Chapter Book #12

Author:  Karen Hesse

Title:  Out of the Dust

Illustrator: N/A

Readability score:  Grade 6 to Grade 8

Genre:  Fiction

Subgenre:  Historical

Theme:  Out of the dust comes growth. 

Primary and secondary characters:  Billie Jo, Ma, Daddy, Franklin, Miss Freeland, Mad Dog, Arley. Louise

Awards:  Newbery Honor Award, Scott O'Dell Award

Date of Publication:  1997

Publishing company:  Scholastic, Inc.

ISBN number:  0-590-37125-8

Billie Jo grew up in the time of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression in Oklahoma.  Her life is bleak and dusty, but she has her parents and her piano to keep her happy.  Ma is strict on Billie Jo, never allowing her to play the piano even though she is a great musician.  Billie Jo describes the terrible dust storms that smother chickens, strip the land, and leave everything covered in mounds of dust.  The family is slowing losing hope when Ma announces she is pregnant.  Billie Jo is happy to have a brother or sister.  Her world is turned upside down when a pail of kerosene catches on fire in the kitchen.  She tries to put it out but burns her hands badly and catches her mother on fire.  Ma is unrecognizable.  She still carries the baby, but she dies from her wounds and labor.  Billie Jo's baby brother dies a few hours later.  Daddy and Billie Jo are devastated.  She cannot talk to her father, because she blames herself.  She can't even play the piano anymore.  Her hands are ruined.  Billie Jo decides to run away.  She makes it to Arizona, but she realizes she can't leave her home and the dust.  It is her whole world.  When she comes back two days later, her father is waiting for her.  They begin to rekindle their relationship.  Billie Jo begins to play the piano again, the rains come bringing hope, and Daddy finds a new love in Louise.  Billie Jo has come out of the dust.

This story is a harrowing account of an aspect of the Great Depression era that many people do not think about: the Dust Bowl.  The amount of dust that blew across the plains stripped the land of nutrients and made it infertile, furthering the economic depression.  Many people starved or died from the dust storms.  Life was unbearable.  This story is a short read that captures the reader's attention immediately.  Sixth grade students would appreciate Billie Jo's story because she was about their age.  I would ask the students upon reading the story to research the Dust Bowl.  I would ask them to report on how Roosevelt handled the Dust Bowl.  What was done to alleviate the dust?  Each literature club would have a different question to research.  They will present their findings to the rest of the class.  This activity is more effective than the teacher simply teaching the events of the Great Depression to the students because they are teaching it to themselves.  

Chapter Book #11

Author:  Michael O. Tunnell

Title:  Candy Bomber

Illustrator: N/A

Readability score:  Grade 3 to Grade 6

Genre:  Non-fiction

Subgenre: Biography

Theme:  From little things come big things.

Primary and secondary characters:  Lt. Halvorsen, Peter Zimmerman, Mercedes Simon, Captain Eugene Williams

Awards:  Orbis Pictus Honor Book

Date of Publication:  2010

Publishing company:  Charlesbridge

ISBN number:  978-1-58089-336-7

West Berlin was slowly starving as supplies ran out following World War II.  The United States and Britain worked together to bring supplies by airlift to the people.  The U.S. called it Operation Vittles.  Lt. Gail Halverson was a pilot who helped dropped food in Berlin.  One day, as he was touring the broken and battered city, he came across a group of children staring at him from across a fence.  The children looked hungry.  He spoke kindly to them.  All he had to offer them was two pieces of gum.  As he gave them the gum, he got an idea.  He would try to drop gum and chocolate for the children.  He went back to his fellow pilots and told them the plan.  They all gathered as much candy as they could find and made parachutes to drop it in.  The next day, they dropped the candy.  The children were so happy.  Lt. Halverson and his friends continued to drop candy that was donated by fellow soldiers.  Pretty soon, candy was being shipped in from all over to send to the children.  Even adults in Berlin wanted candy.  Letters started pouring in asking for candy.  The United States started sending candy.  Lt. Halverson brought joy to the children from Berlin who had lost so much.  He won many awards and continued to help children in need.  He sent candy to Serbia during the conflict there in the early 90s.  His foundation sent candy to Polynesian children at Christmas.  In 2008, he went back to Germany to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Airlift.

I would read excerpts from this chapter book aloud to my students, allowing them to get the idea of the Candy Bomber and what he did for the German children.  Afterwards, I would ask the children to pretend that they are living in Germany after the war and want some candy.  I would give them time to contemplate this.  Then, I would ask them to write a letter to Lt. Halverson asking him to send candy.  They can be specific and describe what their house looks like and what kind of candy to bring.  The letters may also include pictures.  The students must also give their appreciation as well, just as the German children did 65 years ago.

Chapter Book #10

Author:  Lois Metzger

Title: Yours, Anne: The Life of Anne Frank

Illustrator: N/A

Readability score:  Grade 3 to Grade 5

Genre:  Non-fiction

Subgenre: Biography

Theme:  Be courageous.  Do what it takes to survive.  Find the light in every darkness.

Primary and secondary characters:  Anne Frank, Otto Frank, Margot Frank, Edith Frank, Mr. and Mrs. van Pels, Peter van Pels, Miep, Kitty

Awards:  N/A

Date of Publication:  2004

Publishing company:  Scholastic, Inc.

ISBN number:  0-439-59099-X

Yours, Anne is the story of Anne Frank as told by her family friends and her diary, Kitty.  Anne grew up in Holland, where her parents thought they could live in safety.  They were wrong.  Hitler's rule quickly reached Holland.  A letter came saying that Margot, Anne's older sister, had to leave Holland to go to a work camp, which was really a concentration camp.  Otto Frank decided to send his family into hiding in an annex above his business.  Anne loved to write and did so almost daily because 'Kitty' was her escape from the 'Secret Annex' and her roommates.  There were two families living in the Annex: Anne's family and the van Pels.  Mr. and Mrs. van Pels did not get along very well.  Anne admits that she did not much care for Peter, their son, in the first year of hiding.  Tensions were very high because the families had to stay locked in the annex without making a sound.  Food was brought to them by Miep, a family friend who was not Jewish.  She worked in the business downstairs and could easily bring food and supplies in secret.  Another Jew joined the families, Dr. Pfeffer.  He shared a room with Anne.  Anne was very private.  She poured her life into her diary and she even wrote stories to entertain her family.  Towards the end of their time in the Annex, Anne and Peter fell in love.  She finally realized she had someone she could talk to who would understand her.  Life in the annex came to an abrupt end when police stormed the building and found the families living there.  Otto, Edith, Margot, Anne, Mr. and Mrs. van Pels, Peter, and Dr. Pfeffer were sent to work camps.  Otto was the only one to survive.  Miep also survived.  Together, she and Otto created the Anne that we know today.  They commemorated her memory by publishing her diary and creating a museum.

Yours, Anne would be a suitable book for study on the Holocaust for teachers who simply do not have time to read "The Diary of Anne Frank."  This version of Anne's life also gives a well-rounded view because it presents her life as it was perceived by others.  She is typically thought of as rebellious, mature for her age, and bright.  However, many people do not get to see Anne through the eyes of her friends during her life before the war came to Holland.  In this book, we see how Anne goes from vain, snarky, and selfish to mature, intuitive, and revolutionary.  Upon reading this story in literature circles, the students will fill out a Venn diagram comparing the Anne before the war and the Anne in the Annex.  What was she like before and by the time she died?  Were any characteristics the same throughout her life?

Chapter Book #9

Author: Michael Dorris
Title:  Morning Girl
Illustrator: N/A
Readability score:  Grade 4 to Grade 6
Genre:  Fiction
Subgenre:  Historical
Theme:  Appreciate the world in which you live.
Primary and secondary characters:  Morning Girl, Star Boy, Father, Mother, She Listens, Sharp Tooth, Red Feathers
Awards:  Scott O'Dell Award
Date of Publication:  1992
Publishing company:  Hyperion Paperbacks for Children
ISBN number:  0-7868-1358-X

Morning Girl is a story told from the perspectives of Morning Girl and her brother Star Boy.  They live on a Caribbean island in the time right before Columbus comes to the New World.  Morning Girl loves the morning and daytime, while Star Boy loves the night.  Morning Girl is early to rise, early to sleep.  Star Boy sleeps all day and wanders at night.  Each child has complaints about the other and they both complain about their parents.  In some ways, this 15th century family is not so different from today's typical family.  Morning Girl feels like her brother does not belong in the family.  Around this time, Mother tells Morning Girl that she is going to have a little sister.  The next month, Mother goes away.  When she comes back some time later, she does not have the baby.  Morning Girl and Star Boy are very disappointed.  Star Boy runs away for a day and hides in the rocks because he thinks he is in trouble for forgetting to tie up the canoe.  His parents and sister look for him, but they do not find him.  He finally reveals himself to his father and all is well again.  Morning Girl becomes curious about what her face looks like.  She asks her mother to describe it.  A great storm comes up in the night and Star Boy is caught in it.  Father tries to reach him but he can't because the wind is so powerful.  Star Boy hides in a tree.  The roof of their house is blown off.  The next day, everyone on the island works to rebuild their homes and gather food.  They celebrate by having a feast.  Star Boy runs away again because he is mad at several people.  Morning Girl goes to the beach for a swim one morning and finds a group of strange people in a strange boat.  She welcomes them, but they do not speak her language.  What she does not realize is that Christopher Columbus has come to Christianize her people and take over the island.

This story could be read in literature circles as a way to supplement learning on the topics of Native Americans and the founding of the Americas.  Morning Girl and Star Boy provide a look into what it was like to be on the 'other side' of history.  I would have the students read the book during literature circles and then respond to it.  I would give the students the following prompt:  How would you feel if you saw a stranger coming to your home?  How would you respond?  Would you be kind like Morning Girl was?  Would you be scared?  Respond by writing one paragraph using complete sentences.

Picture Book #19

Author: Peter Sis

Title:  The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

Illustrator:  Peter Sis

Readability score:  Grade 3 to Grade 5

Genre:  Non-fiction

Subgenre:  Biography

Theme:  Rising up in the face of adversity; following your dreams despite what others say.

Primary and secondary characters:  Peter, the Communists, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Elvis Presley, 

Awards:  2008 Caldecott Honor Book

Date of Publication:  2007

Publishing company:  Frances Foster Books

ISBN number:  978-0-374-34701-7

The Wall is the story of a young boy who grew up in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War.  Peter tells his story through his secret drawings.  Communism and capitalism had divided Europe like an Iron Curtain, the Wall.  Peter was on the communist side.  His life was spent following rules and being brainwashed.  At one point during the Cold War, he thought the war would end.  He joined a band and listened to American and British music.  However, the communists took back over.  He continued to draw and hope for freedom.  Finally, in 1989, the Wall came down.

While the story gives an account of Peter Sis' life, it also gives a detailed account of the worldwide events of the Cold War.  I feel that the Cold War is not emphasized as much in the curriculum today because there was no physical fighting in the 'war.'  It was merely a power struggle between the free world and the communist world.  Many people, including Americans, lived in fear of nuclear warfare and communism.  This was the turning point in modern foreign policy.  It also seemed to be the end of all the problems leftover from World War II.  People were able to breathe again.  I feel this book would be appropriate for 5th grade students.  The Cold War is difficult to describe in some ways.  I would use this story as an example of what it felt like to live on the other side of the Wall.  Upon reading, I would have the students respond through writing with this prompt:  How would you feel if you could not do as you pleased because your government did not allow it?  What is one activity, such as drawing, that you would continue to do, even if it is against the law?

Picture Book #18

Author:  Judith St. George

Title:  So You Want to Be President?

Illustrator:  David Small

Readability score:  Grade 3 to Grade 5

Genre:  Non-fiction

Subgenre:   Informational

Theme:  Leaders can come in all shapes and sizes.

Primary and secondary characters:  41 U.S. Presidents

Awards:  Caldecott Medal 2001

Date of Publication:  2000

Publishing company:  Philomel Books

ISBN number:  0-399-23407-1

So You Want to Be President? is an informational book about America's Presidents.  In a humorous way that children would love, the book gives the pros and cons of being a President.  It also gives little known facts about past Presidents.  For example, there were six Presidents whose names were James.  Eight Presidents were born in log cabins.  The Presidents were all different.  Some were nice, some were mean.  There were good Presidents and bad Presidents.  Some had pets, played music, and danced.  In order to be a good President, one must be honest and want to serve America.  The story ends by saying that anyone can be President if they have the right heart.

This book would be great as part of a Social Studies lesson on the Presidents.  It gives a lot of unknown facts about the Presidents.  Many, I admit, I did not know.  The book is really funny.  I believe the students would enjoy reading this.  I would read the story aloud to the students.  Afterwards, I would ask each student to share with the class one thing that they learned about the Presidents when they read this book.  I would also discuss the underlying theme of the book with the students.  I believe it would be beneficial to leave this book on display somewhere in my classroom so the students can use it as a reference.  It has a list of every President up to Bill Clinton that includes the date they lived, where they were from, and what they were known for during their Presidency.  Of course, I would let the students know that there have been two other Presidents since this book was written.  

Picture Book #17

Author:  Maira Kalman

Title:  Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey

Illustrator:  Maira Kalman

Readability score:  Kindergarten to Grade 2

Genre:  Non-fiction

Subgenre:  Historical

Theme:  Everything and everyone serve a purpose, regardless of size, shape, or age.  

Primary and secondary characters:  John J. Harvey, Smokey, Bob Lenney, Tim, Huntley, Jessica, Chase, Andrew, John, Tom

Awards:  Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

Date of Publication:  2002

Publishing company:  G.P. Putnam's Sons

ISBN number:  0-399-23953-7

Fireboat is the story of a boat that served New York City for almost eighty years.  The Harvey was the best fireboat on the Hudson.  It fought fires all along the piers, until the piers were gone and its services were no longer needed.  The World Trade Center went up and the city was changing.  In 1995, the Harvey was adopted by a group of New Yorkers.  They refurbished the Harvey, but the owners were not allowed to fight fires with it... Until September 11, 2001 when terrorists attacked the WTC.  The owners of the Harvey decided they had to do something to help.  The firefighters of the city called on the Harvey to help put out the smoldering buildings.  The Harvey became a hero and won an award.  The Harvey still works today.

This story is a true story about the events of 9/11 and how the Harvey helped in the relief efforts.  Since the children who would be reading this story now were not even born when this attack occurred, I feel the story would be very appropriate in teaching students about September 11.  I would read this story to the children on or around September 11.  I would discuss the significance of this day and explain to the students how very serious it was.  There is also an important theme that I feel young children could relate to in this story.  That is:  Everything and everyone has a purpose.  Even though the Harvey was old, it still helped save lives and fight the fires.  With determination, even children can be heroes.  Not only would this book teach children about September 11, it would also help instill positive values.