Social Studies

Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Capstone Young Readers

Summary:  When Mazie is mad at being told no, her father tells her about her great-great-great grandfather Mose who was a slave and heard “no” even more.  He learned about the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865, and now Mazie and her family celebrate Juneteenth every year.  Her father talks about others who worked and fought for civil rights after they got their freedom, all the way to the present.  The last page includes a paragraph of information about the origins of the Juneteenth celebration.

Pros:  This is a great introduction to Juneteenth and the Civil Rights Movement for primary grades. The 150th anniversary is coming up on June 19. Mazie looks to be about six years old, and the facts are presented appropriately for her age.  The illustrations are very appealing.

Cons:  The information is pretty simple and basic.  Pairing this with another book like Angela Johnson’s All Different Now will give a broader perspective.

The Underground Abductor (An Abolitionist Tale About Harriet Tubman) by Nathan Hale

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Harry N. Abrams

Summary:  Nathaniel Hale is about to be executed, but his executioners want to hear another one of his tales.  One of them accuses him of always making America sound perfect.  So Nathaniel tells the story of Harriet Tubman, which is also the story of slavery and the Underground Railroad.  Told in graphic novel format, the story spans the years from Harriet’s (or Minty’s, as she was known as a child) birth through the end of the Civil War.  Brief stories of Frederick Douglass and John Brown are woven into Harriet’s tale, and additional resources are listed at the end.  Ages 9 and up.

Pros:  This is the fifth installment in Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales. (It’s a little confusing. Nathan Hale is the real name of the author, but Nathaniel Hale of Revolutionary War fame narrates the stories). These books do an amazing job of teaching history through an appealing graphic novel format.  I learned a lot from reading this book, and it reads like a great story from start to finish.  I have a small but dedicated group of fifth grade boys in my school who have read all these books, and I can’t wait to give them a copy of this one.

Cons:  It’s impossible to tell Harriet Tubman’s stories without relating some of the horrors of slavery, so make sure readers are prepared.

Yard Sale by Eve Bunting illustrated by Lauren Castillo

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Candlewick

Summary:  Callie’s family is about to move into an apartment, and they are having a yard sale to sell what they can’t take with them.  Callie’s bed is sold, because the new apartment has a bed that pulls out of the wall, and her bicycle because the family will be living on a busy street with no sidewalk.  Her best friend comes to see how it’s going, and asks Callie to remind her why they’re moving.  “It’s something to do with money,” says Callie.  A woman tells Callie she’s “the cutest thing” and asks if she’s for sale, which scares Callie.  Her dad hugs her and assures her that he would never sell her for any price.  She realizes that as long as her family is together in her new apartment, it will feel like home.

Pros:  A heartwarming story which could also serve as bibliotherapy for children in a similar difficult situation.

Cons:  You may get a lump in your throat on more than one page.

Chasing Freedom: the Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony Inspired by Historical Facts by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Michele Wood

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Orchard Books

Summary:  This book imagines a conversation between these two women who were friends and worked tirelessly their whole adult lives to improve the lives of women and African-Americans.  They tell each other true stories about themselves and some of the other people they worked with, like John Brown, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frederick Douglass.  The women relate their stories in alternating pages, just like a real conversation, and each page is illustrated with a folk art style painting.  The end pages includes brief biographies of the two women and fourteen other people who were involved with similar work; additional notes about some of the events of the period; a bibliography; and an author’s note about how she came to write the book.  56 pages, grades 2-5.

Pros:  This is a unique and engaging way to learn about these two very interesting women who blazed their own trails and made a difference in many lives.

Cons:  Kids will need some historical context to fully appreciate this book.

Swing Sisters: The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm by Karen Deans

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Holiday House

Summary:  Piney Woods Country Life School was a remarkable school for African-American orphans in Mississippi.  In 1939, the school’s director organized an all-girl band to raise money for the school.  He called the group the Sweethearts, and they played big band music at schools and churches around the state.  When the girls graduated, they decided to move to Washington, DC to try to make a living.  Eventually, they traveled all over the country, playing for crowds as large as 35,000.  Their biggest concern was making great music; when some of the women left, their replacements were of different races, which made for some complications when touring in the south.  The Sweethearts went on a six-month USO tour of Europe during World War II.  After the war, it was hard for them to make a living with their music, and the group broke up, but they had opened doors for women of all races in the music business.  Recommended for grades 2-4.

Pros:  This inspiring nonfiction picture book reminded me of the movie A League of Their Own about women baseball players from the same era.  It would be fun to share some of the Sweethearts music after reading this.  Here’s a YouTube clip that looks just like one of the illustrations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WczP3PyHt20

Cons:  Too bad these women couldn’t make enough money to keep the band alive after World War II.

Families by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Holiday House

Summary:  A photographic celebration of every kind of family imaginable: big, small, multi-racial, two moms, two dads, single parents, extended family.  Each page has a single sentence with several photos illustrating the kind of family described.  The last few pages tell what families do (e.g., help each other, love one another), and finishes with a question, “There are many different kinds of families.  What about yours?”  Recommended for ages 3 and up.

Pros:  This is truly a celebration of family.  Even the dogs in the pictures are smiling.  The first page says that the creators hope the book will lead children and their parents to engage in conversation about their families, and this would indeed be the perfect vehicle for that.

Cons:  People objecting to certain family configurations will probably not want to share this book with their kids.

Elvis: The Story of the Rock and Roll King by Bonnie Christensen

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Henry Holt

Summary:  This picture book biography focuses on Elvis Presley’s early years, growing up in extreme poverty in the south.  From a very young age, Elvis was drawn to music, and he was surrounded by a wide range of influences.  Even though his town was segregated by race and class, the music of jazz, blues, and gospel was everywhere.  When Elvis was 13, his family moved from Mississippi to Memphis, and he learned to play guitar.  A few years later, he managed to get a recording session with Sun Records.  It was turning into a disaster, when Elvis started singing “That’s All Right”, a Delta blues song he infused with country and gospel.  That song became a hit, and Elvis Presley was on his way.

Pros:  Kids today may see Elvis Presley as something of a joke, and this story really humanizes him, portraying him sympathetically as a nervous kid who loved music.

Cons:  Elvis looks a lot better in these illustrations than he did when I saw him in the candy aisle at Walmart last week.

Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin solved a Mystery That Baffled All of France by Mara Rockliff illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Candlewick

Summary:  When Benjamin Franklin was in France to get support for the American Revolution, he became intrigued by the new process of mesmerization.  An Austrian doctor named Franz Mesmer was wowing Europeans with his new technique, which he claimed could people into a suggestive trance.  He would then tell them what to do, which was usually healing themselves of diseases.  Franklin arranged to have a demonstration with Mesmer’s assistant.  Using the scientific method, Ben blindfolded patients and was able to prove that their reactions to “mesmerization” were actually caused by their own minds.  Franklin reported his findings to the King of France, and soon after, Mesmer left the country.  Recommended for grades 2-5.

Pros:  Not only is this book packed with information about Benjamin Franklin, 18th-century science, and the scientific method, but it is presented in a way that is both interesting and aesthetically pleasing.  The text is in different fonts, with words of varying sizes, and occasional sidebars to explain related concepts.  The illustrations are both beautiful and amusing.

Cons:  The author’s note, while fascinating, was a bit overlong for the average 21st-century attention span.

Queen of the Diamond : the Lizzie Murphy Story by Emily Arnold McCully

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Summary:  When Lizzie Murphy was growing up in turn-of-the-century Rhode Island, girls didn’t play baseball.  But Lizzie’s brothers played, her father had played, and she wanted to play, too.  She became batgirl for her brother’s team and carried her father’s old ball and glove everywhere.  At one game, both teams realized no one had brought a ball.  Lizzie had her ball, but refused to lend it unless they’d let her play.  After a star turn at first base and four hits, she was a member of the team.  She continued to play into adulthood, making a living on the Warren, Rhode Island semipro team, and was the first person of either gender to play on both the National and American Leagues’ all-star teams.  She even got a single off of legendary pitcher Satchel Paige while playing on a Negro League team.  She finally retired from baseball in 1935, at the age of 40.  Recommended for grades 1-3.

Pros:  An interesting and little-known story about a woman athlete who refused to give up her dream despite enormous obstacles.  Emily Arnold McCully doesn’t disappoint with either the story or the illustrations.

Cons:  Too bad Lizzie didn’t blaze a trail into MLB for other women.

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by Selina Alko, illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Arthur A. Levine Books

Summary:  Yes, the couple who took their fight for legalizing interracial marriage all the way to the Supreme Court was named Loving.  Richard Loving and Mildred “String Bean” Jeter were both from Central Point, Virginia.  When they decided to get married in 1958, they had to travel to Washington, D.C., because Richard was white and Mildred was part African-American and part Cherokee.  They moved back to Central Point, but a few weeks later they were jailed for “unlawful cohabitation”.  Eventually, they made a home in Washington, D.C., but they took their case to the Supreme Court.  In 1967, the Court decided it was unconstitutional to make marriage illegal based on race, and the Lovings were finally able to move back to Virginia.

Pros:  This is a fascinating story, particularly in light of recent changes in laws around gay marriage.  The illustrators are also an interracial couple, and the author’s notes about their marriage and the blending of their artwork are interesting as well.

Cons:  There’s only one photograph of the Loving family at the end of the book, and it’s kind of hard to see their faces.