Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery

Freedman, Russell. Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery. 1993. 334 pp. Lexile 1100.

Eleanor Roosevelt is known for saying, “"You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  This excellent biography, a Newbery Honor book, illustrates how she put this adage into action in her own life, which was filled with courage and public service.  Freedman looks at the span of Roosevelt’s life, covering personal aspects but emphasizing on her many accomplishments.  He gives an even-handed view of her sometimes troubled marriage, a marriage that led to her international influence as she traveled around the world during and after World War II working for peace and social justice.  Excellent black-and-white photographs enhance the text, with an additional fifteen pages of photos at the end.  Back matter includes a list of sites to visit, a bibliographic essay, and an index.  A pleasure to read.

Reading Std #6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.  Freedman seems to present his information with a neutral tone.  Have students look closely to see if they can detect a point of view that the author is advancing, citing specific passages in the text.

Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women

Thimmesh, Catherine.  Illus. by Melissa Sweet. Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women. 2000. 264 pp. Lexile 960.

Despite restrictions on their education and careers, American girls and women have been responsible for a number of important inventions over the years. Thimmesh devotes two or three pages to each inventor and her invention, from the ever-useful brown paper bag to the also useful strong fiber Kevlar® that goes into bullet-proof vests.  The profiles of the women and descriptions of the inventions—some based on personal interviews--are brief and interesting, highlighting the need for the invention and process of designing it.  Collage illustrations make the book attractive while the endpapers give a timeline that includes more female inventors.

Reading Std #1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and implicitly, citing specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from it. Thimmesh contends in her introduction that some inventions are the result of curiosity while others come about by accident.  Have students find evidence, if any, for these contentions in the book.  Have them see if they find other motivations (such as financial) in the chapters.

Fields of Fury: The American Civil War

McPherson, James M. Fields of Fury: The American Civil War. 2002. 96pp. Lexile 970.

Straightforward writing, short chapters, and many illustrations make this an accessible chronological overview of the Civil War by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian.  Each double-page spread has a full-page picture on the right-hand size.  The left side has text, a small sidebar of interesting facts, and two smaller pictures.  The endpapers provide a detailed time line and a map before the first chapter lays out the Union, Confederate, and border states; capitols; important rivers; and sites of key battles with their dates.  McPherson does an excellent job of providing an introduction without overwhelming the reader.  Many chapters focus on battles while others look at topics like the role of women; medical care; and families divided by the war.  An extensive glossary defines many military terms useful for studying any war.  Back matter also includes a bibliography; a list of Civil War websites; and an index.

Web Tie-ins:  The internet is rich with materials about the Civil War including photographs, other illustrations, speeches, maps, etc.  The American Memory Project at Library of Congress gives access to many materials in their collection (www.memory.loc.gov).  A site related to LSU that has hundreds of links to other websites, some better than others, is the Index of Civil War Information Available on the Internet (http://www.civilwarhome.com/indexcivilwarinfo.htm).  A link at the top of the home page for this site discusses evaluating websites.