Search Results
Select any highlighted title for detailed information about that resource.
Communities
Communities > rural
Communities > rural > rural life
    Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds
      The author and the illustrator, both from Appalachia, lovingly remember the people, the customs, and the dogs.
      Author: Rylant, Cynthia

    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

    Chanda's Secrets
      Sixteen-year-old Chanda, who lives in a fictional sub-Saharan country that is feeling the impact of HIV/AIDS psychologically(fears, lies, and sundered relationships)and socially (ostracism of tainted people, necessity of hiding), takes a courageous stand
      Author: Stratton, Allan HSE Descriptors: social studies

    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

    Fanny's Dream
      A retelling of the Cinderella story, the book depicts the choices of Fanny Agnes, providing a humorous portrait of a strong woman.
      Author: Buehner, Caralyn

    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

    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

    In November
      As trees, animals, birds, and insects prepare for winter, people gather in warm homes to give thanks. Beautiful illustrations.
      Author: Rylant, Cynthia HSE Descriptors: science

    Jim the Boy
      In a coming-of-age story set in Appalachia, Jim grows up as a town boy with his mother and uncles but finally makes friends with a mountain boy and meets his mountain grandfather.
      Author: Early, Tony

    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

    Knoxville, Tennessee
      This brief and beautifully illustrated poem celebrates a young child's summer in Knoxville, TN.
      Author: Giovanni, Nikki HSE Descriptors: language arts - reading

    Lights on the River
      A migrant girl keeps memories of her grandma close as she deals with hard times in the United States. Her voice is strong, and the illustrations are stunning.
      Author: Thomas, Jane Resh

    Like Sisters on the Homefront
      When 14-year-old Gayle gets into "trouble," she and her baby Jose leave New York City to live with family in rural Georgia. At first bored with and distressed about her situation, Gayle eventually makes friends with her cousin Cookie. Through "tellings" b
      Author: Williams-Garcia, Rita HSE Descriptors: language arts - reading

    Lily Cupboard, The
      A Dutch farm family hides a Jewish girl, who in turn wants to protect a rabbit.
      Author: Oppenheim, Shulamith L. HSE Descriptors: social studies

    Raising Yoder's Barn
      After a fire destroys Yoder's barn, the Amish community gathers to build a new one. The gorgeous illustrations extend the reader's view of Amish life. One reader found a "blackface" depiction of a boy, dirty from the ashes, negatively suggestive.
      Author: Yolen, Jane HSE Descriptors: 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

    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

    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

    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

    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.
      Author: Moser, Barry

Communities > rural > rural life > farms
    All the Places to Love
      A young boy talks about all his favorite places, those of his family and his grandparents, the farm, and the adjacent countryside. The book is a celebration of those natural settings where we are most alive and feel we belong.
      Author: MacLachlan, Patricia

    Auction, The
      In this sad intergenerational story, a boy and his grandfather reminisce the night before their farm is put up for sale.
      Author: Andrews, Jan

    Big Jabe
      This tall tale relates how Jabe helped slaves.
      Author: Nolen, Jerdine

    Borning Room, The
      The narrator remembers growing up in southern Ohio in the 19th century, remembers farm life, celebrates her relatives with their varying ideas about slavery and religion, remembers her part in hiding slaves.
      Author: Fleischman, Paul HSE Descriptors: social studies

    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.
      Author: Jordan, Sandra

    Cracked Corn and Snow Ice Cream
      Almanac information and family history are given for each month in sections called Dates and Festivals, Farmer's Calendar, Worth Knowing, and Worth Cooking.
      Author: Willard, Nancy

    Drylongso
      Drylongso, which takes place west of the Mississippi in 1975, is the story of a poor farming family's battle with a drought. Drylongso, "a youth imbued with simple human kindness . . . a folk hero" (author's notes) arrives, and with him comes ho
      Author: Hamilton, Viginia

    Family Farm
      Two children learn that their family is in danger of losing its farm. They devise a plan for saving it.
      Author: Locker, Thomas

    Farm Summer 1942, The
      Beautifully illustrated by Barry Moser, this reminiscence tells the story of a young boy's summer months at his grandparent's farm during World War II.
      Author: Hall, Donald

    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

    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

    Haystack
      The uses of the old-fashioned haystack are brought back to life throughout the seasons.
      Author: Geisert, Bonnie

    Longitude Prize, The
      This history documents the competition between "ocean clocks" and "lunars" to win the 20,000 pound prize (about $12 million today) from the British Parliament for a replicable and simple way to determine longitude at sea. The story follows John Harrison,
      Author: Dash, Joan HSE Descriptors: math | science

    Morning Milking
      Although one OLRC reviewer was concerned that urban readers might not recognize the relevance of this quiet, reflective book, we found this gentle story of a farm child wishing she could make time stand still a lovely celebration of life, of barns and ani
      Author: Morris, Linda Lowe

    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

    Out of the Dust
      Set in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl years of the Depression, this powerful book tells in unobtrusive blank verse the story of personal tragedy and community hardship through the experiences of Billy Jo, a 15-year-old girl. The book is so credible that
      Author: Hesse, Karen HSE Descriptors: language arts - reading | social studies

    Thunderstorm
      A wordless book that follows a storm through Mid-western farm country with only the times listed of the storm.Thunderstorm is a valuable, breathtaking insight into one of the Mid-west's most natural occurrences.
      Author: Geisert, Arthur HSE Descriptors: science | language arts - writing

    Tortilla Factory, The
      This very simple text describes the process for making tortillas, from planting to preparation to eating for the strength to plant, etc.
      Author: Paulsen, Gary

    Very Best of Friends, The
      When a farmer dies, his wife deals with her grief by ignoring (hating) his favorite cat, until she finally realizes that they could find companionship with each other.
      Author: Wild, Margaret

    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

    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

    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
      Author: Paulsen, Gary

    Year of Fire, The
      Grandpa tells granddaughter about the worst fire he has ever known, a fire that happened when the grandfather was a child. (based on a true story)
      Author: Jam, Teddy


Ohio Aspire

Contact us

Ohio Aspire
p: 800.765.2897 option 2
p: 330.672.2007 option 2
f: 330.672.4841
ohiopdn@literacy.kent.edu

Explore more resources at:

Ohio Aspire
PDN Library