Social Studies

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Harry N. Abrams 

Summary:  11-year-old Jimmy gets teased at his reservation school for having light skin and blue eyes, not looking like a real Lakota.  His grandfather decides to help him one summer by taking him on a journey through Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana to learn about the famous Lakota warrior Crazy Horse.  Through the places they visit and his grandfather’s stories, Jimmy learns about Crazy Horse’s life, his courage in battle, and his wisdom in knowing when not to fight.  Grandpa’s stories, in italics, make up the majority of the narrative.  When Jimmy returns to school and faces the boys who have bullied him, it’s clear he has absorbed the lessons Grandpa was trying to teach him.  176 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  History buffs will enjoy this recounting of various battles between Native Americans and the “Long Knives” who gradually took over their lands in the nineteenth century.  The stories are told from the Lakota perspective, undoubtedly a bit different from what appears in a lot of history textbooks.  Ultimately, there’s no getting around the sadness of this part of American history, but the courage and strength of the Native Americans are what is emphasized.

Cons:  Jimmy seemed a little young for an 11-year-old, hanging on his grandfather’s every word, and frequently asking, “For reals?”.  It would have been interesting to get a more detailed look at his life on the reservation.

The 50 States written and researched by Gabrielle Balkan, illustrated by Sol Linero

~ Janet Dawson ~ 8 Comments

Published by Wide Eyed Editions

Summary: Each two-page spread in this oversized book is teeming with information about one of the fifty states. A large map is covered with small illustrations showing interesting, occasionally offbeat, places to visit.  Sidebars give introductory information, key facts such as state symbols and where the state name comes from, and moments to remember in the state’s history.  Famous people from the state are given head shots around the map, with women and minorities well-represented.  Back matter includes state flags; pictures of all the U.S. Presidents with the years of their terms, birthplaces, and wives’ names; and an enormous index.  112 pages; ages 8 and up.

Pros:  Great fun for browsing, this book offers much standard state information, as well as unique trivia.  Readers will be ready to set off on a cross-country trip.

Cons:  It’s a difficult book to put down…or to wrest from your teenager when you’re ready to write a review of it.

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Candlewick 

Summary:  Fannie Lou Hamer’s story is told in her own poetic voice, illustrated with collage renderings of events throughout her life.  Born in the Mississippi delta, the youngest of 20 children, Fannie Lou had to drop out of school after sixth grade to work in the cotton fields.  She married Perry Hamer and adopted two daughters after being tricked into having an operation to prevent her from being able to have children.  In 1962, she attended her first voter registration meeting, unaware that blacks even had the right to vote.  Within the year she was deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement, losing her job and her home as a result.  Imprisoned and badly beaten, she refused to give up her work, eventually becoming a national spokesperson for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and addressing the 1964 Democratic National Convention about voter discrimination.  Fannie Lou also worked to improve conditions in Mississippi, organizing cotton pickers and starting a Head Start program.  She died in 1977.  An author’s note, timeline, and bibliography are included.  56 pages; grades 5-8.

 

Pros:  A powerful story about a poor, uneducated woman who was able to make a difference on a national level.  The poetic text perfectly captures Hamer’s voice, and is complemented by the large, colorful illustrations.

 

Cons:  There’s a lot of information here, and even older students may need some historical context to understand all of Hamer’s contributions.

Sewing Stories: Harriet Powers’ Journey from Slave to Artist by Barbara Herkert, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

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Published by Alfred A. Knopf 

Summary:  Harriet Powers was born into slavery in Athens, Georgia.  She grew up on a cotton plantation, watching women spin, dye, and weave cloth.  She participated in quilting bees, where slave women were given a few hours to sew their own creations instead of having to follow directions of the mistress of the house.  At one of those bees, she met the man who would become her husband.  They married and had five children; when the children were still young, the family received word of the Emancipation Proclamation and were free.  Harriet and her husband worked hard and saved enough money to buy a small farm.  When the price of cotton dropped, Harriet was forced to sell two of her beautiful story quilts.  One of them was purchased by an art teacher who wrote down the stories pictured in the different quilt panels.  An author’s note explains that those two quilts still exist today, in the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  Other back matter includes a bibliography, photos of the two quilts with a list of the stories portrayed on each, and the only known photograph of Harriet in existence.  40 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  The beautiful quilts are evidence that art can flourish in any environment.  The illustrations capture Harriet’s spirit as well as her works of art.

Cons:  I hesitate to enter into the controversy over the depiction of slavery in A Fine Dessert, but two of the criticisms I have seen—that the portrayal of a slave girl living with her mother is unrealistic, and that the slave girl shouldn’t be pictured with a smile—are present in this book as well.  So far, I’m not aware of similar criticisms for Sewing Stories.

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.