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

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

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

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

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

Parallel Journeys

Title: Parallel Journeys
Authors: Eleanor H. Ayer, Helen Waterford, and Alfons Heck
Topic: The Holocaust
Grade Level: 8 - 12
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.

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

Amazon's Product Description:
"She was a young German Jew. He was an ardent member of the Hitler Youth.
This is the story of their parallel journey through World War II.

Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck were born just a few miles from each other in the German Rhineland. But their lives took radically different courses: Helen's to the Auschwitz extermination camp; Alfons to a high rank in the Hitler Youth.
While Helen was hiding in Amsterdam, Alfons was a fanatic believer in Hitler's "master race." While she was crammed in a cattle car bound for the death camp Auschwitz, he was a teenage commander of frontline troops, ready to fight and die for the glory of Hitler and the Fatherland. This book tells both of their stories, side-by-side, in an overwhelming account of the nightmare that was WWII. The riveting stories of these two remarkable people must stand as a powerful lesson to us all."

Link to Reviews on Amazon
Link to Scholastic's Discussion Guide
Buy this book from your local bookstore via Indie Bound