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Adler, David A. America's Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle. Illus. by Terry Widener. 2000. 32p. Harcourt Brace. Gr. 1& up. In 1926, Gertrude Ederle went against all the odds and was the first women to swim the English Channel beating the men's record by almost two hours. By the time she was 19 years old she had set 29 US and world records. She won 3 gold medals in the 1924 Olympics.
Altman, Linda Jacobs. The Legend of Freedom Hill. Illus. by Cornelius Van Wright & Ying-Hwa Hu. 2000. 32p. Lee & Low Books. Gr. 1 & up. Rosabel and Sophie, from two culturally different backgrounds are best friends in a new setting. Their families moved to California during the Gold Rush. Rosabel's mother, Miz Violet, is a runaway slave. In California slavery is against the law, but the Fugitive Slave Act allows bounty hunters to capture and return them to their owners. When Miz Violet is captured, Rosabel and Sophie must find a way to get her free.
Bruchac, Joseph. Crazy Horse's Vision. Illus. by S. D. Nelson. 2000. 32p. Lee & Low. Gr. 2-6. This combination of story and illustrations are beautifully done and a fine tribute to the life and legend of Crazy Horse. Bruchac has pieced together a splendid story about Crazy Horse's boyhood. The afterward gives more details of his life. Nelson, of Lakota decent painted the pictures in a traditional ledger book style that add a nice quality to this book.
Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Satchel Page. Illus. by James E. Ransome. 2000. 32p. Simon & Schuster. Gr. 3 & up. Truly one of the greatest baseball players of the last century. Satchel was the first black pitcher in the major leagues, first black man to pitch in a World Series, and the first black man to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a side note, I remember a baseball game with my father and brothers where the announcer told us Satchel was the oldest living active baseball player at the time. He was one great pitcher that left his showmanship in my memory to this day.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. 1999. 243p. Delacorte Press. Gr. 4 & up. The year 2000 Newbery Award winner is charged with humor and heartfelt emotions from the first page right to the end. The year is 1936. Times are tough in the backlash of the Depression. Bud has been bounced around between foster homes and the orphanage. At ten years old Bud has had enough of this type of life and decides to take to the streets in pursuit of a jazz musician. His mother just left him with enough clues about who his father might be and Bud is determined to find out the truth about Herman E. Calloway, band leader and bass player.
English, Karen. Francie. 1999. 199p. Farrar Straus Giroux. Gr. 5-8. Francie wanted to leave Noble, Alabama to join her father in Chicago. That's all she could think about as she and her mother worked for the white families. Her salvations included school, her teacher, reading, and helping sixteen year old Jessie to learn to read. When Jessie was accused of knocking down his white employer and forced to escape, Francie knew she must help which put her family in danger.
Fradin, Dennis Brindell & Judith Bloom Fradin. Ida B. Wells: Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. 2000. 178p. Clarion. Gr. 5 & up. This biography is about a woman of courage and strength. One of her most noted acts of bravery was her role in getting the Black men freed who were unfairly condemned to death for the Phillips County riot in Arkansas. She went undercover to hear their story and then wrote about it in The Arkansas Race Riot. She then sent that pamphlet to influential people in Arkansas that resulted in their freedom. This incident was one of many unjust and racial acts Ida Wells encountered through her constant vigilance toward justice for Blacks in America. She did not live to see the Civil Rights Bill passed, but she was truly one of the heroes who made it happen. Ida B. Wells also co-founded the NAACP.
Garland, Sherry. Voices of the Alamo. Illus. by Ronald Himler. 2000. 40p. Scholastic. Gr. 4-8. This is a unique chronicle of years featuring significant people who roamed, built, inhabited, and walked across the thresholds of what is now the Alamo. The years featured beginning with 1500 to present are told through a character's point of view in a brief narrative. Some you will recognize, like Davey Crockett, Sam Houston, and Antonio López de Santa Anna. And others, lesser known, but significant to the history surrounding the Alamo are all there. Himler's soft watercolor images reflect the action and life of the times.
Gherman, Beverly. Norman Rockwell: Storyteller With a Brush. 2000. 58p. Atheneum. Gr. 3 & up. Rockwell's paintings became a mainstay in America during the teen years on up through the 1970's. You could find his reflections of American life on magazine covers, advertisements, and calendars. His penchant for detail and expressive faces were part of his trademark. This book is a fine introduction to the artist who's paintings told a story, a part of American history and lifestyles.
Giblin, James Cross. The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin. Illus. by Michael Dooling. 2000. 48p. Scholastic. Gr. 3-8. This account of Benjamin Franklin's life is an entertaining read. Both Cross and Dooling went to great lengths to research their information. Through the story and fine illustrations capturing the emotions, life, and events surrounding Franklin's life, readers will receive a good look at one of Early America's well known heroes. Also included is a chronology of dates specific to Benjamin Franklin, a description of his most useful inventions, some selected quotes from Poor Richard's Almanac, listing of historic sites, and a bibliography.
Gilliland, Judith Heide. Steamboat! The Story of Captain Blanche Leathers. Illus. by Holly Meade. 2000. 32p. Dorling Kindersley. Gr. 3-6. Blanche Douglas Leathers became the first female steamboat captain in America. She loved the Mississippi River and spent as much time near it or on it. She married Captain Leathers who piloted the steamboat Natchez. Many dignitaries rich and famous traveled on their boat. In 1894, after much scrutiny and testing Blanche Leathers went against tradition and became a captain.
Harriet Rohmer, Editor. Honoring Our Ancestors. Stories and Pictures by Fourteen Artists. 1999. 32p. Children's Book Press. Gr. 3 & up. The concept behind this book is about how each of us have been influenced by people in our lives. Sometimes they are our ancestors. Other times they are people we have read about or heard through some form of media. Each of these ancestors have helped in some way to shape who we are in this world. This wonderful book is a celebration of ancestors that have influenced the 14 artists in this book.
Hirschfelder, Arlene B. Photo Odyssey: Solomon Carvalho's Remarkable Western Adventure 1853-54. 2000. 118p. Clarion. Gr. 5 & up. What a gem! As you are learning about the settling of the West this book could come in very handy. Solomon Nunes Carvalho was a daguerreotype photographer and a painter. He was invited to accompany John Charles Frémont on his fifth and final expedition west. The expedition route (map included) started in Kansas City and ended in San Francisco for Frémont. After parting with Frémont near Salt Lake City, Carvalho ended his journey in Los Angeles. The images and notes he captured have left us with an important contribution to our past.
Holm, Jennifer L. Our Only May Amelia. 1999. 253p. Harper Collins. Gr. 3 & up. Newbery Honor Book. This story takes place in the state of Washington along the banks of the Nasel River in the year 1899. May Amelia Jackson was the 8th child and the only girl born into a Finnish family. In fact, the only girl around for miles. May Amelia is twelve and wants to try just about anything her brothers do but an overprotective father, and far to often in her mind, gets in the way. May Amelia's determined personality will have you laughing one minute and pulling at the heart strings the next minute. The story is rooted in several diary entries from Holm's grand aunt Alice Amelia.
Howard, Elizabeth Fitzgerald. Virgie Goes to School With Us Boys. Illus. by E. B. Lewis. 2000. 32p. Simon & Schuster. All ages.This is a moving story based on Howard's ancestors on the Fitzgerald side of the family. Shortly after the Civil War a group of Quakers in Jonesborough, Tennessee started a school for Black children. It was in this school her grandfather, his brothers and sister Virgie attended school. Howard built this incredible story around Virgie's determination to go to school. In her end notes Howard believes Virgie is a symbol of the many new black citizens who endured through the hardships to get an education. In Howard's closing comments about Virgie she stated, "I imagine her as having left a legacy for all children, girls and boys, African American and not, that education will always be the first step in 'learning to be free'."
Kurtz, Jane. I'm Sorry Almira Ann. Illus. by Susan Havice. 1999. 120p. Henry Holt. Gr. 3-6. Kurtz has such a nice touch for stories. This gentle and adventurous tale combines some family history with a bit of fiction on the Oregon Trail. Sarah and Almira Ann's families set out on the long journey together. Through the eyes of the two girls readers will get a realistic feel for what it might have been like to travel west by wagon. A perfect addition to fourth and fifth grade classrooms studying the Westward Movement and the Oregon Trail.
Lauber, Patricia. What You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks, & Chopsticks: Around the House History. Illus. by John Manders. 1999. 32p. Simon & Schuster. Gr. 3-8. What a hoot! These two had fun turning history into a whimsical and attractive format. Readers will get the facts, a few snide side comments, and present day adaptations of our table manners and eating habits. Looking for a clincher for the reluctant reader or youngster with poor table manners, this book might be the one.
Mandel, Peter. Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays. Illus. by Don Tate. 2000. 32p. Hyperion. Gr. 1-5. One of baseball's best, Willie Mays. In rhyming text readers get a glimpse of Willie's life from birth to the Baseball Hall of Fame. There is an additional page of facts on Willie Mays at the end of the book.
Marrin, Albert. Sitting Bull and His World. 2000. 246p. Dutton. Gr. 4 & up. Marrin is not a new comer to nonfiction and this book matches the high quality of his previous works. Sitting Bull was probably one of the most well known of the Teton Lakota Plains People. His prowess became a legacy of the Native American's attempt to maintain their heritage. This book is filled with pictures, first person quotes, drawings, and captivating details of the events surrounding Sitting Bull's life. I found myself spellbound page after page.
McDonough, Yona Zeldis. Sisters in Strength: American Women Who Made a Difference. Illus. by Malcah Zeldis. 2000. 48p. Henry Holt. Gr. 3 & up. Strong women throughout history have helped make America what it is today. These eleven mini biographies of women serve as a tantalizing beginning for further exploration and research. Included in her collection are: Pocahontas, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cody Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Emily Dickinson, Mary Cassatt, Helen Keller, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, and Margaret Mead. Also included is a handy time line and bibliography.
McGill, Alice. Molly Bannaky. Illus. by Chris K. Soentpiet. 1999. 32p. Houghton Mifflin. Gr. 3 & up. This is a beautiful story about Benjamin Banneker's grandmother. She was exiled from England in 1683 and was sentenced to serve as an indentured servant in America. After seven years she staked out her own land claim. After a short period of time she bought and befriended an African slave. They were married and had four daughters. The oldest had a son, Benjamin. His grandmother Molly Bannaky taught him to read and write. Alice McGill won the IRA promising author award for this book.
Polacco, Patricia. The Butterfly. 2000. 48p. Philomel. Gr. 3 & up. Like so many of Polacco' s other stories they are poignant and pull at the heart strings. This story takes place with a family who were part of the French resistance during the Nazi regime. Polacco's Aunt Monique and her mother Marcel helped a young Jewish girl, Sevrine escape to freedom. Monique learned about Sevrine by accident as she only came out of hiding at night. Their friendship prospered and to this day are still friends.
Rappaport, Doreen & Lyndall Callan. Dirt on Their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship. Illus. by E. B. Lewis. 2000. 32p. Dial. Gr. 1 & up. What a great story about women's baseball! The game described in this story actually took place on September 16, 1946. During WWII women did most everything in the home front, including play baseball. Included with the story is a stats page, author's note and photographs of the team.
Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper's Daughter. Collected and edited by Alan Govenar. Illus. by Shane W. Evans. Hyperion. Gr. 4 & up. Govenar interviewed Osceola Mays, who was born in 1909 into a sharecropper family. The book is full of poignant one or two page vignettes from her life. This biography is an important piece of our history reflecting the challenging conditions that faced many Afro-Americans in the South.
Splear, Elsie Lee. Growing Seasons. Illus. by Ken Stark. 2000. 32p. Putnam. Gr. 3-6. Born into a farm setting the author describes events and times from her childhood. Each one page recollection is paralleled with a realistic painting of the vignette. One of the beauties of the this book is how each story stands alone and the whole book becomes a family legacy. The format serves as a good model for collecting family stories.
Thimmesh, Catherine. Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women. Illus. by Melissa Sweet. 2000. 57p. Houghton Mifflin. Gr. 3 & up. What a great addition for elevating the magnificence of women. Thimmesh highlights a number of women throughout history who have made significant contributions to our world through their inventions. Her time line starts with the year 3000 B.C. with Hsi-ling-shi who developed a method for gathering and weaving silk right up to Suzi Havens who invented some portable exercise equipment in 1995. A must for all libraries and teachers who encourage girls to be creative and inventive people.