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.)

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

The Well of Sacrifice

Title: The Well of Sacrifice    
Author: Chris Eboch    
Topic: The Mayan Civilization    
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Students: Mostly strong readers with just a few struggling or reluctant readers
Rating by: Suzanne Borchers from New Mexico

***An interview with Chris Eboch can be found here.***

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 Borcher: 
I used this book with my Grades 4/5 gifted students for language arts. We delved into the Mayan civilization, and both read the book in class and for homework. The students became immersed in the story, and answered higher level questions about character development, plot, and background. The students asked to dramatize their favorite scenes, which they wrote and worked on in small groups. The dramas were totally enjoyable. They also asked to write an Epilogue to the book. We culminated our reading the book by inviting the author, Chris Eboch, to a celebration of chocolate, oral reports, and discussion. I highly recommend this book for its depth and its readability. I definitely will use it again!


Amazon's Product Description: 
Eveningstar Macaw lives in a glorious Mayan city in the ninth century. When the king falls ill and dies, the city begins to crumble. An evil high priest, Great Skull Zero, orders the sacrifice of those who might become king, including Eveningstar's beloved brother. Suspicious of the High Priest's motives, Eveningstar attempts to save her brother, thus becoming an acknowledged enemy of the High Priest. Condemned to be thrown into the Well of Sacrifice, Eveningstar must find a way not only to save her own life but to rescue her family and her city from the tyrannical grasp of Great Skull Zero. Set against the vivid background of everyday life at the height of the Mayan golden age and illustrated with striking black-and-white paintings, Eveningstar's candid, gripping, and not-for-the-faint-of-heart account of the last days of a great city will have readers at the edge of their seats.

Link to reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: Chris Eboch (which links to lesson plans designed to accompany The Well of Sacrifice)
Preview The Well of Sacrifice at Google Books
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

The Kidnapped Prince: The Life of Olaudah Equiano

Title: The Kidnapped Prince: The Life of Olaudah Equiano
Author: Olaudah Equiano and Ann Cameron
Category: First Person Account

Topic: Slavery
Grade Level: 4-8
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
*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
* I used excerpts, rather than the book in its entirety.

 

Age Appropriate Content?
____Too mature
_X__Just right
____Too simplistic

A Comment from Ann B.:  When teaching about slavery, it was important to me to make sure my students remembered that behind the word "slaves" were hundreds of thousands of individuals -- real people who were forced to live a nightmare.  This is a man's account of his life as a boy in Africa until he was kidnapped and sold into slavery.  I used excerpts from it to teach about the slave trade because it begins with his normal childhood and helped keep a human face on all the horrors people had to undergo. Olaudah Equiano, the author, did not have a typical experience after arriving in North American (gaining the opportunity to learn to read and write and then publish a book was certainly unusual), so I usually concentrate on the earlier parts of his life in the classroom.

Amazon's Product Description:
Kidnapped at the age of 11 from his home in Benin, Africa, Olaudah Equiano spent the next 11 years as a slave in England, the U.S., and the West Indies, until he was able to buy his freedom. His autobiography, published in 1789, was a bestseller in its own time. Cameron has modernized and shortened it while remaining true to the spirit of the original. It's a gripping story of adventure, betrayal, cruelty, and courage. In searing scenes, Equiano describes the savagery of his capture, the appalling conditions on the slave ship, the auction, and the forced labor. . . . Kids will read this young man's story on their own; it will also enrich curriculum units on history and on writing. 

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Preview it at Google Books
Link to the website of the author: Ann Cameron (includes discussion questions for The Kidnapped Prince)

Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child

Title: The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child    
Author: Francisco Jimenez
Category: First Person Account  


Topic: Immigration, Migrant Workers  
Grade Level: 3-7  
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

Comment from Ann B.:
This is an excellent book to inform any discussion about immigration and help students look at the issue from a different perspective.  Each chapter is a different episode from Mr. Jimenez's childhood, so chapters can be used as stand alone pieces, as well.  The chapter about the drawing of the butterfly is my personal favorite.  Also, this book focuses on the author's life when he was a small boy, but the second and third autobiographies Breaking Through and Reaching Out would be good choices for older students.

Amazon's Product Description:  

"'La frontera'...I heard it for the first time back in the late 1940s when Papa and Mama told me and Roberto, my older brother, that someday we would take a long trip north, cross la frontera, enter California, and leave our poverty behind."

So begins this honest and powerful account of a family's journey to the fields of California -- to a life of constant moving, from strawberry fields to cotton fields, from tent cities to one-room shacks, from picking grapes to topping carrots and thinning lettuce. Seen through the eyes of a boy who longs for an education and the right to call one place home, this is a story of survival, faith, and hope. It is a journey that will open readers' hearts and minds.

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to the book at Google Books
Link to the website of the author: Francisco Jimenez  (Mr. Jimenez's site includes study guides under "Related Learning Links")
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

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

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

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

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

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

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