America's Famous Spies: Notable Lives from History is a fun and engaging reader for students or anyone with a love for American history. Explore the lives and accomplishments of 10 famous spies from history. These fascinating stories incorporate well for students in grades 6-8 in many areas of study including history, language arts, vocabulary words and definitions, and cultural insights.
Meet unforgettable people and animals in the What a Character! Notable Lives from History series as you enjoy 10 real stories within each book!
Designed to be fun and engaging for students or anyone with a love for history, these readers include a fascinating focus on important, influential, and visionary people, along with heroic animal escapades! From scientists to famous women to war heroes and more, there is something of interest for everyone in this exciting series!
This volume, America's Famous Spies, is recommended for Grade 6 and up and includes:
Nathan Hale, Spy and Hero
Lydia Darragh, Quaker Spy
Washington's Spies, The Culper Ring
Anna Strong, Petticoat Spy
James Armistead Lafayette, Double Spy
Belle Boyd, Teen-aged Spy
Emma Edmonds, Nurse and Spy
Dabney and Lucy Walker, Clothesline Spies
The Ghost Army
The Navajo Code Talkers
Each book can be read in any order and includes colorful and fun images. Definitions are included to help readers learn the new words they will discover. Read for enjoyment or as an extension of your history, science, or language arts curriculum.
Table of Contents
American War of Independence
1. Nathan Hale — Spy and Hero
2. Lydia Darragh — Quaker Spy
3. Washington’s Spies — The Culper Ring
4. Anna Strong — Petticoat Spy
5. James Armistead Lafayette — Double Spy
The Civil War
6. Belle Boyd — Teen-aged Spy
7. Emma Edmonds — Nurse and Spy
8. Dabney and Lucy Walker — Clothesline Spies
World War II
9. The Ghost Army
10. The Navajo Code Talkers
Glossary
Corresponding Curriculum
Endnotes
Customer Reviews
5
Love this Series!
Review bySarahT
The What a Character series is a hit at our home and this book is no exception! My kids love reading about the different animal heroes, and having the audiobook has allowed them to be independent in the reading of their favorite books.
5
Great!
Review bySantina
William Stauff’s narration of America’s Famous Spies is clear and engaging. It is a great resource to listen to in the car or to follow along as a read aloud (allowing parents to follow along with their child or to have their child listen to independently). Another great resource from Master Books!
5
Great Way to Foster Love for History
Review byCaitlin
History is probably my weakest point. These audiobooks have encouraged a love for history by not just telling the same stories over and over, but by introducing 10 people from history that my kids haven't learned about yet. While the age target of middle school is appropriate, I have found that my slightly younger kids have also enjoyed with the recognition that war is the topic. I love breaking this up and giving us something engaging to listen to during mealtimes. The voice reading is engaging and easy to listen to. Overall I'm thrilled with the series as a whole.
5
Engaging Stories
Review byKathleen C
This audio book tells the stories of several spies during the American Revolution, Civil War, and World War II. The stories are very interesting, and great to keep a young reader/s attention. We enjoyed learning about how the spies got messages to others- Invisible ink, hanging laundry out, secret codes, and code words.
The audio book is narrated by Will Stauff. He has done several audiobooks for MasterBooks. I like the pace he uses and I am grateful for how clearly he speaks. We all stay engaged while listening
5
Fun listening
Review byLacee C
We listened to the first half of this audiobook on our roadtrip back home this summer. It was fun to listen to and hear the different stories of Nathan Hale, Lydia Darragh, Washington's Spies, Anna Strong and James Armistead Lafayette from the American War of Independence. I'm looking forward to listening to the rest from the Civil War and WWII. I've never been a big fan of audiobooks but this is well done and my kids enjoyed listening to it as well.
5
Excellent!
Review byBecky V.
My family has absolutely loved the What a Character! series and we love the audiobook option. We are a big audiobook family when it comes to car rides, and this series is always a popular pick among my kids. I have found that these stories really do appeal to all ages.
America’s Famous Spies audiobook has completely captured the attention of my kids and we have listened to it multiple times already. I have loved using this as a resource as we go through America’s Story to dig deeper into the stories of the men and women who lived through the War of Independence, the Civil War, and World War II. Listening to these stories has truly brought history alive for my children.
5
Fun and Educational Listening
Review byDawn
This audio book has sections on 10 different spies. Each section is about 10 to fifteen minutes long. My boys would happily listen to the whole book, but it could also be broken up and listened to as a part of your morning time or history studies, one spy at a time. It is fun and engaging but has lots of great historical information.
5
Great Stories
Review byLaurie
The best part of getting this audio story is all my kids can do it simultaneously, from 1st grade to high school, although it seems best suited for upper elementary through middle school. The stories provide great detail to help the reader or listener get a good understanding of who these people were and what the world they lived in was like. We got this story as an audio download, but after looking at the book sample, I'm strongly considering purchasing it as well for the kids to follow along with for the pictures, maps, and highlighted vocabulary words with definitions. Overall, we have been loving the What a Character Series.
5
Gripping stories of courage and creativity!
Review byJoyfulMommy
We have been listening to this audiobook in the car and it’s almost disappointing to reach our destination and have to pause the stories! All the books in this series are fascinating, but listening to accounts of spies is truly gripping. What an opportunity to discuss the courage and creativity of these notable lives from history! From young schoolteachers to housewives utilizing their hospitality and clotheslines, it’s inspiring to see how God uses individuals of various ages and occupations who are willing to sacrifice and serve. These stories are a wonderful complement to America’s Story and help bring history to life!
5
What a fun series!
Review byDustie
This series is really fun. I love the unique topics of the various book. The stories of each individual in this particular book are incredibly moving and inspiring. While they are engaging enough to keep the attention of older children (or parents), they are written in such a way that is easy to understand. Because some of the topics are difficult and involve war, I think this book would be most appropriate for kids who are at least 7. However, others may have different ideas for their own children.
This book is great for independent reading, and it has definitions for words that may be unfamiliar or difficult for younger readers to understand. It would make a great read-aloud or morning basket addition. These stories would also be really fun to include with corresponding history lessons, and there’s even a list in the back of the book that notes potential books to pair each chapter with.
Overall, I highly recommend this entire series of books for every homeschool library. They’re such a fun way to learn bits of history.