Heros And Happenings Sixty Stories in American History Volume 2

by Amy Lykosh, nathaniel park stanslav polish, mantas mozeris alicia hartsock, marina ryabinina-tsoy (Illustrator)

Introduce your kindergarten student to American History with this age-appropriate, richly illustrated spine. Sixty chapters, across two volumes, introduce children to a wide range of people and events. Some of them are well known, like Thomas Edison and Theodore Roosevelt. Some are far more obscure like Temple Grandin, the autistic professor who transformed how people manage cattle. You’ll cover several presidents, the World Fair, and the Statue of Liberty. You’ll learn about events in almost every one of the 50 states. You’ll learn about people from a range of religions and ethnicities, with diverse skin colors and contributions. For animal lovers, we have a chapter with the story of an amazing dog.

Genres: American History, History, 1st Grade

146 pages, Paperback Bunko

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt similarly about this book as I did about volume 1 -- overall, well-organized and well-told stories about major American figures, which try to incorporate some elements of the "big picture" of major societal events, while also allowing some "rabbit trails" of extra information to help flesh out the stories. I have to say, I thought Philippe Petit was an odd choice to include considering the limited number of stories and how many other American entertainers have become much more well known -- but I suppose a part of America still tends to favor the rebellious. I loved that Temple Grandin was included, as well as Bass Reeves (who I'd never heard of before).

I used this with my 4th grader and 1st grader and it kept both of them engaged.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful way to introduce American history to young children.

[Cala · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a more thorough review of this book see my review on Volume 1.

Notes specific to Volume 2:
*It covers early 18th Century through some recent historical figures/events, but not really much past WWII. I don't see this as a problem as it's a K-1st grade level introduction to American history.
*Some of the more recent figures/events were presented in a slightly confusing manner for this age range... sometimes assuming that the child has a background knowledge of the person/event, which is obviously not the case. I stress the importance of using the "recommended reading" books given at the end of each section to give this knowledge base that lacks. Or, as I did sometimes, just fill in the gaps with a short statement or narrative from my own knowledge so that the reading passage makes more sense to the child.

Overall notes:
*I highly recommend Heroes and Happenings: Volumes 1 and 2 for the intended age range or even for a few years older if combining ages is what you need to do.
*It would be very easy to use these volumes over 1.5 or 2 years as well. Each person/event/group of people is usually covered in one day, but could easily be covered in two days, especially with the use of the additional books (I found many of them at my local library).
*Volume 1 is better done than Volume 2, in my opinion.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in a set of books that look at American history makers. I learned a lot and it was amazing how much of it my 6 yo remembers.

[Robyn Klepfer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging for young students but contains stories of Americans that were new to me as an adult!

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference for various historic American figures.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan of wikipedia being such a big source. Plus, this was a required book for my kindergartener's schooling and the word usage and many of the subjects are way beyond a 5/6 year old.

[Noelani · Rating 4 out of 5]

We used Volume 1 and Volume 2 for the bulk of our Kindergarten/beginning 1st grade history learning and it was nearly perfect! We combined with many other history picture books and stories, but this is a wonderful compilation of famous people in history and served as a jumping off point for more in-depth U.S. History studies down the line. My daughter fondly remembers many of these stories, which we’ve read throughout the year and has developed a love and fascination for history!