THE CIVIL WAR AND

RECONSTRUCTION UNIT TEXT SET

(7 T H GRADE)

Maggie Jones
Spring 2015

ELLENS
BROOM
BY KELLY
STARLING
LYONS

Starling Lyons, K. (2012). Ellen's Broom

(p. 32). Penguin Young Readers Group.
This childrens book tells the story of
Ellen and her newly freed parents.
During slavery, Ellens parents were
unable to legally marry and had to jump
the broom, a tradition that was
common among slaves. In this story,
Ellen and her parents go to the
courthouse so the parents can be legally
married.
Suitability: 5-8 Years
Readability: AD610l

BEHIND REBEL LINES:

THE INCREDIBLE
STORY OF EMMA
EDMONDS, CIVIL WAR
SPY
BY SEYMOUR RAIT
Reit, S. (1988). Behind rebel lines: The
incredible story of Emma Edmonds, Civil
War spy (p. 144). San Diego: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich.
This historical novel tells the true story
of Sarah Emma Edmonds, a Canadian
woman who worked as a spy for the
Union during the American Civil War and
talks of the time she spent behind
Confederate lines.
Suitability: 12-17 Years
Readability: 830L

WITH EVERY DROP

OF BLOOD
BY JAMES LINCOLN
COLLIER AND
CHRISTOPHER
COLLIER
Collier, J., & Collier, C. (1994). With every
drop of blood (p. 256). New York:
Delacorte Press.
In this historical novel, Johnny a
Confederate boy whose father was killed
in the war, is captured by a runaway
slave turned Yankee soldier. The novel
details the way relationship between the
two boys grows and evolves over the
course of the war.
Suitability: 12 Years
Readability: 820L

FORTY ACRES
AND MAYBE A
MULE
BY HARRIET
GILLEM
ROBINET
Robinet, H. (1998). Forty acres and maybe a
mule (p. 144). New York, New York:
Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Like so many former slaves, recently freed
brothers Gideon and Pascal were promised
40 acres and a mule. The brothers have
worked hard to build up a successful farm
but their problems are far from over. The
Night Riders ( very similar to the KKK)
threaten the boys freedom. The novel
details their struggle to maintain their grasp
on their newly found freedom.
Suitability: 8-12 Years
Readbility: 610L

RECONSTRUCTI
ON
AMENDMENTS
(WE THE
PEOPLE: CIVIL
WAR ERA)
BY MICHAEL
BURGAN
Burgan, M. (2006). The Reconstruction
amendments (p. 24). Minneapolis,
Minnesota: Compass Point Books.

This book is written more in the format

of a short textbook and describes how
the Reconstruction Amendments came
about and how these Amendments tried
to reunite the divided country.
Suitability:9-11 Years
Readbility: 980L

TWO MISERABLE
PRESIDENTS: THE
AMAZING, TERRIBLE,
AND TOTALLY TRUE
STORY OF THE CIVIL
WAR
Sheinkin, S., & Robinson, T. (2008). Two
BY STEVE
SHEINKIN
miserable
presidents:
Everything your
schoolbooks didn't tell you about the
Civil War (p. 256). New York, New York:
Roaring Brook Press.
This book reads like an incredibly
interesting textbook. Author Sheinkin
details all of the events, both big and
small, that led to the outbreak of the
Civil War. He presents a view of the
causes of the Civil War that is often
overlooked in books intended for
children.
Sutiability: 10-14 Years
Readability: 920L

YANKEE BLUE OR
REBEL GRAY? A
FAMILY DIVIDED BY
THE CIVIL WAR
BY KATE CONNELL
Connell, K., & Connell, K. (2003). Yankee blue
or Rebel gray: The Civil War adventures of Sam
Shaw (p. 40). Washington, D.C.: National
Geographic Society.
In just 40 pages, Kate Connell manages to
detail the significant battles and people of the
Civil War and also write an interesting and
engaging story. This short story talks about the
fictional Abbotts family in Ohio who decide to
fight for the Union and the Abbotts cousins in
Tennessee who fight for the Confederacy.
Connell tells the story through diary entries
and letters between the two families.
Suitability: 8-12 Years
Readability: 520L

YOU WOULDNT
WANT TO BE A
CIVIL WAR
SOLDIER!
BY THOMAS
RATLIFF
Ratliff, T., & Antram, D. (2004). You
wouldn't want to be a Civil War soldier!:
A war you'd rather not fight (p. 40). New
York, New York: Franklin Watts.
Told from the prospective of a Northern
farmer who joins the Union Army, this
book details why one would not want to
fight in the Civil War. It talks about the
technological advances that allowed for
more and better weapons on both sides
as well as issues like food shortages,
living conditions, and disease.
Suitability: 8-11 Years
Readability: IG950L

FIELDS OF
FURY: THE
AMERICAN
CIVIL WAR
BY JAMES M.
MCPHERSON

McPherson, J. (2002). Fields of fury: The

American Civil War (p. 96). New York, New
York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Award-winning historian James M.
McPherson makes the civil war accessible
to middle school students with this book.
He uses pictures and personal anecdotes
from soldiers and civilians alongside his
narrative to make one of the bloodiest
conflicts in American history interesting to
middle school students.
Suitability: 9-12 Years
Readability: IG970L

TO ALL THE
BOYS IVE
LOVED BEFORE
BY JENNY HAN

*** This book does not fit in with the Reconstruction

unit but it is the YA novel that I read. I initially picked it
strictly because I liked the cover art and, thankfully, it
was one of the few instances in which judging a book
by its cover is okay. I absolutely loved it and was able to
relate to the character.
Han, J. (2014). To all the boys I've loved before (p. 368).

This novel tells the story of Lara Jean and what

happens when the love letters she keeps in a hatbox
in her closet get sent to all the boys she has had
crushes on in the past. Her personal life spins a little
out of control after the letters are sent. The novel
details how she deals with the aftermath of the
letters as well as how she changes and grows when
her older sister goes away to college in Ireland.

Suitability: 12-17 Years

Readability: 630L