Wilkie
George Rogers Clark: Frontier Fighter
Adele deLeeuw
Davy Crockett: Hero of the Wild Frontier
Elizabeth Robards Mosely
Annie Oakley: The Shooting Star
Charles P. Graves
Jeb Smith: Trailblazer and Trapper
Frank Brown Latham

Inventors, Scientists, Medical Pioneers

Title
Author
Clara Barton: Soldier of Mercy
Mary Catherine Rose
Elizabeth Blackwell: Pioneer Woman Doctor
Jean Lee Latham
Alexander Graham Bell: Man of Sound
Elizabeth Rider Montgomery
George Washington Carver: Negro Scientist
Samuel and Beryl Epstein
Dorothea L. Dix: Hospital Founder
Mary Malone
Benjamin Franklin: Man of Ideas
Charles P. Graves
George W. Goethals: Panama Canal Engineer
Jean Lee Lathm
Florence Nightingale: War Nurse
Anne Colver and Polly Anne Graff
Eli Whitney: Great Inventor
Jean Lee Latham

Statesmen, Political Figures, Revolutionaries, War Heroes

Title
Author
Jane Addams: Pioneer of the Hull House
Helen Stone Peterson
Henry Clay: Leader in Congress
Helen Stone Peterson
Fredrick Douglass: Freedom Fighter
Lillie Patterson
David Glasgow Farragut: Our First Admiral
Jean Lee Latham
Francis Marion: Swamp Fox of the Carolinas
Elizabeth and Carl Carmer
Booker T. Washington: Leader of His People
Lillie Patterson

Authors, Artists, Entrepreneurs

Title
Author
Helen Keller: Toward the Light
Stewart and Polly Anne Graff
Francis Scott Key: Poet and Patriot
Lillie Patterson
Ernest Thompson Seton: Scout and Naturalist
Wyatt Blassingame
Booker T. Washington: Leader of His People
Lillie Patterson




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