MASSACHUSETTS BOOK LIST

One If By Land

State History - Did you know that all U.S. dollars are printed on special paper from a company in Massachusetts, or that Yankee Candle Co. was started by a 16-year-old boy from that state?

Nic and Nellie

Local Author - Everyone gets homesick. And Nic is no different. She's so excited about spending the entire summer on a small New England island with her grandparents that she counts down the days through winter and spring.

Larry Gets Lost in Boston

Set in the State - As Larry searches the city for Pete, he visits Quincy Market, Freedom Trail, Boston Harbor, and more.

Ben Franklin & the Magic Squares

State Figure - Early Reader - A magic square is a box of nine numbers arranged so that any line of three numbers adds up to the same number, including on the diagonal!

I Survived the Great Molasses Flood

Set in the State - Chapter Book for Ages 8+ - One hundred years ago, a killer wave of molasses struck a crowded Boston neighborhood.

The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot!

Local Author - This clever twist on “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is told from the point of view of an unexpected narrator and demonstrates the value of telling the truth.

Obadiah the Bold

Set in the State - In this tale, Obadiah has determined to become a fearless pirate when he grows up to roam the seas with buried treasure in secret places!

Real Pirates

State History - The riveting story of the slave ship Whydah,captured by pirates and later sunk in a fierce storm off the coast of Massachusetts.

Hector Fox and the Giant Quest

Local Author - Lucy's wish was all it took for Hector Fox and his merry band of woodland friends to set out on an adventure beyond the friendly Green Wood.

Paul Revere's Ride

State Figure - Longfellow's tribute to the famous revolutionary hero begins with the stirring cadence that American schoolchildren have committed to memory for over a century.

George the Drummer Boy

Set in the State - Chapter Book for Ages 6+ - George was a drummer boy with the King's soldiers there. He wanted to be friends with the people of Boston.

Squanto's Journey

State Figure - In 1620 an English ship called the Mayflower landed on the shores inhabited by the Pokanoket, and it was Squanto who welcomed the newcomers and taught them how to survive.

The Fish House Door

Set in the State + Local Author - Shawn comes from a long line of island lobstermen. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather have all hauled traps, baited pockets, painted buoys, and cleaned their brushes on the door of the same fish house for decades

Finding Providence

State Figure - The year is 1635, and Mary Williams and her family live in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her father, Roger, is on trial for preaching new ideas about freedom.

Three Young Pilgrims

State History - When Bartholemew, Remember, and Mary Allerton and their parents first step down from the Mayflower after sixty days at sea, they never dream that life in the New World will be so hard.

Emily

State Figure - What if your neighbor were the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson? And what if one day she sent a letter inviting your mother to pay her a visit?

M is for Mayflower

State History - Mentions evolution - This pictorial celebrates the treasures of the Bay State, and educates as it entertains elementary-aged readers.

Sam the Minuteman

Set in the State - Chapter Book for Ages 6+ - Father and son rushed to the village green. Other Minutemen were already there. Through the long night they waited and waited. Then, at dawn, the soldiers came.

Make Way for Ducklings

Set in the State - Mrs. Mallard was sure that the pond in the Boston Public Gardens would be a perfect place for her and her eight ducklings to live.

Ghost Ship

Set in the State - Thomas loved his summer visits to his grandmother's on Cape Cod. He spent hours wondering about the sailing ships of the past and imagining their stories.

Samuel Morse, That's Who!

State Figure - Back in the 1800s, information traveled slowly. Who would dream of instant messages? Samuel Morse, that’s who!

The Long Way to a New Land

State History - Chapter Book for Ages 6+ - The year is 1868 and Sweden is a barren land of poverty and famine. Carl Erik and his family receive a letter from an uncle in America.

Wildflower Emily

State Figure - Graphic Novel for Ages 8+ - This is Emily Dickinson as you’ve never seen her before, embarking on an unforgettable journey in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts, with her trusty four-legged companion, Carlo.

Dario and the Whale

Set in the State - A lonely boy spending his first summer at Cape Cod and a right whale calf who has migrated to the area with his mother become unlikely friends.

The Boston Tea Party

State History - Follow a crowd of disguised protestors through the quiet streets of colonial Boston as they defend their right to control their own destinies.

Little Women

Set in the State - Chapter Book for Ages 10+ - The four March sisters couldn't be more different. But with their father away at war, and their mother working to support the family, they have to rely on one another.

Brave Clara Barton

State Figure - Meet a woman who outgrew her childhood shyness to became a fearless "Angel of the Battlefield"!