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

Impatient with Desire

Title: Impatient with Desire   

Author: Gabrielle Burton

Category: Historical Fiction

Topic: The Donner Party, Westward Expansion

Grade Level: Upper high school (11th or 12th grade) and college

Students: Mostly strong readers with just a few struggling or reluctant readers 

Rating by: Andrew J. Peters from New York

(Andrew's extended review of this book is available at his website: 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

Andrew J. Peters' Review:  

In the spring of 1846, George Donner led his family and eighty pioneers on a trail of opportunity from Illinois to California.  They made it as far as the Sierra Nevada mountains but were trapped by a snow storm.  The mission turned desperate, and a horrifying legend was born.

Gabrielle Burton's IMPATIENT WITH DESIRE is an intimate re-telling of the journey of the ill-fated Donner Party.  The story is told primarily through the letters and journal entries of Tamsen Donner, a schoolteacher and wife to George Donner, during the time they awaited rescue.

Burton is clear in labeling her work as a fictional account.  But it is based on nearly forty years of her research, a vigorous sideline of the author, which included a family vacation with her husband and five daughters to retrace the steps of the Donner trail.

Burton, who has garnered praise for her portraits of women (her debut novel Heartbreak Hotel) and contributed extensively to feminist discourse over the past four decades, casts Tamsen Donner as a compelling heroine.  Tamsen is self-assured, well-educated, and an independent thinker.  She prefers collecting botanical specimens for her students to baking pies, she asks her pastor to remove the words "to obey" in her marriage vows, and she has clever observations on gender inequality.  

Tamsen was the daughter of a Sea Captain, who encouraged her dream of traveling, at a time when women were expected to stay close to the home.  She was heartbroken by the death of her first husband and one of her sons, but she ventured beyond a life of widowhood to find happiness in a second marriage.  She was fiercely devoted to the promotion of her daughters, accepting the brand of unspeakable inhumanity so that they might survive.  Living under the authority of men, she emerges as much (or more so) as the leader who rallied her counterparts to take the chance to better their lives, and she stewarded morale and comforted them when grief and fear left them broken

As such, the book will provoke good classroom discussions about the status of women and men in the 1800's (and beyond), and it provides a multi-layered heroine for young readers—female and male—to get behind.  

The narrative never strays from Tamsen's point of view, but she is a circumspect and reliable storyteller.  While stranded with her family at a makeshift camp, she records the daily life and the history, which gives readers a vivid picture of pioneer life.  Like The Diary of Anne Frank, there are heavy themes here—starvation, many deaths, and of course the inevitable cannibalism—and they are explored frankly, realistically, but with a great deal of humanity.  The story poses the question:  what would you do to survive?—a curious, provocative topic for young readers, I think.  The decisions made by different party members can be debated as well as points of view on the story:  is it a cautionary tale about the price of ambition?  or is it a story about human resilience in the face of desperate circumstances?  

In terms of historical accuracy, there are Author's Notes at the end that clarify what is drawn from historical records, and what came from the author's imagination.  Largely, it's a story that seeks to be as authentic as possible.  The principal liberties are taken to bring to life Tamsen Donner, whose journal was never found.  Ms. Burton portrays Tamsen as an early women's liberationist of her time, in the mold of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, so the book would work well as a supplement to studies of the early women's movement as well.

I think the book is appropriate and useful for upper high school grades and college.            

*************************************

Link to reviews on Amazon 

Link to review from NPR's Fresh Air

Link to the website of the author: Gabrielle Burton 

Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

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 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

Selling Hope

Title: Selling Hope 
Author: Kristin O'Donnell Tubb



**An interview with Kristin O'Donnell Tubb can be found here.**

Category: Historical Fiction
Topic: Vaudeville, Life in the Early 1900's
Grade Level: 5
Students: Mostly strong readers with just a few struggling or reluctant readers

Rating by: Joyce Lansky from Tennessee

Joyce is a teacher and writer.  Check out her blog at: http://joycelansky.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
* This would work well as a read aloud, too.

Age Appropriate Content?
____Too mature
_X__Just right
____Too simplistic

A Comment from Joyce Lansky: 
"I enjoyed getting a peek of life in 1910 through the eyes of Hope McDaniels, the thirteen-year-old main character of "Selling Hope" by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb. In her book, "Coins," or people of Chicago, line up to buy flour coated mints passed off as anti-comet pills that will protect the user from dying from the gases given off from the tail of Haley's comet. This book uses real newspaper headlines to show the lead up to this historic non-event while at the same time, allowing the reader a glimpse of the Vaudeville life along with real stars such as Buster Keaton. The writing is beautiful as is the story of this young girl and her relationship with her father."

Amazon's Product Description:  
"It’s May 1910, and Halley’s Comet is due to pass thru the Earth’s atmosphere. And thirteen-year-old Hope McDaniels and her father are due to pass through their hometown of Chicago with their ragtag vaudeville troupe.  Hope wants out of vaudeville, and longs for a “normal” life—or as normal as life can be without her mother, who died five years before. Hope sees an opportunity: She invents “anti-comet” pills to sell to the working-class customers desperate for protection. Soon, she’s joined by a fellow troupe member, young Buster Keaton, and the two of them start to make good money. And just when Hope thinks she has all the answers, she has to decide: What is family? Where is home?"


Link to reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: Kristin O'Donnell Tubb
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Newsgirl

Title: Newsgirl  
Author: Liza Ketchum  
Category: Historical Fiction


***An interview with Liza Ketchum is posted here.***


Topic: The California Gold Rush
Grade Level: 5-6
Students: Mostly strong readers with just a few struggling or reluctant readers 
Rating by: Scott Cole from 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

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 Scott Cole:
Fun story that gave a real feel for the early days in California. VT readers love the book- it made our DCF- Dorthy Canfield Fisher -list for the 30 best books for kids this year!


Amazon's Product Description: 
"It’s the spring of 1851 and San Francisco is booming. Twelve-year-old Amelia Forrester has just arrived with her family and they are eager to make a new life in Phoenix City. But the mostly male town is not that hospitable to females and Amelia decides she’ll earn more money as a boy. Cutting her hair and donning a cap, she joins a gang of newsboys, selling Eastern newspapers for a fortune. And that’s just the beginning of her adventures. Participating in the biggest news stories of the day, Amelia is not a girl to let life pass her by—even and especially when it involves danger!"

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to the website of the author: Liza Ketchum
Link to Newsgirl's Facebook Page (which has a link to a travelogue done by the Barbara Bell at the San Jose Examiner that follows Amelia's journey)
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Leaving Gee's Bend

Title: Leaving Gee's Bend   

Author: Irene Latham  

***An interview with Irene Latham is posted here.***

Topics: The Great Depression, 

The Jim Crow Era  

Grade Level: 6

Students: Used with a group of gifted students

Rating by: Karen Narro from Alabama

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


 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 Karen Narro:

We studied the history and visited the town of Gees Bend since we are a school in Birmingham, AL.  We are just about 120 miles from Gee's Bend and we had a wonderful experience.  We met with the ladies who made the quilts famous and inspired Irene Latham to write the novel.  I enjoyed so much the language and the voice that she found for her main character, Ludelphia.  In our classroom we ate pound cake when Ludelphia did, had a coke with she had her first one, brought dirt home from the roads in Gee's Bend and gathered acorns and cattails to welcome the beautiful images into our classroom.  I can't remember when I've enjoyed teaching a book so much.

Amazon's Product Review:

"Ludelphia Bennett may be blind in one eye, but she can still put in a good stitch. Ludelphia sews all the time, especially when things go wrong.

But when Mama goes into labor early and gets deathly ill, it seems like even quilting won’t help. That’s when Ludelphia decides to do something drastic—leave Gee’s Bend for the very first time. Mama needs medicine that can only be found miles away in Camden. But that doesn’t stop Ludelphia. She just puts one foot in front of the other.

What ensues is a wonderful, riveting and sometimes dangerous adventure. Ludelphia weathers each challenge in a way that would make her mother proud, and ends up saving the day for her entire town.

Set in 1932 and inspired by the rich quilting history of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, Leaving Gee’s Bend is a delightful, satisfying story of a young girl facing a brave new world."

Link to Reviews on Amazon

Link to the website for the book: Leaving Gee's Bend 

Link to Irene Latham's Website (includes discussion guides, teaching activities, etc.)

Link to Irene Latham's Blog

Preview the book at: Google Books

Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound

Link to Ms. Latham's most recent book of poetry:

The Color of Lost Rooms (just released in January 2011)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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