First Flight around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the Race

Grove, Tim. First Flight around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the Race. Abrams 2015. 88pp. Lexile: 1100

 

In 1924, at a time when most people had never seen a plane, the public’s imagination was captured when the U.S., Portugal, France, UK, Italy, and Argentina competed to fly around the world.  A team of eight members of the U.S. Army Air Service—four pilots and four mechanics—set off from Seattle with high hopes  The open-cockpit planes, which needed constant maintenance and repairs, could switch from wheels to pontoons for water landings.  Thanks to the massive press coverage and a detailed journal kept by one of the mechanics, the author incorporates many quotes that give a sense of immediacy to the fast-moving narrative. Eye-catching graphics add interest with historic photos and artifacts as well as excellent maps pegged to each chapter.  Back matter includes a glossary; their itinerary; the number of days, time in the air, distance, stops, and countries; endnotes; bibliography; and index.  The book was published in association with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, which has one of the planes on display. This is a terrific way to learn about the time period, aviation and transportation history, and world geography. 

Internet Tie-in:  One of the planes, a Douglas World Cruiser built specifically for the flight, is at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.  Students can see it online at the museum’s website, which offers a wealth of material including photographs and videos on all aspects of flight.

http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?object=nasm_A19250008000

Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain

Freedman, Russell. Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain. Clarion, 2013. 96pp. Lexile 1140.

While most people think of Ellis Island as the historic entry point for immigrants, more than a half a million newcomers entered the U.S. through Angel Island in San Francisco Bay.  From 1910 to 1940, immigrants mostly from Asia spent weeks and even months anxiously waiting to see if they would be admitted.  This excellent history quotes from transcripts of the interrogations that decided their fates and incorporates poignant poems in Chinese characters that still adorn the walls of the buildings.  Well-chosen historic photographs enhance the exploration of the island’s history, individual stories, and the discrimination and hardship that Asians faced here.  One chapter focuses on women and another on non-Asian immigrants.  The narrative wraps up gracefully with the story of how the island and buildings were preserved and became part of a state park in 2009, thanks to activism by the Asian-American community.  A gem for the curriculum or independent reading.

Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case

Crowe, Chris. Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case. Dial, 2003. 128pp. Lexile 1210.

Emmett Till would have been 74 this year.  He was born in 1941 and killed on August 28th, 1955.  The murder of Emmett Till and the trial in which his killers, who later confessed, were acquitted had a profound effect on the Civil Rights Movement.  This painful but important story concerns Till, a fourteen-year-old African-American boy from Chicago, visiting his relatives in small-town Mississippi in 1955. Having allegedly called a white woman “baby,” he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by local white men.  Crowe conveys the vicious prejudice and the sense of white superiority that led to Till’s death.  The straightforward writing lets facts and quotes speak for themselves.  It sets the murder and trial in context, shortly after Brown v. Board of Education was decided, and at a time when blacks and women could not serve on Mississippi juries.  The country’s stunned reaction to the photographs of Till’s body and the unjust trial come across as well.  Black-and-white photographs, a timeline, lists of further reading and websites, and a bibliography enrich the book.

Fiction, Poetry, & Drama Tie-ins:  Crowe lists several responses in art to the Till story: plays by Toni Morrison and James Baldwin, a Bob Dylan song, and a Gwendolyn Brooks poem.  Crowe has also written a novel, Mississippi 1955, that tells the story of Till’s murder and trial through the viewpoint of a white teenager.  Pair any of these with the nonfiction book to show different approaches to the same subject.  Older readers may appreciate the beautiful, intricate sonnets in Marilyn Nelson's A Wreath for Emmett Till.

Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa's Fastest Cats

Montgomery, Sy. Photographs by Nic Bishop. Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa's Fastest Cats. Houghton, 2014. 80pp. Lexile 1000.

Another outstanding entry in the Scientists in the Field series, this introduces Laurie Marker, an American scientist who has opened a clinic in Namibia to help save cheetahs.  The excellent team of writer Sy Montgomery and photographer Nic Bishop spends time at the clinic and out in the field with the scientists.  They participate in an annual physical checkup of a cheetah, including a dental check that shows the cheetah will need a root canal next year.  They accompany other volunteers into the savanna to take a census of the animals.  The text and photographs present facts about this remarkable animal and the efforts to keep it from extinction. The book brims over with helpful material including a map, resources list, index, and even "advice for saving world" from Marker.

Reading Std #5: Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and/or larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole. Like other books in the series, this photo-essay weaves together the story of a specific scientist and how she came to do this work; a sampling of her everyday activities as a scientist; a strong sense of setting; and lots of information about the book's focus, in this case, the cheetahs.  Have students examine the structure that Montgomery uses to integrate these topics, and how the photographs contribute to the balance.  Students can create a quick outline to illustrate their analysis.

Searching for Sarah Rector

Bolden, Tonya. Searching for Sarah Rector. Abrams, 2014. 80pp. Lexile 1050.

In my experience, many kids care about the topic  of money, making a book about the once-wealthiest black girl in America inherently interesting to them.  Sarah Rector was the descendant of slaves owned by the Creek Indian nation, who took them from the South to the West.  After the Civil War, those former slaves became known Creek freedmen and each one, including children, received an allotment of land in the area that is now Oklahoma.  In 1914, when Sarah Rector was 12, oil was found on her allotment and she started receiving royalties from a drilling company.  Along with the new wealth came problems such as who could be trusted to be her financial guardian.  Bolden sets the story skillfully in historical context of the slavery and the West.  Since facts about Sarah Rector are sparse and not always reliable, Bolden shares her research process with readers.  A gorgeous piece of bookmaking, the volume integrates photographs and other graphics to convey time, place, and people. Back matter includes an author’s note, glossary, source notes, bibliography, and index.

Reading Information Std #3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.  One of the key elements in Rector's story is the relationship between the Creek Indians and their African-American slaves, including what happened after the Civil War.  Have students trace that relationship through this book, and also compare each group's relationship with whites.  Interested students might pursue research about the Seminole Indians and black slaves.

An American Plague

Murphy, Jim. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. Clarion, 2003. 165pp. Lexile 1130.

In 1793, yellow fever swept Philadelphia, then the nation’s temporary capital, a tragedy brilliantly recounted in this Sibert Award Winner and Newbery Honor Book.  The topic is inherently intriguing and Murphy’s enthusiasm for the topic comes across clearly. The author brings to life key figures like Dr. Benjamin Rush and lesser known ones such as members of the Free African Society who nursed the sick.  The dynamic text, which targets the reader’s senses with quotes about sights, sounds, and smells, looks at how yellow fever came to the city, how it spread, and how various segments of the city reacted.  Doctors tried to treat it, with very limited knowledge, disagreeing with each other on the best approach.  With the national government centered in Philadelphia, the political consequences were severe.  A readable open design effectively uses maps, newspaper clippings, etchings, and other visuals that combine with the excellent writing to make this one of the best nonfiction books for teens.

Fiction tie-ins:  Pair this with Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson or Path of the Pale Horse by Paul Fleischman (out of print), both excellent novels about the yellow fever epidemic, set in Philadelphia.

Branded by the Pink Triangle

Setterington, Ken. Branded by the Pink Triangle. Second Story, 2013. 196pp. Lexile 1110.

Although the Holocaust holds an important place in the curriculum, the subject of how Nazis persecuted the gay population rarely gets much attention.  This moving book fills in that gap, combining historical facts and true, often heartbreaking, stories. The text offers historical context, then discusses how gays--mostly men--were located, sent to concentration camps, and suffered and died there. Even those who survived the war continued to suffer since they couldn’t speak out about their experiences in a world where homosexuality was illegal (and still is in many places, as the author discusses at the end).  Black-and-white photographs, pictures of artifacts, notes, an index, and a timeline all add to the effectiveness of this important narrative.  A Stonewall Honor Book.

Reading Std #1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and implicitly, citing specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from it. The author excels at integrating stories that make the persecution and suffering feel personal, including one about a male couple who held a commitment ceremony in the early 1930s, only to be separated forever after the Nazis arrested them.  Have students identify several such stories and analyze them in terms of language and how they add to the emotional impact of the text.

Enrique's Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother

Nazario, Sonia. Enrique's Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother. Delacorte, 2013. 288pp. Lexile 770.

This complex, moving story focuses on one of the 100,000 children and teens who leave Central America and Mexico each year to try to cross the border into the U.S. Nazario, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her L.A. Times series on the topic, located and interviewed an impoverished boy from Honduras whom she calls Enrique.  His mother left for the U.S. when he was five, hoping to send money back to Enrique and his sister to build a better life.  When he was 17, the boy decided to seek out the mother he hadn’t seen since she left. He tries multiple times to make his way to the U.S. border but is sent back by immigration officials.  The journey entails riding on the roofs of trains where many young people are injured or die. They are also vulnerable to bandits and corrupt officials, illness and lack of food.  Stark details about his attempts and his mother’s tough life in the U.S. will draw in readers and open their eyes to a modern tragedy.

Reading Std #3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.  Although Enrique hasn’t seen his mother since he was five, she has always played a large role in his life.  Have students cite specifics in the text to describe how Enrique and his mother interact over the course of the book, and how their relationship evolves.  What are their feelings about each other and how do those change?  How realistic are their hopes about reuniting and what it might mean to them?  Note:  Like many memoirs and biographies, this does not meet CCSS Lexile levels for middle school  yet it is a strong choice for that age group and will introduce many readers to a part of our world they don't know.

Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty

Bolden, Tonya. Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty. Abrams, 2012. 120pp. Lexile 1160.

In Robert Frost’s poem, “Directive,” he speaks of the past as a time “made simple by the loss of detail.”  Here Tonya Bolden examines details about Abraham Lincoln and his views on slavery, creating a picture that is far from simple.  While most people assume Lincoln was always adamantly against slavery, Bolden shows that his public stance shifted over time.  His main focus during the Civil War was to reunite the nation, even if it meant delaying the end of slavery, an attitude that infuriated abolitionists.  This fine book provides context about the war and what led up to it. The thoughtful narrative brims over with quotes from primary sources and scholars. It offers numerous visuals from photographs to documents with long captions that add information, and wraps up with a timeline, glossary, index, and bibliography.

Reading Std #9 for grades 6-8: Compare/contrast texts on similar themes or topics. Have students compare this to any more traditional biography of Lincoln, contrasting how the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln’s views on slavery are portrayed.

Reading Std #6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. Bolden opens and closes the book using a first person plural narrative voice of abolitionists, black and white, who weren’t sure Lincoln would actually issue the proclamation.  The rest of the book is a traditional third-person point of view.  Have students analyze the use of these two points of view and the purposes they serve.

An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming

Gore, Albert, and Jane O'Connor. An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming. Viking, 2007. 191pp. Lexile 1070.

Although no long cutting edge in its details, this adaptation of Gore's bestseller for adults, which was also a documentary, does a powerful job of presenting information graphically and making an impact on the reader.  It introduces middle school readers to climate change through facts, figures, stories, and graphics, and makes it clear what the future holds unless we as a world address the crisis now.  Before-and-after photographs show devastation that had already started by the mid-2000s.  Gore is advocating here, not documenting in detail.  This is a call to arms, which young people are starting to answer.

Reading Std #9 for grades 6-8: Compare/contrast texts on similar themes or topics.  Pair this with Paul Fleischman's 2014 nonfiction title, Eyes Wide Open (Candlewick), which is more up-to-date and focuses on giving readers the tools to think critically about current issues, focusing on climate change.  This is the key issue of our time and of great concern to young people who are aware of it.  Have students compare the approaches in each book, the information each gives, and how it's presented.

Call of the Klondike: A True Gold Rush Adventure

Meissner, David. Call of the Klondike: A True Gold Rush Adventure. Calkins Creek, 2013. 168pp. Lexile 1100.

Two Ivy League graduates who headed to the Klondike in 1897 when gold was discovered left a vivid record of their year in the North.  Friends Stanley Pearce and Marshall Bond, both in their twenties, secured financial backing family, bought supplies, and boarded a ship.  They had some knowledge of mining but underestimated the dangers and difficulties of their goal.  Excerpts from letters, diaries, and newspaper articles they wrote combined with black-and-white photographs give this exciting history a sense of immediacy.  Not surprisingly, they didn't get rich and were more than ready to return to a more conventional life after their tough year.

Fiction tie-In:  One of the photographs shows the two young men with Jack London, who camped near them and later modeled his fictional dog Buck on one of Bond’s dogs.  Have students read Call of the Klondike in conjunction with London’s Call of the Wild, noting overlapping aspects and how much the London  novel is grounded in historical reality.

The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi

Bascomb, Neal. The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi . Scholastic, 2013. 256pp. Lexile 1000.

 In 1960, six agents from Israel's Mossad intelligence operations tracked down and captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who had orchestrated the deaths of millions of Jews.  This adaptation of Hunting Eichmann, the author's book for adults, conveys the story in context with intriguing details and well-chosen quotations from primary sources.  Eichmann was living in Argentina, a country not likely to facilitate the capture, so the agents worked secretly.  After verifying the identity of Eichmann, who was working in a factory, the Mossad agents carefully put their plan into action.  Each of the agents on the team had a strength--languages, falsifying documents, building secret compartments.  Most of them had relatives killed in the Holocaust, which gave the mission an unusual level of meaning, knowing they'd meet one of the men responsible for their loss.  Without fictionalizing, this reads like a spy novel but one with a deep emotional impact. 

Reading Std #3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.  The author does a good job of building suspense throughout the story, even for the reader who knows at the beginning what will happen to Eichmann.  Have students analyze the text to see how the author creates tension in the reader through the pacing.  How does he use structure and language to speed up and slow down the pace?  How does this compare to techniques used to create suspense in fiction?

The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us

Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. Penguin, 2010. 136pp. Lexile 1120.

So much of social history can be studied through everyday objects.  What better way to look at middle-class America over the last fifty-plus years--especially among girls--than through the popular doll, Barbie.  Ace nonfiction writer Tanya Lee Stone spreads the net wide, starting with the history of Barbie's creation (by a woman) and the doll's role in making Mattel a big business.  Stone looks at Barbie's clothes, how they reflected the times and how they influenced future designers.  One chapter examines the increase over the years in racially diverse and international Barbies while another discusses controversies. Quotes throughout from doll-owners convey positives and negatives about the doll, with a refreshingly forthright chapter on how kids played with naked Barbies and sometimes mutilated the dolls.  Photographs and captions, including a color inset, add information and interest.

 Reading Std #1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and implicitly, citing specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from it.  Have students examine the quotes from Barbie owners in the text, pull-out quotes, and the purse-shaped sidebars.  They should be looking for positive and negative views of the doll in the quotes as well as from their overall reading of the book.  Then convene a discussion in which students discuss the positive and negative impact of Barbie, and weigh in with their own opinions.

Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration

Tougas, Shelley. Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration. Compass Point, 2012. 64pp. Lexile 1010.

This is an entry in a terrific series called Captured History, in which each book focuses on a photograph that changed American history: the Migrant Mother photograph from the Great Depression; raising the flag at Iwo Jima; Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon; black children being sprayed with water by police in Birmingham, 1963; and a Lewis Hine photo of boy miners.  In each book, short chapters provide background and then explore the significance of the photograph and the impact it made.  In Little Rock Girl 1957, the photograph is of Elizabeth Eckfort, one of the nine students to integrate Little Rock High. Because she didn't get a phone message, she ended up walking into the school alone, surrounded by angry whites.  The photograph alerted the world to the ugliness of racial hatred, even against a teen wanting better education.  Eckfort and the screaming white girl behind her met years later in a temporary highly publicized reconciliation, prompted in part by the photographer, covered in one chapter.  The book also addresses inequality in schools at that time and now.  Sidebars and many more photographs add information throughout.  This is an excellent, accessible book for students at a range of reading levels, that can serve as an introduction to the civil rights movement and the story of a courageous teen.  Available in hardcover and paperback

Reading Std #7:  Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, visually and quantitatively, and in words.  The entire series addresses this facet of the CC standards, speaking to the power of visual images.  The book would lend itself to any response--discussion, debate, essay writing--on the topic.  It could also be easily compared and contrasted with other books in the series.

Science Warriors: The Battle against Invasive Species

Collard, Sneed B. Science Warriors: The Battle against Invasive Species. Houghton, 2008. 48pp. Lexile: 1110.

It's a rare science book that brings to mind Indiana Jones, but this important book in the Scientists in the Field series does just that.  Just check out the photograph of red imported fire ants swarming.  Non-native plants and animals like these ants are wreaking havoc on parts of our country.  This fine photo-essay focuses on three main examples but mentions others as well.  It looks at the history of the problem, finding that typically the species was introduced with good intentions that backfired.  Collard examines the costs to agriculture and the efforts to solve the increasingly serious problem.  The book offers the series' usual helpful back matter including glossary, websites, index, and "local steps to take" in helping in the fight.

Writing Std. #7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.  Since this book is now eight years old, students could supplement it with more up-to-date information and find out what progress has been made on the three species. They could also each research a species that Collar didn't highlight--there are 6,200 invasive species in the U.S.  The websites in the book under "More Invasive Information" are a good starting point.  The U.S. Department of Agriculturel also has a great resource page for K-12 at http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/resources/educk12.shtml.

Snow Falling in Spring

Li, Moying. Snow Falling in Spring: Coming of Age in China During the Cultural Revolution. FSG, 2008. Available in paperback. 176pp. Lexile 1020.

In this fascinating memoir, Li, who was 12 at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, focuses on her teenage years and the effect of the political change on her educated, book-loving family.  Her father, who made films for the army, and her mother, a teacher, were separated from their family, leaving Li and her brother with their grandmother.  As teens, Li and her peers were encouraged to denounce their parents and teachers (which she had no wish to do); in one sad scene, Li learns that a beloved headmaster has committed suicide. The power of education and reading is a theme throughout. Family friends secretly loaned Li forbidden books that sustained her, including Western classics like Shakespeare, Dickens, and Jack London.  In the end, Li had the chance—unusual at the time--to study in the U.S., where she now lives.

Reading Std #2: Determine central ideas or themes and analyze their development; summarize key supporting details and ideas. Have students trace the theme about reading and the role it played in Li’s teen years.  Have them consider the restrictions the Chinese government put on books, and why, and compare those to the availability of books in their own lives.

Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don't You Grow Weary

Partridge, Elizabeth. Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don't You Grow Weary. Viking, 2009. 80pp. Lexile 960.

“The first time Joanne Blackmon was arrested, she was just ten years old,” opens this powerful tribute to young people who participated in the Civil Rights movement.  Blackmon was arrested when she accompanied her grandmother who was trying to register to vote as an African-American in Selma, Alabama, in 1963.  From this gripping incident, Partridge takes readers to 1965, when Martin Luther King, Jr., came to Selma to further the cause.  Based in part on extensive interviews, the book dramatically documents the role of children and teenagers in protest marches where they were attacked by dogs, tear gas, clubs, and even cattle prods.  Three thousand young people were arrested, yet they continued to practice non-violence.  Their fear and determination come across in the narrative, quotes, and photographs, some of which show the violence.  Notes, bibliography, index.  A remarkable book about the role of courageous young people in our history.

Reading Std #2: Determine central ideas or themes and analyze their development; summarize key supporting details and ideas.  One key theme throughout this moving book is the role of music including spirituals and protest songs in keeping up the spirits of the young people involved.  Have students find specific evidence of this theme to see how Partridge develops it.

Reading Std #9 for grades 6-8: Compare/contrast texts on similar themes or topics.:  Pair this with Cynthia Levinson's. We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March. (Peachtree, 2012) to see how the two authors address similar material about children involved in civil rights.

Tell All the Children Our Story: Memories and Mementoes of Being Young and Black in America

Bolden, Tonya. Tell All the Children Our Story: Memories and Mementoes of Being Young and Black in America. Abrams 2001. 128pp. Lexile 1130.

An elegant book design paired with excellent visual elements on nearly every page make this a real pleasure to read.  It was the first book for young people to trace the history of being young and black in America, starting in Colonial times including a black child born in Jamestown and going through the late 1990s.  While it touches on some well-known figures such as Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Banneker, most those named are not famous. Themes about the effects of racism and courage of individuals appear throughout the book. Bolden, a well-respected chronicler of black history, makes good use of primary sources such as diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and excerpts from books.  Quotes from children throughout U.S. history appear in frequent sidebars.  Photographs, paintings, etchings, posters, advertisements, and artifacts give the feeling of a scrapbook over which readers will want to linger.  Outstanding in every respect.

Reading Std #5: Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and/or larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole.  Bolden uses sidebars effectively to add the voices of real children to her chronological narrative.  Have students consider the value of such quotes from primary sources and what they add to Bolden’s narrative.

Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!

Fritz, Jean. Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! G.P. Putnam's, 1991. 127pp. Lexile 980.

“What did Theodore Roosevelt want to do? Everything.  And all at once if possible.  Plunging headlong into life, he refused to waste a single minute. Among other things, he studied birds, shot lions, roped steer, fought a war, wrote books, and discovered the source of a mystery river in South America.”  So opens this lively biography of a man who became President of the United States.  Written in Jean Fritz’s typically colorful style, the story combines a good sense of his character and his accomplishments, mostly before becoming President, with striking details--as New York City police commissioner, he wore bright pink shirts with a black silk cummerbund that had long tassels. Quotes, anecdotes, and vivid prose make this an exceptionally readable biography of one of our more unusual Presidents. 

Reading Std #6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.  Clearly Fritz finds Roosevelt an interesting subject.  Have students consider whether she is biased in his favor or against him, or is even-handed in her treatment, requiring them to point to specifics in the text.

Denied, Detained, Deported: Stories from the Dark Side of American Immigration

 Bausum, Ann. Denied, Detained, Deported: Stories from the Dark Side of American Immigration. National Geographic, 2009. 112pp. Lexile 1170.

Bausum takes a look at past U.S. immigration policies focusing on five groups chronologically from 1882, when the U.S. first started keeping specific groups from immigrating, to recent issues about illegal Mexican immigrants.  Sections examine Chinese immigrants in the 1800s; Jewish refugees during the 1930s and 40s; and the internment of Japanese and Japanese Americans in the U.S. during World War II.  While the author does not advocate limitless immigration, she raises questions about biases and fairness in government policies.  She weaves quotations from those involved into the text; black-and-white photographs also add information.  Back matter includes an extensive timeline; bibliography; resource guide; and index.

Speaking Std. #2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.  Timelines are a useful graphic tool in understanding the chronology of a historical topic.  The six-page timeline in this book is unusually extensive and attractive, incorporating small photographs and short paragraphs of text.  Have students use it as a model in conjunction with a different historical text that follows a chronological structure; then have them explain the historical event, using the timeline, to fellow students.  Several free websites such as www.xtimeline.com offer digital timeline templates that can include images and different structures. 

Fiction Tie-ins:  Considering pairing with Cynthia Kadohata's Weedflower, about a Japanese-American family at an internment camp, or Tropical Secrets by Margarita Engle, a verse novel about Jewish refugees in Cuba in 1939.