An American History storybook for kids builds on the success of the Tuttle Twins series

With millions of books sold in the Tuttle Twins series, a libertarian think tank released a related storybook for families and schools to teach the circumstances and principles of America’s founding. 

Tuttle Twins author Connor Boyack, founder and president of the Libertas Institute, teams up with illustrator Elijah Stanfield in the 11 chapter, 230 page book, America’s History: A Tuttle Twins Series of Stories, volume 1 (1215–1776). It is recommended for children ages 7-13. 

Each chapter follows two twins, Ethan and Emily Tuttle, as they learn about the principles that led to America’s founding.  

Chapter one, for example, teaches about the benefits of free trade by beginning with a scene of the twins playing the swimming pool game Marco Polo. Later at home, the twins learn more about the games’ namesake – the famous merchant Marco Polo – and how he and those he traded with benefited from free passage.  

Then, around the dinner table, the Tuttle parents arrange an object lesson, giving each person at the table a single dish of food. Each family member is required to trade with each other until everyone eventually has a plate filled with what they wanted. 

The chapters thus generally lead with a compelling story before a deepening of the principles learned in the first section, accompanied by simple maps, timelines and sidebars attractively illustrated along the way. Chapters end with a thought from the author or illustrator, typically an overview of the main principle behind the story. 

A final section in each chapter, called “Let’s talk about it,” offers open-ended, thought-provoking discussion questions perhaps best suited for older children. Chapter one, for example, asks what the downside of a “buy American” policy might be. 

The stories of trade in the first chapter lead naturally into the second, which focuses on the pursuit of new trade routes and the discovery of new lands in the 15th century. And so the chapters proceed: 

1. A New World of Trade 
2. New Lands & New Ideas 
3. Far Across the Sea 
4. The Dawn of Human Rights 
5. The Nature of Empire 
6. In the King’s Grip 
7. Blowback in Boston 
8. The Road to War 
9. A Recipe for Cooperation 
10. Loyal No More 
11. Liberty for All 

Like the 12 shorter, 60-page Tuttle Twins books, most of America’s History is simple enough to be read by the children in its recommended age range (7-13), though certain sidebars and discussion questions will be best understood by those in the older half of that range.  

Families and schools looking to avoid the woke agenda’s infiltration into school curricula should consider incorporating the book into their instruction, whether at home or in the classroom. Schools, including homeschool co-ops, can register interest and sign up for bulk discounts support here. 

The “volume 1” label suggests more history storybooks from the Tuttle Twins franchise to come. For now, Libertas offers a workbook, audiobook and videos associates with America’s History. An economic curriculum is also available, in addition to the huge selection of Tuttle Twins books in the children’s series, others for ages 12 and up, and even books for toddlers. All available products can be viewed here.