There's A Book For That

  Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, Gwen Strauss, and Floyd Cooper Historical Fiction 1-4 Summary: This story is about an African American (A/A) girl named Ruth and her family taking a trip. Ruth was very excited for this trip, because they were taking their new car. Her excited was over soon, when she discovered how poorly A/A travelers were treated in some towns. A lot of hotels and gas stations refused service to African Americans because of Jim Crow Laws. Eventually, they stop at a gas station where the attendant shows her family The Green Book, this was a book that listed places that would welcome the family. Using this book and depending on the kindness of others, Ruth and her family safely make it to her Grandma's house in Alabama.  Evaluation: This is a great book for teaching history. This is especially great for teaching about segregation and Jim Crow Laws. This book offers a good look into what life was like for African Americans in the past, and h...

  Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson Historical Fiction K-4 Caldecott Honor Book Summary: This is a story about a slave boy named Henry, who finds a way to freedom. Henry was given to the son of his master as a young boy, but found a wife as he got older. Henry and his wife were lucky, since they were allowed to live together even though they had different masters. Henry and his wife, Nancy, had children together and were as happy as they could be given the situation. Until one day, his children and wife were sold at an auction, and Henry was devastated. A little while after this, Henry came up with an idea. He would put himself in a box and mail himself to somewhere without slavery. This was a risky plan, since he had to be very quiet so he did not get caught. Henry managed to get out of a day at work and has was successfully mailed to Philadelphia, and lived with some people he knew there and that is where the story ends.  Evaluation: I think this is a grea...

 Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey and Rebecca Gibbon Historical Fiction K-3 Summary: This is a story about a girl named Katie Casey. Katie is not what everyone thought a girl should be, her clothes were wrinkled, she could not knit or dance, and she did not like home economics. Katie WAS good at baseball, but her parents would rather her to play piano or paint and said what good is baseball to a girl. She tried out for the school baseball team every spring, but always got turned away before even getting a shot just because she was a girl. Finally, something happened and a women's baseball team was being formed. Scouts were sent out to find girls to play baseball, and were surprised to find a lot of girls playing baseball just as good as the boys, including Katie Casey. At their first game, the people in the stands laughed at them until they started to play. The story ends with Katie hitting a grand slam and everyone talking about how good girls were for baseball.  Evaluation...

  The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by E. B. Lewis Historical Fiction K-3 Summary: This is a story about an African American girl, Clover, who lives in a town that is divided by a fence, whites on one side and people of color on the other. This summer, there was a girl who climbed the fence to look at the POC (people of color) side, sometimes Clover would stare right back. This girl wanted to play with Clover and her friends, but Clover's friends always said no. One day, Clover decided to go up to the fence where the girl was, and the girl talked to her (her name was Annie). Clover began to sit on the fence with Annie everyday. At the end, Clover's friend accept Annie as their friend, and they all sit on the fence together.  Evaluation: I love books like this, that show some of the harsh reality of America's past, but in a more light-hearted way. In my classroom, I want my students to know the history of their country, good or bad. However, I do not want ...

  New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer and Eric Velasquez Historical Fiction K-4 Summary: This is a story that takes place around the 1950s and it centers around a young African American girl named Ella Mae. In Ella Mae's family, they do not have a lot of money, so they have to use her cousin's old shoes. However, this time, her cousin's shoes do not fit her. This excites Ella Mae, because she has never had new shoes that she got to pick out. Her excitement is soon foiled once at the shoe store, when she has to wait for help and is not allowed to try on shoes, because she has darker skin. At the end, Ella Mae and her cousin open up a shoe store of their own, where everyone can try on any shoes they want and buy them for just 10 cents and an old pair of shoes. Evaluation: I think this is a great book to teach many things. I think this book would be a great story to teach about the history of America, and to not make it so gloomy that everyone is sad at the end. This book shows some...

  I Am Enough by Grace Byers Audio Book PreK-4 Summary: This is a book that I would describe as very motivational. It goes on stating different things and describing herself as these things and being there for a purpose. It talks about looking differently from others and still being enough. The book ends with simply saying, "I am enough."  Evaluation:  This is a great audio book, I believe you can also get this as a physical book too, but I found it while looking on Audible. I loved this book, despite it being a little less than 5 minutes, I thought about it for a lot longer. This would be a great book to read in class to teach the students that they are enough and about accepting differences. I wish there was a bit more to the audio book as far as how it sounded, it was a little monotone. But I love that you also have the option of a physical book, so you can make it your own. 

  The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi Realistic Fiction 1-4 Summary: This is a story about a young girl named Unhei, whose family just moved to America from Korea. This story follows her as she struggles to adjust to like in a new country, especially when the people there cannot say her name. She worries the American kids will not like her and tries to pick a new name to no avail. The next day at school, there is a jar sitting at her desk filled with names the others picked out. They told her she could choose one or all of them if she liked and they would add more to it. One of the other students discovers Unhei's name at the store and the next school day, the jar was gone. There was one slip of paper on her desk that said Unhei. Unhei then decided to introduce herself to the class and wrote Unhei on the board in both English and Korean, and helped the students and teacher say it correctly.  Evaluation: This is another book that is great for teaching self love. In a classroom, you n...