This week for Children's Book Monday, if you have a girl who can read chapter books, I would recommend the American girl books.  This historical fiction series is a wonderful way to introduce American history through the eyes of 9 different girl characters. My daughter just finished the first 6 books based on a Native American girl named Kaya. 

We read the first two together and then she went ahead and read the rest on her own.  We did this as part of a homeschool "American Girls" book club.  For 6 weeks, J. read a Kaya book and then did projects based on the stories with a group of girls on Fridays.  The lessons were taught by my friend Sarah and I was her assistant.  She did a great job!  The class really made the Kaya books and Native American history come alive for us.

Here's a few projects J. made in her American Girl class to go along with the Kaya books:

A bead bracelet:

A teepee:

A travois:

A corn husk doll:

(On a side note:  Sometimes the characters in the American Girls books do something disobedient or foolish, but if you read them with your daughter, they can create great discussions and they have a good message/lesson in the end.)

Please visit my friend Elise's Children's Book Monday for more great book selections.  This week, she also suggested we share library tips, so here's a few of mine:

*Use a double stroller to keep all your books in (as you browse)

*Go with a list of books in hand, call numbers written down for easy access, and books checked online to find out if they are already on the shelf.  Put books on hold for future check out or use interlibrary loan for those not found in the catalog.  It is a great resource that most libraries have.

*Preview the books your kids want to checkout of their own free choosing.

*If getting a large number of specific books for your homeschool, I suggest going alone.  Otherwise, I think it is good for mom to take the kids along and help them choose good books that interest them.

Happy Reading!