Pioneer Show People Dyslexia Series
A Special Series of Books for Children Who Struggle to Read
Being a pioneer on the American frontier was hard work. People had to build a home, raise some animals, and cultivate a garden for food, hunting and trapping to supplement what they needed and braving the elements all the while. It was a lonely existence, too. Many of the pioneers had to travel miles to the nearest homestead or settlement, often through dense woods and across rushing rivers. Many of these hard-scrabble settlers had only one way to experience entertainment and culture: pioneer show people.
The cities along the eastern coast of the United States often had various venues for providing shows and other forms of entertainment, including the theater, museums, and occasionally a circus, but the pioneers farther west had access to none of this. So acting companies like the Drake Players took their shows on the road to bring entertainment to the people. But the roads didn't go far, and soon the actors had to trade their wagons for a boat. They floated downriver, bringing plays to the towns and settlements that had sprung up along the river systems of America. As their popularity grew, so grew the boats, both in sophistication and in the quality of the entertainment. The Chapman showboat was the first boat to offer plays directly on the boat itself. Doc Spaulding's Floating Palace, pushed both up and down the rivers by its own steamboat, brought an entire circus to the riverside communities. Seeing a play or a show on a showboat was often the brightest day of the year for the pioneers who had forged past the edges of civilization to expand the boundaries of the United States. And then a small crack shot named Annie Oakley helped to show them what the great American West was all about.
The show people of early America were no less pioneers than the settlers who scraped and scratched out a life for themselves in the country's great wilderness, and this series brings to the forefront their importance in the expansion not just of culture but of an emerging entertainment industry that was blooming across the nation.
These books are printed in a special dyslexia-friendly font that makes them easier for some children with visual processing problems to read. A special feature of the books is that each two-page spread contains a QR code that links to audio of the book being narrated. Children can listen and follow along to help them learn the words that they are seeing.
The Pioneer Show People Dyslexia Series offers a way for children with reading difficulties to enjoy reading and American history in a rare and wonderfully accessible combination that they will treasure for years to come.
Note: Although each title is meant to be a standalone book, important terms are defined or explained in the first book in which they appear, and the stories build upon one another, making the reading of the books in chronological order a more rewarding experience for children who are new to the topic.
To view all of the Adventures on the American Frontier dyslexia series, click here.
To view a standard-font edition of the stories in this series presented together as a single biographical novel without the audio feature, click here.
A Special Series of Books for Children Who Struggle to Read
Being a pioneer on the American frontier was hard work. People had to build a home, raise some animals, and cultivate a garden for food, hunting and trapping to supplement what they needed and braving the elements all the while. It was a lonely existence, too. Many of the pioneers had to travel miles to the nearest homestead or settlement, often through dense woods and across rushing rivers. Many of these hard-scrabble settlers had only one way to experience entertainment and culture: pioneer show people.
The cities along the eastern coast of the United States often had various venues for providing shows and other forms of entertainment, including the theater, museums, and occasionally a circus, but the pioneers farther west had access to none of this. So acting companies like the Drake Players took their shows on the road to bring entertainment to the people. But the roads didn't go far, and soon the actors had to trade their wagons for a boat. They floated downriver, bringing plays to the towns and settlements that had sprung up along the river systems of America. As their popularity grew, so grew the boats, both in sophistication and in the quality of the entertainment. The Chapman showboat was the first boat to offer plays directly on the boat itself. Doc Spaulding's Floating Palace, pushed both up and down the rivers by its own steamboat, brought an entire circus to the riverside communities. Seeing a play or a show on a showboat was often the brightest day of the year for the pioneers who had forged past the edges of civilization to expand the boundaries of the United States. And then a small crack shot named Annie Oakley helped to show them what the great American West was all about.
The show people of early America were no less pioneers than the settlers who scraped and scratched out a life for themselves in the country's great wilderness, and this series brings to the forefront their importance in the expansion not just of culture but of an emerging entertainment industry that was blooming across the nation.
These books are printed in a special dyslexia-friendly font that makes them easier for some children with visual processing problems to read. A special feature of the books is that each two-page spread contains a QR code that links to audio of the book being narrated. Children can listen and follow along to help them learn the words that they are seeing.
The Pioneer Show People Dyslexia Series offers a way for children with reading difficulties to enjoy reading and American history in a rare and wonderfully accessible combination that they will treasure for years to come.
Note: Although each title is meant to be a standalone book, important terms are defined or explained in the first book in which they appear, and the stories build upon one another, making the reading of the books in chronological order a more rewarding experience for children who are new to the topic.
To view all of the Adventures on the American Frontier dyslexia series, click here.
To view a standard-font edition of the stories in this series presented together as a single biographical novel without the audio feature, click here.
Books in this series
The Drake Players Go West
Subtitle: Pioneer Show People, Part One
Author: A Royal Fireworks Press Publication; Tice, Christopher (Illustrator and Narrator)
Subjects: Dyslexia-Friendly Books; Entertainers; Early America
Age: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Pages: 53
ISBN: 978-0-89824-724-4
Order code: 7244
Price: $17.00
Website price: $10.00
Class sets: 10 or more: $7.00 each.
Order code: 7244S
In the early days of the new nation that was America, pioneers in newly settled territories had little outside entertainment. A traveling company of actors known as the Drake Players went, first by wagon and then by boat, across the frontier, performing plays and bringing an evening of fun to the people along the way. They were the first actors to bring the theater to the American frontier.
In the early days of the new nation that was America, pioneers in newly settled territories had little outside entertainment. A traveling company of actors known as the Drake Players went, first by wagon and then by boat, across the frontier, performing plays and bringing an evening of fun to the people along the way. They were the first actors to bring the theater to the American frontier.
The Chapman Showboat
Subtitle: Pioneer Show People, Part Two
Author: A Royal Fireworks Press Publication; Tice, Christopher (Illustrator and Narrator)
Subjects: Dyslexia-Friendly Books; Entertainers; Early America
Age: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Pages: 35
ISBN: 978-0-88092-724-6
Order code: 7246
Price: $17.00
Website price: $10.00
Class sets: 10 or more: $7.00 each.
Order code: 7246S
In the 1820s, actors and performers crossed the American frontier by both wagon and boat, bringing entertainment to the settlers of the ever-expanding new country. But William Chapman saw an even better way. Instead of loading and unloading everything time and again, why not hold plays directly on a boat? So the Chapman showboat was born, the very first of its kind.
In the 1820s, actors and performers crossed the American frontier by both wagon and boat, bringing entertainment to the settlers of the ever-expanding new country. But William Chapman saw an even better way. Instead of loading and unloading everything time and again, why not hold plays directly on a boat? So the Chapman showboat was born, the very first of its kind.
Doc Spaulding and the Floating Palace
Subtitle: Pioneer Show People, Part Three
Author: A Royal Fireworks Press Publication; Tice, Christopher (Illustrator and Narrator)
Subjects: Dyslexia-Friendly Books; Entertainers; Early America
Age: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Pages: 46
ISBN: 978-0-89824-725-1
Order code: 7251
Price: $17.00
Website price: $10.00
Class sets: 10 or more: $7.00 each.
Order code: 7251S
By the middle of the 19th century, showboats were a common sight on many of America's great rivers. But Doc Spaulding wasn't satisfied with bringing ordinary performances to the riverside settlements. He wanted to bring an entire circus! The Floating Palace was an extraordinary creation—an entire community all its own, filled with characters as colorful as the boat itself.
By the middle of the 19th century, showboats were a common sight on many of America's great rivers. But Doc Spaulding wasn't satisfied with bringing ordinary performances to the riverside settlements. He wanted to bring an entire circus! The Floating Palace was an extraordinary creation—an entire community all its own, filled with characters as colorful as the boat itself.
This book is part of a series;
see the
series description.
Doc Spaulding and the Floating Palace sample pages:
Annie Oakley and the Wild West
Subtitle: Pioneer Show People, Part Four
Author: A Royal Fireworks Press Publication; Tice, Christopher (Illustrator and Narrator)
Subjects: Dyslexia-Friendly Books; Entertainers; Early America
Age: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Pages: 34
ISBN: 978-0-88092-727-7
Order code: 7277
Price: $17.00
Website price: $10.00
Class sets: 10 or more: $7.00 each.
Order code: 7277S
Annie Moses was as sharp a shooter as anyone had seen, and soon this petite, unassuming woman from the backwoods of Ohio was making a name for herself as Annie Oakley, the "Girl of the Western Plains," as she performed in front of crowds who were awed at her remarkable ability.
Annie Moses was as sharp a shooter as anyone had seen, and soon this petite, unassuming woman from the backwoods of Ohio was making a name for herself as Annie Oakley, the "Girl of the Western Plains," as she performed in front of crowds who were awed at her remarkable ability.
Pioneer Show People Dyslexia Series Set
Author: A Royal Fireworks Press Publication; Tice, Christopher (Illustrator and Narrator)
Subjects: Dyslexia-Friendly Books; Entertainers; Early America
Age: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Order code: 7244SET
Price: $40.00
Website price: $35.00
This set includes all four books in the series: The Drake Players Go West, The Chapman Showboat, Doc Spaulding and the Floating Palace, and Annie Oakley and the Wild West, all offered together at a reduced price.
This set includes all four books in the series: The Drake Players Go West, The Chapman Showboat, Doc Spaulding and the Floating Palace, and Annie Oakley and the Wild West, all offered together at a reduced price.
This book is part of a series;
see the
series description.
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