Show Way

A Newberry Honor Book!

Imagine holding your four year old daughter in your arms and whispering to her a story that’s been passed down from generation to generation. This is the story of one family’s journey through history passed down through the art of quilt-making. These patch-work pages are sewn together with bright colors, famous quotations, familiar faces, and pictures of important places and events.

Show Way is a pictorial representation of history that your kids can’t afford to miss. Not only does it emotionally expose one’s history, it emphasizes the importance of cultural and generational heritage captured in the folk art and storytelling tradition.

Show the Way to your students!

For online interviews and read alouds from Jacqueline Woodson, please visit: http://www.teachingbooks.net/spec_athr.cgi?pid=3460&a=1

Woodson, J. (2005). Show Way. New York: G.T. Putnam's Sons.

Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies and Misses of Color

A Notable Children’s Book!

This is a poetic account of the real life school in Canterbury, Connecticut told from multiple perspectives. This school stayed in operation despite racist persecution from 1833 to its forced closure in 1834. Can you imagine your students fighting to stay in school? Once they read this book, they’ll understand the true importance of an education and why a person would fight so hard to protect it.

This book is geared towards older students who are ready for an in depth look at racism and are mature enough to analyze and interpret more complex forms of poetry. It’s the perfect introduction to a high school unit on school segregation. Use this case study as a springboard to create a timeline of important schools, documents, and court cases, concerning school segregation.

Alexander, E. & Nelson, M. (2007). Miss Crandall's school for young ladies and misses of color. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong.

Guts

Plane crashes, moose attacks, dogsled racing … These are just a few of the things you’ll read about in Gary Paulson’s autobiography Guts. Read on to find what real-life events inspired the fictional survival accounts of Brian Robeson in Paulson’s Hatchett series.

This is a must read for students and teachers who want to look more in depth with their favorite authors. There are so many incredible stories of daring adventures, your students won’t want to put it down. Watch time fly because you’ll be done with this book before you know it!

Paulson, G. (2001). Guts: The true stories behind Hatchet and the Brian books. New York: Delacourte Press.

Daniel's Ride

Read this book online at the following website:
http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookPreview?bookid=prydnlr_00180001&route=simple_265_0_0_English_0&lang=English&msg=

Meet Daniel. He is just sitting down to breakfast with his family when all of the sudden, the walls start to vibrate and shake. What could be causing it? Is it an earthquake? No way! It’s the stereo system from his brother’s brand spanking new car! Daniel is about to get the ride of his life with the coolest brother in the world!

Sponsored by:

A Library for the World's Children

Please visit the International Children’s Digital Library. You can find it at www.childrenslibrary.org. Here, you can read thousands of storybooks and novels that have been translated into twenty-two different languages! It’s a breeze to find literature from any culture or country to support your social studies and language arts curriculum! Myths, folktales, true stories, children’s books, chapter books, poetry...this site has it all!

The Supernaturalist

In a world with no sponsors, noone has hope of a happy life. Cosmo should know. To the Orphanage where he lives, he's nothing more than a labrat. He has put all his energy into escaping only to be electrocuted and hurled to certain death. He’s a goner for sure.

Until they find him. Who are they? The supernaturalists. Dr. Ferdinand Bertoli’s genetic experiments that were created in his attempts to make superhumans. Bertoli, however, corrupted their DNA, resulting in a series of mutations. Mutations like ESP, slowed aging, and the ability to see microscopic parasites. Parasites that are infecting what’s left of the human population of satallite city.

This is a compelling book if you’re looking for a way to introduce students into the world of science fiction. It’s written by the same author of the Artemis Fowl series, and is sure to intrigue your students as they begin their venture into worlds entirely unlike their own.

Colfer, E. (2004). The Supernaturalists. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

A Newberry Award Winning Book!

Hannah Tupper? A witch? Hardly! She's just a quaker, an outcast of society. Outcast or not, I still visit her all the time. Secretly of course. My name is Kit. I moved to Connecticut from Barbados to live with Goodwife Wood and her family. I'm not accustomed to their harsh ways of life, or all of these courtship practices. I even helped with the village school although my "heathen ways" stirred things up. Still, I manage. At least until a mysterious illness strikes the town and causes the crazed townspeople to go on a witch-hunt. Life as I know it is about to go up in smoke!

Set in the 1600s, when the Puritan way of life reigned supreme, this piece of literature is an entertaining supplement to studies on early America. Students will identify with the plight of Kit and get a compassionate first-hand account of both the Puritan viewpoint, and the lives of those who forced to live outside of it.

Speare, Elizabeth. The witch of Blackbird Pond. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Black and White

A boy on a train?

Parents dressed head to toe in newspaper?



A burglar hiding in a herd of Holstein cows?

Southern Rail regrets any inconvenience this may cause you.

What could these four stories possibly have to do with each other? Read David McCaulay’s Black and White to find out!

A Caldecott Award Winning Book!

Black and White weaves together four different stories so that the events that occur in one story affect the events and outcomes of the other three. Why not use this book to introduce making a timeline of events? Or introduce ecosystems by making a concept map showing how one character (or organism) affects the others?

These are just some of the many ideas from Carol Hurst's Children Literature site. Check out her other lesson plans and units connecting popular childrens' books to the classroom! http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/blackandwhite.html.

Macaulay, D. (1990). Black and white. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.