Learn + Live Letter Level 3 Book List

Ancient Egypt

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• DK Findout! Ancient Egypt
• (-) Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book About Ancient Egypt by Gail Gibbons (or you can read it on OpenLibrary here)
• You Wouldn’t Want to Be Tutankhamen! by David Stewart

Optional additional reading:

• You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Pyramid Builder by Jacqueline Morley
• You Wouldn’t Want to Be an Egyptian Mummy by David Stewart
• Fractions in Disguise by Edward Einhorn
• Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke

Mesoamerica

• Honest History – Issue Eleven Journey Through the Jungle (use code LEARNANDLIVE15 for 15% off your purchase!)
• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Amazing Ancients! World of the Maya by Elaine A. Kule
• The Musician of the Sun by Gerald McDermott (or listen to this read aloud)
• A Sad Night: The Story of an Aztec Victory and a Spanish Loss by Sally Schofer Mathews (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Chocolate Tree (A Mayan Folktale) by Linda Lowery and Richard Keep
• Montezuma and the Fall of the Aztecs by Eric A. Kimmel (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The First Tortilla by Rudolfo Anaya
• Sir Cumference and the First Round Table by Cindy Neuschwander (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• (+) Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Lucas and His Loco Beans by Ramona Moreno Winner

China Unit

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• The Story of Chopsticks by Ying Chang Compestine (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• The Great Wall of China by Leonard Everett Fisher
• The Silk Princess by Charles Santore
• The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History by John S. Major (Listen to the book here or read it on Open Library here)
• Honest History, Issue Two | A Pirate’s Tale
• The Story of Kites: Amazing Chinese Inventions by Ying Chang Compestine (or read it here on OpenLibrary)

Optional additional reading:

• You Wouldn’t Want to Work on the Great Wall of China! by Jacqueline Morely
• Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China by Deborah Noyes

India Unit

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Honest History – Issue Ten: A Portrait of India (use code LEARNANDLIVE15 for 15% off your purchase!)
• One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Finders Keepers?: A Bus Trip in India by Robert Arnett
• The Secret Kingdom by Barb Rosenstock
• The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity by Amy Alznauer

Optional additional reading:

• Classic Tales from India: How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head and Other Stories by Vatsala Sperling and Harish Johari

Optional chapter books for the month:

• Angry River by Ruskin Bond
• Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• Girls of India: A Mauryan Adventure by Subhadra Sen Gupta
• The Teenage Diary of Jahanara by Subhadra Sen Gupta
• I am Gandhi: A Graphic Biography of a Hero by Brad Meltzer
• A Bagful of History by Subhadra Sen Gupta

Greece Unit

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Usborne Greeks by Susan Peach and Anne Millard (this book is only available used on Amazon or from other second-hand book stores, or you can read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Ancient Greece for Kids Through the Lives of its Philosophers, Lawmakers, and Heroes by Catherine Fet
• Mythology by Lady Hestia Evans (Note: This book is beautiful and has really interesting features, like fold-out pages and extra little books and notes attached. If you find it used, pay attention to its condition to be sure you get all the extras.)
• Archimedes: The Man Who Invented the Death Ray by Shoo Rayner

Optional additional reading:

• (+) Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bencick (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Where is the Parthenon? by Roberta Edwards

Ancient Rome

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Honest History – Story of an Empire Issue 4 – You can also purchase a digital copy of this magazine on their app. Use coupon code LEARNANDLIVE15 for 15% off your purchase.
• Usborne Starting Point History – Who were the Romans? by Phil Roxbee Cox (This book is out of print, so you an read here on OpenLibrary or shop local thrift stores.)
• Ancient Rome For Kids Through the Lives of its Heroes, Emperors and Philosophers by Catherine Fet
• Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D’Agnese (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• You Wouldn’t Want to Live in Pompeii by John Malam (or you can read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Ottavia and the Cats of Rome by Claudia Cerulli

Optional additional reading:

• Life as a Gladiator: An Interactive History Adventure by Michael Burgan

Optional chapter book:

• Roman Diary: The Journal of Iliona, a Young Slave by Richard Platt

France Unit

• World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections Castle by Richard Platt (or read this version on OpenLibrary)
• The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Coco Chanel – Little People, BIG DREAMS by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara (or listen to this read aloud) OR Along Came Coco by Eva Byrne
• Henri’s Scissors by Jeanette Winters (or read it here on OpenLibary or listen to this read aloud)
• Joseph Bologne Le Chevalier de Saint-George: The first black classical composer a.k.a. the black Mozart by Amélie-Mai Wright
• Crepes by Suzette by Monica Wellington (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)

Optional additional reading:

• Castle by David Macaulay (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• France Coloring Book
• History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Napoleon Bonaparte by Charles River Editors
• Marie Curie by Emma Fitzelle-Jones
• Marie Curie and the Power of Persistence: A (Mostly) True Story of Resilience and Overcoming Challenges by Karla Valenti

Optional chapter book:

• Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson

Kenya Unit

• How the Ostrich Got Its Long Neck: A Tale from the Akamba of Kenya, retold by Verna Aardema (or read it here on OpenLibrary
• Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson or (-)Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Botany: Plants, Cells and Photosynthesis by April Chloe Terrazas
• Only the Mountains Do Not Move: A Maasai Story of Culture and Conservation by Jan Reynolds (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Mama Panya’s Pancakes by Mary Chamberlin (or listen to this read aloud)
• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aadrema (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• My Brother is a Runner by Jin-ha Gong
• Flamingos by Jean Malone (or read it here on OpenLibrary) OR Amazing Animals: Flamingos by Kate Riggs
• Now Let Me Fly: The Story of a Slave Family by Dolores Johnson (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Serengeti Migration: Africa’s Animals on the Move by Lisa Lindblad (or read it here on OpenLibrary)

Optional additional reading:

• Don’t Let them Disappear by Chelsea Clinton
• Wildlife of East Africa by Martin B. Withers (or any book on the animals of East Africa)

Optional chapter book:

• When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed.

(-) Modification book options for younger siblings:

• We All Went on Safari by Laurie Krebs (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• For you are a Kenyan Child by Kelly Cunnane (or read it here on OpenLibrary)

Japan Unit

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham
• Honest History – Issue #16 The Way of the Samurai (Use discount code LEARNANDLIVE15 for 15% off the issue.) Note: Remember you can also purchase digital copies of the issue on their app.
• How to Live Like a Samurai Warrior Paperback by John Farndon
• (+)Samurai Castle by Fiona MacDonald (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• An Illustrated History of Japan by Shegeo Nishimura (This is an older book, no longer in publication. May be available at your local library, or you can listen to our read aloud here.)
• Japanese Children’s Favorite Stories by Florence Sakade
• Turtle Watch on OpenLibrary (Don’t purchase this book. It is out of print and very expensive.)
• Turtle, Watch Me Grow (or read on OpenLibrary)
• National Geographic Kids Mission: Sea Turtle Rescue: All About Sea Turtles and How to Save Them (NG Kids Mission: Animal Rescue) or any book about turtles from your local library.
• Kamishibai by Allen Say (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein (Listen to this read aloud)
• My First Book of Japanese Words An ABC Rhyming Book by Michelle Haney Brown (or listen to this YouTube read aloud)
• The Peace Tree from Hiroshima The Little Bonsai with a Big Story by Sandra Moore (or listen to this read aloud.)
• Under the Cherry Blossom Tree: An Old Japanese Tale by Allen Say (Or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Honda: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars by Mark Weston (or listen to this YouTube read aloud)
• Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa
• Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers by Gloria Whelan (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito (or listen to this YouTube read aloud)

Optional chapter books:

• Blue Fingers: A Ninja’s Tale by Cheryl Aylward Whitesel 
• The Old Man Mad About Drawing – A Tale of Hokusaiby Francois Place