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guitarnan
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| Posted: June 16 2005 at 10:16pm | IP Logged
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I am working on a list of books for my son (8th grade next fall) to read for this time period. I would love to have a core text to use, plus some fiction and nonfiction living books. He doesn't like too much fiction...but good novels based on WWII themes appeal to him (like The Winged Watchman), so I am looking for similar quality books on other periods.
Sadly, there are no good textbooks on this period that are 1) fairly new and 2) written from the Catholic perspective. Ds likes having a "spine" book to use. I'm hoping to find good literature to add in.
We already have The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, October Sky, The View From Saturday...I would love any suggestions for WWI, the Great Depression, the Vietnam War (or Korean War, because ds's grandpa flew in both), and WWII from the U. S. perspective (we have The Borrowed House, which we will use).
My son won't feel like he is doing "real history" without a spine text, so that is important for him. Personally, I could manage without it, but he needs to feel like his school experiences are fairly traditional. (That's what we call the non-homeschooling version of school at our house..."traditional" school. I realize that this name might not be accurate for all time periods, but it makes sense to my children.)
Thanks!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Kelly
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| Posted: June 17 2005 at 1:42am | IP Logged
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Nancy,
There is a series of books called "An Authentic American History Puritan's Progress: A Catholic Perspective" that has slim volumes on the 1849 to 1921, 1922 to 1941, and 1942 to 1969 periods. I have only skimmed them, but they *look* OK. That being said, they are published by Angelus Press, which is part of the Pius X crowd, so I'm not sure what you might find within. However, I do remember reading somewhere, possible in my old "Catholic Home Educator" that the main author of these books was a Feeneyite (sp?) which is why he cast his lot with the SSPX people, not because of sede-vacantist leanings, and that no mention of either aspect crops up in the books. HOWEVER, I do seem to remember some negative discussion about these books in the past, so maybe someone else can chime in here and enlighten us both. I have not used these books, but picked them up a long time ago prior to my ever really knowing much of anything about SSPX. Soooooo, there's my caveat.
I'd like more info on these books, too, so if anyone has input, that would be helpful.
Kelly in FL
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: June 17 2005 at 5:35am | IP Logged
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guitarnan wrote:
I am working on a list of books for my son (8th grade next fall) to read for this time period. I would love to have a core text to use, plus some fiction and nonfiction living books. He doesn't like too much fiction...but good novels based on WWII themes appeal to him (like The Winged Watchman), so I am looking for similar quality books on other periods.
Sadly, there are no good textbooks on this period that are 1) fairly new and 2) written from the Catholic perspective. |
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Tell me about it! I've been working on putting together a 20th century history course (both world and either American or British history) for Mater Amabilis for this age group, and tearing my hair out over it  . As far as I'm aware there are *no* suitable surveys of world history for this age at all - I can't find anything between Story of the World Vol.4 (which is just about to be published) and adult books. There are surveys of American or British history, but nothing Catholic.
The best spine text I was able to find for American history is The Century for Young People by Peter Jennings. I haven't seen it myself - not available through my library here - but it has been recommended by people whose opinion I trust.
Here are a few book suggestions for various topics (again, I haven't seen most of them, but they come from good sources):
World War I
The Yanks Are Coming: the United States in the First World War (Albert Marrin) (o.o.p)
For the Church in World War I see:
Biography of Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV's Peace Note of 1st August 1917
Depression
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred Taylor)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) - there is a good review at Love2Learn which will help you decide whether this is appropriate for your son)
World War II
Victory in the Pacific (Albert Marrin)
Air Raid: Pearl Harbor (Theodore Taylor)
Up Periscope (Robb White)
This online article is interesting:
The USS Franklin's Hero Priest
These are about WW2 in general, not America:
I Was There (Hans Peter Richter) - partly autobiographical book about German children in the Hitler Youth.
Dolphin Crossing (Jill Paton Walsh) - two boys join the effort to rescue British soldiers stranded at Dunkirk
Enemy Brothers: a Story of World War II (Constance Savery) - a British airman discovers a captured German boy is his long lost brother.
Then there a number of books about the Holocaust, but that may be getting too far off topic for you?
Korean War
The War in Korea: 1950-53 (Robert Leckie) - World Landmarks series
Year of Impossible Goodbyes (Sook Nyul Choi) - when Japanese occupation is succeeded by Russian domination of North Korea, Sookan's family try to escape to the south
So Far From the Bamboo Grove (Yoko Kawashima Watkins) - a Japanese family flee from North Korea at the end of World War II. Violent.
Vietnam
America and Vietnam: the Elephant and the Tiger by Albert Marrin - out of print
Goodbye, Vietnam (Gloria Whelan) - a 13 year old girl and her family escape from Vietnam by boat to start a new life.
Kelly ... I haven't come across the series you mentioned.
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Kathryn
Dh Michael,  Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06)  (11/07)
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mom3aut1not
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Kathryn,
May I email your post to a friend of mine who is trying to cover this very topic with one of her children?
In Christ,
Deborah
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: June 17 2005 at 5:24pm | IP Logged
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Yes, certainly 
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Kathryn
Dh Michael, Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06) (11/07)
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mom3aut1not
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Kathryn,
Thank you from both of us!
In Christ,
Deborah
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Kelly
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| Posted: June 18 2005 at 8:30pm | IP Logged
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Kathryn,
Was that series I mentioned above the same one that came up in the CCE loop discussion when we started talking about history omissions and commissions in books, when we were discussing the Warren Carroll books? Or was that another book? I misremember.
Kelly in FL
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: June 21 2005 at 3:57pm | IP Logged
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Kelly, I don't think so ... though I can't remember which it was either!
I picked up a book in the library last week that I'm quite impressed with - The Arab-Israeli Conflict, in a new Witness to History series from Heinemann. There are twelve 20th century history titles in the series, including some which tie in with American history. I like the format, which is information about a topic on one side of a double page spread, and source material on the other. For example, a page on the peace negotiations and the Camp David agreement is accompanied by extracts from a speech made by the Egyptian president to the Israeli parliament. Without these extracts from speeches, letters, personal reminiscences and so on, the book would be dry; but with them, it works well. I'm going to check out a few more of the series. The Collapse of Communism book gets quite a good review on Amazon.
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Kathryn
Dh Michael, Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06) (11/07)
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guitarnan
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| Posted: July 11 2005 at 10:51pm | IP Logged
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Everyone, but especially Kathryn,
Thanks for your help. I am still struggling with this (the weekend visit to the NACHE conference convinced me that someone...maybe one of you...needs to write a spine text to fill this gap), but the suggestions here are really great.
I'll add a suggestion to the WWII list...Farewell to Manzanar. I'm a California native and always thought people knew about the internment camps set up for Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans in WWII...guess I'm wrong...anyway, this book is sensitive and lyrical, and it's honest without much bitterness. The only touchy issue (besides why the U. S. threw all these innocent people into detention) is that the narrator's father is an alcoholic. Another good book on this topic is The Invisible Thread, by Yoshiko Uchida, although I think I like Farewell to Manzanar better for the jr. high grades.
I'm still looking for suggestions...and I really appreciate your help!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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momwise
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Bells of Nagasaki (I may not remember that title exactly) by Tagashi Nagai is an extremely moving first-hand account of the bombing there. He lost his family and eventually became very ill from radiation sickness. His story is from the point of view of a very holy Catholic convert. Now that I'm thinking of it I really want to read it again. Read it first Nancy to see if your son is ready for it.
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"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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ALmom
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I don't know if you are still looking for a spine for Modern History, but I just got my copy of Modern Times by Paul Johnson from Kolbe. I am quite impressed after my first quick glance. It covers the 20's through the 90's and the influence the error of relativism had. It starts with a discussion of the influence of Einsteins's theory of Relativity. It is also footnoted so you can go to original sources he used if you do find something you wonder about. It is lengthy (784 pages), but not hard to read.
Janet
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guitarnan
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Janet,
Thanks for the info; I will definitely check it out. As time goes on I am having trouble finding a single "spine" book to use, which will probably mean we do lots of literature along with history. Never a bad thing.
This sounds worth investigating! Thanks again!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Topic: U. S. History 1900- present
