Americans are fond of compiling lists of things.  The internet has a site for every list ever made; you can probably find a list of all the lists somewhere but by the time you read it, new lists would have been created. Some of my favorite types are the ones made for books of various kinds. For instance, there are several new books on Abraham Lincoln published every week and that has been true for generations. You could never keep up even if you wanted to.On the subject of books and lists-I read a book a few years ago which purported to have annotated the best five hundred books for children. I recollect that only two of them were historical, many of them hysterical. Just to check out the ongoing listmania, I found the “Educator’s Top 100 Children’s Books” compiled by the National Education Association. I don’t have anything against fiction, and have read many of the books on the list, but, pardon my prejudices, there were no history books on the list. Are we unable to capture the imagination of children by writing lively histories that teach about real heroes, presidents, or the sacrifices our progenitors made to keep us free?

Sure, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day may be an excellent read, but how about George Washington’s horrible, no good very bad months at Valley Forge? No doubt I Love You, Stinky Face has its merits, but why not “My Dearest Friend” that that well known romantic John Adams wrote in letters to his wife during years of absence serving a nation on the brink of extinction? I’m not a killjoy and love Frog and Toad or The True Story of The Three Pigs as much as the next person, but can’t someone write a compelling account for children of the crucial election of 1800 (and not entitled ‘The True Story of The Three Prigs’)?

Actually, I am overstating my case because there are a number of excellent and compelling history-related books for children, maybe a large number of them. They just don’t make those Top 100 lists. There are several excellent websites with history books for children, though they tend to be posted by the big book-sellers or individuals not connected with the educational establishments. Be that as it may, The Circa History Guild is always on the lookout for quality history writing for children. Two that we like at Circa are When Washington Crossed the Delaware by Lynne Cheney and Lessons on Liberty by Peter Lillback.

The Cheney book is beautiful inside and out with clear and easily readable text and evocative appropriate paintings by Peter M. Fiore. The subtitle is A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots which reinforces the context of the Battle of Trenton at Christmastime and the very real need to stimulate pride in the accomplishment of George Washington and his brave men. The book is large and colorful and will fit easily in the lap of a mom, dad, or grandparent holding their child and regaling them with a story everyone used to know and needs to hear again.

Lessons on Liberty: A Primer For Young Patriots by Peter Lillback and adorned  with drawings by Judy Mitchell, begins with a simple rhyming alphabet:

A is for American, a new world that’s free
                B is for Brave Pilgrims who sought liberty
                C is for Constitution, of our laws, most high
                D is for Declaration on the Fourth of July
Each chapter takes the letter and poetic line and explains what it means using quotes and images that parents can read and explain to their children. This is a practical book of history that teaches profound ideas of American liberty in simple and direct lessons.
We can’t begin teaching our heritage of freedom too early in a child’s life. As that great founder and brilliant teacher Noah Webster recommended: “Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. . .as soon as he opens his lips he should rehearse the history of his own country-he should lisp the praises of liberty and of those illustrious heroes and statesmen who have wrought a revolution in his favor.