Children's Literature Reviews for Teaching History

Know a great book for teaching social studies that's not yet included here? Click the appropriate link on the left to add it.
Have you used one of these books with students? Leave a comment after the rating about your own experience.

Friday, January 28, 2011

If the World Were a Village

Title: If the World Were a Village
Author: David Smith
Category: Non-Fiction

Topic: World Geography
Grade Level: 3 - 8
This is a picture book that would work as a read aloud in any of these grades - I'm sure my fellow middle school teachers would agree that their students still like "storytime."
Rating by: Ann B.
 
Content: This book does the following...
  • Explains the topic in a clear and logical way
  • Focuses on the parts of the topic that are most important.
  • Prompts student to want to find out even more about a topic.
  • Makes the content relevant to the students’ lives.
  • Prompts students to reflect on their own lives and choices.

Effectiveness as a Learning Tool: This book includes the following...
  • Visuals that help break up chunks of text.

Readability?
  • Appropriate for everyone in class - even the most reluctant readers can learn from it. 

Age Appropriate Content?
  • Just Right

Comment from Ann B.:
I read this book to seventh graders and its statistics on the hunger in this world inspired them to launch a fundraiser for Heifer International.  This student-led initiative raised over $1,000 - that's a lot of goats! And it was all because this book helped them put things in perspective.

Amazon's Product Description:
"There are currently more than six billion people on the planet! This enormous number can be difficult to grasp, especially for a child. But what if we imagine the whole world as a village of just 100 people? In this village * 22 people speak a Chinese dialect * 20 earn less than a dollar a day * 32 are of Christian faith * 17 cannot read or write * 39 are under 19 years old In a time when parents and educators are looking to help children gain a better understanding of the world's peoples and their ways of life, If the World Were a Village offers a unique and objective resource. By exploring the lives of the 100 villagers, children will discover that life in other nations is often very different from their own. The shrunk-down statistics -- some surprising, some shocking -- and David Smith's tips on building "world-mindedness" will encourage readers to embrace the bigger picture and help them to establish their own place in the global village.

Link to reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: David Smith
Buy it from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Red Scarf Girl

Title: Red Scarf Girl      
Author: Ji-Li Jiang   
Category: First Person Account  


Topic: China, The Cultural Revolution  
Grade Level: 5-9  
Students: A balanced mix of strong readers and struggling or reluctant readers 
Rating by: Ann B.  


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
 * This is a first person account.

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


Amazon's Product Description:  

"Ji-li Jiang was twelve years old in 1966, the year that Chairman Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in China. An outstanding student and much-admired leader of her class, Ji-li seemed poised for a shining future. But all that changed with the advent of the Cultural Revolution, when intelligence became a crime and a wealthy family background invited persecution'or worse. For the next three years Ji-li and her family were humilated and reviled by their former friends, neighbors, and colleagues and lived in constant terror of attack. At last, with the detention of her father, Ji-li was faced with the most dreadful decision of her young life: denounce him and break with her family, or refuse to testify against him and sacrifice her future in her beloved Communist Party.

Told with simplicity, innocence, and grace, this unforgettable memoir gives a child's eye view of a terrifying time in twentieth-century history'and of one family's indomitable courage under fire."


Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to Teacher's Guide from Facing History and Ourselves
Link to the website of the author: Ji Li Jiang
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The Golden Mean

Title: The Golden Mean   
Author: Annabel Lyon  
Category: Historical Fiction

Topic: Ancient Greece, Philosophy    
Grade Level: 11th and 12th grades and college    
Students: Mostly strong readers, just as few struggling or reluctant readers 
Rating by: Andrew J. Peters from New York
Andrew included thoughful, detailed comments with his review as you'll see below.  To find out more about Andrew, check out: http://andrewjpeterswrites.com


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

Comments from Andrew J. Peters: 
Annabel Lyon's The Golden Mean tells the story of Aristotle's relationship with young Alexander the Great.  The central story question is:  will Aristotle's teachings have a humanizing effect on the future conqueror of the world, vis-a-vis the philosopher's well-known concept of the Golden Mean.

Besides being elegantly written, the story is rich on atmosphere and setting, and therefore, I think, a helpful supplement to students learning about what it was like to live in pre-Hellenistic Greece--from daily life, the status of women and slaves, religious beliefs, morality, politics and of course the history.  Comparisons to modern issues, militarism and political power in particular, will make for interesting discussion.  Certainly for a philosophy course, The Golden Mean would be a terrific reading assignment as Artistotle's views are developed and contrasted within a vibrant narrative (much easier to read than "dialogues.")

Many social issues are portrayed quite compellingly, realistically--Artistotle's mental illness (bi-polar depression), the mental disability of Alexander's younger brother, gender roles/male identity, society's view of homosexuality, to name a few.

A caveat or two: there is sex, prostitution, graphic violence and graphic medical procedures, and women and slaves are treated quite badly.  As a social worker, working with adolescents, I think those heavy issues could be a distraction for lower grades, and the sophisticated language lends itself best to advanced placement/honors high school students or a college class.  It's not that any of depictions are gratuitous or sensationalized/eroticized, but a teacher will want to talk about them in the context of how cultures/eras viewed morality differently than we do today.

Also, the book is fairly short - 300 pages - but students who crave action-based stories may find the story a little sluggish. 


Amazon's Product Review:     
"A startlingly original first novel by “this generation’s answer to Alice Munro” (The Vancouver Sun)—a bold reimagining of one of history’s most intriguing relationships: between legendary philosopher Aristotle and his most famous pupil, the young Alexander the Great.

342 BC: Aristotle is reluctant to set aside his own ambitions in order to tutor Alexander, the rebellious son of his boyhood friend Philip of Macedon. But the philosopher soon comes to realize that teaching this charming, surprising, sometimes horrifying teenager—heir to the Macedonian throne, forced onto the battlefield before his time—is a necessity amid the ever more sinister intrigues of Philip’s court.

Told in the brilliantly rendered voice of Aristotle—keenly intelligent, often darkly funny—
The Golden Mean brings ancient Greece to vivid life via the story of this remarkable friendship between two towering figures, innovator and conqueror, whose views of the world still resonate today."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to the blog of the author: Annabel Lyon
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Friday, January 21, 2011

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Revisited)

Title: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry*
Author: Mildred D. Taylor
Category: Historical Fiction 
*A previous review of this book can be found here.  I love the idea of having several reviews for each book.  The more opinions the better.

Topic: Jim Crow Era
Grade Level: 6-8
Students: A balanced mix of strong readers and struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Marquita Hockaday from Virginia
Besides being a teacher, Marquita is also a great writer of historical fiction.  You can find out more about her work at her fun blog for YA writers: Y(A) Cuz We Write!

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

 
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

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

A Comment from Marquita Hockaday:
I used this book when I taught English and History as a cross-curricular activity. It went well and most students enjoyed the novel as well as the activities that went along with it. This novel is great when discussing race relations in the years leading toward the second World War.


Amazon's Product Description 
"'We have no choice of what color we're born or who our parents are or whether we're rich or poor. What we do have is some choice over what we make of our lives once we're here'. The Mississippi of the 1930s was a hard place for a black child to grow up in, but still Cassie didn't understand why farming his own land meant so much to her father. During that year, though, when the night riders were carrying hatred and destruction among her people, she learned about the great differences that divided them, and when it was worth fighting for a principle even if it brought terrible hardships."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

Title: Year of Impossible Goodbyes   
Author: Sook Nyul Choi  
Category: First-Person Account

Topic: World War II, The Cold War, Korea   
Grade Level: 4-9  
Students: A balanced mix of strong readers and struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Ann B.


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
* This is based on the author's own life.

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 Ann B.:  While the main character is only ten, this book could work in world history classes because the time period it describes is fascinating, though tragic.  It sheds light on a side of World War II that is rarely addressed (the invasion of Korea by Japan,) as well as the realities of the Communist take-over of North Korea that followed.  It could be a great way to  introduce the Cold War and inform a discussion about our relationship with North Korea today.


From the Publisher:
"It is 1945, and courageous ten-year-old Sookan and her family must endure the cruelties of the Japanese military occupying Korea. Police captain Narita does his best to destroy everything of value to the family, but he cannot break their spirit. Sookan's father is with the resistance movement in Manchuria and her older brothers have been sent away to labor camps. Her mother is forced to supervise a sock factory and Sookan herself must wear a uniform and attend a Japanese school.

Then the war ends. Out come the colorful Korean silks and bags of white rice. But Communist Russian troops have taken control of North Korea and once again the family is suppressed. Sookan and her family know their only hope for freedom lies in a dangerous escape to Americancontrolled South Korea.

Here is the incredible story of one family's love for each other and their determination to risk everything to find freedom."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to Teacher's Guide from Holt, Rinehart, and Winston
Preview the book at Google Books
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Material World

Title: Material World: A Global Family Portrait
Authors: Peter Menzel et al.
Category: Non-Fiction

Topic: World Geography, Materialism

Grade Level: 4 - 12 (the main content is communicated in the book's hundred of photos so younger students can still learn a lot from it, regardless of their reading level)
Rating by: Ann B.
 
Content: This book does the following...
  • Focuses on the parts of the topic that are most interesting.
  • Prompts student to want to find out even more about a topic.
  • Makes the content relevant to the students’ lives.
  • Prompts students to reflect on their own lives and choices.

Effectiveness as a Learning Tool: This book includes the following...
  • Visuals that deepen the students’ understanding of the topic.
  • Visuals that make students want to read the book.
  • Visuals that help break up big chunks of text.
  • A table of contents. 

Readability?
  • Appropriate for everyone in class - even the most reluctant readers can learn from it. 

Age Appropriate Content?
  • Just Right

Comment from Ann B.:
I've never taught a straight world geography class, but I've always kept this book on the shelf in my classroom.  It's a great book to have on hand if a student finishes a project early.  The premise of the book is intriguing to almost any student, and even just spending five minutes flipping through this will gets them thinking.  The authors have also published other books based on the same idea, including Women in the Material World and Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.

Amazon's Product Review:
"In honor of the United Nations-sponsored International Year of the Family in 1994, award-winning photojournalist Peter Menzel brought together 16 of the world's leading photographers to create a visual portrait of life in 30 nations. Material World tackles its wide subject by zooming in, allowing one household to represent an entire nation. Photographers spent one week living with a "statistically average" family in each country, learning about their work, their attitudes toward their possessions, and their hopes for the future. Then a "big picture" shot of the family was taken outside the dwelling, surrounded by all their (many or few) material goods.

The book provides sidebars offering statistics and a brief history for each country, as well as personal notes from the photographers about their experiences. But it is the "big pictures" that tell most of the story. In one, a British family pauses before a meal of tea and crumpets under a cloudy sky. In another, wary Bosnians sit beside mattresses used as sniper barricades. A Malian family composed of a husband, his two wives, and their children rests before a few cooking and washing implements in golden afternoon light. Material World is a lesson in economics and geography, reminding us of the world's inequities, but also of humanity's common threads. An engrossing, enlightening book. --Maria Dolan"

Link to reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: Peter Menzel
Link to companion site, "World in the Balance" at PBS
Buy it from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Monday, January 17, 2011

Rebel Hart

Title: Rebel Hart   
Authors: Edith Morris Hemingway and Jacqueline Shields
Category: Historical Fiction
 
Topic: The Civil War 
Grade Level: 6 and 7
Students: A balanced mix of strong readers and struggling or reluctant readers   
Rating by: Caroline Starr Rose
Caroline has her own middle grade historical novel-in-verse, May B. coming out in Spring 2012.  Her website is: http://carolinebyline.blogspot.com/


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 Caroline Starr Rose: 
I used REBEL HART for my after-school historical fiction book club. My readers were motivated sixth and seventh graders already required to read historical novels for my class. Students were given the opportunity to read this novel and use it for their assignment. Those interested could come to the after-school book club and earn extra credit.

Amazon's Product Description:
Sixteen year-old Rebel guide and spy, Nancy Hart, left home to join a group of Rebel raiders. Nancy's struggle for survival during the Civil War changed her from an impulsive girl to a strong young woman. Her story is a mixture of fact and folklore, documented by both old newspapers and an intriguing Civil War photograph.

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: Edith Morris Hemingway with discussion questions for teachers
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Thursday, January 13, 2011

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers

Title: First They Killed My Father: 
A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers     
Author: Loung Ung   
                     
Topic: The Cambodian Genocide, The Cold War       
Grade Level: 9 - 12                  
Students: Mostly struggling or reluctant readers with just a few strong readers                    
Rating by: Craig in Vermont              

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
 * It is a first person account.

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 Craig: Bellows Falls Union High School used this as an all-school read this year and it worked extremely well with all grades and reading levels. Students were drawn in by Loung Ung's story and it gave a solid history of the events leading up to the Cambodian genocide. I highly recommend this memoir to high school Social Studies and English classes as it contains a number of themes, including: war, women’s rights, communism, refugees, land mines, totalitarianism, family, social conditions, justice, genocide, politics, memoir, ethnicity, and Buddhism.

Amazon's Product Description: 
"Until the age of five, Loung Ung lived in Phnom Penh, one of seven children of a high-ranking government official.She was a precocious child who loved the open city markets, fried crickets, chicken fights, and sassing her parents. When Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into Phnom Penh in April 1975, Ung's family was forced to flee their home and hide their previous life of privilege. Eventually, they dispersed in order to survive. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans while her other siblings were sent to labor camps. Only after the Vietnamese destroyed the Khmer Rouge were Loung and her surviving siblings slowly reunited.

Bolstered by the shocking bravery of one brother and sustained by her sister's gentle kindness amid brutality, Loung forged ahead to create a courageous new life. Harrowing yet hopeful, insightful and compelling, this family's story is truly unforgettable."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: Loung Ung (includes links to her blog and work as an activist)
Link to Bellows Falls Union High School's Collection of Teaching Resources for the Book 
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Fever 1793

Title: Fever 1793
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Category: Historical Fiction 

Topic: Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia
Grade Level: 4 and 5
Students:  Mostly strong readers with just a few struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Nancy Hniedziejko in Pennsylvania
See Nancy's excellent blog post about using the novel in her classes at:
http://www.nancyteaches.com/2011/01/breaking-rules.html


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 (Used as a read aloud together)
(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

Amazon's Product Description:
"During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.
Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease."


Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Link to A Primary Source about the Yellow Fever Epidemic
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Monday, January 10, 2011

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Title: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Author: Jacqueline Kelly
Category: Historical Fiction 

Topic: Scientific Discovery, Everyday Life
Grade Level: 5-8
Students: A balanced mix of strong readers and struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Ann B.


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 Ann B.: 
I personally loved this book.  The main character Callie V felt very real, and it was interesting to think about the discovery of evolution in its historical context.  It would be a great way to link to science classes or provide a new angle on the Industrial Revolution, focusing on the scientific discoveries at the time rather than just the problems.  I personally couldn't use it as a whole class read because I have too many struggling readers who need a more action-packed book to keep their attention, but it would well for a small group.


Amazon's Product Description: 
"Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century. 

Debut author Jacqueline Kelly deftly brings Callie and her family to life, capturing a year of growing up with unique sensitivity and a wry wit."


Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: Jacqueline Kelly
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Friday, January 7, 2011

The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

Title: The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Topic: The Civil Rights Movement
Grade Level: 5-8
Students: A balanced mix of strong readers and struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Suzanne Pitner

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 Suzanne Pitner: 
Strong content is handled in a compassionate manner. It brings to life the bombing of the church in Birmingham 1963.

Amazon's Product Review:   
"The year is 1963, and self-important Byron Watson is the bane of his younger brother Kenny's existence. Constantly in trouble for one thing or another, from straightening his hair into a "conk" to lighting fires to freezing his lips to the mirror of the new family car, Byron finally pushes his family too far. Before this "official juvenile delinquent" can cut school or steal change one more time, Momma and Dad finally make good on their threat to send him to the deep south to spend the summer with his tiny, strict grandmother. Soon the whole family is packed up, ready to make the drive from Flint, Michigan, straight into one of the most chilling moments in America's history: the burning of the Sixteenth Avenue Baptist Church with four little girls inside. Christopher Paul Curtis's alternately hilarious and deeply moving novel, winner of the Newbery Honor and the Coretta Scott King Honor, blends the fictional account of an African American family with the factual events of the violent summer of 1963. Fourth grader Kenny is an innocent and sincere narrator; his ingenuousness lends authenticity to the story and invites readers of all ages into his world, even as it changes before his eyes. Curtis is also the acclaimed author of Bud, Not Buddy, winner of the Newbery Medal. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to Scholastic's Teacher's Guide
Link to the website of the author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Counting On Grace

Title: Counting On Grace
Author: Elizabeth Winthrop

Topic: Industrial Revolution
Grade Level: 4-7
Students: Some strong readers and some struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Anonymous

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

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


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

A Comment from the Reviewer:

Nice tie-ins to capitalism, child labor, photography, and good local New England history (Vermont Reads book)


Amazon's Product Description:     
"1910. Pownal, Vermont. At 12, Grace and her best friend Arthur must leave school and go to work as a “doffers” on their mothers’ looms in the mill. Grace’s mother is the best worker, fast and powerful, and Grace desperately wants to help her. But she’s left handed and doffing is a right-handed job. Grace’s every mistake costs her mother, and the family. She only feels capable on Sundays, when she and Arthur receive special lessons from their teacher. Together they write a secret letter to the Child Labor Board about underage children working in Pownal. A few weeks later a man with a camera shows up. It is the famous reformer Lewis Hine, undercover, collecting evidence for the Child Labor Board. Grace’s brief acquaintance with Hine and the photos he takes of her are a gift that changes her sense of herself, her future, and her family’s future."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to the author's website: Elizabeth Winthrop (which includes discussion guides and links for teachers)
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Birchbark House

Title: The Birchbark House
Author: Louise Erdich

Topic: Native Nations, Westward Expansion
Grade Level: 4 (but reading at a 5th or 6th grade level)
Students: Many strong readers, just a few struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Anonymous

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

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

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

A Comment from the Reviewer:
"This book ties in well to our study of Native Americans/Early Vermont History, even though it takes place in the Great Lakes region.  It is told from the Native American perspective, written by a Native author, and brings up many interesting discussions about the contact period - also about the impact of disease- a sometimes forgotten aspect of European impact."

Amazon's Product Description:   
"[In this] story of a young Ojibwa girl, Omakayas, living on an island in Lake Superior around 1847, Louise Erdrich is reversing the narrative perspective used in most children's stories about nineteenth-century Native Americans. Instead of looking out at 'them' as dangers or curiosities, Erdrich, drawing on her family's history, wants to tell about 'us', from the inside. The Birchbark House establishes its own ground, in the vicinity of Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'Little House' books." --The New York Times Book Review

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to a Discussion Guide for Birchbark House
Link to the Birchbark House Non-Profit, an organization devoted to revitalizing indigenous languages, which was started by the author
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Things They Carried

Title: The Things They Carried
Author: Tim O'Brien

Topic: The Vietnam War
Grade Level: 11
Students: Many strong readers, just a few struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Suzanne Hurley
(http://hurleyhistory.blogspot.com/)


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

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

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

A Comment from Suzanne Hurley:
Excellent book about Vietnam.  Used in both English and Social Studies classes.

Amazon's Product Description:   
"One of the first questions people ask about The Things They Carried is this: Is it a novel, or a collection of short stories? The title page refers to the book simply as "a work of fiction," defying the conscientious reader's need to categorize this masterpiece. It is both: a collection of interrelated short pieces which ultimately reads with the dramatic force and tension of a novel. Yet each one of the twenty-two short pieces is written with such care, emotional content, and prosaic precision that it could stand on its own.

The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and of course, the character Tim O'Brien who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. They battle the enemy (or maybe more the idea of the enemy), and occasionally each other. In their relationships we see their isolation and loneliness, their rage and fear. They miss their families, their girlfriends and buddies; they miss the lives they left back home. Yet they find sympathy and kindness for strangers (the old man who leads them unscathed through the mine field, the girl who grieves while she dances), and love for each other, because in Vietnam they are the only family they have. We hear the voices of the men and build images upon their dialogue. The way they tell stories about others, we hear them telling stories about themselves. 

With the creative verve of the greatest fiction and the intimacy of a searing autobiography, The Things They Carried is a testament to the men who risked their lives in America's most controversial war. It is also a mirror held up to the frailty of humanity. Ultimately The Things They Carried and its myriad protagonists call to order the courage, determination, and luck we all need to survive."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to a Reader's Companion at Random House
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Monday, January 3, 2011

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Title: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Author: Mildred D. Taylor

Topic: Jim Crow Era
Grade Level: 5
Students: Some strong readers, some struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Jenny Franz

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

 
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

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

A Comment from Jenny Franz:
I've read this book as a whole group core literature selection for the past four years.  Without fail, this book engages my students and gets them thinking and asking questions about race relations in the 1930s.  Students come away with a greater knowledge and understanding of our nation's history.

Amazon's Product Description:   
"'We have no choice of what color we're born or who our parents are or whether we're rich or poor. What we do have is some choice over what we make of our lives once we're here'. The Mississippi of the 1930s was a hard place for a black child to grow up in, but still Cassie didn't understand why farming his own land meant so much to her father. During that year, though, when the night riders were carrying hatred and destruction among her people, she learned about the great differences that divided them, and when it was worth fighting for a principle even if it brought terrible hardships."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound