Fourth Grade, History, Set Four

Covering the years 1891 - 1898

James Naismith invented basketball

• The Man Who Invented Basketball by Edwin Brit Wyckoff -- information presented in an interesting manner; lots of photos
• Hoop Genius by John Coy -- okay book; compared to the first one, the author seems to take some license with the facts; I didn't care for the illustrations

Land Rush

• The Great Land Rush by Sally Senzell Isaacs -- 1889 - 1895; talks about the land rushes, American Indians, settlers, etc.

Chicago World's Fair

• Fair Weather by Richard Peck -- a favorite book; we read this one last, so it was fun when it mentioned people or things from the other books
•  The Summer of Dreams by Dorothy Hoobler -- a fun story with good information about the fair and the time period. There was something at the beginning that made me think that the book was going to push women's rights, but it settled down and was fine.
• Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis -- good and informative
• American Sisters: Exploring the Chicago World's Fair by Laurie Lawlor -- didn't get this one read
• Electrical Wizard by Elizabeth Rusch -- about Nikola Tesla

 Pullman Strike

• The Pullman Strike of 1894 by Michael Burgan -- a "We the People" series book; easily understood, lots of illustrations

Yukon Gold Rush

• The Klondike Gold Rush by Marc Tyler Nobleman -- another "We the People" series book
• A Tale of Gold by Thelma Hatch Wyss -- great book; lots of good information on the gold rush and the time period. It was fun to have a lot of the information in the first book in the story of this book.
• The Gold Rush Kid  by Mary Waldorf -- did not get this book read

William McKinley became President

• William McKinley by Mike Venezia -- good book; informative with entertaining illustrations

USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor

• The Story of The Sinking of the Battleship Maine by Zachary Kent -- this is a "Cornerstones of Freedom" series book; good book -- easily understood with plenty of photos and illustrations. It actually covered the whole Spanish-American war, so I didn't read any other books I'd picked up about the war.

 Spanish-American War

• The Spanish-American War by Mary Collins -- this is a "Cornerstones of Freedom" series book
• Battles of the Spanish-American War by Diane Smolinski
• The Spanish-American War by Kerry A. Graves
• The United States in the Spanish-American War by Don Lawson -- this book is for upper grades

Republic of Hawaii was annexed

• Little Princess Ka'iulani by Ellie Crowe -- a simple story about the princess
• The Last Princess by Fay Stanley -- good book about the princess and the annexation of Hawaii
• Exploring the Territories of the United States by Linda Thompson -- we did not read this, but I want to come back to it when K. is in high school

 Armenian Massacres and Exiles

• Armenia published by Lerner Publications -- we read a section on the history of Armenia
• Rooster Brother by Nonny Hogrogian -- an Armenian folktale

First complete performance of Swan Lake

• Of Swans, Sugarplums, and Satin Slippers by Violette Verdy