Vermont History Explorer

Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys by Patricia Lee Gauch (1972)

Historical fiction, 64 pages, grades 2-4

The story of Aaron Robinson who helped the Green Mountain Boys at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.

Available in the VHS lending library.

The Arrow Over the Door by Joseph Bruchac (1998)

Historical fiction, 89 pages, grades 3-7

The story of an Abenaki boy and a Quaker boy in New York during the Revolutionary War.  Based on a true story.

$4.99

As Long as There Are Mountains by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock (1997)

Historical fiction, 139 pages, grades 3-7

After their barn burns down, Iris' family is in danger of losing their farm in the 1950s.

$4.99

The Black Bonnet by Louella Bryant (1996)

Historical fiction, 149 pages, grades 5-8

Charity and Bea have escaped slavery and are travelling through Vermont to reach freedom in Canada.  Set in the 1850s.

$12.95

Available in the VHS lending library.

Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson (2006)

Historical fiction, 275 pages, grades 4-8

Lawrence, Massachusetts is a dangerous place during the "Bread and Roses" strike in 1912.  Rosa and Jake are sent to live with families in Barre where they will be safe.

$6.99

Captive of Pittsford Ridge by Janice Ovecka (1994)

Historical fiction, 88 pages, grades 4-8

Josiah's father is fighting with the Green Mountains Boys at the Battle of Hubbardton during the Revolutionary War.  What happens when Josiah meets the enemy after the battle?

$10.95

Cave of Falling Water by Janice Ovecka (1992)

Historical fiction, 115 pages, grades 4-8

Woni, Mattie, and Stacy are three girls from different time periods that discover the Cave of Falling Water.

$12.95

Available in the VHS lending library.

Champlain and the Silent One by Kate Messner (2008)

Historical fiction, 142 pages, grades 4-8

In 1609, an Innu Indian called Silent One travels with Champlain to save his brother.

$9.95

Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop (2006)

Historical fiction, 232 pages, grades 4-8

Grace works in a southern Vermont cotton mill in the early 1900s.  Will Lewis Hine's photograph change everything?

$6.99

The Dewey Boy by Earline V. Marsh (2012)

Historical fiction, 84 pages, grades 3-6

Before George Dewey grew up to be an admiral in the US navy, he spent the summer of 1846 on his cousins' farm.

$12.95

The Faithful Hunter Abenaki Stories by Joseph Bruchac (1988)

Abenaki stories, 61 pages, grades 4-12

A collection of traditional Western Abenaki stories including several stories about Gluskabe.

$9.95

Available in the VHS lending library.

Green Mountain Hero by Edgar Newman Jackson (1961)

Historical fiction, 190 pages, grades 4-8

The story of Solomon Story and his family who settled in Salisbury, Vermont in the 1770s.

Available in the VHS lending library.

Guns for General Washington: A Story of the American Revolution by Seymour Reit (1990)

Historical fiction, 140 pages, grades 5-9

The Continental Army must move the cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston.  Will the cannons get there in time to help General Washington beat the British Army?

$6.95

Hidden Roots by Joseph Bruchac (2004)

Historical fiction, 137 pages, grades 5-9

Set in the 1950s in New York and Vermont. From Uncle Louis, Sonny learns about his roots and the forced sterilization of Abenakis in Vermont in the 1930s.

$9.95

Invasion on the Mountain by Judith Edwards (2011)

Historical fiction, 96 pages, grades 4-8

The Civilian Conservation Corps comes to Will Ryan's hometown during the Great Depression.

$12.50

Jip, His Story by Katherine Paterson (1996)

Historical fiction, 181 pages, grades 5-8

Jip lives on the town poor farm in Vermont in the 1850s after being abandoned by his family. 

$6.99

Available in the VHS lending library.

Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry (1946)

Historical fiction, 170 pages, grades 4-8

Justin Morgan's horse "Little Bub" is stronger and faster than other Vermont horses in the late 1700s.  

$5.99

Lumber Camp Library by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock (2002)

Historical fiction, 87 pages, grades 2-5

Ruby wants to be a teacher, but everything changes after her father dies in an accident.  Set in the early 1900s.

$4.99

Available in the VHS lending library.

Lyddie by Katherine Paterson (1991)

Historical fiction, 182 pages, grades 5-8

Lyddie leaves Vermont to work in the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1840s to earn money to support herself and her poor family.

$6.99

Available in the VHS lending library.

Mr. Lincoln's Drummer by G. Clifton Wisler (1997)

Historical fiction, 131 pages, grades 5-7

Based on the story of Vermonter Willie Johnston, an 11 year old drummer boy in the Union Army during the Civil War.

$5.99

Available in the VHS lending library.

The Night the Bells Rang by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock (1991)

Historical fiction, 76 pages, grades 3-5

The last year of World War I (1918) is an eventful one for a Vermont farm boy.

$4.99

Available in the VHS lending library.

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman (2002)

Non-fiction, 80 pages, grades 4-8

Phineas Gage was working to build the railroad through Cavendish in 1848 when a large tamping iron blasted through his head.  Read about his survival and his life with a brain injury.

$9.95

Soup by Robert Newton Peck (1974)

Historical fiction, 96 pages, grades 4-7

Rob and his best friend Soup create mischief all over their Vermont town in the 1930s.

$5.50

Trouble on the Mountain by Judith Edwards (2012)

Historical fiction, 118 pages, grades 4-8

The second adventure of Will Ryan and the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.

$12.50

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher  (1916)

Historical fiction, 137 pages, grades 5-8

The story of Betsy who must leave her city home to live with her Vermont cousins on a farm.  This classic story provides a glimpse of Vermont in the early 1900s.

$8.99

Vermont, the State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney (1976, revised 1999)

Non-fiction, 256 pages, grades 4-8

A narrative history of the state of Vermont.  Although full of action and adventure, educators may want to discuss the portrayal of Abenaki history in this book.

$22.95

The Wind Eagle and Other Abenaki Stories by Joseph Bruchac (1985)

Abenaki stories, 34 pages, grades 4-12

A collection of teaching stories that teach and entertain.

$9.95

Available in the VHS lending library.

The Winter People by Joseph Bruchac (2002)

Historical fiction, 168 pages, grades 5-8

The story of Saxso, an Abenaki boy who tries to rescue his family after the English raid on the Abenaki village of St. Francis in 1759.

$5.99

Witness by Karen Hesse (2001)

Historical fiction, 161 pages, grades 5-12

Set in 1924, a Vermont community changes when the Ku Klux Klan comes to town.  The story is told in verse by different characters.

$5.99