Richard of Jamestown by James Otis (PDF ebook) – A wonderful, highly readable chapter book by James Otis, chronicling the adventures of Richard, a young boy who sails to the new world with the colonists who founded Jamestown. His stories of the hardships and adventures faced by the Jamestown settlers, told from the viewpoint of a young boy, make this great reading for the Fall season. Don’t miss this!
from the foreword:
The purpose of this series of stories is to show the children, and even those who have already taken up the study of history, the home life of the colonists with whom they meet in their books. To this end every effort has been made to avoid anything savoring of romance, and to deal only with facts, so far as that is possible, while describing the daily life of those people who conquered the wilderness whether for conscience sake or for gain.
That the stories may appeal more directly to the children, they are told from the viewpoint of a child, and purport to have been related by a child. Should any criticism be made regarding the seeming neglect to mention important historical facts, the answer would be that these books are not sent out as histories—although it is believed that they will awaken a desire to learn more of the building of the nation—and only such incidents as would be particularly noted by a child are used.
Surely it is entertaining as well as instructive for young people to read of the toil and privations in the homes of those who came into a new world to build up a country for themselves, and such homely facts are not to be found in the real histories of our land.
To download this PDF ebook, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your computer!
Thank you!
My child is studying Jamestown right now, this is perfect! Thanks!
Books like these can be such a good way to interest kids in history. Thank you, Erskine family.
Thank you so much for sharing these.
These look wonderful! Thank you!!
We are studying early American history, thank you for the resource!
Just got a Nook Color for storing our hs e texts – great additions!
Thank you so much we love you and pray many blessings on your family that is forsure. God bless AnneP
My boys will LOVE the whistling resource! I'll love having them practice OUTSIDE!
I have a Jamestown unit study planned for the end of the month. This will complement nicely. Thanks.
Andy my 8 yr old will love the whistling mp3. He's really learning to do whistle.
Just wanted to thank you all for such great resources!! We so enjoy all the great materials you send our way.
Thank you!! We've enjoyed using your freebies for several years now and the kids LOVE them!
These are wonderful! Thank you! I can't wait to play the whistling MP3 for my girls. They will love it!
Thanks!!!
Thanks so much for all the wonderful resources. What a blessing!!
I am so thankful for all of these treasures that you send out each week. We are truly blessed.
This makes me feel special!! Thank you!!
Thank you for making these special items available. I really appreciate it!
Thank you for such great homeschool resources; God bless you for all you do to help us train our children and teach them at home.
Thank you so much ~ I look forward to meeting up with you every day and to be blessed by your resources! You are a great encouragement to me! Keep up the great work!
Very nice. Thank you! I really appreciate all the freebies you provide.
They are right God bless you for helping us make our bright children even smarter!!!
We really appreciate all the wonderful resources you find for us!
Thank you. Your gifts reach farther than you know.
Thank you very much!!
Kathy
The Erskine Family never fails to disappoint! THANK YOU for all the fun you've provided us over the years!
Thank you so very much for these! My children, ages 12 to 6 love these, and usually ask me, "Hey Dad, what was today's and did we get it?' How can you argue with a child that wants to learn?
Wow! There is some difference in perception of historical identity in cultures!
I’m not a homeschooler in the formal sense. In India, there is no such concept, but still, I believe that character is built by parents. I subscribe to HSFOTD because these resources are so amazing, can help any child, give me a glimpse of books that children of other eras read (& I love books) & obviously because you’re so generous!
I want to mention that you guys take the early settlers so positively!
If there were a book, say, about the British who came & landed at Calcutta, I doubt that there would be such enthusiastic response ! We Indians as a rule view the colonization as invasion & dignity-destruction, & very grudgingly accept the contributions of that system to the shaping of modern India.
This is just a viewpoint, & I DO NOT MEAN TO OFFEND ANYONE
This is a wonderful book!! I downloaded it from a previous time you offered it. The children would beg for one more chapter. We would listen to the audio while following along with the text or I would print out the pictures for them to color as they listened. We love these types of resources. Thank you.
Shreela, I agree with you 100%. The problem for the people who run this site is that they are very restricted and mostly use older texts that are out of copyright — that’s why the books are free.
Native peoples and black people were seldom represented positively in older texts, and the older history books did not consider the other side of colonization. I use library books and also buy books as my budget allows, so that I can provide my children with some balance. It’s important for 21st century home educators to do this.
However, despite those caveats, I think that older texts have higher level language and a simple charm that can make them a useful addition to the home library. So I am grateful to the Erskines for providing them.
BTW, there are a few homeschoolers in India!
Thank you so much for your wonderful work and for your wonderful site.
Thank you for all of your freebies!