List of Children's Literature of Liberty Part II

The list below is from Revolution: Fuel the Fire and is dated now. Any new list would have to include the brilliant Shadow Children series which I am currently reading and hope to post a review of soon. The comments are from Mr. Scott.

December 5, 1994, from Dar Scott:

Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions for this list. Be sure to examine the books to make sure they are appropriate.

Key:

• T -- Tolerance and diversity
• FA -- Freedom of association
• I -- Individualism and Family Identity
• B -- Business and basic economics
• E -- Ethics
• R -- Responsibility
• $ -- Economics
• G -- Government
• AH -- American History
• ( xx ) -- Less emphasis
• Not Seen -- I have not seen this book.
• Examined -- I have seen this book but have not read it completely.
• Read. -- I believe I have read every page of this book.
• Read to nn-mm -- The book is suitable for reading to children in this range.
• Reader nn-mm -- My rough guess of the skills and interest range of ages.

Here is the list of books:

· The Little Red Hen (The tale is retold by many authors and illustrators) R (B). Read (several versions). Read to 3-6. The hen benefits from the result of her labor. This was recommended to me more times than any other book. Glance at the back of the book: Children like it when the hen shares with her chicks. Some authors put in special twists at the end, but I have not seen any I would warn against.

· Things People Do by Anne Civardi (Illustrated by Stephen Cartwright) Usborne, 1985, 38pp T, B, (FA, I). Examined. Read to 4-9. Reader 8-11. Describes the work people do in a wide range of jobs. Set on an imaginary island. No hype; lots of fun.

· The Araboolies of Liberty Street by Sam Swope (Illustrated by Barry Root) Clarson N. Potter, Inc. & Crown, 1985, 28 pp T, I, G. Read. Read to 3-9. Reader 8-9. The six-star general and his nasty wife make sure there is no fun on Liberty Street by threatening to "call in the army." The arrival of the Araboolies changes everything. The style of this book includes progression and repetition making it great to read to small children (I do have to throw in a couple asides, though). The author creates an association between intolerance and governmental force.

· The Three Little Pigs, The Ant and the Grasshopper, The Emperor's New Clothes, and Robin Hood (be sure it specifies that he's returning the tax money to the poor)

· A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce HarperTrophy, 1990, 32 pp I, (T). Read. Read to 4-9. Reader 8-10. A visit to a warm and weird family.

· Owl Moon by Jane Yolen (illustrated by John Schoenherr) Philomel Books, 1987, 32 pp I (T). Read. Read to 3-10. Reader 8 up. The Caldecott Medal. In the middle of a cold night a little girl and her father walk silently through the snow to search for owls. The ritual of owling for this one family binds the two in a lesson of hope.

· Gino Badino by Diana Engel Morrow, 1991, 32 pp I, B. Read. Read to 5-9. Reader 8-9. Gino, a mouse, works in the family pasta factory. His creativity gets him in trouble but eventually helps the family business shift to a special market needed for the factory to survive.

· People by Peter Spier Doubleday, 1980, 48pp T. Examined. Read to 5-8. Reader 8-11. Non-Fiction. Children are encouraged to tolerance in this description of the diversity of people around the world. Good for reference, too.

· Thidwick the Big-hearted Moose by Dr. Seuss Random House, 1948, 40 pp I, E, G. Read. Read to 4-8. Reader 8-9. Majority rule does not work out well for Thidwick.

· Yertle the Turtle and The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss Not Read. (Liberty4Kids note: highly recommended as a bed-time book.)

· Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter Knopf, 1988, 48pp, a page of music is provided at the back E (slavery), AH. Read. Read to 4-12 (and sing). Reader 8-10. A slave family is led to the Underground Railroad by the lyrics of a song.

· The Drinking Gourd by F. N. Monjo E (slavery), G. Not Seen. Read to 4-9?

· Meet Addy: An American Girl, Addy Learns a Lesson, Addy's Surprise by Connie Porter and Pleasant Company, 1993, ~70 pp each E (slavery), B, R, AH. Examined. Read to 5-9. Reader 8-12. Part of the American Girls Collection. A black slave girl escapes during the Civil War to live in Philadelphia. Pleasant Company sells high-quality dolls representing the girls in their historical fiction.

· Yankee Doodle: A Revolutionary Tail by Gary Chalk Dorling Kindersley, 1993 AH. Not Seen. Reader 8-12. Taking the song "Yankee Doodle" as a starting point, Chalk uses whimsical illustrations to tell the story of the American Revolution.

· A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

· Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall

· The Family under the Bridge by Natalie S. Carlson

· The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible by Ken Schoolland Hawaii Businessmen's Association ?? A libertarian tale for children. A new edition will be out early 1995 and will be available from ISIL.

· The Fools of Chelm and Their History by Isaac Bashevis Singer G (T, E, B). Read. Read to 7-9. Reader 9-11. With the discovery of the word "crisis", government is born. Jewish humor.

· The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy. Not Seen.

· The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill B, G. Read (long ago). Reader 9-11. Small businesses fight back. (You might want to talk about these methods)

· Little House on the Prairie (series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder Harper, 1932...1943, 250-300 pp each E, R, B (T, G). Examined. Reader 9-13.

· Little House on Rocky Ridge and Little Farm in the Ozarks by Roger Lea MacBride T, I, R, E, B. Read. Reader 9-13. This is the continuation of the Little House stories. They are about the growing up of Laura's daughter Rose--the same Rose Wilder Lane who later wrote The Discovery of Freedom.

· The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis 1948...1952, about 200 pp each I, E, R, G. Read. Reader 9 up.

· The Orb and the Hourglass by Patrick Cox T, I, E, R, B, $, G. Reader 9 up? This is a libertarian tale in the story style of C. S. Lewis's The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Each book is computer personalized. Patrick Cox works for the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

· [various historical novels] by Gilbert Morris FA, I, R, B, AH? Not seen. Reader 11-14? Historical fiction with freedom emphasis and, I think, Christian content.

· The Tree of Freedom by Rebecca Caudill Puffin, 1947, 279 pp T, I, R, B, G, AH. Read. Reader 9 up. A girl's family moves to Kentucky in 1780 and learns that protecting one's freedom is part of caring for the family.

· The Rolling Stones, Have Space Suit--Will Travel, PodKayne of Mars [and others] by Robert Heinlein before 1961 T, FA, I, R, B, G. Read. Reader 10 up. Juvenile SF with individualist themes.

· In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Lord Not Seen.

· Where Did Your Family Come From? by Melvin & Gilda Berger Not Seen.

· The Giver by ? ? Not Seen.

· Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes Houghton Mifflin, 1943, 256 pp. John Newbery Medal. R, B, G, AH. Read. Reader 11 up. An obnoxious orphan develops character in time to be of use in the American Revolution.

· The Girl Who Owned a City by O. T. Nelson Lerner, 1975, 189 pp FA, I, E, R, B. Read. Reader 12 up. Children learn to survive in a world without adults--and thus without government. Characters are a little Randian and the book is anti-religion.

· The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien Ballantine, 1937, 295 pp Not Read. Reader 13 up. The prelude to The Lord of the Rings which has a freedom theme.

· The Book of Merlyn and The Once and Future King by T. H. White

· Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury. Bluestocking Press, 4th edition, 1999, 192 pp. Non-fiction. R, $, G, AH. Read. Reader 12 up. Money and inflation for teens (Austrian Economics).

· Whatever Happened to Justice? by Richard Maybury. Bluestocking Press, 1993, 254 pp. Non-fiction. I, E, R, $, G, AH. Read. Reader 13 up. Common law and freedom for teens.

· Capitalism for Kids by Karl Hess. Enterprise, 1987, 257 pp. Non-fiction. I, E, R, B, G. Examined. Reader 13 up. Practical free-market economics for teens.

· Animal Farm by George Orwell. I, E, R, $, G. Read. Reader 13 up.

· Diary of Anne Frank