Communities
Communities > change
Christmas Menorahs, The
This picture book recreates the true story of how families and a community decided to stand together to combat bigotry and acts of hatred.
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
|
Facing the Lion
Enhanced by a few, vivid color photos, this memoir recounts the Maasi childhood and first encounters with European and American culture of an American teacher who spends part of each year working in Kenya. An afterword brings the reader up to date with L
| Author: Lekuton, Joseph |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Garden of Happiness, The
A young girl cares for a seed that she plants near a community garden in New York City.
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 Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly
Patsy, a 12-year-old slave girl, keeps a diary during 1865, describing the changes in the plantation that come with the Emancipation Proclamation. The author appends historical notes, archival photographs, the wording of Constitutional Amendments 13,14,
| Author: Hansen, Joyce |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Joan of Arc
This beautifully illustrated and researched biography of the French peasant girl who became known as Joan of Arc describes how she led the French against the English in the 100 Year's War. The book includes an historical background of the 100 Year's War,
| Author: Stanley, Diane |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Kamishibai Man
The award-winning author/illustrator introduces the reader to the street storytelling tradition of the "paper-theater man" from his Japanese childhood.
Letting Swift River Go
This book tells the story of a community's act of selling up the houses and land to the government so that a water reservoir can be built. It is told from the view point of a woman who felt as though she lost her childhood because all her landmarks had
Librarian of Basra, The
A true story of the librarian of Basra, Iraq, who saved the books in the town library during the current war. In an end note, the author brings the reader up-to-date on the librarian.
Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone
Well-known children's author Joyce Carol Thomas has collected pieces by 12 writers to commemorate the Supreme Court ruling Brown vs. Board of Education. The reading level varies significantly from piece to piece.
| Author: Thomas, Joyce Carol |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
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.
Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers
Grace, an 11 year-old girl writes a letter to Abraham Lincoln suggesting that he grow whiskers to help him win the election.
| Author: Winnick, Karen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My Place
This award-winning Australian picture book shows life in one specific spot in Australia, while moving backward in time (two pages for each depiction). It begins in 1988 with a child describing her community and her pet, and each subsequent set of pages m
| Author: Wheatley, Nadia & Rawlins, Donna |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Other Side, The
Spurred by a letter from her grandmother saying that "they're pulling Shorter down," the poet returns to the people and places of her childhood in Shorter, Alabama. The poems are accessible and concise but filled with powerful feeling. Photographs from
Our House
Based on her research and interviews, the author tells fictional stories of families in Levittown-one chapter for each decade since the 1940's when the community was developed. The stories are told from a child's point of view but involve the family unit
| Author: Conrad, Pam |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
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
|
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
She Would Not Be Moved
Kohl tells the historically correct version of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Park's role in it. This revised biography of Rosa Parks stresses her activist background and the violent environment of racism to counter the prevailing picture of her as a
| Author: Kohl, Herbert |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Stand for Children
Marian Wright Edelman delivered this speech at the Stand for Children demonstration in 1996 in Washington, D.C. Pictures of photo-transfer quilts with multicultural themes illustrate the book. An Author's Note gives background on the demonstration.
| Author: Edelman, Marian Wright |
|
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
|
Step Toward Heaven, A
When Young Ju emigrates with her immediate family to America from Korea, she misses her grandparents. As she grows older, she finds a refuge from her father's physical abuse in school achievement. The author mimics the style of narration with the age of
Streets of Gold
This story of a Russian family's life in Russia and then in the U.S. is based on an actual immigrant's journals.
| Author: Wells, Rosemary |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Tale of Paradise Lost, The
An exquisitly illustrated prose retelling of John Milton's famous poem Paradise Lost.
| Author: Willard, Nancy |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Tin Forest, The
An old man living in a wasteland of scrap metal dreams of a green forest full of birds and animals. This charming, beautifully illustrated modern legend extolls the benefits of dreaming and ideas in accomplishing change.
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
|
Veil of Snows, The
In the absence of her husband who has not returned from battle, the queen prepares her city for assault. Aided by a small force of loyal soldiers and the Singer of Tales who narrates the story, the queen escapes the besieged city and heads for the safety
| Author: Helprin, Mark |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story From Africa
The true story of how Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan educated in the USA, started a movement to replant trees in Kenya, one seedling at a time. Wangari won the Nobel Peace Prize for replenishing of the forests in her country.
| Author: Winter, Jeanette |
HSE Descriptors:
science | social studies
|
Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom
This is an enlightening text illustrating the importance of the bicycle as a way to change the world by cultivating independence. The photographs, newspaper articles, advertisements, etc., beautifully depict the history, ending with a timeline comparing w
| Author: Macy, Sue |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading
|
Where Once There Was a Wood
With beautiful paper pulp illustrations and rich, alliterative text, the author raises the question of whether development is good ecology for the community.
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.
Science
Science > physical/earth science
Science > physical/earth science > change
Surtsey
This lovely book describes the formation of a new volcanic island. Each chapter begins with the Icelandic story of creation, thus combining literature with science. Beautiful photographs and charts are included.
| Author: Lasky, Kathryn |
HSE Descriptors:
science | language arts - reading
|
Social Studies
Social Studies > sociology
Social Studies > sociology > social issues
Social Studies > sociology > social issues > change
America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories
This is a collection of 14 short stories about people with many different cultural heritages and ethnic backgrounds.
| Author: Mazer, Anne (ed.) |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Eleanor Roosevelt
Freedman relates this biography of Eleanor Roosevelt with the interest of suspense fiction which is accompanied by extensive archival photographs. The book traces her evolution from a shy young girl from an unhappy home to America's most acclaimed First
| Author: Freedman, Russell |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Flood
As Sarajean and her family prepare for and deal with the devastating Midwest floods of 1993, they discover what is truly important during a time of trouble.
Freedom's Children
Thirty African Americans tell their youthful experiences in the civil rights movement. The book includes a chronology, a who's who, a list of acronyms, and a bibliography.
| Author: Levine, Ellen |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
Giver, The
This Newbery Award-winning novel is set in a utopian community in which all conflict and social problems are unheard of. After a coming-of-age ceremony, Jonas begins to interact with The Giver and learns about the secrets that underlie his perfect world.
Gold Coin, The
A thief follows an old woman and learns a lesson about giving.
Maria De Sautuola: The Bulls in the Cave
The scientific world did not accept until 1902 the discovery of prehistoric cave painting in Altamira, Spain, which was discovered by 9-year-old Maria De Sautuola in 1879.
| Author: Fradin, Dennis |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
My Place
This award-winning Australian picture book shows life in one specific spot in Australia, while moving backward in time (two pages for each depiction). It begins in 1988 with a child describing her community and her pet, and each subsequent set of pages m
| Author: Wheatley, Nadia & Rawlins, Donna |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies
|
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
|
Our House
Based on her research and interviews, the author tells fictional stories of families in Levittown-one chapter for each decade since the 1940's when the community was developed. The stories are told from a child's point of view but involve the family unit
| Author: Conrad, Pam |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading
|
Pearl Moscowitz's Last Stand
Pearl M., a long-time resident of her city street, refuses to let the city chop down the last gingko tree on the block. The book depicts the different ethnic groups that have moved on the street, but shows a real community of people interacting and livin
| Author: Levine, Arthur A. |
|
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
|
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
Theodoric's Rainbow
Although Theodoric of Freiberg lived, wrote, and experimented from 1250 AD to 1311 AD, the author has created a fictionalized personal life of this man who studied reflection and refraction of light in a period in which science was in conflict with religi
| Author: Kramer, Stephen |
HSE Descriptors:
science
|
Veil of Snows, The
In the absence of her husband who has not returned from battle, the queen prepares her city for assault. Aided by a small force of loyal soldiers and the Singer of Tales who narrates the story, the queen escapes the besieged city and heads for the safety
| Author: Helprin, Mark |
HSE Descriptors:
language arts - reading | social studies
|
Wall, The: Growing up behind the iron curtain
Author-illustrator Peter Sis documents his growing up in Czechoslovakia behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, using extraordinary drawings in black, white, and red that precede two-page spreads of journal entries. Because the running text at the b
| Author: Sis, Peter |
HSE Descriptors:
social studies | language arts - reading | language arts - writing
|
What You Know First
A young girl does not want to leave the family farm that is being sold. She resolves her feelings realistically. The woodcut illustrations that look like old color-tinted photographs add veracity to the text.
| Author: MacLachlan, Patricia |
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