March is National Reading Month, and the Lincoln County Historical Association encourages young readers to engage in history-themed reading. Local libraries carry a number of books that will enhance appreciation of life in an earlier time on the Midcoast of Maine. Their collections include a wide variety of books whose authors have woven 18th- and 19th-century-based stories into “good reads.”
Lincoln County author Lea Wait, for example, has connected 19th-century history with local places in such books as “Uncertain Glory,” “Stopping to Home,” “Wintering Well,” “Seaward Born,” and “Finest Kind.” Another Maine author, Barbara Cooney, gave us “Island Boy,” a Maine-based story, and she also illustrated books for other writers. One such historical tale is “Basket Moon,” a story based in New York by Mary Lyn Rae.
Visit the local library this March and discover other special books such as: “Sea Chest,” by Toni Buzzeo; “A Gathering of Days,” by Joan W. Blos; “George Washington and the General’s Dog,” by Frank Murphy; “When I Was Built,” by Jennifer Thermes; “Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library,” by Barb Rosenstock; “Gluskabe and the Four Wishes,” retold by Joseph Bruchac; “Mill,” by David Macaulay, “The Flower Hunter,” by Deborah Kogan Ray; and “Diary of an Early American Boy,” by Eric Sloane.
The staff at Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library, Bremen Library, Bristol Area Public Library, Skidompha Public Library, Bridge Academy Public Library, Jefferson Public Library, Rutherford Library (Bristol), Southport Memorial Library, Wiscasset Public Library, and Waldoboro Public Library will be happy to help one’s son or daughter become engaged in a history-themed book that will expand their knowledge while entertaining their curiosity in an earlier era.
The Lincoln County Historical Association is a nonprofit organization that provides stewardship for the 1754 Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta, the 1761 Pownalborough Courthouse in Dresden, and the 1811 Old Jail and Museum in Wiscasset. In fall 2014, the association began an education outreach program to promote the history of its three historic sites and Lincoln County history with students of all ages. For more information about this program and the Lincoln County Historical Association, go to lincolncountyhistory.com and Facebook page, Lincoln County Historical Association Maine.
