Leon's Story

Title: Leon's Story          
Author: Leon Walter Tillage  
Category: First Person Account

Topic: The Jim Crow Era, Sharecropping
Grade Level: 5-6
Students: Mostly struggling or reluctant readers with just a few strong readers
Rating by: Veronica in Vermont
(In Veronica's comment below, she offers excellent suggestions for how to connect Leon's Story with the lives of students today.)

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
*This would also work well as a read aloud in an elementary classroom.

Age Appropriate Content?
____Too mature
_X__Just right
____Too simplistic

A Comment from Veronica: 
This is a deeply moving autobiography.  His personal accounts will never leave your memory. To help put his story into context we created a timeline that included the Constitution (to clarify who had rights and freedom?), the slave trade, Civil War, Emancipation, Jim Crow south, voting rights, the Civil rights movement (MLK, Rosa Parks), and connected it to present day with our school bullying/harassment policies.

It invites rich discussion and exploration of the ideals upon which our  country was founded, Abe Lincoln, freedom rides, sharecropping, the separate but equal policies of the Jim Crow South, geography, perspective, "Are certain people better than others? What criteria would you use?", and presents a myriad of opportunities to make text to self connections. 


Amazon's Product Description:  
"Leon Tillage grew up a sharecropper's son in a small town in North Carolina. Told in vignettes, Leon's story is one of racial prejudice and hatred. It is also the story of a strong family and the love that bound them together."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to Quizzes and Activities about Leon's Story by EduHelper
Article about the author Leon Walter Tillage in his hometown paper, The Baltimore Sun
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

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

Warriors Don't Cry

Title: Warriors Don't Cry 
Author: Melba Pattillo Beals
Topic: Civil Rights Movement
Used with: Grade 8
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

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

*My struggling readers were able to just focus on a few key chapters and that worked out fine.

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

From Amazon's product description:
"An innocent teenager.
An unexpected hero.  
In 1957, Melba Pattillo turned sixteen. That was also the year she became a warrior on the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Following the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, Melba was one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School.
Throughout her harrowing ordeal, Melba was taunted by her schoolmates and their parents, threatened by a lynch mob's rope, attacked with lighted sticks of dynamite, and injured by acid sprayed in her eyes. But through it all, she acted with dignity and courage, and refused to back down.
This is her remarkable story."
 

Link to its reviews on Amazon

Link to the author's website: Melba Pattillo Beals
Buy this book from your local book store via indiebound.org