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Historic Communities
Colonial Life
Describes life in colonial times, including family life, education, religion, transportation, leisure activities, and childhood
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
1 person is currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Bobbie Kalman
1,151 books32 followersBobbie Kalman (1947 - ) is the award-winning Canadian author of more than 400 non-fiction books.
She established herself as a leading author in children’s non-fiction in the 1980’s and 90’s with two acclaimed series about pioneer life, The Early Settler Life Series (15 titles) and The Historic Communities Series (31 titles), both published by Crabtree Publishing.
She has created many of Crabtree’s most popular series, which also include The Native Nations of North America Series (19 titles), The Lands, Peoples, and Cultures Series (93 titles), and The Science of Living Things Series (32 titles), among others.
Born in Hungary in 1947, Bobbie and her family escaped to Austria during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The family spent several weeks there as refugees before immigrating to North America. A former teacher, Bobbie Kalman taught at both the elementary and secondary levels. She also spent several years working as an educational consultant for several publishing companies. Bobbie holds degrees in English, Psychology, and Education. She is married and has four children and three grandchildren.
Although best known for her non-fiction, Bobbie’s newest book is autobiographical. Released in September, 2006, Refugee Child is the account of Bobbie and her family’s escape from Hungary when she was just nine years old. Written to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution in October of 2006, the book is told from the perspective of a young girl.
She established herself as a leading author in children’s non-fiction in the 1980’s and 90’s with two acclaimed series about pioneer life, The Early Settler Life Series (15 titles) and The Historic Communities Series (31 titles), both published by Crabtree Publishing.
She has created many of Crabtree’s most popular series, which also include The Native Nations of North America Series (19 titles), The Lands, Peoples, and Cultures Series (93 titles), and The Science of Living Things Series (32 titles), among others.
Born in Hungary in 1947, Bobbie and her family escaped to Austria during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The family spent several weeks there as refugees before immigrating to North America. A former teacher, Bobbie Kalman taught at both the elementary and secondary levels. She also spent several years working as an educational consultant for several publishing companies. Bobbie holds degrees in English, Psychology, and Education. She is married and has four children and three grandchildren.
Although best known for her non-fiction, Bobbie’s newest book is autobiographical. Released in September, 2006, Refugee Child is the account of Bobbie and her family’s escape from Hungary when she was just nine years old. Written to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution in October of 2006, the book is told from the perspective of a young girl.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 9, 2018
I love reading these books for info and inspiration for my own writing. I had read a couple historical YA novels and wanted to know more about that way of life, so I checked this out at the library.
There was a graphic of the thirteen colonies: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. It's cool to have your state be one of the original thirteen colonies.
Some of the first European colonists went to America because they were looking for adventure or had been sent by their kings or queens to claim land for their home countries and others wanted to worship God in their own way. Settlers came from Spain, England, France, Holland, and Sweden.
The colonists were considered citizens of their home country and still obeyed that country's laws. As new land became more settled, people continued to come, esp from England. The settlements became towns and ones were established further inland. Farmers in the southern colonies became wealthy by growing tobacco, cotton, and sugar cane on plantations. News of these great opportunities caused thousands of settlers to come for hope of a better life. Most of the settlers were men but sometimes women sailed over to marry the men there.
Slavery started because plantation owners couldn't find enough workers to harvest their crops. The image of the slave ship showing how tightly packed the slaves were was really powerful. It was so crowded there was barely any space at all.
The field slaves were the ones who worked with the crops, from sunrise to sunset and only a 15 min break once a day. They were punished by the overseer if they stopped working. Some collapsed from the hard work in the heat.
The first black slaves were given their freedom after they had worked for some years. Some of the colony's governments passed laws that took the rights from Africans that made them slaves for life, prevented them from legally marrying, keeping their families together, owning property, and earning freedom. Some owners arranged for their slaves to be freed upon their deaths, and a master's death was the only hope for a slave's freedom. Those who ran away were severely punished. The ones who revolted against their master were sometimes killed. Some masters were kind and fair but some treated their slaves like animals.
Slaves were viewed as property so they weren't allowed to read or write. People felt that the less the slaves knew the easier it was for them to stay a slave. If they couldn't read they wouldn't get ideas of a free life. Some learned to read and write in secret. Slaves lived in cabins or huts in a row, called slave quarters or slave row. They slept on straw mattresses on the floor in poor and crowded condition which caused many to get sick.
A typical punishment for not following the rules or not working hard or trying to run away was 50-100 lashes. Their hands and legs were sometimes put in shackles which didn't allow them to move.
Some of the first colonists lived in caves dug in hillsides or in mud huts or cabins in rough logs. The early house usually had only 1 room. There was a bench near the fire. Some had a table, chairs, and a large chest for bedding and other cloth items. They sat on barrels and slept on straw mattresses.
The fireplace was for warmth and cooking. Some had chimneys but most had a hole in the roof for smoke to go out. They soon built better homes but slaves' didn't improve. They were like the ones in England, out of cut boards, with 2 stories, winding stairways, big stone chimneys, and small windows. Many had a parlor, dining room, several bedrooms, outbuildings called dependencies, including smokehouses, servants' quarters, and outdoor toilets called necessaries. In the south, the kitchen was in an outbuilding, so the house didn't have smoke, odor, fire or more heat in summer. The wealthy were served their meals in the dining room. The southern plantation owners had huge brick homes.
The wealthy had finely designed furniture, tables, chairs, beds, some four-poster with curtains drawn to keep cold out and feather mattresses, chests, sofas, clocks and mirrors.
Most colonists, north and south, were farmers. They fed themselves by growing crops and raising livestock. They built their own homes and made their clothing, shoes, and furniture. As more people came, craftspeople opened shops and made shoes, furniture, barrels, wagons, and horseshoes.
They had cows for milk, chickens for eggs, sheep for wool. Merchants bought goods in are in Europe and sold them to colonists, and sold products made in colonies.
There were also millers who ground grain into flour in gristmills. Fisherman, lumberjacks, and shipbuilders. Women who were unmarried supported themselves by working in shops or sewing for others.
Each town had a marketplace for merchants and farmers to sell their goods or services. The harvest season in Autumn had many open 6 days a week. Settlers from nearby farms left their homes before dawn, their wagons full of fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, and homemade products like baskets, quilts, and hats. They had to get here early to get a good spot in square. It was busy and noisy, with public noticed and announcements and elections. Lawyers and businessmen had booths where they offered advice and advertised services. People could dance, watch puppet shows, cockfights, or horse races and slave auctions.
They believed that bathing too much was unhealthy and took precious oils that protected from disease. They only bathed a few times a year but they washed each day with washing bowls and pitchers of cold water.
They got a lot of cavities because they didn't brush, and many were pulled out. Some people put cork balls in their mound to fill the hollows in their cheeks from missing teeth.
Food was kept cool in cellars below ground but with outside entrance with two slanting doors not connected to house.
Everyone in town rushed to put out fire. Ppl with buckets brought them. They had a bucket brigade: 2 rows from fire to pond, river, or well passed up the row in the wet lane, and empty buckets down the other row in the dry lane.
News was spread by town crier, who walked the streets ringing a bell and shouted the news. Didn't give details, only short statement.
Some towns had law to enclose yard with fence to keep animal out of private yards. Gates had a chain and heavy ball so when gate was opened weight would make it close.
Families were big, with children, and sometimes aunts, uncles, and grandparents in one house. Everyone worked hard. Fathers and older sons hunted for meat. They planted and harvested crops of worked at a trade. The women worked in the house and garden. They took care of children and made candles and soap. They spun yarn with wheel and wove thread into cloth on loom.
Children were taught to work because laziness was a sin. In town or on farm they got up early to sweep, feed chickens, milk cows, water horses, gather eggs, pick berries or run errands. Not many got to go to school. Boys usually learned father's trade but if they didn't they could be apprenticed to cooper, wheelwright, or silversmith. He could make barrels, wagon wheels, or silver objects in exchange for helping craftsman. Could be as young as 9 and trained up to 7 years.
Young girls learned knitting and sewing, and then did samplers. She sketched a pattern of short sentences or verses and embroidered with thread.
The younger slave children help their mom in the kitchen, picking vegetables, getting water from well, churning butter, and washing dishes. Slaves sometimes rebelled by burning or spilling food into fire, but they would get whipped. After dinner they had free time where they could tell stories, sing and play drums. If they're lucky they'd get a week off for Christmas. Sometimes they got boxes of clothes and sweet biscuits for the kids. On New Years some slaves were sold.
There were few free schools but when a town had a school, those who could afford it went 6 days a week. There was 1 teacher and all students were in the same room. Some studied quietly and some read aloud. They learned to read, write, cipher, and simple math problems. They repeated lessons over and over to learn. Misbehaving caused whippings.
A school usually had 2 books, the bible and a primer with the alphabet, spelling words, and poems. Kids had hornbooks which they learned letters and numbers in. Some had copy books, with paper bound together. They wrote small to save paper. They used feather quills and ink.
Only boys went to high school, and only a few went to universities in England or one of the 9 colleges in the colonies. Most were started by churches for men to become ministers.
Kids didn't have much time for play but when they did they walked on stilts, spun good, rolled hoops, bowled outside, played quoits, marbles, cricket, flew kites, Blindman's Bluff, sack races, fished. Game of Goose, swing, seesaw or talked.
Men wore breeches with buttons which went to below the knees with woolen stockings underneath. Loose shirts sometimes with ruffles at neck and cuffs. Waistcoats over shirts. Boots or shoes.
Best suits and dresses were made of silk, brocade, and lace. Men's coats had shiny threads. Men and women wore wigs.
Men wore banyans, loose gowns, over their shirt and breeches, outdoors in the summer or inside anytime. Soft hats were often worn inside instead of wigs. Some wore cloaks over waistcoats. Hats were worn every day. Some were small, some had wide brims and some had 3 corners, tricorne. The working class wore plain wool.
Women's clothes were beautiful but impractical and uncomfortable. Dresses were long with several layers of petticoats. Women who worked in home or shops wore wool, linen, or cotton with aprons on top to protect them. Couldn't get them dirty because most ppl had 2 sets of clothes, one for weekdays and one for Sundays. Pockets were thru slits in skirt.
Wealthy word silk or brocade with lace ruffles at neck and cuffs. Small waists fashionable so corsets, called stays, under clothes laced tightly so they could barely breathe.
People paid a yearly fee to have their heads shaved, wigs powdered, curled and combed regularly. Women wore hooded cloaks to stay warm and dry. Muffs warmed their hands. A calash was collapsible and covered hair from wind and rain.
Dresses had low necklines, sleeves reaching elbows and frills coming out. Bodice is tight, stiff with whalebone, open to show embroidered stomacher. Petticoat under dress seen through open skirt. Pocket hoops under skirt. Wore clogs over shoes to protect from mud.
They traveled by boat, wagon, or stagecoach. They stayed at inns or taverns overnight. Taverns had dinner and entertainment, sometimes parties and balls.
Most didn't go far from home. Only gov officials, merchants, and planters traveled for business or pleasure. Best way to travel was on river, lake, or seacoast by boat. Travel on land was slow and hard. First roads were paths that followed old Indian trails. Had to travel by foot. They widened paths for travel with carts or wagons. Many wooden bridges could only be used on foot.
By mid-1700s roads improved for carriages or coaches w/4-8 horses. Stagecoaches took ppl to diff settlements. Open or covered wagons were for goods.
Inns and taverns offered food and lodging for stagecoach and riverboat passengers. Meals and hot drinks, then upstairs to unheated room in bed with 1 or 2 strangers. Rooms often had more than 1 bed, no lock, and slept 4-6. The few women travelers stayed with families in community. Slaves and servants slept in barn w/horses. Beds had straw mattresses on woven ropes. Sheets were rarely clean.
Colonists had little time for fun. They combined work with fun often. Raised houses, plowed fields, husked corn, sewed quilts, made cider. Plenty of food when work was done. Danced sometimes after meal. Did reels, jigs, and square dances. Many men helped with house raising. Women cooked a big meal.
The wealth had servants and slaves to do their work while they enjoyed reading, playing instruments, entertaining guests with charades, board games, card games, and chess. Had formal parties and danced the minuet. Williamsburg, Virginia had fancy parties and balls at Governor's Palace. Only the most imp ppl invited. Finest clothes and orchestra.
They celebrated some holidays but not like we do. They didn't take time off to celebrate Christmas. Some colonies forbid celebrating because they didn't think it was a Christian holiday. Later times had simple celebration with small gifts for kids, a few decorations, and special foods like plum pudding. Simple decor like fruit wreaths outside. Sometimes groups of ppl visited their friends and sang carols. They were invited in for a hot drink and refreshments.
When they came in from the fields, slaves gathered around campfire for stories and music and folktales with morals about good and evil. An older person told them. On Sundays they were with their families singing and playing music. They made drums with hollowed-out gourds or small barrels with goat or sheep skin. Bison horns for flutes, and dried animal bones as drumsticks. Struck cowbells with sticks. They sang spirituals, religious songs from America and African songs. Field workers often chanted rhythms to work at quick pace. They tied dried nuts, beans, and seeds onto a net and put around a dried gourd as instrument.
The last page was so jarring and completely unlike the rest of the book. The info was dropped suddenly and then switched to a whole page on prejudice, and how prejudice was developed against African Americans for the color of their skin, and a myth was created that Africans were inferior. It then went on to talk about Africans being segregated and suffering discrimination. The last paragraph informed the reader that prejudice hurts and isn't good, and asked the reader if we were prejudiced against anyone and if we've tried to be friends with them and asked how we can change it. It's a good message but this book wasn't about prejudice and I wish it had left off on wrapping up the colonial way of life.
This had so much great information that would help me in writing a colonial novel. I wish I owned this so I could have it with me to look at any time I needed it. I look forward to reading her other books.
There was a graphic of the thirteen colonies: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. It's cool to have your state be one of the original thirteen colonies.
Some of the first European colonists went to America because they were looking for adventure or had been sent by their kings or queens to claim land for their home countries and others wanted to worship God in their own way. Settlers came from Spain, England, France, Holland, and Sweden.
The colonists were considered citizens of their home country and still obeyed that country's laws. As new land became more settled, people continued to come, esp from England. The settlements became towns and ones were established further inland. Farmers in the southern colonies became wealthy by growing tobacco, cotton, and sugar cane on plantations. News of these great opportunities caused thousands of settlers to come for hope of a better life. Most of the settlers were men but sometimes women sailed over to marry the men there.
Slavery started because plantation owners couldn't find enough workers to harvest their crops. The image of the slave ship showing how tightly packed the slaves were was really powerful. It was so crowded there was barely any space at all.
The field slaves were the ones who worked with the crops, from sunrise to sunset and only a 15 min break once a day. They were punished by the overseer if they stopped working. Some collapsed from the hard work in the heat.
The first black slaves were given their freedom after they had worked for some years. Some of the colony's governments passed laws that took the rights from Africans that made them slaves for life, prevented them from legally marrying, keeping their families together, owning property, and earning freedom. Some owners arranged for their slaves to be freed upon their deaths, and a master's death was the only hope for a slave's freedom. Those who ran away were severely punished. The ones who revolted against their master were sometimes killed. Some masters were kind and fair but some treated their slaves like animals.
Slaves were viewed as property so they weren't allowed to read or write. People felt that the less the slaves knew the easier it was for them to stay a slave. If they couldn't read they wouldn't get ideas of a free life. Some learned to read and write in secret. Slaves lived in cabins or huts in a row, called slave quarters or slave row. They slept on straw mattresses on the floor in poor and crowded condition which caused many to get sick.
A typical punishment for not following the rules or not working hard or trying to run away was 50-100 lashes. Their hands and legs were sometimes put in shackles which didn't allow them to move.
Some of the first colonists lived in caves dug in hillsides or in mud huts or cabins in rough logs. The early house usually had only 1 room. There was a bench near the fire. Some had a table, chairs, and a large chest for bedding and other cloth items. They sat on barrels and slept on straw mattresses.
The fireplace was for warmth and cooking. Some had chimneys but most had a hole in the roof for smoke to go out. They soon built better homes but slaves' didn't improve. They were like the ones in England, out of cut boards, with 2 stories, winding stairways, big stone chimneys, and small windows. Many had a parlor, dining room, several bedrooms, outbuildings called dependencies, including smokehouses, servants' quarters, and outdoor toilets called necessaries. In the south, the kitchen was in an outbuilding, so the house didn't have smoke, odor, fire or more heat in summer. The wealthy were served their meals in the dining room. The southern plantation owners had huge brick homes.
The wealthy had finely designed furniture, tables, chairs, beds, some four-poster with curtains drawn to keep cold out and feather mattresses, chests, sofas, clocks and mirrors.
Most colonists, north and south, were farmers. They fed themselves by growing crops and raising livestock. They built their own homes and made their clothing, shoes, and furniture. As more people came, craftspeople opened shops and made shoes, furniture, barrels, wagons, and horseshoes.
They had cows for milk, chickens for eggs, sheep for wool. Merchants bought goods in are in Europe and sold them to colonists, and sold products made in colonies.
There were also millers who ground grain into flour in gristmills. Fisherman, lumberjacks, and shipbuilders. Women who were unmarried supported themselves by working in shops or sewing for others.
Each town had a marketplace for merchants and farmers to sell their goods or services. The harvest season in Autumn had many open 6 days a week. Settlers from nearby farms left their homes before dawn, their wagons full of fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, and homemade products like baskets, quilts, and hats. They had to get here early to get a good spot in square. It was busy and noisy, with public noticed and announcements and elections. Lawyers and businessmen had booths where they offered advice and advertised services. People could dance, watch puppet shows, cockfights, or horse races and slave auctions.
They believed that bathing too much was unhealthy and took precious oils that protected from disease. They only bathed a few times a year but they washed each day with washing bowls and pitchers of cold water.
They got a lot of cavities because they didn't brush, and many were pulled out. Some people put cork balls in their mound to fill the hollows in their cheeks from missing teeth.
Food was kept cool in cellars below ground but with outside entrance with two slanting doors not connected to house.
Everyone in town rushed to put out fire. Ppl with buckets brought them. They had a bucket brigade: 2 rows from fire to pond, river, or well passed up the row in the wet lane, and empty buckets down the other row in the dry lane.
News was spread by town crier, who walked the streets ringing a bell and shouted the news. Didn't give details, only short statement.
Some towns had law to enclose yard with fence to keep animal out of private yards. Gates had a chain and heavy ball so when gate was opened weight would make it close.
Families were big, with children, and sometimes aunts, uncles, and grandparents in one house. Everyone worked hard. Fathers and older sons hunted for meat. They planted and harvested crops of worked at a trade. The women worked in the house and garden. They took care of children and made candles and soap. They spun yarn with wheel and wove thread into cloth on loom.
Children were taught to work because laziness was a sin. In town or on farm they got up early to sweep, feed chickens, milk cows, water horses, gather eggs, pick berries or run errands. Not many got to go to school. Boys usually learned father's trade but if they didn't they could be apprenticed to cooper, wheelwright, or silversmith. He could make barrels, wagon wheels, or silver objects in exchange for helping craftsman. Could be as young as 9 and trained up to 7 years.
Young girls learned knitting and sewing, and then did samplers. She sketched a pattern of short sentences or verses and embroidered with thread.
The younger slave children help their mom in the kitchen, picking vegetables, getting water from well, churning butter, and washing dishes. Slaves sometimes rebelled by burning or spilling food into fire, but they would get whipped. After dinner they had free time where they could tell stories, sing and play drums. If they're lucky they'd get a week off for Christmas. Sometimes they got boxes of clothes and sweet biscuits for the kids. On New Years some slaves were sold.
There were few free schools but when a town had a school, those who could afford it went 6 days a week. There was 1 teacher and all students were in the same room. Some studied quietly and some read aloud. They learned to read, write, cipher, and simple math problems. They repeated lessons over and over to learn. Misbehaving caused whippings.
A school usually had 2 books, the bible and a primer with the alphabet, spelling words, and poems. Kids had hornbooks which they learned letters and numbers in. Some had copy books, with paper bound together. They wrote small to save paper. They used feather quills and ink.
Only boys went to high school, and only a few went to universities in England or one of the 9 colleges in the colonies. Most were started by churches for men to become ministers.
Kids didn't have much time for play but when they did they walked on stilts, spun good, rolled hoops, bowled outside, played quoits, marbles, cricket, flew kites, Blindman's Bluff, sack races, fished. Game of Goose, swing, seesaw or talked.
Men wore breeches with buttons which went to below the knees with woolen stockings underneath. Loose shirts sometimes with ruffles at neck and cuffs. Waistcoats over shirts. Boots or shoes.
Best suits and dresses were made of silk, brocade, and lace. Men's coats had shiny threads. Men and women wore wigs.
Men wore banyans, loose gowns, over their shirt and breeches, outdoors in the summer or inside anytime. Soft hats were often worn inside instead of wigs. Some wore cloaks over waistcoats. Hats were worn every day. Some were small, some had wide brims and some had 3 corners, tricorne. The working class wore plain wool.
Women's clothes were beautiful but impractical and uncomfortable. Dresses were long with several layers of petticoats. Women who worked in home or shops wore wool, linen, or cotton with aprons on top to protect them. Couldn't get them dirty because most ppl had 2 sets of clothes, one for weekdays and one for Sundays. Pockets were thru slits in skirt.
Wealthy word silk or brocade with lace ruffles at neck and cuffs. Small waists fashionable so corsets, called stays, under clothes laced tightly so they could barely breathe.
People paid a yearly fee to have their heads shaved, wigs powdered, curled and combed regularly. Women wore hooded cloaks to stay warm and dry. Muffs warmed their hands. A calash was collapsible and covered hair from wind and rain.
Dresses had low necklines, sleeves reaching elbows and frills coming out. Bodice is tight, stiff with whalebone, open to show embroidered stomacher. Petticoat under dress seen through open skirt. Pocket hoops under skirt. Wore clogs over shoes to protect from mud.
They traveled by boat, wagon, or stagecoach. They stayed at inns or taverns overnight. Taverns had dinner and entertainment, sometimes parties and balls.
Most didn't go far from home. Only gov officials, merchants, and planters traveled for business or pleasure. Best way to travel was on river, lake, or seacoast by boat. Travel on land was slow and hard. First roads were paths that followed old Indian trails. Had to travel by foot. They widened paths for travel with carts or wagons. Many wooden bridges could only be used on foot.
By mid-1700s roads improved for carriages or coaches w/4-8 horses. Stagecoaches took ppl to diff settlements. Open or covered wagons were for goods.
Inns and taverns offered food and lodging for stagecoach and riverboat passengers. Meals and hot drinks, then upstairs to unheated room in bed with 1 or 2 strangers. Rooms often had more than 1 bed, no lock, and slept 4-6. The few women travelers stayed with families in community. Slaves and servants slept in barn w/horses. Beds had straw mattresses on woven ropes. Sheets were rarely clean.
Colonists had little time for fun. They combined work with fun often. Raised houses, plowed fields, husked corn, sewed quilts, made cider. Plenty of food when work was done. Danced sometimes after meal. Did reels, jigs, and square dances. Many men helped with house raising. Women cooked a big meal.
The wealth had servants and slaves to do their work while they enjoyed reading, playing instruments, entertaining guests with charades, board games, card games, and chess. Had formal parties and danced the minuet. Williamsburg, Virginia had fancy parties and balls at Governor's Palace. Only the most imp ppl invited. Finest clothes and orchestra.
They celebrated some holidays but not like we do. They didn't take time off to celebrate Christmas. Some colonies forbid celebrating because they didn't think it was a Christian holiday. Later times had simple celebration with small gifts for kids, a few decorations, and special foods like plum pudding. Simple decor like fruit wreaths outside. Sometimes groups of ppl visited their friends and sang carols. They were invited in for a hot drink and refreshments.
When they came in from the fields, slaves gathered around campfire for stories and music and folktales with morals about good and evil. An older person told them. On Sundays they were with their families singing and playing music. They made drums with hollowed-out gourds or small barrels with goat or sheep skin. Bison horns for flutes, and dried animal bones as drumsticks. Struck cowbells with sticks. They sang spirituals, religious songs from America and African songs. Field workers often chanted rhythms to work at quick pace. They tied dried nuts, beans, and seeds onto a net and put around a dried gourd as instrument.
The last page was so jarring and completely unlike the rest of the book. The info was dropped suddenly and then switched to a whole page on prejudice, and how prejudice was developed against African Americans for the color of their skin, and a myth was created that Africans were inferior. It then went on to talk about Africans being segregated and suffering discrimination. The last paragraph informed the reader that prejudice hurts and isn't good, and asked the reader if we were prejudiced against anyone and if we've tried to be friends with them and asked how we can change it. It's a good message but this book wasn't about prejudice and I wish it had left off on wrapping up the colonial way of life.
This had so much great information that would help me in writing a colonial novel. I wish I owned this so I could have it with me to look at any time I needed it. I look forward to reading her other books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2017
This was a very educational book. I loved how it touched on both the average colonial person as well as the life of slaves. Going through all different points from clothing, chores, food, Christmas, and work.
September 29, 2015
My niece came over with her children and they had some of their school books. I read this short book about Colonial America and really enjoyed it.
November 21, 2025
Interesting look at how colonial Americans lived, with color pictures of "living history" people. Good way for kids to learn history.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews