Below are just a few of the wonderful resources for California History for grades four through eight.

Altman, Linda Jacobs. Amelia's Road. (1993) A vivid picture book and a good introduction to the lives of migrant workers in California's agricultural fields.

The Chumash People. (1991) Compiled by the staff of the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum this book is unparalleled as a teacher's resource guide on the Chumash people.

Chin, Steven A. When Justice Failed: The Fred Korematsu Story. (1992) After the United States declared war in 1941 few Japanese-Americans felt they had any options as they were interned. But Fred Korematsu knew better and fought for his constitutional rights all the way to the Supreme Court. And won! A great introduction to the California History Stories series.

Curry, Jane Louise. Back in the Beforetime: Tales of the California Indians. (1987) A compilation of twenty two California Indiand stories in a brief, readable format.

Cushman, Karen. The Ballad of Lucy Whipple. (1996) A fun and flavorful tale of the California gold fields and the women they made them home told through the eyes of a displaced New England lass.

Faber, Gail and Lasagna, Michele. Pasquala: The Story of a California Indian Girl. (1990) The heroine is torn between her feelings for the friars at the missions and her loyalty to her culture in this book set outside the Santa Ines Mission in the early nineteenth century. These two authors also have another story of a tenacious pioneer in Clara Rounds the Horn. (1997)

Fraser, Mary Ann. Ten Mile Day and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad. (1996) An illuminating discussion of both the hardships of building the railroad and the differences between the Chinese and Irish immigrants that did the job.

Gates, Doris. Blue Willow. (1976) This reprinting of ten-year-old Janey's tale as she moves from migrant camp to migrant camp is touching and memorable. The kind of story that sticks with children as they grow.

Goldin, Barbara Diamond. Red Means Good Fortune: A Story of San Francisco's Chinatown. (1994) Set in the late 1860's the short book touches on the much larger issues of the transcontinental railroad race and the kidnapping of young girls in China to be sold as slaves in America.

Herrera, Juan Felipe. Calling the Doves. (1995) Available in a bilingual version, the poet uses words to paint a picture just as bright as the florid illustrations in this book of his life growing up as a migrant worker.

Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki and Houston, James D. Farewell to Manzanar (1973) A poignant novel telling the story of the author's childhood internment in the World War II camp at Manzanar.

Hyding, Alan A. and Still Mark S. California Historymakers. (1995) Short, readable biographies of famous Californians from Ishi to Cesar Chavez.

Kroeber, Theodora. Ishi: Last of his Tribe. (1973)Kroeber tells the story of Ishi through his own eyes as he realizes his tribe, the Yahi, are dead, and so is his way of life. This book touches on anthropological issues as well as those of responsibility. Another well illustrated book on this topic is Ishi: America's Last Stone Age Indian by Richard Burrill (1990).

Lattimore, Deborah Nourse. Frida Maria. (1994) A particuarly enchanting and visually pleasing tale of the days when Los Angeles was Olvera Street. The story gives a peek into the family life, but also pleasingly presents another interpretation of appropriate gender roles.

Laurgaard, Rachel K. Patty Reed's Doll: The Story of the Donner Party. (1984) Through the eyes of eight-year-old Patty Reed's doll the reader (1985) travels along with the Donner Party on its ill-fated expedition in1846. A well-written account that avoids some of the more sordid events on the trip.

Leland, Dorothy Kupcha. Sallie Fox: The Story of a Pioneer Girl. (1995) A well-researched and exciting account of a wagon train ordeal in 1858 and the trail to California.

Levitin, Sonia. Nine for California (1996), Boom Town (1998), Taking Charge (1999) This appealing and exciting trio of books depicts life for one ingenious girl and her family in a mining town very like the ghost town Bodie.

Levy, Joann. They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush. (1992) Levy's book is an easily read mix of narrative and diaries describing the life of women in California after the gold discovery in 1849. Some discussions of early prostitution would be inappropriate for younger children, but the chapter is easily avoided.

Lewis, Donovan. Pioneers of California: True Stories of Early Settlers in the Golden State. (1993) A praiseworthy effort at depicting through individual biography the events and interactions of the early lives of the pioneers. Very readable rendition.

Mayfield, Thomas Jefferson. Adopted by Indians: A True Story. (1997) A retelling of the longer memoir Indian Summer which explores the life of this author when he was adopted by San Joaquin Valley Indians after his mother's death.

Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us. (1993) A thoughtful examination of the World War Two internment camps through the vehicle of baseball and the youngsters who played it on those hot dusty camp diamonds.

Nechodom, Kerry. The Rainbow Bridge: A Chumash Legend. (1992) Haunting watercolors bring to life the Chumash tale of creation with Hutash and Sky Snake. Another version with lovely illustrations is Audrey Wood's The Rainbow Bridge: Inspired by a Chumash Tale. (1995)

O'Brien, Elaine. Anita of Rancho Del Mar. ( 1991) A vibrant and frisky girl rides across the rancho of her family in the days of the Californios and over the land of Ventura County.

O'Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins. (1999) Newbury Medal winning fictionalized account of a girl stranded on the California Channel Islands for eighteen years when her tribe leaves. Can be examined in greater depth with the accompanying biographical study, by Rice D. Oliver, Lone Woman of Ghalas- Hat. Also by O'Dell: Carlota. (1977) Set in California during the Mexican-American War it explores the Battlle of San Pasqual and its effects on one Spanish family.

Politi, Leo. Song of the Swallows. (1987 ) Caldecott Medal winner this enchanting picture book tells the story of the swallows and their yearly migration back to the mission at San Juan Capistrano.

Riedman, Marianne. The Adventures of Phokey the Sea Otter. (1996) At first glance this is a bequiling story of a little sea otter, but it contains much more including map reading, natural history and humankind's environmental efforts.

Robinson, Deidre. Open hands, Open Heart. (1998) Born a slave Biddy Mason overcame many obstacles on her way to freedom, becoming a real estate mogul and founding the AME Church.

Ross, Lillian Bos. The Stranger in Big Sur. (1942) Blaze Allan. (1944) This book and its sequel tell the story of growing up in the Santa Lucia mountains in the late nineteenth century.

Ryan, Pam Munoz. Riding Freedom. (1998) An engaging and fictionalized version of the life of female stagecoach driver, Charlie Parkhurst.

San Souci, Robert D. Two Bear Cubs. (1997) Lushly illustrated version of two bear cubs caught above El Capitan in Yosemite Valley from the Miwok tale.

Smith, Sarah Bixby. Adobe Days. (1987) Set in the late nineteenth century this story portrays a seven year old girl in frontier Los Angeles reminiscing about her family's trek across country to the city in 1853.

Tokuda, Wendy and Hall, Richard. Humphrey, the Lost Whale. (1992) An accurate and beautifully illustrated rendering of the true story of the humpback whale who got lost in the California Delta. A fun story with accurate scientific detail.

Uchida, Yoshiko. The Bracelet. (1996) A picture book exploration of the Japanese relocation camps during World War II through the eyes of its seven year old protaganist. The Invisible Thread. (1995) In this more complicated memoir for slightly older children, the author examines a second-graders forced internment in the relocation camp at Topaz, Utah.

Weidt, Maryann N. Mr. Blue Jeans: A Story of Levi Strauss. (1990) The rags to riches tale of a Jewish peddlar who gives blue jeans to the gold camps and to the world.

Wilcox, John. The Chumash though a Child's Eyes. (1997) Lovely picture book juxtaposing the life of a Chumash child on the left side with the life of a twentieth century child on the right. A great beginning to discussion.

Wong, Jade Snow. Fifth Chinese Daughter. (1989) Autobiographical look at the life of a Chinese-American girl growing up in San Francisco in the first half of the twentieth century.