Social Studies

Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game by John Coy, illustrated by Randy DuBurke

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Published by Carolrhoda 

Summary: In 1944, two college basketball teams met for a secret game. The men from Duke University Medical School knew they were playing a game, but had no idea until they arrived, that they were playing an African American team at the North Carolina College of Negroes.  Coach John McLendon had arranged the game, even though he knew he could face death if the local Ku Klux Klan got wind of his actions.  The game started slowly, but pretty soon McClendon’s team started to dominate.  The final score was 88-44, North Carolina College of Negroes.  The teams then mixed it up to make things more even, playing shirts versus skins.  Afterwards, the Duke team members visited the other team’s dorm and sat around talking basketball.  For years, no one ever knew about the game for fear of reprisals.  John McLendon went on to win three national titles at Tennessee State, and was the first African American coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. 32 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  A fascinating and powerful story about one man’s contributions toward ending racism and promoting greater understanding.  The illustrations have plenty of great basketball action and grow more colorful as the story unfolds.

Cons:  The less colorful illustrations on the first several pages, combined with the typewriter-like font, had an unappealing look.  The second half of the book was better visually.

The World in a Second by Isabel Minhos Martins, illustrated by Bernardo P. Carvalho

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Published by Enchanted Lion Books

     

Summary:  What goes on around the world in one second?  This book looks at what occurs at the exact same moment (8:32 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) in 23 different places around the world.  While a boat is tossed on the waves of the Baltic Sea, a volcano erupts in Papua-New Guinea.  A boy in Angola rides his bike for the first time while a girl hurries home from school in Iceland.  Each incident is illustrated with a two-page spread showing a great variety of perspectives.  The final page shows a map of the world with all 23 locations labeled.  Ages 8 and up.

Pros:  This Portuguese import offers an intriguing look at life around the planet.  The illustrations are amazing, large graphic art portrayals of each location, teeming with activity.  Students could use this book as a springboard to research places around the world or to write more about what is going on in the different scenes.

Cons:  Although this looks like a picture book for younger kids, it could be a difficult book to fully appreciate before third grade or so.

The Boy Who Fell off the Mayflower, or John Howland’s Good Fortune by P. J. Lynch

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Published by Candlewick 

Summary:  John Howland describes his voyage from England to the New World, working as a servant to John Carver.  He does, indeed, fall off the Mayflower, right in the middle of the storm, and is extremely lucky to be seen and pulled back on board.  For much of the trip, he dreams of his family back in England, and of returning to London to start his own business.  During the first tough year in Plymouth, Carver dies, and Howland is a free man.  When a ship arrives with another group of residents for the new colony, John thinks he will go aboard and sail back to England.  But his friend Lizzy Tilley convinces him to stay with his new community and help build the colony.  An author’s note explains that John and Lizzy got married and had ten children, certainly doing more than their share to populate the New World.  64 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  P.J. Lynch is known more for his illustrations than writing, and the pictures here capture the wild sea and sick misery of life on the Mayflower.  The writing is engaging, as well, with John’s voice a perfect blend of 17th century words and 21st century wit.  The whole group of Mayflower passengers really come to life as this story unfolds.

Cons:  Too bad I didn’t read this a few weeks ago.  Oh well, only 50 weeks until next Thanksgiving.

My Family Tree and Me by Dugan Petricic

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Published by Kids Can Press 

Summary:  A boy traces his family tree from both sides.  Starting at the beginning of the book, we meet his father’s family back to his great-great grandparents (who look to be of European descent).  The last page of the book shows his mother’s great-great grandparents (apparently Chinese).  Working forward or backward, the reader is introduced to great grandparents, grandparents and parents, until the two families meet in the middle with a two-page family portrait of the narrator with his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Studying the pictures, it’s easy to see how physical traits have been passed down from both sides of the family.  Ages 3-7.

Pros:  A fun introduction to family structure and inherited traits.  Kids will be inspired to trace their own family trees.  The cartoon illustrations with somewhat exaggerated features will produce some chuckles.

Cons:  It’s a pretty basic introduction to the topic and doesn’t take into account today’s wide diversity of family structures.

 

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans written and illustrated by Don Brown

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Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

     

Summary:  In graphic novel format, Don Brown traces the history of Hurricane Katrina. He begins in early August, 2005, when a “swirl of unremarkable wind” leaves Africa and travels toward North America, gathering strength over the Atlantic Ocean.  As it closes in on New Orleans, residents begin to evacuate, but some choose or are forced to stay behind.  The pictures tell the story, as houses become submerged and residents are forced into their attics and onto their roofs.  Rescue efforts are alternately heroic and ridiculously bungled.  The Superdome debacle is described in detail that is horrific, yet appropriate for younger kids.  The final page describes New Orleans seven years later, still only at 80% of the pre-Katrina population, but slowly rebuilding and coming back to life.  96 pages; ages 10-up.

Pros:  Readers ready to move on from the “I Survived” series will be captivated by this history of a recent U.S. catastrophe.  The graphic novel format is perfect to show what happened from many different perspectives, and the takeaway message is one of resilience.

Cons:  Pretty much every official and politician comes across as inept.

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Philip Hoose

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Published by Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers 

Summary:  When Germany invaded Denmark in April 1940, fourteen-year-old Knud Pedersen and his fifteen-year-old brother Jens were appalled by how quickly the Danish government capitulated.  There was no Danish resistance, while in neighboring Norway, thousands of people fought the Nazis.  Knud and Jens organized some of their school friends into the RAF Club, inspired by the British pilots who were fighting the Germans.  The boys used their bicycles to commit acts of sabotage, such as turning signs around and cutting phone wires.  When the Pedersen family moved the following year, the boys found new recruits, this time calling themselves the Churchill Club.  The club’s activities grew more serious and bold, focusing on amassing a cache of weapons stolen from German soldiers.  A year later, the boys were caught and sent to prison.  But their actions had inspired a nation, and the Danish resistance was born.  An epilogue tells what happened to all the boys; a lengthy bibliography and notes section encourages more reading.  Ages 11 and up.

Pros:  A powerful and inspiring story of heroic boys who squeezed their acts of sabotage in with studying for junior high exams.  Told alternately in the third person and the first person voice of Knud Petersen, and illustrated with many photos.

Cons:  None of the boys escaped unscathed.  While all survived the war, many had lifelong difficulties stemming from the stress of their activities and jail time.

Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War by Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikwanine, illustrated by Claudia Davila

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Published by Kids Can Press 

Summary:  Michel Chikwanine had a pretty idyllic childhood with his parents and three sisters in the Democratic Republic of Congo until he was kidnapped one day at the age of five.  He and his friends were taken in broad daylight while playing soccer and forced to become soldiers for a rebel army.  Then were given drugs and taught to shoot.  One nightmarish day, Michel was blindfolded and forced to shoot and kill his best friend, Kevin.  After two weeks, Michel managed to escape and make his way back to his family, but it was impossible for him to resume his old life.  Eventually, the political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo worsened; Michel’s father was imprisoned and killed; and Michel, his mother, and two of his three sisters made their way to Canada.  After a difficult transition, Michel has been able to tell his story and now travels the world inspiring others to make a difference.  Grades 6-9.

Pros:  An incredibly powerful story told in graphic novel form.  The page near the end in which Michel sits on the bus listening to his classmates complain about cold pizza, boring classes, and crummy cell phones should give anyone with “First World problems” pause.  The last few pages, with more information about Michel, child soldiers, and what kids can do to help, will inspire readers to take action.

Cons:  Read this book before giving it to a child.  It’s part of Kids Can Press’s Citizen Kid series of inspiring picture book stories of Third World children, but this one is much darker and more intense than any of the others.  There are a couple of pretty disturbing scenes that may not be appropriate for all young readers.

This Is My Home, This Is My School by Jonathan Bean

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Published by Farrar Straus Giroux 

Summary:  A boy explains how his home is his school, too.  His three sisters are his classmates, his mom is his teacher, and his dad is the substitute who takes over at the end of the day. They have many classrooms, including all the rooms in their house, the telescope on the back deck, and the public library.  Recess and gym are spent in the backyard, hanging out in the tree house and playing soccer with friends.  Sometimes there are field trips to do art or explore nature.  There are opportunities for learning all day long, right up to the final bedtime story.  Endpapers show the real Jonathan and his three sisters during their own homeschooling days.  Ages 4-8.

Pros:  Homeschooling is presented in a positive light, with a loving family supporting each other in all their educational endeavors.  The illustrations are appropriately childlike and busy, showing the chaos of four curious, active children pursuing learning.

Cons:  It looks pretty exhausting.

Aaron and Alexander: The Most Famous Duel in American History by Don Brown

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Published by Roaring Brook Press 

Summary: Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were almost the same age.  Both grew up as orphans, fought in the American Revolution, and were key figures in early American government and politics.  Moving in the same social and professional circles, they were friends early in their careers, but later became bitter political enemies.  Hamilton helped defeat Burr in his presidential campaign against Thomas Jefferson, and again in his bid for governor of New York.  Finally, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel.  It was an illegal but not uncommon practice at the time; Hamilton had been challenged eleven times before, and Burr had had had a hole shot through his coat in a previous encounter.  On the morning of July 11, 1804, they met in Weehawken, New Jersey, stood thirty feet apart, and shot at each other.  Hamilton was hit and died the next day.  Burr survived, but was forever after despised by much of America.  Includes an author’s note and bibliography.  Grades 2-5.

Pros:  The names Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton may be familiar to kids, but they are unlikely to know much about them aside from their famous duel.  This picture book introduces both men sympathetically and gives a good overview of their lives.

Cons: The details of their political differences are a bit skimpy.

Two White Rabbits by Jairo Buitrago, illustrated by Rafael Yockteng

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Published by Groundwood Books 

Summary: A little girl and her father are making the difficult journey from Central America or Mexico to the United States. They travel first by small boat, then on the top of a freight train.  They’re delayed by soldiers, and have to run away.  Sometimes the father has to stop and work to earn more money.  The story is told by the girl, who doesn’t know where they’re going.  She passes the time counting birds, clouds, and soldiers.  She plays with a boy when her father has to work.  She wonders where they are going and how long it will take to get there.  Grades K-3.

Pros:  A fascinating and eye-opening story for children living north of the border.  The text, in the little girl’s voice, doesn’t explain many of the things going on in the illustrations, like the father grabbing his daughter and fleeing from soldiers.  There are few details given about their homeland, making the story more universal.

Cons:  It’s hard to understand what’s going on just from reading the text.  Young readers will need an adult to give the story some context.