Picture Books that illustrate 6th Grade US-VA History

I had a fantastic opportunity to volunteer at Mayfield 6 this spring. Since the school was without a library for the second half of their year, Mayfield librarians found ways of bringing library to their students—a remarkable feat—but that is a story for another day.

One teacher asked me to bring books to read aloud to her students that fit with their 6^th grade Standards of Virginia Learning: The SOLs. Since Social Studies is my "thing," I found this assignment more than just a little fun.

All of the books below are picture books—a GREAT way for students of any age to learn about history. However, these books are especially helpful to reluctant readers/learners. If you have a fifth grader looking ahead to 6^th grade US History, give some of these books a look over the summer. All of these books were borrowed from the Prince William County Library.

Title	Author	Category	Description/Comment
The Escape of Oney Judge	Amy Arnold McCully	E = Easy Reader	Oney is Martha Custiss Washington's slave. George Washington frees his slaves upon his death…but Martha's family doesn't. Oney must escape to experience freedom. True story.
Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story	Janet Halfman	J=Juvenile	Robert is a slave that achieves the rank of ship's captain in the Confederacy until he escapes to the Union. Smalls goes on to greatness after. True story.
The Story of the H.L. Hunley and Queenie's Coin	Fran Hawk	J	The development of submarine warfare…astoundingly good and true story.
Daniel Boone's Great Escape	Michael Spradlin	J Bio	Exciting picture book biography of Daniel Boone. Kids LOVED it.
January's Sparrow	Patricia Polacco	J fic	We can teach facts about slavery and escaping to freedom but cannot give the feeling of it like Polacco can. Based on a true story
Pink and Say	Patricia Polacco	J fic	We can teach facts about fighting the Civil War but cannot give the feeling of it like Polacco can. Based on a true story.
Mississippi Mud: Three Prairie Journals	Ann Warren Turner	J	Poems of the journey west to Oregon from the points of view of 3 children in a family.
The Legend of Blue Jacket	Michael Spradlin	J	Incredible story of a young American's kidnapping and adoption into the Shawnee tribe….Blue Jacket's life is intertwined with Daniel Boone. Based on true stories.
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek	Deborah Hopkinson	E	Not an SOL book….but oh, so much fun to read. Will have kids giggling and thinking about a different side of Abe Lincoln and his buddy.
Don't Know Much About the Pioneers	Kenneth C. Davis	J	Author of the fun "Don't Know Much" series…Davis presents lots of interesting facts about pioneer life. This one is not one that I got to read aloud…would of if I had the time.
Duel of the Ironclads: The Monitor vs. The Virginia	Patrick O'Brien	J	I left this book for the teacher to read aloud. It's a wonderful story about the making of the first ironclads—true story but reads like a fiction book with amazing illustrations.