"The Declaration’s Journey" Reading List: Young Readers Edition

For over 250 years, the Declaration of Independence has inspired people in the United States and around the world to reflect on what it means for a country to be founded on the ideals of fairness, equality, and self-government. In the Museum’s newest special exhibition, The Declaration’s Journey, presented by Griffin Catalyst, the impact of the Declaration is explored beyond the Revolutionary Era into the 21st century, through words and stories understandable to all generations. For this reason, we have pulled together 10 books for young learners from kindergarten to high school to inspire the next generation to keep the promises of the Declaration alive for the next 250 years.

Revolutionary Mary (1776) 
Written by Karen Blumenthal and Jen McCartney
Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley 
Ages 6-8 

Born in 1738, Mary Katharine Goddard took over her brother’s printing shop and used her skills in the fight against the British. In 1776, Mary was asked to print the Declaration of Independence and became the only woman whose name is on the Declaration. 

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Lafayette and the American Revolution (France) 
Written by Russell Freedman 
Ages 8-12 

The Marquis de Lafayette left France joined the American Revolution at nineteen years old. Despite his lack of experience, he earned the respect the respect of his fellow officers, and played a key role in the Revolution and its success. 

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Blades of Freedom (Haiti) 
Written by Nathan Hale  
Ages 8-12 

In this graphic novel, discover the story of the Haitian Revolution. Enslaved people organized in Haiti under the leadership of François Mackandal, Dutty Boukman, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and Touissant L’Ouverture, who in 1791 led the largest uprising of enslaved people in history. 

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The Life of Frederick Douglass: A Graphic Narrative of a Slave's Journey from Bondage to Freedom (Civil War)
Written by Written by David F. Walker
Illustrated by Damon Smyth and Marissa Louise 
Ages 12-18 

Learn about Douglass’s life, from his escape from enslavement to his influence as a speaker and abolitionist during the Civil War and beyond. This graphic novel is told from Douglass’s point of view and based on his own writings, and features additional background on the history of slavery in the United States, the development of photography, and the Civil War. 

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Two Friends: Susan B Anthony and Frederick Douglass (Civil War/Suffrage)
Written by Dean Robbins
Illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selena Alko 
Ages 4-8 

 This book portrays suffragette Susan B. Anthony and her friend, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, as they get together for tea and conversation. They discuss their similar stories fighting to win rights for women and African Americans.  

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Elizabeth Leads the Way (Suffrage) 
Written by Tanya Lee Stone
Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon 
Ages 6-8 

Elizabeth Cady Stanton stood up and fought for what she believed in. From an early age, she knew that women were not given rights equal to men. Rather than accept her lesser status, Elizabeth fought to gain women the right to vote. 

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Grandfather Ghandhi (India) 
Written by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus
Illustrated by Evan Turk 
Ages 4-8 

Arun Gandhi travels with his family to Grandfather Gandhi’s village. When an older boy pushes him on the soccer field, his anger fills him in a way that surely a true Gandhi could never imagine. Can Arun ever live up to the Mahatma? Will he ever make his grandfather proud? 

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March On (Martin Luther King, Jr.) 
Written by Christine King Farris
Illustrated by London Ladd
Ages 6-8 

On a hot August day in 1963, hundreds of thousands of people made history when they marched into Washington, D.C., in search of equality. Martin Luther King, Jr., was one of them, giving the famed “I Have a Dream” speech. Written by his sister, this book is moving account of what that day was like for her, and for the man who made history.

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Troublemaker for Justice (Bayard Rustin) 
Written by Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, and Michael G. Long
Ages 12-18 

Bayard Rustin was a major figure in the Civil Rights movement, mentoring Martin Luther King, Jr. and organizing the March on Washington. This biography traces Rustin’s life, from his childhood and his first arrest in high school for sitting in the “whites only” section of a theater, through a lifetime of nonviolent activism.

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Unshakeable Eleanor (United Nations) 
Written by Michelle Markel
Illustrated by Alejandro Mesa
Ages 4-8 

Before she became First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt was a girl trying to find her voice, but found it helping others. When her husband, Franklin, became president, she worked with—and learned from—leaders of marginalized groups, using her standing to fight for workers, women, and people of color.

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