Once Upon a Time in Delaware

This is Delaware as seen through the eyes of children, circa 1911. Katharine Pyle's collection of historical tales takes young readers from the first Dutch landing at Zwannendael through the Revolutionary War, painting early settlers as brave pioneers and Native Americans as curious observers of a changing world. The stories emphasize courage, determination, and the peculiar difficulties of building a colony on disputed ground between Maryland and Pennsylvania. While the perspective reflects its era, the narrative crackles with adventure: shipwrecks, frontier hardships, and the strange politicking that gave Delaware its "First State" identity. Pyle writes with a child's sense of wonder, making the past feel like a story worth telling rather than a lesson worth memorizing. For modern readers, it's a fascinating artifact: a window into how early 20th-century Americans taught their children about colonial history, complete with the assumptions and blind spots that entails.