HISTORICAL PICTURE BOOKS:

--Dakota Dugout: (Aladdin, paper, Simon & Schuster, hardback)

The story of a young bride going West to the sod dugout Matt built for her is simply but powerfully told.  Dramatic illustrations by Wendell Minor complement and extend the text, so that you see the interior of the dugout—with the wife—you see the storms flattening their crops—and you realize at the very end, “Sometimes the things we start with are best.”

Uses: as part of a Prairie Unit or going west exploration:

mail order brides; building sod dugouts; pioneer experience.

--Katie’s Trunk: (Aladdin, paper, Simon & Schuster, hardback)

Often the history of the American Revolution focuses on the Patriots and infrequently on the Tories.  Katie tells what it is like to be on the “wrong side” of the war: how neighbors stop talking to them; how people  hissed “Tory” at them, as if it were a curse word.  Exciting full-color illustrations by Ron Himler help bring this unusual story to life, one based on a true incident in my family history.

Uses: part of a study of the American Revolution; writing historical

fiction based on family artifacts; facing prejudice; and expressing

war time violence in metaphor and small details.

--Nettie’s Trip South: (Aladdin, paper, Simon & Schuster, hardback)

In this powerful story of a young girl visiting the South and witnessing a slave auction (written as a letter home to her friend, “I threw up, Addie, right there/with all the men and ladies about.”) in 1859, the author speaks of slavery’s impact on an impressionable northern girl.  It is based on the 1859 journal of my great-grandmother’s trip South, and is beautifully illustrated in black & white by Ron Himler.  This is a strong, sad book about a girl’s first experience of evil with no easy ending.      

Uses:  Units on the Civil War & Slavery; slave trade & auctions;

Abolitionists; North versus South; using letters to tell a story.       

--Abe Lincoln Remembers: (Harper Trophy, paper , Harpercollins Hardback)  

On the last night of his life, Abe Lincoln waits for his wife, Mary,  to go see the new play. As he waits, he remembers back through

his life to the cabin with “the small window (and) the piece of sky;” his eagerness to read and learn; becoming president; the grief

he felt at the many war time deaths; and his fear that the North might lose the war.  This gives an intimate look at an enigmatic, 

complex man who still stands as one of our greatest presidents. Glorious full-color paintings by Wendell Minor bring Abe to life.

Uses: fictional historical memoirs; Abe Lincoln’s earlier years;

Gettysburg Address; the Civil War.

--Dust for Dinner --- A boy talks about the Dust Bowl, what his family lost and how they found a home again: an I Can Read book, paperback, illustrated by Robert Barrett; Harper Trophy, 1995.

--Sitting Bull Remembers --- At the end of his life, the famed leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux--Sitting Bull--remembers back to what life was like before the white men came to settle on the plains.  A poignant historical story, this is beautifully illustrated by Wendell Minor, who spent time on the plains to render his illustrations even more authentic. Harper Collins, 2007. 

--Pumpkin Cat --- On a stormy night before Halloween, a wet cat finds a home in the local library, where she is cared for by the librarians and school children, illustrated by Amy June Bates; Hyperion, 2004.

--Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies --- a young boy yearns for a family just as a family yearns for a child---a story of adoption, illustrated by James Hale; paper & audio, Harper Trophy.

--When Mr. Jefferson Came to Philadelphia --- a young boy learns about freedom when he meets Mr. Jefferson and sees him writing the Declaration of Independence, illustrated by Mark Hess: hardback, HarperCollins, January, 2004.

--Street Talk --- poems that celebrate everyday life in New York City, illustrated by Catherine Stock: paper, Houghton Mifflin, 1986.

CHAPTER BOOKS:

 

--Finding Walter --- When Rose and Emily find an old dollhouse in the attic, they must search for the missing youngest doll: hardback, Harcourt Brace; paper, Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1997, audio, Recorded Books Presents, 1998.

--Maia of Thebes (1463 B.C) --- Maia and her brother, orphans, live in an unloving house, but Maia's growing skill as a scribe and her courage help her to escape danger and possible death; Scholastic, 2005, “The Life and Times” Series.

 

--Grasshopper Summer --- Sam's family leaves the South for Dakota Territory and an uncertain future where he learns that family is what matters most: paper, Troll Paperback Books and paper, Aladdin.