WORKS IN PROGRESS

Founding Myths. Revised and expanded edition due out in April of 2014.

History for Elementary and Middle School. The American Revolution is a featured story in elementary and middle school curricula, and how we narrate it at that initial stage is crucial. Children are better off learning that Paul Revere was a patriot in a highly organized and well prepared resistance network—and not that mythic lone rider who woke up sleepy-eyed farmers. A host of stories can introduce an empowering civic lesson, showing that history is not made solely by a select set of superior men but also by a multitude, once called “the body of the people.” Ray and his wife, Marie Raphael, middle school teacher and author of young adult novels (Streets of Gold and Boy from Ireland), plan to produce biorgraphical materials that appeal to this youthful audience and are valuable classroom resources.

Humboldt History. Because of his focus on the nation’s origins, Raphael will not continue to write the Humboldt History series, which he and Freeman House initiated with Two Peoples, One Place. The project continues, however, with several forthcoming volumes from Jerry Rohde. The revised paperback edition of Two Peoples, One Place is now available.