Early Modern book list for Simply Charlotte Mason
Early Modern in SCM's current cycle is roughly 1500–1812. American history enters here. The SCM-sold pair is the Pageant Early Modern teacher guide and America: Our Stories, Volume 1.
Family stream
A Pageant of History: Early Modern plus America: Our Stories, Volume 1. World history and US history run together, which is the point of this volume. A separate US history curriculum is extra, not required.
Pilgrim Stories, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, and Johnny Tremain are library books. Franklin and selected Federalist essays are public domain. A Tale of Two Cities is public domain for the oldest.
What to skip
Do not buy a second American history textbook to 'make it rigorous.' Narration of Lambert plus one living biography is the rigor. Worksheet packs with colonial clip art are not.
Substitutions: charlotte mason living books. Vendor choice: charlotte mason curriculum comparison.
Reading load and substitutions
Johnny Tremain is Boston, not the whole Atlantic world. Pair it with Lambert's world chapters rather than adding a second US war course.
Federalist essays are for the oldest students and only a handful of them. Do not assign the whole paper as if it were a novel.
If your family is not in the United States, keep the world spine and treat America: Our Stories as optional. SCM's pairing assumes a US reader.
Used copies of Bowditch and Tremain show up in library sales. Wait a week before you click buy. Shipping $129; returns 60 days (checked 2026-09-06).
A Tale of Two Cities is France and England, not Boston. It still belongs here. Narrate the people, not the chapter titles.
If you already own a US history living spine you trust, you can skip America: Our Stories Volume 1 and keep the Pageant world stream. Note the skip so you do not double-buy Volume 2 next year by accident. Write the skip in the lesson notes.
The list
A Pageant of History: Early Modern covers roughly 1500–1812. American history enters here. SCM sells America: Our Stories, Volume 1 alongside the teacher guide.
Family
- SCM — A Pageant of History: Early Modern: $22.95–$32.95 (ebook / print teacher guide; checked 2026-09-06)
- SCM — America: Our Stories, Volume 1 (Lorene Lambert): $16.95–$24.95 (ebook / print; checked 2026-09-06)
- SCM — My Book of Centuries: $12.95–$18.95 (ebook / print; free template also offered; checked 2026-09-06)
Grades 1–3
- Library — Pilgrim Stories (Margaret Pumphrey)
- Library — Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin (Marguerite Henry)
Grades 4–6
- Library — Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (Jean Lee Latham)
- Library — Johnny Tremain (Esther Forbes)
Grades 7–9
- Library — The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare)
- Public domain — Poor Richard's Almanack, selections (Benjamin Franklin)
Grades 10–12
- Public domain — The Federalist Papers, selected essays
- Public domain — A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
Source labels follow SCM's own split. Prices checked on each product's date. Affiliate disclosure.