Milly and the Macy’s Parade by Shana Corey
1924 was Milly’s 1st year in America (NYC) around Christmas. Her father worked at Macy’s who was the most important person in America next to the President and she went there everyday after school. Milly remembered what it was like to be homesick, she came from Poland but they were getting used to America and her mother found places to by Polish foods. She visited her father and him along with Herman and Albert were all missing home and the holiday the celebrated there. Milly rushed to Mr. Macy’s office. She talked to him and Mr. Snively how they can make it more festive and less homesick and the next day was a sign for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with singing and strolling. Her father and her wore their costumes and travelled to Harlem where the parade was starting. She rode the elephant and Mr. Macy and Milly started a new holiday tradition.
Watch the Stars Come out by Riki Levinson
A little girl was told stories by her Grandma every Friday night about her Grandma’s mama who had red hair just like her and she would tell her a special story every night and watch the stars come out. When she was little, her brother and her went on a boat to America to meet her mom dad and sister. An old lady watched after them but got very sick and died so her brother who was ten said he would look after her. At night she couldn’t see the stars but every morning her brother put a mark on his stick until he reached 23, where they landed on Ellis Island and saw the Statue of Liberty. They had to get a check up before they met up with their parents. They went on a trolley to their ‘palace’ on the top floor, 52 steps. She washed up in the sink and their sister gave them tea and cookies. She craweled into her sisters bed and saw the stars come out, 1, 2, 3. So on this Friday night, the little girl will go to bed and watch the stars come out and hope her Grandma will come in and tell her a story.
The Memory Coat by Elvira Woodruff
Rachel and her cousin Grisha lived in Russia in a town called shtetl where the Jews lived. The wooden houses and shops ran along a cobblestone street. They lived with their large lively families and Rachel loved to tell stories and Grisha would draw pictures to go along with it. Grisha moved in a year ago when he lost his family in an epidemic and sometimes he would cry in the alley behind the synagogue. He only had his light coat but never wanted anyone to make him a new one. One day Rachel saw a mouse coming from the Tsar’s palace and told Grisha to write what she says into the snow. One day the Cossacks were coming to kill anyone Jewish and they kid in their attic. Their family decided they needed to go to America They sold everything but were scared they were going to be turned away in Ellis Island, so they needed to do everything they could to make no mistakes and stay together so they needed to fix Grisha’s coat, but he didn’t want them to. His mothers coat was lined inside his. They set off on wagon, train and then a ship to America that took 14 days. They went into a long line of people holding on to their grandmother’s skirt but were scared they weren’t going to pass inspection but the whole time they kept telling stories and writing them down. Rachel was telling a story about a bird but lost balance and Grisha scratched his eye on a basket and when it was time for him to be inspected he was marked with an E on his coat. Rachel turned his coat inside out to hide the E and show the beautiful wool and he passed. His coat was passed down to generations caring the memories of his mother and the families journey.
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston
Ruthie’s family lives in North Carolina in the Appalachian Mountains during WWI on a farm in 1918. One family each year, which was Ruthie’s familys year, was responsible for providing a Christmas tree for the Pine Grove Church for the Christmas play because it is mountain tradition. During spring, Ruthie and her father climb to the top of Grandfather Mountain to find the perfect tree and found a balsam. However, before Christmas came, her father had to go to war which leaves her and her mom to take care of their farm. The community doesn’t know if they will get a tree this year because Ruthie’s father is away. They also put on a play and she was going to be the angel in the play, but her mom has no fabric to make her costume. When her father does not arrive with the other men, her mother takes things into her own hands on Christmas Eve. She collects the tree from the top of the mountain with their horse and sleigh. No one knew what they did so they thought the angels broght it down. She uses her wedding gown to make Ruthie’s costume. Ruthie also has been begging St. Nicholas for a doll so her mother cuts up her stockings her father sent her from war and made a doll with an angel costume like hers and put it on top of the tree. At the end her father comes home.
When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest
Jessie is 13 and lives in a poor village in eastern Europe with her grandmother. Her grandmother teachers her how to sew lace to possibly make money one day and in exchange Jessie taught her how to read and write. One day, Rabbi picked Jessie to go to America, specifically New York, and gave her a ticket that was sent to him. He cannot go because he has to stay with the village to help them. During the stormy voyage to America, she starts to sew lace to pass the time. She meets Lou and they become friends. When she arrives, she works for the Rabbi’s sister in law at a dress shop and makes lace. She starts school and learns English and 3 years go by and she finds Lou again and he proposes but she needs more time. She saved up enough money for a ticket for her grandmother to come to America as well. When her grandmother comes, she brings her mothers wedding band.
The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco
Monique lives in France with her mother during WW2 where the Nazi’s are invading houses to find the Jewish people. One night she sees a ghost at the end of her bed petting her cat Pinouff but when she tries to talk to her, she runs away. She tells her mother but she said it was only a dream. Monique and her friend Denise see the Nazi’s taking away and beating a storekeeper in the streets that was very friendly and always gave them treats. They were calling him a Judenschwein. A few nights later the ghost appears again but she realizes it is a Jewish girl named Sevrine who has been hiding in her cellar with her family. Monique’s mother hides Jewish families in her home to keep them safe. Sevrine and Monique become friends and Sevrine tells her all of the hardships the Jews face. The next day Monique and Sevrine sees a butterfly outside and her cat starts playing with it and sees how free it was when a Nazi kills the butterfly over the fence. They must be careful and Monique thinks that they can easily crush the Jews as easily as a butterfly. One day, Monique and Sevrine are seen by a neighbor after a butterfly flies away and the family has to flee with the help of Monique and her mother. The family gathers everything they can get and when they part Monique gives Sevrine her cat and Monique gets the star of david. Monique looses her mother at the train station but manages to find her way home where she finds her mother as well. A few days later, tons of butterflies swarm the garden and Monique knows Sevrine is safe.
A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert
Anna needed a new coat because it was no longer fuzzy and too small. However, her mother didn’t have any money because the war was still going on. There were hardly any coats or food or money. Her mother said that if they sold their grandfather’s gold watch and other things they would have enough money to make a coat. The farmer said that by spring the wool will be ready to make her new coat. She visited the sheep everyday and make them necklaces until springtime when he gave them a big bag of wool in exchange for the watch. They went to an old woman to spin their wool but they had to wait until the summer because she couldn’t do it fast enough. They came back when the cherries were ripe and they exchanged a lamp for yarn. At the end of the summer they picked lingonberries to make her coat red. They boiled them in a pot and put the yarn in it and then hung them up to dry and wound them into balls. They went to a weaver to have her coat weaved into cloth and they came back in two weeks and exchanged a garnet necklace. They went to a tailor and had to come back in a week to have her coat ready and they gave him a porcelain teapot. They invited everyone that helped them make the coat for Christmas to eat Christmas cake. She then visited the sheep with her coat on.
My Freedom Trip by Frances Park
Soo notices her friends are missing from school and is told they took freedom trips to South Korea. Just before a war brakes out (Korean War), Soo’s parents make arrangements to escape and are going to be helped by a friend Her father escaped North Korea first and went to South Korea. He sent the friend to take Soo to South Korea as well, and she had to leave her mother behind because she was getting her own guide back. Her mother told her to be brave and she would be there later. It was late at night and they hopped on a train and then walked over a mountain and then through woods. A solider spotted the two and was going to capture them but then just warned them to go quickly. Soo sees her father across the river and is finally reunited. However, the war started and she never saw her mother again.
Ben and Me By Walt Disney
Amos, a mouse, lives in a Philadelphia church and left home to make his place in the world. He spotted an old shop that said Benj. Franklin Printer on the sign. He helps Ben with his shop and fixes his glasses. He rode on Ben's hat and did alot with electricity. One day Ben made a kite and Amos rode on it and got electrocuted. Amos left Ben because he was angry. Ben went to the king of England because the US was not free but the King didnt listen. Ben went to see Amos for advice because people wanted to go to war with the King. Amos helped Ben write the Declaration of Independence along with Jefferson.
Shipwrecked: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boys By Rhonda Blumberg
Manjiro Nakahama was nine when he started working as a fisherman to help his mother and siblings after his father died. Manjiro left home five years later in a fishing boat with four other men and was caught in a storm that pushed the boat far out to sea and crashed against rocks and landed in a deserted island. Manijiro and the men survived for five months on seaweed, shellfish, and albatross and was rescued by an American whaling ship. Manjiro learned English quickly and began to communicate easily with the Americans even though they seemed strange to him. Manjiro became the first Japanese person to visit the United States. He kept a record of his observations by writing and sketching in a journal as he traveled throughout the United States and the rest of the world on whaling ships. In spite of his adventures and success as a whaler, he never lost sight of the fact that he wanted to return to Japan. But it seemed impossible because Japan's strict laws against foreign travel.
Seeker of Knowledge: The Man who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs By James Rumford
When Jean- Francois Champollion was a kid, he knew that no one knew how to read the ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs. He was determined to one day find out a way to read them and share it with the world. By the time he was 16, he learned all of the ancient Egyptian languages and was excited to work with scholars who were already trying to figure out the ancient letters of Egypt using the Rosetta Stone. The scholars turned him down and said he couldnt help them but he still tried to do it on his own. By the time he was 30, he finally got something. He was studying the name of a Pharaoh copied on a temple wall he realized that the characters were related to the meaning and the sounds. It shows children to follow their dreams along with a little history lesson about Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
Train to Somewhere By Eve Bunting
Story about the Orphan Train that took children from New York City to the Midwest stopping at cities hoping someone will adopt the children. In the story, Marianne heads Midwest with 14 other children. Her mother left her to go west to make a new life but never said if she would come back for her or not. Throughout the story, Marianne hopes her mom will be at one of the stops. In the end, an elderly couple Mr and Mrs Books adopts her and they say "sometimes what you gets turns out to be better than what you wanted in the first place."
Shorty and his family are sent to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor during WWII. Shorty and his father decide to build a baseball diamond and form a league in order to boost the spirits of the internees. Shorty quickly learns that he is playing not only to win, but to gain dignity and self-respect.Back at home after the war, he finds teammates but hears racial taunts when he plays. The anger he feels makes him play better.
Dandelions By Eve Bunting
Zoe and her family, who are pioneers, move west to the Nebraska territory on the Oregon Trail. Her mother is pregnant and is depressed so Zoe picks a bunch of Dandelions for her to try to make her feel happier. Her and her father plant them on top of their sod roof but the clump just looks dry and not full of life. But the family feels hopeful for their future prarie life. At the end it shows their house with their roof filled with dandelions. Teachs children about expansion out west and pioneers.
Bonjour, Mr. Satie By Tomie DePaola
Mr. Satie is a cat and lives in Paris in the 1920's. He visits his his niece and nephew and tells all about his excursions in Paris. He has many friends (all famous and are included in the back of the book to tell the children who these people are.) There was one incidient where he had to judge whether Pablo Picasso or Henri Matisse was the best artist. He chooses them both as great artists. Fun for children to know artists from the past, and the key in the back is cool for them to understand who the people really were.
Ox- Cart Man by Donald Hall
This story focuses on a man selling his goods throughtout the year and throughout the different seasons only to do the same thing again next year. The man lives on a farm with his wife and kids in New England and has made everything they are going to sell. They pack all of their surplus on the cart with the ox carrying it all. It shows children what they needed to do to survive throughout the year. Good book to teach children about seasons and how life was different back in history.
This is a story told by a boy who was part of the Taino people . Columbus comes to San Salvador and discovers the Taino Indians. This little boy warned his people about strangers and not to welcome them too nicely because of a dream he had. Columbus' people kidnap him and other young children but the boy escapes and warns people about the Spanish. The boy is now and older man and remembers the destruction that happened to his people.
This book retells the American Revolution but the characters are all animals! They are all dressed in the clothes people wore back then. It starts off with the song 'Yankee Doodle' and goes into detail of the information that happened in the American Revolution and also funny sidenotes. A fun way to introduce the American Revolution to youngsters.
*all pictures from amazon.com
No comments:
Post a Comment