Teaching Values of Liberty to Children: a Book List


Do you know about the Haitan Revolution and the freedom fighter Toussaint L'ouverture? I didn't until I read this book with my family. He was a remarkable man whose life came to a tragic end thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte. This book ties in well with the study of the American and French Revolutions.







I love this book about the life and death of Socrates. What a great way to discuss the inalienable right to free speech with your children.












I love audiobooks. Johnny Tremain has a wonderful audio version that the whole family can enjoy. This book used to be part of school reading lists, but it's been replaced with navel-gazing drivel in my opinion. Want to know more about the American Revolution, colonial Boston and teach your children about individual resonsibility? Read/listen to Johnny Tremain. Johnny is a 15 year-old silversmith apprentice who is also an orphan. His hand is badly burned and he can no longer work as a silversmith. He has to find a new way to support himself. His journey leads him to help Paul Revere and Sam Adams dump the King's tea into the ocean.


The Real McCoy is about Elijah McCoy who was born to escaped slaves. Elijah's parents believed that education was the ticket to freedom and they sent their son to Scotland to study engineering. Regardless of blatant prejudice, Elijah became a successful American inventor. His accomplishments should be remembered and celebrated.








Another Blogger reminded me that the pioneering families represented in The Little House on a Prairie books are wonderful examples of self-reliance and self-respect. Does this mean they were selfish and stingy? Absolutely not - they lent a helping hand to their neighbors without pause. I never read them as a child (I watched the TV show) - the show was great, the books are better. This is an American classic that you shouldn't pass up.

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