Titles by Brandon Marie Miller

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Titles Found: 5

Benjamin Franklin, American Genius (4 Formats) ›

By Brandon Marie Miller

Trade Paper Price 18.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Oct 2009

Benjamin Franklin was a 17-year-old runaway when he arrived in Philadelphia in 1723. Yet within days he’d found a job at a local print shop, met the woman he would eventually marry, and even attracted the attention of Pennsylvania’s governor. A decade later, he became a colonial celebrity with the publication of Poor Richard: An Almanack and would go on to become one of America’s most distinguished Founding Fathers. Franklin established the colonies’ first lending library, volunteer fire company, and postal service, and was a leading expert in the study of electricity. He represented the Pennsylvania colony in London but returned to help draft the Declaration of Independence. The new nation then named him Minister to France, where he helped secure financial and military aide for the breakaway republic.Author Brandon Marie Miller captures the essence of this exceptional individual through both his original writings and hands-on activities from the era. Readers will design and print an almanac cover, play a simple glass armonica (a Franklin invention), experiment with static electricity, build a barometer, and more. The text also includes a time line, glossary, Web and travel resources, and reading list for further study.

George Washington for Kids (4 Formats) ›

By Brandon Marie Miller

Trade Paper Price 18.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Apr 2007

George Washington comes alive in this fascinating activity book that introduces the leader to whom citizens turned again and again—to lead them through eight long years of war, to guide them as they wrote a new Constitution, and to act as the new nation’s first executive leader. Children will learn how, shortly after his death in 1799, people began transforming George Washington from a man into a myth. But Washington was a complex individual who, like everyone, had hopes and fears, successes and failures. In his early 20s, for instance,Washington’s actions helped plunge Great Britain and France into war. He later fought for liberty and independence, yet owned slaves himself (eventually freeing them in his will). This book weaves a rich tapestry of Washington’s life, allowing kids to connect with his story in 21 hands-on projects based on his experiences and the times in which he lived. Children will learn how to tie a cravat, write with a quill pen, follow animal tracks, sew a lady’s cap, plant a garden, roll a beeswax candle, play a game of Quoits, and make a replica of Washington’s commander-in-chief flag. The text includes a time line, glossary, websites, travel resources, and a reading list for further study.

Thomas Jefferson for Kids (4 Formats) ›

By Brandon Marie Miller

Trade Paper Price 16.95

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Sep 2011

Drawing heavily from the original letters and papers of Thomas Jefferson and his contemporaries, this resource chronicles the world of the Founding Father who wrote the Declaration of Independence. From his early critiques of the colonial policies of Great Britain and King George III to his governmental roles as the first secretary of state, the minister to France, and the third president of the United States, Jefferson’s groundbreaking achievements are described in historical context. The contradictions in Jefferson’s character—most notably the fact that he owned 600 slaves in his lifetime despite penning the immortal phrase "all men are created equal"—are also explored, giving kids a full picture of this skilled politician. Creative activities that invite children to experience Jefferson's colonial America include designing a Palladian window, building a simple microscope, painting a “buffalo robe,” and dancing a reel.

Women of Colonial America (4 Formats) ›

By Brandon Marie Miller

Trade Paper Price 14.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Aug 2022

An authentic, rich tapestry of women’s lives in colonial America

Using a host of primary sources, author Brandon Marie Miller recounts the roles, hardships, and daily lives of Native American, European, and African women in 17th- and 18th-century colonial America. Hard work proved a constant for most women—they ensured their family’s survival through their skills while others sold their labor or lived in bondage as indentured servants and slaves. Elizabeth Ashbridge survived an abusive indenture to become a Quaker preacher, Anne Bradstreet penned epic poetry while raising eight children in the wilderness, Anne Hutchinson went toe-to-toe with Puritan authorities, Margaret Hardenbroeck Philipse built a trade empire in New Amsterdam, and Martha Corey lost her life in the vortex of Salem’s witch hunt. With strength, courage, resilience, and resourcefulness, these women and many others played a vital role in the mosaic of life in colonial America.

Women of the Frontier (4 Formats) ›

By Brandon Marie Miller

Cloth Price 19.95

Cloth, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Feb 2013

In 1849 Luzena Wilson set out for California in a covered wagon with her husband and two little boys, hungry to join the tide of gold seekers. Like thousands of others, Luzena undertook the nearly 2,000 mile journey to an unknown land, where she’d rise from flood and fire, a survivor of the wild frontier.

            From months on the trail to life in a sod hut, western women adapted to their new lives and found beauty in the rugged, often dangerous landscape. They helped tame the Wild West as they farmed, ranched, kept shops, founded libraries and churches, staffed schools, and won the right to vote.
            Using journal entries and letters home, author Brandon Marie Miller lets the women speak for themselves in tales of courage, enduring spirit, and adventure. Meet women such as homesteader Miriam Colt, entrepreneur Clara Brown, army wife Frances Grummond, naturalist Martha Maxwell, missionary Narcissa Whitman, and political rabble-rouser Mary Lease.
            Women of the Frontier also recounts the impact pioneers had on those who were already living in the region. As white settlers gobbled up the lands of Native Americans and people of Spanish descent, the clash of cultures brought pain to many including Rachel Plummer and Cynthia Ann Parker, and spearheaded the work of Susette la Flesche and Sarah Winnemucca, who fought the government’s treatment of American Indians.