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Modern Times, Epistles & Revelation
Summary
With these wonderful living books your family will study recent history—both World and American—and get to know the people and events of Modern Times (1850 to 2012). Geography will focus on Asia. Bible lessons will include several epistles. Older students will work on a six-year project of looking for doctrinal truths as they read through the Bible; if they have completed the other five years of reading and study, they will summarize their findings by writing a personal doctrinal statement.
Daily lesson plans scheduling these books are available in Modern Times & Epistles, Revelation.
Book List for History, Geography, Bible
Read the books listed under Family to all the students together. Add the grade-level books as individual reads for any children you have in those grades. For example, if you have students in grades 9 and 11, you will want to get the books under Family, Grades 7–9, and Grades 10–12.
[SCM]: Available from SCM
[Book Store]: Purchase from your favorite book store
[Library]: Check your library
[Public Domain]: Available free in the public domain
(AH) = American History book, so if you are in a different country you can easily identify and substitute books as desired.
You can also view all the books below in the CM Bookfinder for easy scheduling in our CM Organizer.
Family
- Bible
- (AH) Book StoreBilly Graham: God’s Ambassador by Russ Busby OR Book StoreBilly Graham: Just Get Up Out of Your Seat by Catherine Mackenzie
- (AH) LibraryThe Brooklyn Bridge by Elizabeth Mann
- (AH) LibraryEmpire State Building by Elizabeth Mann
- LibraryGandhi: The Young Protester Who Founded a Nation by Philip Wilkinson
- Book StoreGeorge Mueller by Faith Coxe Bailey
- (AH) LibraryThe Hoover Dam by Elizabeth Mann
- LibraryMandela: The Rebel Who Led His Nation to Freedom by Ann Kramer
- SCMMaterial World and SCMHungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel
- (AH) Book StoreOur Country’s Presidents by Ann Bausum (reference book)
- (AH) SCMStories of America, Volume 2, by Charles Morris, et al.
- (AH) SCMNarration Notecards for Stories of America, Volume 2 (optional)
- SCMStories of the Nations, Volume 2, by Lorene Lambert and Charles Morris
- SCMNarration Notecards for Stories of the Nations, Volume 2 (optional)
- (AH) SCMThe Story of Thomas A. Edison by Frances M. Perry
- SCMThe Stuff They Left Behind: From the Days of Modern Times portfolio
- SCMVisits to Asia notebook by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
Plus . . .
Grades 1–3
- (AH) LibraryA Boy Named FDR by Kathleen Krull
- (AH) LibraryI Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King by Margaret Davidson
- LibraryThe Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden
- (AH) LibraryMoonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca
- [SCM]Only a Dog: A Story of the Great War by Bertha Whitridge Smith
- (AH) LibraryThe Unbreakable Code by Sara Hoagland Hunter
- Book StoreThe Children of China: An Artist’s Journey by Song Nan Zhang (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
- Book StoreA Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman OR Book StoreGrandfather Tang’s Story: A Tale Told with Tangrams by Ann Tompert (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
- Book StoreHorse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia by Ted and Betsy Lewin (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
- Book StoreKami and the Yaks by Andrea Stenn Stryer (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
- Book StoreKampung Boy by Lat (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
- LibraryThe Life of Rice: From Seedling to Supper by Richard Sobol (optional, used with Visits to Asia. This book is out of print, but a library near you may have a copy.)
- Book StoreThe Way We Do It in Japan by Geneva Cobb Iijima (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
- Book StoreYasmin’s Hammer by Ann Malaspina (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
Grades 4–6
- (AH) LibraryAbe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House by Sterling North
- (AH) LibraryAlways Inventing: A Photobiography of Alexander Graham Bell by Tom L. Matthews
- (AH) LibraryI Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King by Margaret Davidson
- LibraryA Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Parker
- LibraryThe Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
- LibrarySnow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
- (AH) LibraryTeam Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh
- Book StoreThe Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam by Quang Nhuong Huynh (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
Grades 7–9
- Book StoreAcross America on an Emigrant Train by Jim Murphy
- (AH) LibraryAcross Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
- LibraryAnimal Farm by George Orwell
- SCMBook of Centuries (one for each student)
- (AH) LibraryBully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! by Jean Fritz
- SCMDiscovering Doctrine by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
- LibraryThe Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig
- (AH) LibraryLincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
- LibraryA Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
- Book StoreLouis Pasteur: Founder of Modern Medicine by John Hudson Tiner
- Book StoreRescue and Redeem: Volume 5, Chronicles of the Modern Church by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
- (AH) LibraryRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
- SCMStrong in the Word by Sonya Shafer
- (AH) SCMVictory in the Pacific by Albert Marrin
- (AH) LibraryThe Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman
- (AH) SCMThe Yanks Are Coming by Albert Marrin
- Book StoreThe Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam by Quang Nhuong Huynh (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
Grades 10–12
- (AH) Book StoreAmerica: The Last Best Hope, Volume 1: From the Age of Discovery to a World at War by William Bennett
- (AH) Book StoreAmerica: The Last Best Hope, Volume 2: From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom by William Bennett
- (AH; optional) Book StoreAmerica: The Last Best Hope, Volume 3: From the Collapse of Communism to the Rise of Radical Islam by William Bennett
- (AH) Book StoreAmerican Voices: A Collection of Documents, Speeches, Essays, Hymns, Poems, and Short Stories from American History edited by Ray Notgrass
- SCMBook of Centuries (one for each student)
- SCMDiscovering Doctrine by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
- SCMHitler by Albert Marrin
- Book StoreHow Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer OR Book Store7 Men Who Rule the World from the Grave by Dave Breese
- Book StoreRescue and Redeem: Volume 5, Chronicles of the Modern Church by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
- SCMStalin by Albert Marrin
- SCMStrong in the Word by Sonya Shafer
- LibraryThe War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman
- (AH) LibraryThe Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman
- Book StoreThe Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam by Quang Nhuong Huynh (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
Note: We recommend that grades 10–12 students add an American Government course either during this Modern Times study or spread over two years, during Early Modern and Modern Times studies. One possibility might be Exploring Government from Notgrass Publishing, taken at a slower pace.
We also recommend that grades 9–12 students read about and discuss current events. Selected articles from World magazine or website work well.
Bonus Titles
Here are more great titles that you can use for substitutions or leisure reading or to create your own heritage history stream as desired. We will add to this list as we discover and review more new-to-us books.
Grades 1–3
- Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire
- Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II by Marisabina Russo
- The Bicycle Man by Allen Say
- Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker
- Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln by Margarita Engle
- Franklin and Winston: A Christmas That Changed the World by Douglas Wood
- Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
- Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull
- Kamishibai Man by Allen Say
- Lily’s Victory Garden by Helen L. Wilbur
- The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II by Louise Borden
- The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
- Mary McLeod Bethune by Eloise Greenfield
- The Peace Tree from Hiroshima: The Little Bonsai with a Big Story by Sandra Moore
- My Great-Grandmother’s Gourd by Cristina Kessler
- Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise
- Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
- She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick
- Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx by Jonah Winter
- These Are My People: A Biography of Gladys Aylward by Mildred T. Howard
- The Storyteller’s Candle by Lucia Gonzalez
- Uncommon Traveler: Mary Kingsley in Africa by Don Brown
- Watercress by Andrea Wang
- Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind by Cynthia Grady
Grades 1–4
- Abby Takes a Stand 1960 (Scraps of Time series) by Patricia C. McKissack
- Asian-Americans Who Inspire Us by Analiza Quiroz Wolf
- Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen
Grades 1–6
- Coolies by Yin (Grades 1–6)
- Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman by Dorothy Sterling
- Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing by Guo Yue and Clare Farrow
- Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines by Jeanne Walker Harvey
- Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina by Maria Tallchief with Rosemary Wells
Grades 1–12
- Island Treasures: Growing Up in Cuba by Alma Flor Ada (selected chapters)
Grades 3–6
- Turning Pages: My Life Story by Sonia Sotomayor
Grades 4–6
- A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl (Dear America series) by Patricia C. McKissack
- Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet
- George Washington Carver by David Collins
- Half Spoon of Rice: A Survival Story of the Cambodian Genocide by Icy Smith
- Heroes of Black History: True Stories from the Lives of Christian Heroes by Dave and Neta Jackson
- Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
- March Toward the Thunder by Joseph Bruchac
- Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford
- Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
- A Song for Cambodia by Michelle Lord
- Sounder by William H. Armstrong
- Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion by Linda Granfield
- The Wright Brothers: Pioneers of American Aviation by Quentin Reynolds
Grades 4–8
- Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
Grades 4–9
- Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir by Eloise Greenfield and Lessie Jones Little
- Hidden Figures, Young Readers’ Edition by Margot Lee Shetterly
- I Am Malala, Young Readers’ Edition by Malala Yousafzai
- Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story by Beverley Naidoo
Grades 4–12
- Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweet
Grades 5–8
- A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen
- Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
- Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African-Americans by Kadir Nelson
- Just Jerry: A Memoir by Jerry Pinkney
Grades 5–9
- Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, The Great Migration North by Patricia M. McKissack
Grades 6–9
- The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Grades 7–9
- Brother’s Keeper by Julie Lee (girls)
- The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis
Grades 6–12
- When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park
Grades 7–12
- Brothers of the Buffalo: A Novel of the Red River War by Joseph Bruchac
- Enchanted Air: A Memoir by Margarita Engle
- One Real American: The Life of Ely S. Parker by Joseph Bruchac
- Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-Li Jiang
- Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman? by Patricia C. and Fredrick McKissack
Grades 9–12
- Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela
Grades 10–12
- Angel Island by Russell Freedman
- The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman
- Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James Houston
- Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
- Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
- The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
- I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
- Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor by Russell Freedman
- The Life and Death of Crazy Horse by Russell Freedman (Grades 10–12)
- The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (Note: Contains some strong language.)
- Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World by Tim Marshall
- The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
- Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
- The Wright Brothers by David McCullough