Letters from Rifka

Title: Letters From Rifka
Author: Karen Hesse
Topic: Immigration
Grade Level: 3-4
Students: A balanced mix of strong readers and struggling or reluctant readers

Rating by:Trecie Warner in Colorado

Historically Accurate?

(4) Yes and also includes historical notes, primary sources, etc.

(3) Yes

(2) A few inaccurate or misleading portrayals

(1) Not a bit

An Engaging Story?

(4) Almost all students will beg to keep reading

(3) Most students will get caught up in the story

(2) Some students will read ahead by mistake

(1) Students will groan when the book is mentioned

Prompts Discussion?

 (4) Students will still be talking about it in the hallway

(3) Will prompt discussion about major issues in the past as well as today

(2) Will prompt discussion about the characters and the events in the book

(1) Will not prompt discussion

Readability?

(4) Everyone - even the most reluctant readers – can get on board

(3) Can be used for a whole class read

(2) Can only be used with a small high-powered reading group

(1) Recommend only to students that love reading

Age Appropriate Content?
 _X_Too mature
 ____Just right
 ____Too simplistic

 A Comment from Trecie Warner:  My students loved hearing Rifka's story. They laughed and cried, worried and cheered as I read the book aloud. It connected well with our unit on immigrants and their struggles to become American citizens.

 Amazon's Product Description:     

“America,” the girl repeated. “What will you do there?”
I was silent for a little time.
“I will do everything there,” I answered.

Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews in the new country. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. In it, she records her observations and experiences in the form of letters to her beloved cousin she has left behind. Strong-hearted and determined, Rifka must endure a great deal: humiliating examinations by doctors and soldiers, deadly typhus, separation from all she has ever known and loved, murderous storms at sea—and as if this is not enough, the loss of her glorious golden hair. And even if she does make it to America, she’s not sure America will have her.

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to Letters From Rifka Background (A brief video introduction to the novel Letters from Rifka to get students familiar with the history of Russia during the Russian Civil War.)
Link to a Teacher's Guide for Letters From Rifka
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

New Historical Fiction: MAY B.

Yesterday, debut novelist and former teacher Caroline Starr Rose published May B., a historical novel-in-verse for middle grades, and it's getting fabulous reviews...

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2011:"If May is a brave, stubborn fighter, the short, free-verse lines are one-two punches in this Laura Ingalls Wilder–inspired ode to the human spirit."

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, December 5, 2011:"Writing with compassion and a wealth of evocative details, Rose offers a memorable heroine and a testament to the will to survive."


Here's the description of May B.:


I've known it since last night:
It's been too long to expect them to return.
Something's happened.

May is helping out on a neighbor's Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it's hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May's memories of her struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she's determined to find her way home again. Caroline Starr Rose's fast-paced novel, written in beautiful and riveting verse, gives readers a strong new heroine to love.


For more info and giveaways, check out:


Caroline's website (www.carolinestarrrose.com) where she's created a whole section for teachers, including a free downloadable study guide for May B., or follow Caroline's blog.

You can also buy May B at Amazon or Indiebound. 

It definitely sounds like a book worth checking out for your classroom (and if anyone has already used it with students I'd love for you to rate it for the blog.)

5 Fabulous Books: Are You Familiar w/ Them?

There are so many excellent historical fiction books out there, but there are a few, in particular, I'd love to add to this collection.  If you are a teacher or librarian who has used any of the following books with students, please click on Rate a Historical Fiction Novel. It should only take a minute to answer the multiple choice questions.

Here are five books I'd love to receive ratings for:

1) REVOLUTION by Jennifer Donnelly; Topic: The French Revolution

2) THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak; Topic: The Holocaust

3) STORM IN THE BARN by Matt Phelan; Topic: The Dust Bowl (Teacher Resources)

4) MOON OVER MANIFEST by Clare Vanderpool; Topic: Everyday Life in the 1930's (Teacher Resources)

5) RADIUM HALOS by Shelley Stout; Topic: Industrial Revolution, Workers Rights (Teacher Resources)

Of course, if you've used another book that students have enjoyed, please feel free to rate that one, too. The more we share what works, the better off our students will be.

May the beginning of the school year go well for all of you!

Addie Slaughter, The Girl Who Met Geronimo

Title: Addie Slaughter, The Girl Who Met Geronimo    

Author: Susan L. Krueger with Dr. Reba Wells Grandrud

Topic: Westward Expansion

Grade Level: 4th Grade     

Students: A balanced mix of strong readers and struggling or reluctant readers

Rating by: Patti Johannsen from Arizona

Historically Accurate?

(4) Yes and also includes historical notes, primary sources, etc.

(3) Yes

(2) A few inaccurate or misleading portrayals

(1) Not a bit 

An Engaging Story?

(4) Almost all students will beg to keep reading

(3) Most students will get caught up in the story

(2) Some students will read ahead by mistake

(1) Students will groan when the book is mentioned 

Prompts Discussion?

(4) Students will still be talking about it in the hallway

(3) Will prompt discussion about major issues in the past as well as today

(2) Will prompt discussion about the characters and the events in the book

(1) Will not prompt discussion 

 Readability?

(4) Everyone - even the most reluctant readers – can get on board

(3) Can be used for a whole class read

(2) Can only be used with a small high-powered reading group

(1) Recommend only to students that love reading

Age Appropriate Content? 

____Too mature 

_X__Just right 

____Too simplistic 

A Comment from Patti Johannsen:   

Bravo! I read ADDIE SLAUGHTER, THE GIRL WHO MET GERONIMO. I liked the cover. It says "authentic". I was delighted with the clarity and simplicity of language. I admired the grit demonstrated by the ranch family, and the kind, generous spirit of these early settlers of Arizona. As a 5th grade teacher, I was always on the hunt for books like Addie Slaughter to supplement Social Studies topics. They were hard to find. 

Amazon's Product Description:  

Before most of today's children have spent even one day on their own without a caretaker, young Addie Slaughter braved Indian attacks, outlaws, smallpox, earthquakes and blizzards in Susan L. Krueger's historical chapter book, Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo. In first-person narrative, Krueger expertly speaks for Addie Slaughter, daughter of John Horton Slaughter, a Texas Ranger, the Sheriff who tamed Cochise County and an early settler of the San Bernardino Valley in the late 1800s. The adventurous, sometimes heartbreaking, story tells of Addie's trek across the Wild West from Texas to Arizona to Oregon, eventually settling on the Slaughter Ranch near the Arizona-Mexico border. Along the way, her mother dies; she narrowly escapes a stagecoach robbery; her grandfather is rescued when their adobe ranch buildings collapse in an earthquake; her father's earlobe is shot off; and Addie meets the fierce warrior Geronimo. 

"I wanted to show young readers that history is anything but boring," explains Krueger a teacher for 32 years before retiring in 2000. "When told with passion and realism, history is exciting, inspiring and captivating."

Krueger's book is based on actual stories told to Adeline Greene Parks by her mother, Addie Slaughter, and in-depth interviews with Arizona Culturekeeper Dr. Reba Wells Grandrud, the John H. Slaughter Ranch historian. Most of the book's photographs come from Slaughter family albums and the collection of Dr. Grandrud. Though retired, Krueger works now as much as she ever has. She joined the Phoenix Art Museum docent program and is currently their research chair. In addition to writing research papers, she gives slide show talks and is available for classroom visits to talk about writing, history, art and her book.

Link to Reviews on Amazon

Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound