Dear America books in order

The Dear America series presents American history through fictional diaries of young girls living through major events, from the Mayflower voyage to the Civil Rights era.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 1996 Lois Lowry Buy
2 Winter Of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary Of Abigail Jane Stewart 1996 Lois Lowry Buy
3 When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864 1996 Lois Lowry Buy
4 A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, Virginia ~ 1859 1997 Lois Lowry N/A
5 A Picture Of Freedom 1997 Lois Lowry Buy
6 Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell ~ 1847 1997 Lois Lowry N/A
7 So Far From Home: the Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847 2003 Lois Lowry Buy
8 I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865 1997 Lois Lowry Buy
9 West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi 1998 Lois Lowry Buy
10 Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 1998 Lois Lowry Buy
11 Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763 1998 Lois Lowry Buy
12 Stationery Pack 1998 Lois Lowry Buy
13 Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic 1912 1998 Lois Lowry Buy
14 A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence 1998 Lois Lowry Buy
15 My Heart is on the Ground: the Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880 1999 Lois Lowry N/A
16 My Heart is on the Ground 1999 Lois Lowry Buy
17 The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory 1868 1999 Lois Lowry Buy
18 A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin 1999 Lois Lowry Buy
19 The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl 1999 Lois Lowry Buy
20 A Coal Miner’s Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska, Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896 2000 Lois Lowry Buy
21 Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North 2000 Lois Lowry Buy
22 One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York 1938 2000 Lois Lowry Buy
23 My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York 1941 2000 Lois Lowry Buy
24 Valley of the Moon: The Diary of María Rosalía de Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta Valley, California, 1846, 2001 Lois Lowry Buy
25 Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory 1849 2001 Lois Lowry Buy
26 Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana 1932 2001 Lois Lowry Buy
27 Early Sunday Morning: the Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, Hawaii, 1941 1998 Lois Lowry Buy
28 My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska 1881 2001 Lois Lowry Buy
29 My Secret War : The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck 2002 Lois Lowry Buy
30 Where Have All the Flowers Gone? The Diary of Molly MacKenzie Flaherty, Boston, Massachusetts ~ 1968 2002 Lois Lowry N/A
31 A Time for Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C. 1917 2002 Lois Lowry Buy
32 Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, The Perkins School for the Blind, 1932 2002 Lois Lowry Buy
33 Where Have All the Flowers Gone? 2002 Lois Lowry Buy
34 Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards, Dalhart, Texas 1935 2002 Lois Lowry Buy
35 When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer 2002 Lois Lowry Buy
36 Land of the Buffalo Bones: The Diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, An English Girl in Minnesota 2003 Lois Lowry Buy
37 Love Thy Neighbor: The Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson 2003 Lois Lowry Buy
38 Love Thy Neighbor: The Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson, Green Marsh, Massachusetts ~ 1774 2003 Lois Lowry N/A
39 All the Stars in the Sky: The Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder, The Santa Fe Trail ~ 1848 2003 Lois Lowry N/A
40 All the Stars in the Sky 2003 Lois Lowry Buy
41 Look to the Hills: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl, New York Colony 1763 2004 Lois Lowry Buy
42 I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691 2004 Lois Lowry Buy
43 Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker, New York City 1909 2004 Lois Lowry Buy
44 The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941 2010 Lois Lowry Buy
45 Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce, Portland, Maine ~ 1918 2011 Lois Lowry N/A
46 Cannons at Dawn: The Second Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania ~ 1779 2011 Lois Lowry N/A
47 Like the Willow Tree 2011 Lois Lowry Buy
48 Cannons at Dawn 2011 Lois Lowry Buy
49 With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954 2011 Lois Lowry Buy
50 Behind the Masks: The Diary of Angeline Reddy, Bodie, California, 1880 2012 Lois Lowry Buy
51 A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco, California, 1906 2013 Lois Lowry Buy
52 Down the Rabbit Hole, Chicago, Illinois, 1871: The Diary of Pringle Rose 2013 Lois Lowry Buy
53 Down the Rabbit Hole: The Diary of Pringle Rose, Chicago, Illinois ~ 1871 2013 Lois Lowry N/A

The Dear America series uses the fictional diary format to bring American history to life for young readers. Each book is written as the personal journal of a girl living through a specific historical moment, from the Colonial era through the twentieth century. The series covers an enormous range of events: the Mayflower voyage, the Salem witch trials, the Civil War, the Gold Rush, immigration waves, both World Wars, the Dust Bowl, and the Civil Rights movement, among many others.

With 53 entries in this listing, the Dear America series is one of the most extensive historical fiction projects for young readers. Multiple authors contributed to the series, with Lois Lowry among them. The diary format makes the historical content personal and immediate, giving young readers access to periods of history through the eyes of characters close to their own age. The books have been widely used in schools as supplements to history instruction.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Dear America series?

There are 53 books in the Dear America series, published between 1996 and 2013.

What is the first book in the Dear America series?

The first book in the Dear America series is A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620, published in 1996.

Are the Dear America books based on real people?

The diary narrators are fictional characters, but each book is set during real historical events and periods. The series uses extensive research to place these invented girls in accurate historical settings, from the Mayflower crossing to the Dust Bowl to World War II.

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