Dear America

''Dear America'' is a series of historical fiction novels for children published by Scholastic starting in 1996. By 1998, the series had 12 titles with 3.5 million copies in print. The series was canceled in 2004 with its final release, ''Hear My Sorrow''. However, it was relaunched in the fall of 2010. Each book is written in the form of a diary of a young woman's life during important events or time periods in American history. The ''Dear America'' series covers a wide range of topics, including: the Pilgrims' journey to the New World, the Salem Witch Trials, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, western expansion, slavery, immigration, nineteenth-century prairie life, the California Gold Rush of 1849, the Great Depression, Native Americans' experiences, racism, coal mining, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the fight for women's suffrage, the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'', the Battle of the Alamo, the Vietnam War, and more. The breadth of historical topics covered in these books through fiction makes the Dear America series a favorite teaching device of history schoolteachers around the country. The re-launch series and releases contain a new cover style and different pictures of the main characters than those of the original releases. Originally all the books had a ribbon inserted as a bookmark for the books but were removed in the later releases. Several of the stories were filmed and released on videotape.

Original series

There are thirty-six books in the original ''Dear America'' series:

*'' A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620'' by Kathryn Lasky (1996)
*''The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777'' by Kristiana Gregory (1996)
* ''When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864'' by Barry Denenberg (1996)
*'' A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, Virginia, 1859'' by Patricia McKissack (1997)
*''Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847'' by Kristiana Gregory (1997)
*''So Far from Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847'' by Barry Denenberg (1997)
*'' I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865'' by Joyce Hansen (1997)
*''West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883'' by Jim Murphy (1998)
*''Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903'' by Kathryn Lasky (1998)
*'' Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catherine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763'' by Mary Pope Osborne (1998)
*'' Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, RMS Titanic, 1912'' by Ellen Emerson White (1998)
*''A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence, Gonzales, Texas, 1836'' by Sherry Garland (1998)
*'' My Heart Is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880'' by Ann Rinaldi (1999)
*''The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory, 1868'' by Kristiana Gregory (1999)
*''A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, Fenwick Island, Delaware, 1861'' by Karen Hesse (1999)
*'' The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864'' by Ann Turner (1999)
*''A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska, Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896'' by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (2000)
*'' Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, The Great Migration North, Chicago, Illinois, 1919'' by Patricia McKissack (2000)
*''One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York, 1938'' by Barry Denenberg (2000)
*''My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York, 1941'' by Mary Pope Osborne (2000)
*''Valley of the Moon: The Diary Of Maria Rosalia de Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta California, 1846'' by Sherry Garland (2001)
*''Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory, 1849'' by Kristiana Gregory (2001)
*''Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1932'' by Kathryn Lasky (2001)
*''Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, Hawaii, 1941'' by Barry Denenberg (2001)
*''My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska, 1881'' by Jim Murphy (2001)
*''Where Have All the Flowers Gone? The Diary of Molly MacKenzie Flaherty, Boston, Massachusetts, 1968'' by Ellen Emerson White (2002)
*''A Time for Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C., 1917'' by Kathryn Lasky (2002)
*''Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, Perkins School for the Blind, 1932'' by Barry Denenberg (2002)
*''Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards, Dalhart, Texas, 1935'' by Katelan Janke (2002)
*''When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer, New York City to the Western Front, 1917'' by Beth Seidel Levine (2002)
*''Land of the Buffalo Bones: The Diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, an English Girl in Minnesota, New Yeovil, Minnesota, 1873'' by Marion Dane Bauer (2002)
*''Love Thy Neighbor: The Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson, Green Marsh, Massachusetts, 1774'' by Ann Turner (2003)
*''All the Stars in the Sky: The Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder, The Santa Fe Trail, 1848'' by Megan McDonald (2003)
*''Look to the Hills: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl, New York Colony, 1763'' by Patricia McKissack (2004)
*''I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691'' by Lisa Rowe Fraustino (2004)
*''Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker, New York City, 1909'' by Deborah Hopkinson (2004)

2010 Re-launch

The Dear America series was relaunched in September 2010 with their first new book since 2004, ''The Fences Between Us'' by Kirby Larson, set during World War II, as well as re-releases of earlier books. New books for 2011 include ''Like the Willow Tree'', ''Cannons at Dawn'' (the sequel to ''The Winter of Red Snow'' and the first sequel in the series), ''With the Might of Angels'', ''Behind the Masks'', ''A City Tossed and Broken'', and ''Down the Rabbit Hole''. There have also been new editions of several earlier books released in 2011.

Books in the relaunched Dear America series:
*''A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620'' by Kathryn Lasky (September 2010)
*''The Winter of Red Snow: The Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777'' by Kristiana Gregory (September 2010)
*''The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941'' by Kirby Larson (September 2010)
*''Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, RMS Titanic, 1912'' by Ellen Emerson White (November 2010)
*''A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, Virginia, 1859'' by Patricia McKissack (January 2011)
*''Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce, Portland, Maine, 1918'' by Lois Lowry (January 2011)
*''A Light in the Storm: The Diary of Amelia Martin, Fenwick Island, Delaware, 1861'' by Karen Hesse (March 2011)
*''When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864'' by Barry Denenberg (April 2011)
*''Cannons at Dawn: The Second Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1779'' by Kristiana Gregory (May 2011)
*''Standing in the Light: The Diary of Catharine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763'' by Mary Pope Osborne (May 2011)
*''I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865'' by Joyce Hansen (July 2011)
*''With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954'' by Andrea Davis Pinkney (September 2011)
*''I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691'' by Lisa Rowe Fraustino (September 2011)
*''Behind the Masks: The Diary of Angeline Reddy, Bodie, California, 1880'' by Susan Patron (January 2012)
*''Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Diary of Hattie Campbell, The Oregon Trail, 1847'' by Kristiana Gregory (April 2012)
*''Christmas After All: The Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1932'' by Kathryn Lasky (September 2012)
*''A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco, California, 1906'' by Judy Blundell (March 2013)
*''Down the Rabbit Hole: The Diary of Pringle Rose, Chicago, Illinois, 1871'' by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (March 2013)
*''Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker, New York City, 1909'' by Deborah Hopkinson (January 2014)

Spin-offs

Three other book series, like Dear America, were also published by Scholastic:

* My Name is America, a series of fictional journals of young men during American history
* My America, a series of fictional diaries of young children during American history
* The Royal Diaries, a series of fictional journals about the teenage years of famous royal women throughout world history.

Most of the "America" or "Royal" diaries are women and girls experiences.

In addition, several of Scholastic's international divisions have published series inspired by the Dear America series:

* Dear Canada, published by Scholastic Canada
* I Am Canada, published by Scholastic Canada
* My Story published by Scholastic UK. This series re-publishes at least three of the Dear America books: ''A Journey to the New World'' (as ''Mayflower''), ''A Picture of Freedom'' (as ''Slave Girl''), and ''Voyage on the Great Titanic''.
*My Australian Story published by Scholastic Australia
* My Story published by Scholastic New Zealand
*Dear India and A Princess's Diary published by Scholastic India

Other, Non-Scholastic series, spin-offs include:
*Diarios Mexicanos published by Planeta (Spanish only)
* Mon Histoire published by Gallimard jeunesse (French only)

References

External links

Scholastic's ''Dear America'' website
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*{{IMDb title, qid=Q123537245, title=Dear America: Color Me Dark

Series of children's books
Children's historical novels
American children's novels
American historical novels
Fictional diaries
Novels set in the United States
Children's books set in the United States