Geography
Geography > locations
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions
Alice Ramsey's Grand Adventure
Alice Ramsey and three other women face floods, mud, and travel without maps as they drive from New York to San Francisco--in 1909. The charming watercolors add realistic humor to the narrative.
| Author: Brown, Don |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Angels in the Dust
A poignant story of a family living in the Dust Bowl trying to make ends meet.
| Author: Raven, Margot Theis |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
|
Backyard Birds
This informational book begins with four pages of data on birds in winter, then provides a one-page entry on many different birds, including a U.S. map of its territory and an illustration for each. The book ends with information on bird food, feeders, a
| Author: Lerner, Carol |
HSE Descriptors:
science
|
Native Americans
Rather than focus on individual tribes, the editors chose to organize the text and illustrations by cultural topics such as dress, transportation, rituals, and livelihood. Information boxes augment the brief text, giving the appearance of an intermediate
| Author: Thomas, David & Pendleton, Lorann (Eds.) |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Scrambled States of America, The
This very amusing book contemplates rearranging the states of the USA. Clever, colorful illustrations extend the humor. The appendix contains reference information about the states--state capitols, population, state slogan, and area.
| Author: Keller, Laurie |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Steamboat! The Story of Captain Blanche Leathers
The story of Blanche Leathers, the country's first female steamboat captain, sailing on the Mississippi River.
| Author: Gilliland, Judith Heide |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Tour America
The poet chooses to write about 26 favorite locations in the United States, pairing the varied poetic forms with mixed media that reflects the essence of the site. Maps and a list of art works enchance this combination of history, geography, art, and poe
Walt Whitman: Words for America
This biography of Walt Whitman extends our knowledge of the poet, both in his growth as a poet and learning of the experiences that were the source of his poetry. Back matter contains more biographical and historical information, sources, and full poems
| Author: Kerley, Barbara |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Alabama
Birmingham, 1963
A fictional narrator tells, in poetry, about the day she turned 10, which was also the day of the church bombing in Birmingham
| Author: Weatherford, Carole |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Finding Lincoln
Louis needs to write an essay but in Alabama in 1951, he's not allowed in the "whites only" library. Lewis solves his dilemma with bravery and the help of a kind librarian. Historical notes are included at the end of the story.
| Author: Malaspina, Ann |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Finding Lincoln
Louis needs to write an essay but in Alabama in 1951, he's not allowed in the "whites only" library. Lewis solves his dilemma with bravery and the help of a kind librarian. Historical notes are included at the end of the story.
| Author: Malaspina, Ann |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Francie
This engaging novel shows a slice of life in small-town Alabama in the 1940s, as told from the perspective of 13-year-old Francie. Francie, her mother, and her brother anxiously await a chance to join her father in Chicago. In the meantime, Francie comes
Ma Dear's Aprons
The life of the author's great grandmother, a single parent who was a domestic worker in Alabama, is celebrated.
| Author: McKissack, Patricia C. |
|
Marching for Freedom
The compelling story of the events in Selma, Alabama that led to the voter rights march to Montgomery in 1965. Interviews with some of the marchers and black and white photographs highlight the struggles of African Americans to get the right to vote.
| Author: Partridge, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Alaska
Black Star, Bright Dawn
Bright Dawn, a teenaged Eskimo girl, takes her father's place in the grueling Iditarod, the 1000-mile dogsled race through the cold wilds of Alaska. In the process, she learns about herself, her family, and her culture.
Dogsong
14-year-old Russel, an Eskimo, feels assailed by the modernity of his life. With the help of a wise elder, Russel learns how (and why) to make a 1400-mile dog run across his country. (Newbery Honor Book)
| Author: Paulsen, Gary |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Appalachia
Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds
The author and the illustrator, both from Appalachia, lovingly remember the people, the customs, and the dogs.
Ballet for Martha
This is the story of the collaboration between Martha Graham and Aaron Copeland that resulted in a famous work of music and a famous ballet. Reveals the work that happens behind the scenes by the choreographer, composer and set developer of a ballet.
| Author: Greenberg, J. & Jordan, S. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing
|
Choices
George Ella Lyon, an accomplished writer of children's books, wrote this collection of stories (and its accompanying text, More Choices) specifically for adult new readers; in fact, she conferred with ABE students from Kentucky while creating the
| Author: Lyon, George Ella |
|
Come Go With Me: Old-timer Stories from the Southern Mountains
The author recorded these oral histories of "Southern Mountain" old folks over a twenty-five year period in order to preserve aspects of community that were disappearing.
| Author: Thomas, Ray Edwin (collected by) |
|
In Coal Country
Living in a small Ohio mining town, a small girl tells of her family's life in the first part of this century.
| Author: Hendershot, Judith |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Missing May
A twelve-year-old girl named Summer and her uncle are dealing with the death of Aunt May (his wife). They decide, with the help of a strange boy from Summer's school, to try to contact May's spirit, and in the process learn how to let go.
Mist over the Mountains
Memorable photographs and well-written text depict the history and present life in the geographic area known as Appalachia. The author includes a section on Further Reading.
| Author: Bial, Raymond |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
More Choices: Stories for Adult New Readers
These three stories fit with George Ella Lyon's collection Choices, but were not included in the original collection because some readers found them too controversial. Our readers found them powerful and moving, addressing life situations that m
| Author: Lyon, George Ella |
|
More Than Anything Else
Few people around young Booker T. Washington are able to read. But Booker, age 9, finds a chance and takes it. This biography, which also shows life in post-Civil War West Virginia, is full of eloquent language and dramatic, lantern-lit paintings.
| Author: Bradby, Marie |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My Great Aunt Arizona
Based on the author's great aunt, Arizona was born in a log cabin. All her life she dreamed of visiting far-away places. She became a teacher and never left the area, but taught several generations of children to share her dreams.
| Author: Houston, Gloria |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Silver Packages
A man returns to his childhood home in Appalachia to thank the benefactor on the Christmas Train. The story originally appeared in Rylant's book Children of Christmas: Stories for the Season.
Steam, Steel, and Stars
In 1955, the photographer O.W. Link captured the last steam railroad on its last runs in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.
| Author: Link, O. W. and Hensley, F. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Stories I Ain't Told Nobody Yet
A collection of 49 poems, these vignettes of Appalachian life are funny, sad, moving, and silly. Not all of them are of great quality; teachers may want to pick and choose among them. The poem (on pg. 50) on abuse is powerful and likely to provoke good
| Author: Carson, Jo |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Traveling Cat, The
A young girl takes in a stray cat who stays long enough to have kittens before traveling on.
| Author: Lyon, George Ella |
|
Up the Tracks to Grandma's
A girl describes her visits to her grandmother's home in a small-town Ohio in the middle 1900s, a time when her widowed grandmother plucked her own chickens, shoveled her own coal, and could not read English.
| Author: Hendershot, Judith |
|
Waiting to Waltz
Reminiscences of life in the small town of Beaver are told as poems from a young girl's point of view.
When I Was Young in the Mountains
The narrator remembers various aspects and details of growing up in a mountain community.
With a Hammer for My Heart
When 15-year-old Lawanda befriends a WW II veteran living in an old school bus, she sets in motion events that will change her life and all those around her. The well-written story unfolds with each chapter telling the story from the point of view of eac
| Author: Lyon, George Ella |
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Arkansas
Somewhere In the Darkness
Jimmy, a teenager, lives in the city with Mama Jean. Then he meets Crab, a "man with something to prove. Maybe Crab's not sure what it is; maybe Jimmy's not sure he wants to know. But it may be the last chance Crab has to tell Jimmy who he was, and who
| Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > California
Angel Island
An historical account of the discrimination against the Asian immigrants in the late 1800s-early 1900s. Angel Island, located near Alcatraz Island, was the Ellis Island of the west coast of the U.S. but was more of a prison than a welcoming center. Drawi
| Author: Russell Freedman |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Children of the Dust Bowl
The book recounts the migration of the "Okies" during the Great Depression to the camps in California. School Superintendent Leo Hart began the Weedpatch School where children of the migrants escaped the ostracism of the locals in a model learn-by-doing
| Author: Stanley, Jerry |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Christmas Gift, The
This beautifully illustrated bilingual story tells of the Christmas of a migrant family in California, which first appeared as a chapter in The Circuit. His family has to move again a few days before Christmas in order to find work, and Panchito
| Author: Jimenez, Francisco |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Circuit, The
The author tells the heartbreaking story of a young boy growing up as an undocumented migrant whose family traveled the crop circuit in California in the 1930's. The narrative is told as linked stories. At least two of the chapters have been published a
| Author: Jimenez, Francisco |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez
This is a picture biography of Cesar Chavez. It focuses on his childhood and initial efforts at organizing farm workers in the mid-60s, creating The National Form Workers Association.
| Author: Krull, Kathleen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > California > Los Angeles
City of Angels: In and Around Los Angeles
20 places or events in Los Angeles are briefly described. Each is accompanied by cartoon-like illustrations. A chronology of interesting tidbits of LA history concludes the book.
| Author: Jaskol, Julie & Lewis, Brian |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Si, Se Puede (Yes, We Can!)
Text in both English and Spanish on each page tells the story of a mother who becomes active in union organization. This story is based on the 2000 janitors' strike in Los Angeles. An essay by Luis J. Rodriguez describes a real-life activist whose goals a
| Author: Cohn, Diana |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
smoky night
1
| Author: bunting, eve |
HSE Descriptors:
literature and arts | literature and arts | literature and arts | literature and arts | literature and arts
|
Geography > locations >U.S. states/regions> California > Los Angeles > Watts
City of Angels: In and Around Los Angeles
20 places or events in Los Angeles are briefly described. Each is accompanied by cartoon-like illustrations. A chronology of interesting tidbits of LA history concludes the book.
| Author: Jaskol, Julie & Lewis, Brian |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Wonderful Towers of Watts, The
Throughout his life, Old Sam collects bits and pieces of glass, tiles, and discarded objects that he uses to build structures in his backyard in Watts.
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Hawaii
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Subtitled "The true story of the day America entered World War II," this book describes the attack on Pearl Harbor from the perspectives of four people, both Japanese and American. Excerpts about others who were influenced by the attack are also provided,
| Author: Tanaka, Shelley |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Last Princess, The
This biography recounts the history of Hawaii at the end of the 19th century and the life of the last Hawaiian heir, Princess Ka'iulani, who was denied the throne when the monarchy was abolished.
| Author: Stanley, Fay |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Princess Ka'iulani: Hope of a Nation, Heart of a People
This is a fascinating biography of Ka'iulani, Crown Princess of Hawaii. The history of Hawaii is also chronicled, as is a bit about life in the US and Europe in the late 19th century. Authentic photographs and political cartoons, a bibliography, and index
| Author: Linnea, Sharon |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Illinois
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Illinois > Chicago
Great Fire, The
By weaving personal accounts from survivors together with carefully researched history, Jim Murphy constructs a riveting narrative that recreates the great Chicago fire with drama and immediacy. Authentic photos and drawings complement the text.
| Author: Murphy, Jim |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Gwendolyn Brooks
This biography describes the influences and hardships of the early years and the political activism of the later years of the African American poet Gwendolyn Brooks. The book includes a chronology, archival photos, an index, a list of published works and
| Author: Hill, Christine M. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies | language arts - writing
|
Somewhere In the Darkness
Jimmy, a teenager, lives in the city with Mama Jean. Then he meets Crab, a "man with something to prove. Maybe Crab's not sure what it is; maybe Jimmy's not sure he wants to know. But it may be the last chance Crab has to tell Jimmy who he was, and who
| Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Iowa
Kate Shelley: Bound for Legend
This is the story of a 15-year-old girl who helped prevent a train disaster in 1881.
| Author: San Souci, Robert D. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Prairie Builders, The
At the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in central Iowa, scientists are recreating a tall-grass prairie. Color photographs, a glossary, web sites, and an index document the difficult process of bringing back a small piece of the prairie.
| Author: Collard, Sneed B. III |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
|
Tulip Sees America
The author tells a fictionalized version of her trip from the midwest to her new home in Oregon.
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Maine
Gifts from the Sea
The lives of a lighthousekeeper and his daughter are changed by the discovery of a baby washed ashore after a shipwreck on the coast of Maine in the 1850's.
| Author: Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie |
|
Into the Deep Forest: With Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau's journal entries have been placed into a broader context and are accompanied by stunning paintings and pencil drawings in this 39-page book. The use of present tense verb form may be off putting for some readers.
| Author: Murphy, Jim |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
This coming-of-age novel is a Newbery Honor Book. It tells the story of people in Maine in the early 1900s, a friendship between a minister's son and an island girl, and the ways greed and prejudice change all their lives.
Miss Rumphius
The Lupine Lady, the great-aunt of the narrator, travels around the world but returns to Maine to plant lupines and make her world a better place.
| Author: Cooney, Barbara |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Puffins Are Back, The
A simple introduction to the physical characteristics, life cycle, and natural environment of the puffins living off the coast of Maine. Gibbons give an account of the puffins who return every year to the coast of Maine. Gibbons describes the puffins' act
| Author: Gibbons, Gail |
HSE Descriptors:
science
|
Skylark
This is the sequel to the award-winning Sarah, Plain and Tall. When a drought forces Sarah and the children to leave the farm, leaving Jacob behind, everyone wonders if they will ever be a family again.
| Author: MacLachlan, Patricia |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Time of Wonder
This picture book tells a factual story of a family living along the ocean in Maine and what happens to the area when a hurricane brews. It is told to a child reader, and the art is fairly primitive, and thus teachers will want to take care to present it
| Author: McCloskey, Robert |
HSE Descriptors:
science
|
Year on Monhegan Island, A
Photojournalist Julia Dean chronicles a year in the life of residents of Monhegan Island, a small island off the east coast of Maine. We learn about their culture, government, and economy, as well as a bit about part-time resident Jamie Wyeth.
| Author: Dean, Julia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Massachusetts
Bobbin Girl, The
Rebecca, a 10-year-old "bobbin girl" working in the textile factories in Lowell, Massachuesetts in the 1830's must decide if she will participate in the first workers' strike.
| Author: McCully, Emily Arnold |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
House, House
In the late 1800's, the How brothers took photographs of houses in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Author Jane Yolen wrote text to accompany photographs of the same houses taken by her son in the 1990's. A bibliography extends the historical information.
| Author: Yolen, Jane |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Massachusetts > Boston
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Massachusetts > Plymouth
N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims
The author researched the first years of the Pilgrims at Plymouth to create a text to accompany murals painted by N.C. Wyeth. The text includes detailed descriptions, end papers from the Mayflower log, an author's note about his research, and a section a
| Author: San Souci, Robert |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Midwestern United States
American Boy: The Adventures of Mark Twain
This biography of Sam Clemens focuses primarily on his childhood. Readers will see many parallels between young Sam's adventures and those of his famous characters Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.
| Author: Brown, Don |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
American Safari, An
Award-winning wildlife photographer Jim Brandenburg shows and tells the story of the American prairies, which once swept for thousands of miles but are now an endangered ecological treasure. The stunning photographs and unforgettable written memories ins
| Author: Brandenburg, Jim |
HSE Descriptors:
science
|
Black Pioneers
This well-researched history of African American pioneers, freedom fighters, and participants in the Underground Railroad tells little known stories of brave people who settled the midwest against great odds. The book contains archival photographs, a map
| Author: Katz, William Loren |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Bud, Not Buddy
It's 1936, Flint, Michigan, and 10-year-old Bud (not Buddy) has run away from foster care to search for his father. (Newbery winner)
| Author: Curtis, Christopher Paul |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Carl Sandburg: Adventures of a Poet
An episodic biography of Carl Sandburg in which each episode is accompanied by a colorful illustration and an excerpt of his poetry or prose.
| Author: Niven, Penelope |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Gratefully Yours
Orphaned by a New York tenement fire in 1920, Hattie rides an orphan train to Nebraska where she joins the Jansen household, Henry and his wife Elizabeth. The story relates the loss and healing process that both Hattie and Elizabeth experience. The stor
| Author: Buchanan, Jane |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
How We Crossed the West
Colorful illustrations, maps, and journal excerpts invite the reader to accompany Lewis and Clark on their expedition across the plains and the Pacific Northwest in 1804.
| Author: Schanzer, Rosalyn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Lincolns, The
Using a scrapbook format with blocks of stories and archival photographs, the author provides a chatty, up-close biography of Abraham and Mary Lincoln. Since the book is in a scrapbook format, students can start reading anywhere in the book or read in the
| Author: Fleming, Candice |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Mississippi Mud: Three Prairie Journals
Three pioneer children recount their trip across the prairie in a series of easy-to-read poems.
| Author: Turner, Ann |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My Name Is York
York, a slave of Captain Clark, accompanies his master on the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition. An afterword gives additional biographical information and the end papers contain maps. The illustrations and language are especially evocative.
| Author: Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Right Here on This Spot
Very easy text and beautiful illustrations chronicle changes in one farmer's field over the centuries.
| Author: Addy, Sharon Hart |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Sarah, Plain and Tall
A mail-order bride comes from Maine to the midwest; the children (who have lost their mother) desperately hope she'll stay.
| Author: MacLachlan, Patricia |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Year Down Yonder, A
This is the sequel to A Long Way From Chicago. Both books have won awards, the Newbery Medal for this one. Mary Alice goes to live with her spunky, trouble-making grandma in rural Illinois because the Depression has torn her family apart.
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Minnesota
Father Water, Mother Woods
These essays recount Paulsen's adventures alone and with friends, along the rivers and in the woods of Northern Minnesota. Paulsen shows us fishing, hunting, and camping as pleasure, as art, as companionship, and as sources of lessons about life.
John Blair and the Great Hinckley Fire
This is a retelling of the effects of a firestorm in 1894 on a train and its 150+ passengers. John Blair, the train's porter, became a hero for his common sense and bravery in the face of extraordinary danger.
| Author: Nobisso, Josephine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Winter Room, The
This book tells the story of Eldon, a boy growing up in the mid-20th century in rural Minnesota. He and his brother Wayne work hard to help out on the farm, but have time for fun and adventures too. After a short introduction, the book is structured in
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > New England
Christmas Tree Farm
Photos accompany this simple text about the activities that take place throughout the year at a Christmas tree farm in Rhode Island.
Emily
This book tells the story of a young girl's encounter with the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson and of her friendship with the author. Although the picture book is a fictional account, Cooney's oil paintings and the afterword with biographical information
| Author: Bedard, Michael |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Gathering of Days, A
This book, subtitled A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32, is a fictitious diary kept by a fourteen-year-old girl during the last few years she spent on her family's farm. During these months Catherine's father remarried, her closest friend died of feve
| Author: Blos, Joan W. |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Giants in the Land
Beautiful black and white scratchboard drawings illustrate how giant pine trees in New England were cut for lumber and masts for the King's navy during American Colonial times.
| Author: Appelbaum, Diana |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | science
|
Great Stone Face, The
The author retells a famous Hawthorne story about how a New England village interprets a mountain's "face" over the years as fulfilling the prophecy of revealing the noblest person of the time.
| Author: Schmidt, Gary/Hawthorne Nathaniel |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Into the Deep Forest: With Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau's journal entries have been placed into a broader context and are accompanied by stunning paintings and pencil drawings in this 39-page book. The use of present tense verb form may be off putting for some readers.
| Author: Murphy, Jim |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Jip: His Story
Jip, a young orphan in the mid-1850s, lives on a farm, interacts with Put "the lunatic," and wonders about his past. Eventually he attends school and, with the help of Teacher (Lyddie from the Paterson book by the same name) and her Quaker friend, discov
| Author: Paterson, Katherine |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Miss Crandall's School
In innovative sonnet form, the authors tell the story of Prudence Crandall who ran a school for "young ladies and little misses of color" in Canterbury, Connecticut, in 1831 until boycotts, vandalism and persecution forced the school to close. An introdu
| Author: Alexander, Elizabeth & Nelson, Marilyn |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Nearer Nature
The author writes reflectively of his winter walks on his Vermont farm and sketches the footprints, animals, and plants that capture his attention. An index enables the reader to find specific information. The descriptions are rich in detail and languag
| Author: Arnosky, Jim |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
|
Real Benedict Arnold, The
This well-researched biography examines the facts and rumors of the life of the hero, then traitor, Benedict Arnold against the background of the Continental Congress and the Revolutionary War. Maps and portraits illustrate the text. End notes, sources,
| Author: Murphy, Jim |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
River Ran Wild, A
This book recounts the history of the Nashua River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire life from idyllic Algonquin Indian times to industrial pollution to a restored river due to the efforts of Marion Stoddart who coordinated a citizen campaign. The text
| Author: Cherry, Lynn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | science
|
Whale Port
In this book about a fictitious combination of real places, the text and colored-pencil drawings present the chronological development of a New England whaling town and its related businesses. The use of cut away art provides a glimpse inside the building
| Author: Foster, Mark |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > New York
Amazing Impossible Erie Canal, The
After an introduction detailing the need to transport goods back and forth to the settlers in the expanding west, the author takes the reader on the inaugural ride in 1825 that opened the Erie Canal. Illustrations and a time line provide additional infor
| Author: Harness, Cheryl |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
At Gleason's Gym
The story of Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn NY, and the many people who use it. It includes a brief story of Sugar Boy Younan, National Silver Gloves Champion 2006. The words and pictures tap into the senses. The illustrations demonstrate the rhythm to the mus
| Author: Lewin, Ted |
HSE Descriptors:
literature and arts | social studies
|
Gowanus Dogs
A homeless man meets some homeless dogs. The meeting changes everyone's life.
Great Unknown, The
This biography of Charles Wilson Peale, artist and paleontologist, describes how he excavated, assembled, and displayed bones of a prehistoric mastodon in 1801. The author includes a map and a glossary.
| Author: Morrison, Taylor |
HSE Descriptors:
science | language arts - writing
|
Lady Liberty: A Biography
Poetic format shares the stories of the people involved in the building of the Statue of Liberty. It also shares the reactions and contributions of everyday people seeing her rise in NY Harbor. Beautiful illustrations that add to the stories of the peopl
| Author: Rappaport, Doreen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | literature and arts
|
Lady Liberty: A Biography
Poetic format shares the stories of the people involved in the building of the Statue of Liberty. It also shares the reactions and contributions of everyday people seeing her rise in NY Harbor. Beautiful illustrations that add to the stories of the peopl
| Author: Rappaport, Doreen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | literature and arts
|
Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The
This book is a wonderfully retold version of the classic story by Washington Irving. The illustrations contribute to the mysterious mood.
| Author: Irving, Washington |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Picnic in October, A
At the insistence of the immigrant grandparents, a family celebrates coming to America and the October birthday of the Statue of Liberty.
| Author: Bunting, Eve |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
River of Dreams
This beautiful book is a tribute to the Hudson River and its strategic, economic and cultural significance throughout history.
| Author: Talbot, Hudson |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading | language arts - writing
|
Somewhere In the Darkness
Jimmy, a teenager, lives in the city with Mama Jean. Then he meets Crab, a "man with something to prove. Maybe Crab's not sure what it is; maybe Jimmy's not sure he wants to know. But it may be the last chance Crab has to tell Jimmy who he was, and who
| Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
A rope found by a little girl becomes a multigenerational object to her family and helps to tell the story of their migration from the South. It has many uses and eventually becomes a storytelling prompt.
| Author: Woodeson, Jacqueline |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > New York > Harlem
145th Street: Short Stories
Engaging short stories written in Myers' natural writing styles that contain serious side plots and portray some of the people who live on one block of 145th Street in Harlem. Characters are portrayed honestly and jump off the page to keep the reader enga
| Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing
|
Angel for Solomon Singer, An
In this urban story, a transplanted Hoosier lives a lonely life in New York City and looks for warmth and companionship.
Happy Feet
This very easy, lyrical text with gorgeous illustrations tells the story of the opening of the Savoy in Harlem, which is of special interest to the narrator "Happy Feet" because he was born on that night. The book not only educates the reader about the S
| Author: Richard Michelson |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Harlem Stomp!
Subtitled "A cultural history of the Harlem Renaissance," this book has 10 chapters that address how Harlem came to be a cultural "magnet" in the 1920s. The book interweaves history, poetry, and archival photos that brings the cultural history of Harlem t
| Author: Hill, Laban Carrick |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Here in Harlem
Walter Dean Myers recreates the Harlem of his youth in poetry and populates it with colorful characters through their voices.
| Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
|
Rite of Passage
The book is set in Harlem in the late 1940s. Protagonist Johnny Gibbs, 15, is a model child and student until he learns that he is a foster child who must go to live with another family. Johnny feels betrayed and reacts by running away. What follows pu
| Author: Wright, Richard |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Sweet Music in Harlem
Inspired by a real photograph of jazz musicians taken in 1958, the fictional story recounts young C. J.'s search through Harlem for his uncle's hat, a hat his uncle wants to wear in a photograph. Included is the historical photograph with the identities
| Author: Taylor, Debbie |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Uptown
Colorful collage and an easy-reading text belie a very sophisticated tour of Harlem including the Metro-North train, brownstones, shopping on 125th street, a barbershop, summer basketball, the Harlem Boys' Chois, and sunset over the Hudson River
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > New York > New York City
Berenice Abbott, Photographer
The biography's subtitle "An Independent Vision" suggests the creativity, innovation, perservance that Berenice Abbot exhibited as she pursued the newly emerging field of photography and associated with the leading photographers of the 1920's and 1930's.
| Author: Sullivan, George |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Black Cat
A black cat explores an urban neighborhood. The stunning illustrations are a combination of painting and photography.
| Author: Myers, Christopher |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Blizzard!
This book tells the story of an amazing blizzard that struck the Eastern U.S. in March, 1888. The author tells how the storm affected individuals, workers, communication, transportation, and more. The book is illustrated with vintage photographs and maps
| Author: Murphy, Jim |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | science
|
Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence
In 1991, New York's long-ignored African Burial Ground was rediscovered. The description of what scientists found there and how they pieced together information about life serves as a backdrop for stories of life for African Americans in Colonial New York
| Author: Hansen, Joyce, & McGowan, Gary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | science
|
Brooklyn Bridge, The
This award winner tells the history of an unusual American family, the history of an important U.S. bridge, and the story of how that bridge was crafted and designed. It ends with a list of statistics and an index.
| Author: Mann, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
science | math
|
Empire State Building
Archival photographs, diagrams, and illustrations accompany this account of the building of the Empire State Building in New York City during the Great Depression. The fact page, glossary, and map expand the book's use in the classroom.
| Author: Mann, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Man Who Made Parks, The
This is a biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, the first landscape architect and developer of Central Park in NYC (as well as other famous parks).
| Author: Wishinsky, Frieda |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Man Who Walked Between the Towers, The
The book celebrates in pictures and text Philippe Petit's highwire walk between the Trade Center Towers on Aug. 7, 1974.
| Author: Gerstein, Mordicai |
|
Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American GIrl
Based on an unpublished memoir, this picture book tells the story of daily life for a middle-class African American girl in New York in the 19th century. Maps and photographs illustrate the story.
| Author: Bolden, Tonya |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Peppe the Lamplighter
A young Italian immigrant boy has to find a job lighting the lamps to help support his invalid father and many sisters. His proud father thinks it is inferior work until the night the boy refuses to light the lamps, and his little sister does not return
| Author: Bartone, Elisa |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
River of Dreams
This beautiful book is a tribute to the Hudson River and its strategic, economic and cultural significance throughout history.
| Author: Talbot, Hudson |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading | language arts - writing
|
September 11, 2001
A New York Times journalist has chosen to tell the chronology of September 11, 2001, through personal stories. Photographs, maps and diagrams, and a bibliography provide additional resources.
| Author: Hampton, Wilborn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Shutting Out the Sky
Subtitled "Life in the Tenements of New York, 1880-1924,," the chapters in this book offer information and perspectives on all aspects of immigration and life in NYC. Photographs and text document the experiences of five individuals from Belarus, Italy, L
| Author: Hopkinson, Deborah |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Tenement: Immigrant Life on the Lower East Side
Lots of photographs and a fairly easy-to-read text tell the story of the tenements that were built to house immigrants during the turn of the century (19th - 20th). Further reading includes books for adults and children as well as related WWW sites.
| Author: Bial, Raymond |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
A rope found by a little girl becomes a multigenerational object to her family and helps to tell the story of their migration from the South. It has many uses and eventually becomes a storytelling prompt.
| Author: Woodeson, Jacqueline |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > North Carolina
Leon's Story
A custodian at a Maryland school tells his own story of growing up poor in North Carolina, of racism, of hatred, of resilience, of Martin Luther King, and of the things that matter in life.
| Author: Tillage, Leon Walter |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Roanoke
Based on extensive research, this book explores the political intrigue surrounding the disappearance of the first American colony at Roanoke, in what is now North Carolina. The suspenseful text is supplemented with archival photographs and paintings, a t
| Author: Miller, Lee |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Northern United States
Close to Shore
The author details the first shark attacks in American history along the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey in 1916. One reviewer thought the book would appeal to males especially. The suspenseful style makes the book read like a novel.
| Author: Michael Capuzzo |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
|
Father Water, Mother Woods
These essays recount Paulsen's adventures alone and with friends, along the rivers and in the woods of Northern Minnesota. Paulsen shows us fishing, hunting, and camping as pleasure, as art, as companionship, and as sources of lessons about life.
Marven of the Great North Woods
Marven's immigrant Russian Jewish family sends him alone by train and by ski to a logging camp in Minnesota to escape the diphtheria epidemic in the city of Duluth. He finds a niche for himself in very different cultural surroundings through the friendsh
My Name Is York
York, a slave of Captain Clark, accompanies his master on the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition. An afterword gives additional biographical information and the end papers contain maps. The illustrations and language are especially evocative.
| Author: Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
North Country Night
This easy-to-read and stunningly illustrated book shows what animals do at night in the North Country during the winter.
| Author: San Souci, Daniel |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
|
Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers
Paulsen shares his love of the Iditarod and especially of Cookie, his primary lead dog, and her pups. Descriptions of how the pups learn are alternately amazing, touching, and hilarious.
River of Dreams
This beautiful book is a tribute to the Hudson River and its strategic, economic and cultural significance throughout history.
| Author: Talbot, Hudson |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading | language arts - writing
|
Rushmore
This long, beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of Mount Rushmore and the sculptor who oversaw its creation.
| Author: Curlee, Lynn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Streams to the River, River to the Sea
This is a fictional recounting of Sacagawea's association with Lewis and Clark. Although some Reading Group members were concerned about the accuracy of the portrayal, in the introduction, the author cites several references used in crafting the story.
| Author: O'Dell, Scott |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Ohio
Aurora Means Dawn
This picture book tells the story of the first family to settle in Aurora, Ohio and offers a glimpse of the hardships they willingly endured and of the support of their neighbors.
| Author: Sanders, Scott |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Freedom River
In this true story, John Parker, an ex-slave in Ripley, Ohio, helps a family on the Underground Railroad. Beautiful watercolor collages illustrate the story. Historical notes, additional books, suggested websites, and maps make this useful in the classr
| Author: Rappaport, Doreen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Historical Album of Ohio, A
This brief history of the state of Ohio contains photographs, maps, index , and a gazetteer with quick facts, timeline and famous people. The language has a textbook quality.
| Author: Wills, Charles |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Light in the Forest, The
At 15, true son John Butler is returned to his biological white family by his Native American adoptive father. After he escapes with his friend and rescuer Halt Arrow, he is caught between two families and two cultures.
| Author: Richter, Conrad |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
North by Night
Lucy Spencer and her Ohio farm family are involved in the Underground Railroad in 1851, a time when The Fugitive Slave Act levied severe punishment and fines for harboring runaway slaves. Lucy makes a courageous decision that changes her life and that of
| Author: Ayres, Katherine |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Trouble Don't Last
This is the story of 11-year-old Samuel and "cranky old Harrison," who leave the Kentucky farm where they are slaves and head north to freedom, encountering non-stereotypical members of trhe Underground Railroad. The author is the historian at Hale Farm a
| Author: Pearsall, Shelley |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Ohio > Cleveland
Boy Who Saved Cleveland, The
During a malarial epidemic in the late 18th century Cleveland, Ohio, ten-year-old Seth Doan surprises his family, his neighbors, and himself by having the strength to carry and grind enough corn to feed everyone.
| Author: Giblin, James Cross |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Seedfolks
Thirteen people of different ethnic backgrounds who are strangers to each other tell their stories of a vacant lot in Cleveland that becomes a neighborhood garden. The book jacket refers to the "harvest of hidden lives" and a "hymn to the power of plants
Somewhere In the Darkness
Jimmy, a teenager, lives in the city with Mama Jean. Then he meets Crab, a "man with something to prove. Maybe Crab's not sure what it is; maybe Jimmy's not sure he wants to know. But it may be the last chance Crab has to tell Jimmy who he was, and who
| Author: Myers, Walter Dean |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Pacific Northwest
How We Crossed the West
Colorful illustrations, maps, and journal excerpts invite the reader to accompany Lewis and Clark on their expedition across the plains and the Pacific Northwest in 1804.
| Author: Schanzer, Rosalyn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
I Heard the Owl Call my Name
Although this book is not universally appealing, some readers respond emotionally and deeply to this story of a young priest's year with the Native American people of British Columbia, his illness, and his acceptance of his fate. The book does not provid
Streams to the River, River to the Sea
This is a fictional recounting of Sacagawea's association with Lewis and Clark. Although some Reading Group members were concerned about the accuracy of the portrayal, in the introduction, the author cites several references used in crafting the story.
| Author: O'Dell, Scott |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Pennsylvania
Growing Up in Coal Country
Based on primary documents and oral histories, this book tells the stories of life in the coal mines in eastern Pennsylvania around the turn of the 20th century.
| Author: Bartoletti, Susan |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Light in the Forest, The
At 15, true son John Butler is returned to his biological white family by his Native American adoptive father. After he escapes with his friend and rescuer Halt Arrow, he is caught between two families and two cultures.
| Author: Richter, Conrad |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Washington at Valley Forge
In Freedman's inimitable style, he captures the grit and triumphs over the lack of provisions for General Washington's winter encampment at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War. Excellent and unfamiliar paintings of Washington accompany the text. Th
| Author: Freedman, Russell |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
I Have Seen Castles
A 67-year-old man remembers growing up in Pittsburgh and falling in love with a young woman pacifist who couldn't understand why he would want to go overseas to fight.
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Rhode Island
Christmas Tree Farm
Photos accompany this simple text about the activities that take place throughout the year at a Christmas tree farm in Rhode Island.
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > South Carolina
Circle Unbroken
A young girl learns the tradition of making sweet grass baskets.
| Author: Raven, Margot |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave Enslaved Potter and Poet
This imaginative volume of poetry is both a tribute to Dave the Potter and a positive biography of a potter who worked his artistic magic despite being a slave. It is poetic in style, autobiographical, written in more than one voice and each entry is jour
| Author: Cheng, Andrea |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | language arts - writing | social studies
|
Let Them Play
This beautifully illustrated book tells the true story of the 1955 state champion little league team from South Carolina, who were all African-American and who encountered segregation problems as they continued to win.
| Author: Raven, Margot |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
New Year Be Coming!
Through beautiful colored woodcuts and rhythmic gullah dialect, this book describes happenings for each month of the year in the South Carolina low country. A recipe, a glossary, and an introduction to the Gullah dialect are included. Some students migh
| Author: Boling, Katharine |
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > South Carolina > Charleston
Carolina Shout
A young girl wanders the streets of Charleston from sun up to sun set capturing the vendors' calls and the sounds of the street. The book begs to be read aloud.
Catching the Fire
Philip Simmons, the great-grandson of slaves, became a revered artist and creator of ornamental iron work masterpieces in Charleston, South Carolina. Detailed color photographs convey his craftsmanship. The author interviewed Simmons and his co-workers
| Author: Lyons, Mary |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Jazz ABZ
Each letter of the alphabet introduces a famous jazz musician in a different poetic form. Of particular interest to teachers and students are the biographical sketches of the musicians and excellent notes on the poetic forms. The phenominal art work is
| Author: Marsalis, Wynton |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Secrets of a Civil War Submarine
The discovery in 1995 and the subsequent slow scientific recovery of the Civil War submarine USS Hurley from the Charleston harbor reads like a mystery story. Photographs, archival material, author's note, footnotes, bibliography, glossary, and suggested
| Author: Walker, Sally |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Southern United States
As Good as Anybody
Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who had both experienced discrimination, joined forces in the Civil Rights Movement.
| Author: Michelson, Richard |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Blanche on the Lam
A spunky African-American woman, who works as a housekeeper for a wealthy southern family with many secrets, must solve a murder in order to clear herself. Blanche relies on her own intelligence and an "old girl" network of domestics. The language is oc
| Author: Neely, B. |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Boy Named Reckoning, A: A: The True Story of Dr. Carlos Montezuma, Native American Hero
The author has pieced together the writings of Dr. Carlos Montezuma to tell his life story in letter form. He was a Native American boy who was kidnapped, sold into slavery and eventually educated in Chicago. He devoted the rest of his life to lobbying fo
| Author: Capaldi, Gina |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Brothers War, The: Civil War Voices in Verse
Well-known poet J. Patrick Lewis includes archival photographs and factual information to expand the emotional of his poems that give voice to individuals who were caught up in the Civil War. The book also includes a map, a timeline, a bibliography, and
| Author: Lewis, J. Patrick |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Carolina Shout
A young girl wanders the streets of Charleston from sun up to sun set capturing the vendors' calls and the sounds of the street. The book begs to be read aloud.
Come Go With Me: Old-timer Stories from the Southern Mountains
The author recorded these oral histories of "Southern Mountain" old folks over a twenty-five year period in order to preserve aspects of community that were disappearing.
| Author: Thomas, Ray Edwin (collected by) |
|
Deep Blues
Bill Traylor, who worked as a farm laborer before and after the Civil War, was "discovered" as a folk artist at the age of 85.
Dream of Freedom, A
This well written and comprehensive documentation of the Civil Rights Movement, its background, issues, and confrontations is told by a white Southern woman of privilege who grew up during that period. Photographs and fact boxes, index, bibliography, and
| Author: McWhorter, Diane |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case
This somewhat repetitive account of the brutal death of Emmett Till, the Chicago 14-year-old boy visiting Mississippi, argues that the media coverage of the trial and the subsequent outrage of the public provided the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement
| Author: Crowe, Chris |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Grandmama's Pride
This is a most beautiful book focusing on the segregation practiced in the south during the 1950's leading to the civil rights laws passed in the 60's. The illustrations make the book come alive with details showing the inequalities practiced in every day
| Author: Birtha, Becky |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Grandmama's Pride
This is a most beautiful book focusing on the segregation practiced in the south during the 1950's leading to the civil rights laws passed in the 60's. The illustrations make the book come alive with details showing the inequalities practiced in every day
| Author: Birtha, Becky |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
I Dream of Trains
This is the story of an African-American boy who lives in the South before the Great Migration, who loves trains, and who stands in awe of Casey Jones.
| Author: Johnson, Angela |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Long Journey Home
These six short stories are based on historical fact; Lester's notes at the end of the book describe the original sources. Each features an African American protagonist. All are ordinary people who led extraordinary lives.
| Author: Lester, Julius |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Momma, Where Are You From?
When a young girl asks her mother where she comes from, she receives a loving description of her hard-working childhood in the segregated South told in rich, rhythmic language with lush illustrations.
| Author: Bradby, Marie |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Nightjohn
An escaped slave returns to the South to teach others how to read. This 92-page book is very bleak, and the violence is quite graphic.
| Author: Paulsen, Gary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Shake Rag
As a boy, Elvis Presley discovers "good news" music at a traveling church that gives his guitar playing a distinctive sound when he records later in 1954.
Silent Witness A True Story of the Civil War, The
Lulu McLean, age four, lived in Manassas, Virginia on a plantation when the Civil War started. General Beauregard established his headquarters in her home. Shortly after, Lulu's father moved the family to Appomattox Court House, where the surrender to end
| Author: Friedman, Robin |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Slavery Time: When I Was Chillun
Excerpts from 12 oral histories from former slaves, gathered during the Depression by WPA workers, provide several perspectives about slave life as remembered by the people interviewed, who were in their 80s and 90s at the time of the interviews.
| Author: Hurmence, Belinda |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Something Permanent
Walker Evans' photographs of southern United States during the Depression years are stark and haunting, and Cynthia Rylant's short poems describe their stories beautifully.
| Author: Rylant, Cynthia |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Talking with Tebe
Editor Lyons collected these excerpts about Clementine Hunter, considered one of America's finest folk artists, from magazine and newspaper articles and tape-recorded interviews. The artist's work illustrates the book.
| Author: Lyons, Mary E. (Ed.) |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
To Kill A Mockingbird
In this classic American novel set in the 30s, Lee tells the story of two children growing up in the South with their lawyer father who represents an African-American man accused of raping a white woman. The novel is rich and complex in plot and theme.
| Author: Lee, Harper |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Tucker Pfeffercorn
This retelling of Rumpelstiltskin is set in small town Southern USA. The dialogue and dialect are delightful, and the illustrations by one of America's finest artists also contribute to telling the tale.
Walking the Log
The author paints scenes and reminisces about her childhood in the turn of the century South. The books contains information about daily life, work (especially picking cotton), childhood games, family values, and the author's life long interest in art.
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Southwestern United States
Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde, The
The Anasazi, "the ancient ones" in Navajo, had a unique and well developed culture. Around 1300, they simply vanished. Today, their home (Mesa Verde) is a national park. This carefully researched text recreates the Anasazi's way of life and explores th
| Author: Arnold, Caroline |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Georgia's Bones
A biography of the artist Georgia O'Keeffe's early years "celebrates her fascination with natural shapes and 'common objects'" with rich text and color-saturated illustrations. The text explores themes including creativity, diversity (in ways of being in
| Author: Bryant, Jen |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
I'm in Charge of Celebrations
A desert (Native American?) woman is asked if she is lonely and replies by telling about all the natural wonders she witnesses. The title comes from her idea of marking the calendar for the following year to celebrate whatever she saw. The illustrations
In the Days of the Vaqueros
Russell Freedman has created another interesting non-fiction book, this time on the vaqueros, who were the forerunners of cowboys. As usual, the author illustrates his essays with paintings, archival photographs and includes useful resources in a bibliog
| Author: Freedman, Russell |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My Heroes, My People
Portraits of native American, Africans, and people of mixed race--both images and brief biographies--present a less well-known history of the American West. A Note on Sources and Further Reading and an index promote classroom use. The unusual illustratio
| Author: Monceaux, Morgan & Katcher, Ruth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My Name is Georgia
This simple biography of Georgia O'Keefe describes how she was true to her life-long goal of being an artist and how she gained inspiration for her paintings from the natural world around her.
| Author: Winter, Jeanette |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Navajo: Visions and Voices Across the Mesa
Shonto Begay's artwork has been celebrated throughout the southwestern U.S. for decades. Twenty of his paintings are the illustrations for this book. Each painting is accompanied by a poem.
Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story
The book is set on a Virginia plantation in 1862. Eleven-year-old Summer and her older brother Rosco live with their mother on the Parnell Plantation as talk of President Lincoln's coming proclamation to free slaves reaches the community. Each of the mai
| Author: Pinkney, Andrea Davis |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Spirit Walker
This stunningly illustrated book of poetry celebrates a physical relationship with the earth and the philosophies, vision, and perspectives of Native Americans, especially the women.
| Author: Wood, Nancy |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Where the Buffalo Roam
An expanded version of the words to the song "Home on the Range" and watercolor illustrations portray the geography, petroglyphs, plants, and endangered wild animals of the American Southwest.
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Texas
Freedom's Gifts
An African American girl visits Texas relatives and learns about the history of Juneteenth, the day for celebrating freedom from slavery.
| Author: Wesley, Valery |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Juneteenth
Photographs from various locations in the U.S. depict the celebration of Juneteenth, June 19, 1865, the day African Americans learned of their freedom.
| Author: Branch, Muriel Miller |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Nobody Particular
A graphic novel format depicts the activist Diane Wilson and her fight against water pollution along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The illustrations contain diagrams to explain problems of pollution.
| Author: Bang, Molly |
HSE Descriptors:
science
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Vermont
Night the Bells Rang, The
This short novel (76 pages), told from the point of view of a farm boy, tells the story of Mason's struggles with a bully, and of his growing up. Although the book has the feel of a reminiscence, the emotions are complex and the characters ring true.
| Author: Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie |
|
Safekeeping
Radley returns home to Vermont from a volunteer stay in Haiti to complete chaos. She begins a long trek to try to find her parents and some sense of normalcy in a country becoming completely dysfunctional.The underling message is articulated, as a vision
| Author: Hesse, Karen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading | language arts - writing
|
Waiting for the Evening Star
This beautifully illustrated book is about Berty, a small boy who lives a happy life in a Vermont farming community. Berty's life changes when his older brother, Luke, decides to leave the family farm to become a soldier in WWI.
| Author: Wells, Rosemary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Western United States
Bill Pickett: Rodeo Ridin' Cowboy
This book tells about the life of a rodeo-riding African American cowboy. The book ends with a two-page history of Black cowboys.
| Author: Pinkney, Andrea Davis |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Black Cowboy Wild Horses
This book is based on the true story of Bob Lemmons, a former slave, whose adventures as a cowboy in Texas were legendary.
| Author: Lester, Julius |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Children of the Great Depression
With the aid of archival photographs from The Farm Security Administration, Freedman tells the poignant story of the humiliation, poverty, migration, lack of schooling, and back-breaking work faced by children during the Great Depression of the 1930's in
| Author: Freedman, Russell |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Ghost Towns
Color photographs and colorful text describe many ghost towns in the American West. The author includes a list of books for further reading.
| Author: Bial, Raymond |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
It Is a Good Day to Die
A brief introduction explains why the account of Custer's battle at Little Bighorn is told through individual recollections long after the encounter. In addition to the personal accounts, the book includes a helpful chronology of events, short biographie
| Author: Viola, Herman |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
John Muir: America's First Environmentalist
From a work-filled childhood as an immigrant from Scotland, self-taught John Muir worked to study and save the wilderness he loved, resulting in the first protected National Park at Yosemite and the founding of the Sierra Club for conservation. The autho
| Author: Lasky, Kathryn |
HSE Descriptors:
science
|
This Vast Land
A fictional account of a young man on the real Lewis and Clark Expedition emphasizes and personalizes the confrontation of races and the conflict between civilization and the wilderness. There are allusions to sex, though minimal.
| Author: Ambrose, Stephen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Words West: Voices of Young Pioneers
Diary and journal excerpts and archival photographs enliven a well-written text about the Westward Movement as seen from the perspective of children. The book includes short biographies of the children who are quoted often as well as a chronology, furthe
| Author: Wadsworth, Ginger |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Yellowstone Moran:Painting the American West
A true story of how Tom Moran traded his city environs for a chance to join a scientific expedition to Yellowstone and record the wonders in his paintings. The author researched letters and journals of the famous Hayden expedition into Yellowstone Nationa
| Author: Judge, Lita |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies | language arts - writing
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Geography > U.S. states/regions
Geography > U.S. states/regions > Colorado
Down the Colorado: John Wesley Powell, the One-Armed Explorer
This biography of John Wesley Powell, son of an Ohio abolitionist, a teacher who lead a group of the first exploration of the treacherous Colorado River in 1869--despite the loss of an arm in the Civil War. A timeline, bibliography, and an author's note
| Author: Ray, Deborah Kogan |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
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Down the Colorado: John Wesley Powell, the One-Armed Explorer
This biography of John Wesley Powell, son of an Ohio abolitionist, a teacher who lead a group of the first exploration of the treacherous Colorado River in 1869--despite the loss of an arm in the Civil War. A timeline, bibliography, and an author's note
| Author: Ray, Deborah Kogan |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
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Tulip Sees America
The author tells a fictionalized version of her trip from the midwest to her new home in Oregon.
Geography > U.S. states/regions > Nebraska
How We Crossed the West
Colorful illustrations, maps, and journal excerpts invite the reader to accompany Lewis and Clark on their expedition across the plains and the Pacific Northwest in 1804.
| Author: Schanzer, Rosalyn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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My Name Is York
York, a slave of Captain Clark, accompanies his master on the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition. An afterword gives additional biographical information and the end papers contain maps. The illustrations and language are especially evocative.
| Author: Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
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Tulip Sees America
The author tells a fictionalized version of her trip from the midwest to her new home in Oregon.
Geography > U.S. states/regions > Nevada
Tulip Sees America
The author tells a fictionalized version of her trip from the midwest to her new home in Oregon.
Geography > U.S. states/regions > Oregon
How We Crossed the West
Colorful illustrations, maps, and journal excerpts invite the reader to accompany Lewis and Clark on their expedition across the plains and the Pacific Northwest in 1804.
| Author: Schanzer, Rosalyn |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My Name Is York
York, a slave of Captain Clark, accompanies his master on the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition. An afterword gives additional biographical information and the end papers contain maps. The illustrations and language are especially evocative.
| Author: Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Tulip Sees America
The author tells a fictionalized version of her trip from the midwest to her new home in Oregon.
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