My Name Is America is a series of historical novels published by Scholastic Press. Each book is written in the form of a journal of a fictional young man's life during an important event or time period in American history. Seen as a companion to Scholastic's Dear America series, it was primarily aimed at boys 9–12 years old. The series was discontinued in 2004.
List of books There are nineteen books in the original My Name is America series, which was published between 1998 and 2004. Scholastic launched the Dear America series in Fall 1996 as a series of "diaries of fictitious girls writing from various points in American history." After the initial success of the Dear America series, Scholastic introduced the My Name is America series, using the same formatting, "in an attempt to reach out to boy readers."
In March 2012, alongside the relaunch and re-release of several books in the Dear America series, ten books in the My Name is America series were also re-released. While the text of the books did not change, the titles of the re-releases were updated to include an additional phrase before the original titles. +List of My Name Is America booksDate (original)Date (reprint)AuthorReprint Title AdditionTitleSeptember 1998December 2012Barry DenenbergA True Patriot:The Journal of William Thomas Emerson: A Revolutionary War Patriot, Boston, Massachusetts, 1774September 1998September 2012Jim MurphyOn Enemy Soil:The Journal of James Edmond Pease: A Civil War Union Soldier, Virginia, 1863April 1999Walter Dean MyersThe Journal of Joshua Loper: A Black Cowboy, The Chisholm Trail, 1871June 1999March 2012Walter Dean MyersWe Were Heroes:The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: A World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944September 1999September 2013William DurbinUntil the Last Spike:The Journal of Sean Sullivan: A Transcontinental Railroad Worker, Nebraska and Points West, 1867September 1999Barry DenenbergThe Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp, California, 1942April 2000November 2013Laurence YepStaking a Claim:The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852July 2000Ann RinaldiThe Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim boy, Plymouth, 1620September 2000February 2014Kathryn LaskyBlazing West:The Journal of Augustus Pelletier: Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804September 2000William DurbinThe Journal of Otto Peltonen: A Finnish Immigrant, Hibbing, Minnesota, 1905April 2001January 2013Walter Dean MyersDown to the Last Out:The Journal of Biddy Owens: The Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948June 2001January 2014Joseph BruchacOn This Long Journey:The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy, The Trail of Tears, 1838November 2001December 2021Rodman PhilbrickStay Alive:The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds: The Donner Party Expedition, 1846April 2002William DurbinThe Journal of C.J. Jackson: A Dust Bowl Migrant, Oklahoma to California, 1935June 2002June 2012Ellen Emerson WhiteInto No Man's Land:The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty: United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968September 2002Ellen LevineThe Journal of Jedediah Barstow: An Emigrant on the Oregon Trail, Overland, 1845May 2003Susan Campbell BartolettiThe Journal of Finn Reardon: A Newsie, New York City, 1899October 2003Sid HiteThe Journal of Rufus Rowe: A Witness to the Battle of Fredericksburg, Bowling Green, Virginia, 1862April 2004Jim MurphyThe Journal of Brian Doyle: A Greenhorn on an Alaskan Whaling Ship, The Florence, 1874
Reception The series was generally well received by libraries, educators, and parents, for its accessible and engaging historical fiction. However some critics, such as Melissa Kay Thompson, felt the series reinforced national myths and whitewashed the nation's treatment of native communities.
See also Dear America My America The Royal Diaries
References
External links publisher website