Literacy Promotion





The Literacy Promotion Committee, first established in 1989, is to promote adult literacy and involvement in literacy programs for children and adults. This committee’s goal is to Shine a Light on Literacy as we examine the causes of illiteracy and how we can help fulfill the objectives of this committee.

Here is a list of recommended readings!

For more information, please reach out to Serena Bell, Chapter Librarian

Children’s Books about the Revolutionary War

  • I am George Washington (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer

  • Revolutionary War on Wednesday by Mary Pope Osborne

  • A Revolutionary Field Trip: Poems of Colonial America by Susan Katz

  • George Washington: The First President by Sarah Albee

  • Patriots in Petticoats by Shirley-Raye Redmond

  • What Was the Boston Tea Party? By Kathleen Krull

  • Who Was George Washington? By Roberta Edwards

  • Who Was Alexander Hamilton? By Pam Pollack

  • Who Was Betsy Ross? By James Buckley Jr

  • Who Was Paul Revere? By Roberta Edwards

  • Who Was Thomas Jefferson? By Dennis Fradin

  • Who Was Ben Franklin? By Dennis Fradin

  • Lafayette! A Revolutionary War Tale by Nathan Hale

  • The Boy Who Carried the Flag by Jana Carson

  • Hanukkah at Valley Forge by Stephen Krensky

  • Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady

Young Adult Books about the Revolutionary War

  • Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

  • Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes

  • Hamilton & Peggy: A Revolutionary Friendship by LM Elliott

  • Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

  • My Brother Sam is Dead by Christopher Collier

  • I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

  • Sophia’s War by Avi

  • The Fighting Ground by Avi

  • George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff

  • April Morning by Howard Fast

  • The Winter of Red Snow by Kristiana Gregory

Biographies of Founding Fathers (and their families)

  • Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America by Catherine Kerrison

  • Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar J. Mazzeo

  • Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

  • Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

  • You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe

  • John Marshall by Richard Brookhiser

  • James Madison by Richard Brookhiser

  • George Washington on Leadership by Richard Brookhiser

  • The First Congress by Fergus Bordewich

  • Jefferson and Hamilton by John Ferling

  • James Madison by Lynne Cheney

Books about Black Revolutionary Heroes & Figures

  • Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence by Alan Gilbert

  • Standing in Their Own Light: African American Patriots in the American Revolution by Judith van Buskirk

  • Death or Liberty: African Americans and Revolutionary America by Douglas R Egerton

  • From Slaves to Soldiers: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution by Robert Geake

  • The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution by William Cooper Neil

  • Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution by Gretche Woelfle

  • America's Black Founders: Revolutionary Heroes & Early Leaders with 21 Activities by Nancy Sanders

Adult Books about the Suffrage Movement in the U.S.

  • Suffragists in Washington D.C. by Rebecca Boggs Roberts

  • Why They Marched by Susan Ware

  • The Woman’s Hour by Elaine Weiss

  • The Women’s Suffrage Movement by Sally Roesch Wagner

  • Victory for the Vote by Doris Weatherford

  • After the Vote Was Won by Katherine H Adams and Michael L Keene

  • Votes for Women! By Winifred Conkling

  • Roses and Radicals: The Epic Story of How American Women Won the Right to Vote by Susan Zimet

  • And Yet They Persisted: How American Women Won the Right to Vote by Johanna Neuman

  • Gilded Suffragists: The New York Socialites who Fought for Women's Right to Vote by Johanna Neuman

  • A Woman's Crusade: Alice Paul and the Battle for the Ballot by Mary Walton

  • Sisters: The Lives of America's Suffragists by Jean H Baker

  • Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women's Rights Movement by Sally McMillen

Children’s Books about the Suffrage Movement in the U.S.

  • Camilla Can Vote: Celebrating the Centennial of Women's Right to Vote by Mary Morgan Ketchel and Marsha Blackburn

  • Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote by Kirsten Gillibrand

  • Marching with Aunt Susan: Susan B. Anthony and the Fight for Women's Suffrage by Claire Rudolf Murphy

  • Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone

  • A Lady Has the Floor: Belva Lockwood Speaks Out for Women's Rights by Kate Hannigan

  • Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote by Barb Rosenstock

  • Miss Paul and the President: The Creative Campaign for Women's Right to Vote by Dean Robbins

  • I Could Do That!: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote by Linda Arms White

  • Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles by Mara Rockliff

  • What Is the Women's Rights Movement? By Deborah Hopkinson

  • Who Was Susan B. Anthony? By Pam Pollack

  • Susan B. Anthony: Fighter for Women's Rights by Deborah Hopkinson

  • Rightfully Ours: How Women Won the Vote, 21 Activities by Kerrie Logan Hollihan

  • If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights by Anne Kamma

  • History Smashers: Women’s Right to Vote by Kate Messner

  • How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

  • The Voice that Won the Vote: How One Woman's Words Made History by Elisa Boxer

  • The Woman’s House (Young Readers Edition) by Elaine Weiss

Books About Women in the Revolutionary War

  • Abigail Adams: A Life by Woody Holton

  • Martha Washington: An American Life by Patricia Brady

  • First Ladies of the Republic by Jeanne Adams

  • Women Heroes of the American Revolution: 20 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Defiance, and Rescue by Susan Casey

  • Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence by Carol Berkin

  • Following the Drum: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment by Nancy Loane

  • Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts


Adult Historical Fiction Novels Set During the Revolution

  • I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott

  • Patriot Harts by Barbara Hambly

  • Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Galbadon

  • The Rebels by John Jakes

  • The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss

  • Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D Edmonds

  • The Crossing by Howard Fast

  • Bunker Hill by Howard Fast

  • The Hornet’s Nest by Jimmy Carter

Books about the U.S. Constitution

  • A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution by Carol Berkin

  • America’s Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Reed Amar

  • Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 by Pauline Maier

  • The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution by David O Stewart

  • The Framers' Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution by Michael J Klarman

  • The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison by James Madison, Edward J Larson, and Michael P Winship

  • American Epic: Reading the U.S. Constitution by Garrett Epps

  • How to Read the Constitution and Why by Kim Wehle

  • The Constitution Today by Akhil Reed Amar

Children’s Books about the U.S. Flag

  • F is for Flag by Wendy Cheyette Lewison

  • Why Are There Stripes on the American Flag? By Martha E.H. Rustad

  • I’m Your Flag So Please Treat Me Right by Julia Cook

  • Our Flag Was Still There by Jessie Hartland

  • Red, White, and Blue by John Herman

  • Long May She Wave by Kit Hinrichs

  • America’s Flag Story by Karen Robbins

  • Our Flag by Carl Memling

  • American Symbols: What You Need to Know by Melissa Ann Ferguson

Books About Genealogical Research/Tips

  • Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com: How to Find Your Family History on the #1 Genealogy Website by Nancy Hendrickson

  • Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide by Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer

  • The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-and-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors by Marsha Hoffman Rising

  • The Family Tree Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Uncovering Your Ancestry and Researching Genealogy by Kenyatta Berry

  • Genealogy for Dummies

Books About Leadership, Especially for Non-Profits

  • Good to Great for the Social Sector by Jim Collins

  • Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen

  • The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger

  • Start with Why By Simon Sinek

  • Steward Leadership in the Nonprofit Organization by Kent Wilson

  • Forces for Good by Leslie R Crutchfield

  • The Volunteer Management Handbook by Tracy Connors

  • Connect: How to Double Your Number of Volunteers by Nelson Searcy

Books about the American Indian in American History

  • The American Revolution in Indian Country: Crisis and Diversity in Native American Communities by Colin Calloway

  • Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia by Woody Holton

  • The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation by Colin Calloway

  • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown

  • The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West by Peter Cozzens

  • The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andres Resendez

  • Navajos Wear Nikes: A Reservation Life by Jim Kristofic

Adult Books About George Washington

  • Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

  • You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe

  • Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Phillbrick

  • His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis

  • Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner

  • Washington’s End by Jonathan Horn

  • The First Conspiracy: The Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer

  • George Washington’s Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade

  • The Indian World of George Washington by Colin Calloway

  • In the Hurricane’s Eye by Nathaniel Phillbrick

  • Young Washington by Peter Stark

Adult Books About Abraham Lincoln

  • Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

  • The Lincoln Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer

  • Lincoln by David Herbert Donald

  • Every Drop of Blood by Edward Achorn

  • Lincoln on the Verge by Ted Widmer

  • With Malice Towards None by Stephen B Oates

  • The Problem with Lincoln by Thomas di Lorenzo

  • Lincoln’s Melancholy by Joshua Wolf Shenk

  • Lincoln’s Battle with God by Stephen Mansfield

Books About DC History

  • Suffragists in Washington DC by Rebecca Boggs Roberts

  • Chocolate City by Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove

  • Madness in the City of Magnificent Intentions by Martin Summers

  • A History Lover’s Guide to DC by Alison Fortier

  • Empire of Mud by JD Dickey

  • Washington: A History of our National City by Tom Lewis

  • Grand Avenues by Scott Berg

Books about DC For Kids

  • Good Night Washington DC by Adam Gamble

  • Night-Night Washington DC by Katherine Sully

  • All Aboard! Washington DC by Haily Meyers

  • Hello, Washington DC by Martha Zschock

  • Larry Loves Washington DC by John Skewes

  • Journey Around Washington DC From A-Z by Martha Zshock

  • Larry Gets Lost in Washington DC by John Skewes

  • Washington DC From A-Z by Alan Schroeder

  • Mr. Bodding’s Studio: Washington DC ABCs by Mr Boddington’s Studio

  • Madeline at the White House by John Bemelmans Marciano

  • On the Loose in Washington DC by Sage Stossel

  • My Little Golden Book About the White House by Jen Arena

  • Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out by NCBLA

  • First Garden: The White House Garden and How It Grew by Robbin Gourley

  • Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President by Charlotte Pence

  • Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Nation’s Capital by Charlotte Pence

Novels That Feature the DAR

  • The Famous DAR Murder Mystery by Graham Landrum

  • A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

  • Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Graphic Novels About the American Founding

  • One Dead Spy by Nathan Hale

  • Lafayette! By Nathan Hale

  • Alexander Hamilton by Jonathan Hennessey