The Scrambled States of America Talent Show

The Scrambled States of America Talent Show

"Those wacky scrambled states are back. This time they’ve come together for a spectacular show featuring their many goofball talents. But just when Indiana (the director) is about to call SHOWTIME!, Georgia gets a bad case of stage fright and can’t perform in her juggling act. Will the show go on, or will it be curtains?

In this winning companion to The Scrambled States of America, young readers will revel in the madcap adventure and silly antics all while learning interesting facts about states and geography."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.lauriekeller.com/schoolstuff_talent.html

The Scrambled States of America

The Scrambled States of America

Written and Illustrated by: Laurie Keller

"At the first annual "states party," Virginia and Idaho hatch a plan to swap spots so each can see another part of the country. Before the party is over, all the states decide to switch places.

In the beginning, every state is happy in its new location. But soon things start to go wrong. Florida, who switches spots with Minnesota, is freezing in the frosty northern climate, and Minnesota hasn't brought sunscreen and is getting an awful sunburn. Will the states ever unscramble themselves and return to their proper places?

Packed with madcap humor and whimsical illustrations, this quirky story—starring all fifty states—is chock-full of introductory facts and silly antics that will make learning geography as much fun as taking a vacation."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.lauriekeller.com/schoolstuff_scrambled.html
http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Interdisciplinary/INT0127.html

The Great Kapok Tree

The Great Kapok Tree

Written and Illustrated by: Lynne Cherry

"In this breathtakingly beautiful picture book, Cherry combines illustrations that reveal a naturalist's reverence for beauty with a mythlike story that explains the ecological importance of saving the rain forests. The text is not a didactic treatise, but a simply told story about a man who falls asleep while chopping down a kapok tree. The forest's inhabitants--snakes, butterflies, a jaguar, and finally a child--each whisper in his ear about the terrible consequences of living in "a world without trees" or beauty, about the interconnectedness of all living things. When the man awakens and sees all the extraordinary creatures around him, he leaves his ax and "walks out of the rain forest." A map showing the earth's endangered forests and the creatures that dwell within ends the book which, like the rain forests themselves, is "wondrous and rare."

Publishers Weekly Review

Online Resources:
http://www.lynnecherry.com/the_great_kapok_tree__a_tale_of_the_amazon_rain_forest_19411.htm
http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/greatkapoktree.html
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/SCORE/kapok/kapoktg.htm

A River Ran Wild

A River Ran Wild

Written and Illustrated by: Lynne Cherry

"This is a beautifully done biography of a river. By focusing on the life in and around the Nashua River, Cherry brings history, ecology and progress into view. The illustrations alone are a history book.

We start with the pristine river surrounded by woods and, around the text page facing that illustration, we see the birds and animals that once lived in and around the Nashua. The first humans arrive and find and use the bounty of the river. Soon a Native American settlement can be seen there. Later the first Europeans arrive and the first small farm with a small Waterloo is seen. As the farm turns to city, the mill grows larger.

At each stage, items taken from the river or made by its power are isolated and placed around the text. When we look at the river at this stage, it is a polluted mess and the campaign starts to clean it up. At the end of the book there is fishing on the river again but, realistically, it doesn't get back to its original pristine state."

Review by Carol Hurst @ www.carolehurst.com

Online Resources:
http://www.lynnecherry.com/a_river_ran_wild_19410.htm
http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/riverranwild.html

This Is the Way We Go to School: A Book About Children Around the World

This is the Way We Go to School: A Book About Children Around the World

Written by: Edith Baer
Illustrated by: Steven Bjorkman

"Some children walk to school; others ride a bus. Children go by ferry in New York, vaporetto in Italy, trolley car in San Francisco, and helicopter in the Alaskan Tundra. With fun-filled rhymes and colorful illustrations, children will discover just how much fun getting to school can be."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=18811

Follow the Drinking Gourd

Follow the Drinking Gourd
Written and Illustrated by: Jeanette Winter

"Winter's story begins with a peg-leg sailor who aids slaves on their escape on the Underground Railroad. While working for plantation owners, Peg Leg Joe teaches the slaves a song about the drinking gourd (the Big Dipper). A couple, their son, and two others make their escape by following the song's directions. Rich paintings interpret the strong story in a clean, primitive style enhanced by bold colors. The rhythmic compositions have an energetic presence that's compelling. A fine rendering of history in picture book format."

Booklist Review

Online Resources:
http://www.followthedrinkinggourd.org/

Encounter

Encounter

Written by: Jane Yolen
Illustrated by: David Shannon

"When Christopher Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador in 1492, what he discovered were the Taino Indians. Told from a young Taino boy’s point of view, this is a story of how the boy tried to warn his people against welcoming the strangers, who seemed more interested in golden ornaments than friendship. Years later the boy, now an old man, looks back at the destruction of his people and their culture by the colonizers."

Online Resources:
http://www.mandygregory.com/SocialStudiesActivities.htm
*scroll down the page midway to the "explorers" section. Great word and pdf docs you can download.

Nettie's Trip South

Nettie's Trip South

Written by: Ann Turner

"As Nettie writes to her friend Addie about her trip from Albany, New York, to Richmond, Virginia, she remembers all the things she saw and heard in that pre-Civil War South. She remembers the sweet cedar smell in the air -- but she also remembers Tabitha, the black slave in her hotel who has no last name. She remembers seeing the slave quarters at a nearby plantation, with the heaps of rags in the corners for beds. But most of all she remembers the slave auction, where a woman is sold "like a sack of flour"; and she thinks about what their lives would be like, if she and Addie were slaves...

Based on the real diary of the author's great-grandmother, this is a powerful and deeply moving account of one girl's reaction to slavery in the South. Once read and seen through the eyes of master illustrator Ronald Himler, it is not soon forgotten."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=814

The Day Gogo Went to Vote

The Day Gogo Went to Vote

"Thembi accompanies her hundred-year-old great-grandmother to the polling place in the first election in which black South Africans are allowed to vote. Infirm and housebound, Gogo is determined to vote and does so with a little help from her community. Excellent pastel pictures capture the happy occasion."

Parent's Choice Review

This book can be used as an avenue to explore the history of voting in other countries and compare that history with that of the United States.

Online Resources:
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-africa/micmea/index.htm

Folllow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus

Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus

Written and Illustrated by: Peter Sis

"The 15th century comes vividly alive in this splendidly original picture book about Christopher Columbus. The straightforward text combines documented fact and legend, while the pictures show Columbus' gradual emergence from a fortress of medieval belief as he begins to realize his dream of finding a new route to the Orient."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/columbus.html

Tea with Milk

Tea with Milk

Written and Illustrated by: Allen Say

"When her Japanese-born parents leave America for their homeland, an independent girl reluctantly follows and melds her experience and her heritage to find a new meaning for the word home."

School Library Journal Review


Online Resources:
http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/Graduate/TI/pages/thayer/lesson.htm

Grandfather's Journey

Grandfather's Journey

Written and Illustrated by: Allen Say

"Through compelling reminiscences of his grandfather's life in America and Japan, Allen Say gives us a poignant account of a family's unique cross-cultural experience. He warmly conveys his own love for his two countries, and the strong and constant desire to be in both places at once."

Publishers Synopsis

From the Author:
"I am striving to give shape to my dreams--the old business of making myths--the fundemental force of art. And so, GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY is essentially a dream book, for the life's journey is an endless dreaming of the places we have left behind and the places we have yet to reach."--Allen Say (Caldecott Medal Acceptance Speech )

Online Resources:
http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~elbond/grand.htm

Tar Beach

Tar Beach

Written and illustrated by: Faith Ringgold

"Quilt paintings"--acrylic on canvas paper, with fabric borders from Ringgold's story quilt of the same name--illustrate a Depression era girl's imaginative foray to heights from which she can see and therefore claim her world. Picnicking on the roof of her family's Harlem apartment building--a "tar beach" to which they bring fried chicken and roasted peanuts, watermelon and beer, and, not least, friends and laughter--Cassie pictures herself soaring above New York City: above the George Washington Bridge, which her father helped build; above the headquarters of the union that has denied him membership, because he's black; above a distinctive magic to this dreamy and yet wonderfully concrete vision, narrated in poetic cadences that capture the language and feel of flight."

Publisher's Weekly Review

Web Resources:
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780517885444&view=tg
http://www.faithringgold.com/ringgold/default.htm

Wanted Dead or Alive: The True Story of Harriet Tubman

Wanted Dead or Alive: The True Story of Harriet Tubman

Written by: Ann McGovern
Illustrated by: Richard Powers

"After gaining freedom from slavery, Harriet Tubman also vowed to help others become free. As a result of her efforts, about 300 slaves were able to leave the South safely. A dramatic biography packed with adventure."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewWorkDetail.do?workId=2260

Coming to America: The Story of Immigration

Coming to America: The Story of Immigration

Written by: Betsy Maestro
Illustrated by: Susannah Ryan

"An introductory history of immigration from thousands of years ago through the present, focusing on why different groups of people came to America and how they became a part of our national heritage."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1360&subject_id=121&toplvl=174

Ellis Island: Doorway to Freedom

Ellis Island: Doorway to Freedom

Written by: Steven Kroll
Illustrated by: Karen Ritz

"The history of Ellis Island from Colonial to modern times is recounted in an important picture book which blends drawings with details on how the island become a landing point for immigrants. Included within the body of the history are plenty of details on how immigrants entered this country, and the paths they travelled in order to enter. An excellent coverage for beginners."

Midwest Book Reviews

Online Resources:
http://www.uen.org/utahlink/activities/view_activity.cgi?activity_id=3810

Who Belongs Here? An American Story

Who Belongs Here? An American Story

Written by: Margy Burns Knight
Illustrated by: Anne Sibley O'Brien

"Who Belongs Here? tells the story of Nary, a young boy fleeing war-torn Cambodia for the safety of the United States. To some of his new classmates, however, he is a "chink" who should go back where he belongs. But what if everyone whose family came from another place was forced to return to his or her homeland? Who would be left? This story teaches compassion for recent immigrants while sharing the history of immigration in America and some of the important contributions made by past immigrants. It is used in schools everywhere for units on immigration and tolerance."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/TLRESOURCES/units/byrnes-literature/price.html

The New Americans: Colonial Times: 1620-1689

The New Americans: Colonial Times: 1620-1689

Written by: Betsy Maestro
Illustrated by: Giulio Maestro

"An excellent, evenhanded account of European immigration to North America during Colonial times. In clear language, the Maestros explain this often confusing part of American history. They take readers from the French explorers of the early 1600s, to the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620, to 1689, when the European population here numbered over 200,000. With beautifully rendered full-color illustrations that are well labeled, this book will leave students with a glimpse of how greedy some settlers were, how religious intolerance played an important role in establishing certain settlements, how hostilities were bound to grow between Europeans and natives, and how the struggle for this continent had only just begun."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Colonial_America/
http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/ushistory/colonial.html

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Let Her People to Freedom

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

Written by: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by: Kadir Nelson

"This lyrical text describes Harriet Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her North to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of slavery. This is a moving portrait of one of the most inspiring figures of the Underground Railroad--a woman who would take 19 subsequent trips back South without being caught."

Scholastic Book Reviews

Awards:
Caldecott Honor Award, 2006
Coretta Scott King Honor Book for Illustration, 2006

Web Resources:
http://www.tracievaughnzimmer.com/Moses.htm

Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky

Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky

Written and illustrated by: Faith Ringgold

Elementary Grades

"In Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky, Cassie returns to the skies. Flying way up, so far up that the mountains look like rock candy and the oceans like tiny cups of tea, Cassie and her brother, Be Be, encounter a fantastic train--the Underground Railroad train--and a tiny woman in a conductor's uniform. The woman is Harriet Tubman, who transports Cassie and Be Be back to the terrifying world of a slave plantation and on a desperate--but ultimately triumphant--journey of escape.

Drawing on historical accounts of the Underground Railroad and the facts of Harriet Tubman's life, and on the rich resources of her own imagination, Faith Ringgold has created a book that both recounts the chilling realities of slavery and joyfully celebrates freedom."

Publisher's Synopsis

Web Resources:
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780517885437&view=tg

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

"Clara, a young slave, works as a seamstress and dreams of freedom. Overhearing drovers talk of escaping North enables her to make a patchwork map of the area. When she escapes, she leaves the quilt behind to guide others. Based on a true event, this is a well-written picture book."

School Library Journal Review

Online Resources:
http://www.africanaheritage.com/sweetclara.asp
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/escaping-slavery-sweet-clara-127.html

When Jessie Came Across the Sea

When Jessie Came Across the Sea

Written by: Amy Hess
Illustrated by: P.J. Lynch

"Jessie lives with her grandmother in a poor village in Eastern Europe. When Jessie is chosen by the rabbi to travel to America and leave her grandmother behind, they both feel their hearts will break. Award-winning author Amy Hest brings her touch to the story of immigrant heritage as she follows Jessie across the ocean to a new life--and a new love--in America."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://web.bsu.edu/00smtancock/CyberLessons/jessie/jessie.htm

A Very Important Day

A Very Important Day

"Captures the excitement of immigrants who are becoming U.S. citizens. All across New York City, people are preparing for 'a very important day'...not the least bit daunted by a snowstorm....A tale told with vigor, exuberantly displayed in Stock's people-filled watercolor landscapes and cozy interior scenes of all the pre-oath preparations, this is a thoughtful celebration of one of this country's most meaningful ceremonies."

Kirkus Reviews

Online Resources:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr082.shtml

Three Young Pilgrims

Three Young Pilgrims

Written by: Cheryl Harness

"When Bartholemew, Remember, and Mary Allerton and their parents first step down from the Mayflower after sixty days at sea, they never dream that life in the New World will be so hard. Many in their Plymouth colony won't make it through the winter, and the colony's first harvest is possible only with the help of two friends, Samoset and Squanto.

Richly detailed paintings show how the pilgrims lived after landing at Plymouth, through the dark winter and into the busy days of spring, summer, and fall. Culminating with the excitement of the original Thanksgiving feast, Three Young Pilgrims makes history come alive."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/thanksgiving/lesson-plan/793.html

Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847

Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847

Written by: Kristiana Gregory

"Thirteen-year-old Hattie Campbell records the details of her family's harrowing migration to Oregon in a covered wagon and describes the many challenges, both joyful and tragic, that mark the journey."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.scholastic.com/dearamerica/parentteacher/guides/dearamerica/lonesomefs.htm

My Prairie Year: Based on the Diary of Elenore Plaisted

My Prairie Year: Based on the Diary of Elenore Plaisted

Written by: Brett Harvey
Illustrated by: Deborah Ray Kogan

"Elenore Plaisted was nine in 1889, when her family moved from Maine to the Dakotas. Later on, she wrote a retrospective diary of those years, which her granddaughter has now shaped into a story about a family's first year on the prairie. The first night in their new home they had to put blankets on the walls to block the wind. Storms came up quickly. Even a child used to Maine winters found the prairie blizzards intolerable. Spring finally came, seemingly hurried along by the arrival of a surprise package from Aunt Addie back home. Ray's black-and-white pencil illustrations would be almost too somber for the vivid text, were it not for the realistic, snug details a wooden bucket for washing floors, a child's blanket, the cylindrical stove in the center of their home. Young readers may whet their appetites here and go on to the Laura Ingalls Wilder series."

Publishers Weekly Review

Online Resources:
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Pioneers/

Immigrant Kids

Immigrant Kids

Written by: Russell Freedman

"This story tells the history of immigration to the United States between 1880 and 1920 and how immigrants had to adjust their traditional communities to their new home."

Publishers Description


Online Resources:
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3774&FullBreadCrumb=%3Ca+href%3D%22%2Fbrowse%2Fsearch.jsp%3Fquery%3Dimmigration%26c1%3DCONTENT30%26c2%3Dfalse%22%3EAll+Results+%3C%2Fa%3E

Freedom Train

Freedom Train

Written by: Evelyn Coleman
Illustrated by: David Riley

"Clyde Thomason is proud to have an older brother who guards the Freedom Train. It's 1947, and the train is traveling to all forty-eight states, carrying important documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Clyde is lucky that the train is stopping in Atlanta. In the segregated South the train will only stop at cities that agree to integrate the crowds lining up to glimpse its famous contents.

Clyde has been chosen to recite the Freedom Pledge, but he's afraid that he'll chicken out. It doesn't help that he's the favorite target of the class bully. When the bully tries to beat him up, Clyde is shocked that an African-American boy, William, comes to his rescue. He's even more shocked that William's family lives in the rich — and white — part of town. But why is he so surprised? And why can't he be open about his friendship with William? When William's family is threatened, Clyde must make a choice: Will he have the courage to speak out to protect William's freedom?

Evelyn Coleman paints a touching, often humorous picture of the 1940s South. Based on the real journey of the Freedom Train, this is the inspirational story of a young boy's awakening to the injustices around him — and to the idea that things could change."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Train

White Sox Only

White Sox Only

Written by: Evelyn Coleman
Illustrated by: Tyrone Geter

"Grandma tells the story about her first trip alone into town during the days when segregation still existed in Mississippi."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.evelyncoleman.com/

A Picnic in October

A Picnic in October

Written and Illustrated by: Eve Bunting

"Tony doesn’t understand why his family always has a picnic in October on Liberty Island to celebrate Lady Liberty’s birthday until the day he helps out a woman who doesn’t speak English and he comes to understand what the statue means to his grandmother."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.suffolk.lib.ny.us/youth/jcssimmigration.html

Followers of the North Star: Rhymes about African American Heroes, Heroines, and Historical Times

Followers of the North Star: Rhymes about African American Heroes, Heroines, and Historical Times

Written by: Susan Altman and Susan Leachman
Illustrated by: Bryan Woodsen

"Through rhymed verse, Altman and Lechner present the history of African Americans from the early slaves who followed the North Star to freedom, to youngsters today. Most of the poems are vignettes about individuals such as Crispus Attucks, Benjamin Banneker, Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Matthew Henson, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Lorraine Hansberry, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Guion Stewart Bluford, Jr. Groups such as the Buffalo Soldiers, the Little Rock Nine, and participants in the sit-ins of the civil rights movement also receive attention."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.npl.org/pages/kidsplace/Sites/afr.html

Uncle Sam and Old Glory

Uncle Sam and Old Glory

"Symbols have always played a crucial role in shaping our identity as a country. The American buffalo, the Statue of Liberty, the Mayflower, and Uncle Sam himself have all helped convey to the world the American values of liberty and democracy.

Delno and Jean West's lively prose unveils the stories behind America's symbols, complemented by Christopher Manson's handsome woodcuts, which perfectly convey the rugged individualism of the American spirit."

Publishers Descrption

Online Resources:
http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/symbols.html
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/symbols/

Walking the Road to Freedom: A Story About Sojourner Truth

Walking the Road to Freedom: A Story About Sojourner Truth

Written by: Jeri Harris
Illustrated by: Peter E. Hanson

"The story describes the life of Sojourner Truth, a freed slave, who vowed to spread the word about the evils of slavery. This book is a recipient of the Carter G. Woodson Book Award (1989)."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-famous/sojourn.html
http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit133/lesson2.html

The Legend of the Bluebonnet

The Legend of the Bluebonnet

Retold and Illustrated by: Tomie dePaola

"This legend of the Comanche people describes how the bluebonnets came to Texas and celebrates the sacrifices of the Comanche people. Students could investigate the bluebonnet as an important symbol related to spring in Texas."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/3395
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=701

America the Beautiful

America the Beautiful

Written by: Katharine Bates
Illustrated by: Neil Waldman

"The same country that inspired Katharine Lee Bates in 1893 to write "America the Beautiful" inspired Neil Waldman, one hundred years later, to illustrate Bates's poem with gorgeous acrylic paintings.

Waldman's stunning panoramas take us from coast-to-coast: from Niagara Falls to Napa's fruited plains, from Mount Rushmore to the Statue of Liberty. In the back of the book, there is a glossary that provides readers with more information about each site. Also included is the sheet music for the song "America the Beautiful," combining Bates's poem with the music of Samuel A. Ward's hymn."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/america.htm

The Inside/Outside Book of Washington DC

The Inside/Outside Book of Washington DC

Written by: Roxie Munro

"Venture inside and outside our nation's capital for an extraordinary look at some of its many majestic locations: the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the Capitol, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, the National Air and Space Museum, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, RFK Stadium, and more."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://kids.dc.gov/kids_main_content.html

The Voice of the American People: American Democracy in Action

The Voice of the American People: American Democracy in Action

Written by: Betsy Maestro
Illustrated by: Giulio Maestro

"A wide-ranging book that explains the electoral process and how the three branches of government work. Discusses how the Constitution was drafted and forms the backbone of our government. Also explains that our electoral process has developed in part from the Constitution and in part from customs and traditions. Contains various lists: presidents, order of presidential succession, the oath of office, and more."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/SSElectionsHistoryOfVotingResponsibility2.htm

The Ballot Box Battle

The Ballot Box Battle

"In New Jersey in 1880, a young girl named Cordelia isn't interested in hearing her neighbor's stories about the fight for women's suffrage. But on election day, Cordelia prompts Mrs. Stanton to tell the heart wrenching story of her own childhood, and how it steeled her for the battles of her adult life. What happens when Cordelia and Elizabeth Cady Stanton decide to go to the polls is a turning point for Cordelia, and an inspiration to children everywhere."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.carnegieschool.com/LOC/The_Ballot_Box_Battle.htm

The Paperboy

The Paperboy

Written and Illustrated by: Dav Pilkey

"The text and illustrations follow the delivery of the paper from the time it leaves the publisher until it arrives for the paper boy. The focus then turns to the boy as he rides his bicycle and delivers the papers. This book could motivate a discussion about the various jobs and people who are required to complete various responsibilities that benefit our daily lives."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.pilkey.com/bookview.php?id=11

La Tortilleria / the Tortilla Factory

La Tortilleria / the Tortilla Factory

Written by: Gary Paulsen
Illustrated by: Ruth Wright Paulsen

"The story of how tortillas are made. Readers will observe corn seeds being planted in the earth, then watch the grown corn being ground and sent to the tortilla factory. At the factory the ground corn is transformed, by workers and machinery, into tasty tortillas which are eaten by the people who plant corn seeds in the earth. Color illustrations accompany the text."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.kidseconposters.com/keb/Title%20List%20Poster%20Set%20A/Productive%20Resources/Tortilla%20Factory.htm

Geography from A-Z: A Picture Glossary

Geography from A-Z: A Picture Glossary

Written by: Jack Knowlton
Illustrated by: Harriet Barton

"The sixty-three entries from A to Z describe the earth's features -- its physical geography -- from the highest mountain peak to the deepest ocean trench, in clear, concise terms. Each entry is beautifully illustrated in full color.

This is a perfect introduction to the dramatic and fascinating face of the vast world around us. The author and artist of the best-selling MAPS & GLOBES team up again, this time to prove that geography can indeed be an adventure."

Product Description

Online Resources:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/geography_az.shtml

The Go-Around Dollar

The Go-Around Dollar

Written by: Barbara Johnston Adams
Illustrated by: Joyce Auty Zarins

"Every dollar travels from person to person in a different way. Matt finds a dollar on his way home from school and uses it to buy shoelaces from Eric. Eric spends the dollar on bubble gum at the corner store. Jennifer, who happens to be the next customer, receives the dollar as part of her change.

A dollar bill is something we all see and use every day of our lives. But do we know how it's made? The meaning of the symbols that are shown on the front and back of the dollar? How long the average dollar stays in circulation?

In this fascinating and informative book, Barbara Johnston Adams weaves together a fictional narrative about the travels of a single dollar with facts and anecdotes that are sure to delight young readers."

Product Description

Online Resources:
http://www.kidseconposters.com/keb/Title%20List%20Poster%20Set%20A/Trade%20and%20Money/Go-Around%20Dollar.htm

Our National Holidays

Our National Holidays

Written by: Karen Spies

"This book examines the history and significance of patriotic holidays, holidays that honor famous people, and special American holidays such as Thanksgiving."

Product Description

Online Resources:
http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/National_Symbols/American_Hollidays.html

Pilgrim Voices: Our First Year in the New World

Pilgrim Voices: Our First Year in the New World

Written by: Connie and Peter Roop
Illustrated by: Shelley Pritchett

"This story gives a new twist to the familiar story of the Pilgrims' first voyage to North America and the original Thanksgiving celebration. Drawing on diaries and journals, they use the Pilgrims' own words to describe the voyage on the Mayflower; exploring the land and meeting the Indians; the hardships, illnesses, and hunger during the first winter; and the harvest festival. The diary format and first-person voice contribute authenticity and vitality to the text, with colorful paintings by Shelley Pritchett adding interest."

Booklist Review

Online Resources:
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/plymouth/

If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks

If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks

Written and Illustrated by: Faith Ringgold

"If a bus could talk, it would tell the story of a young African-American girl named Rosa who had to walk miles to her one-room schoolhouse in Alabama while white children rode to their school in a bus. It would tell how the adult Rosa rode to and from work on a segregated city bus and couldn't sit in the same row as a white person. It would tell of the fateful day when Rosa refused to give up her seat to a white man and how that act of courage inspired others around the world to stand up for freedom.

In this book a bus does talk, and on her way to school a girl named Marcie learns why Rosa Parks is the mother of the Civil Rights movement. At the end of Marcie's magical ride, she meets Rosa Parks herself at a birthday party with several distinguished guests. Wait until she tells her class about this!"

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/rosa/index.htm

A Picnic in October

A Picnic in October

Written by: Eve Bunting
Illustrated by: Nancy Carpenter

"A powerful tribute to the true meaning of liberty. A boy finally comes to understand why his grandmother insists that the family come to Ellis Island each year to celebrate Lady Liberty's birthday."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.thestatueofliberty.com/liberty_games.html

Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly

Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly

Written by: Anne Bustard
Illustrated by: Kurt Cyrus

"A while back, out West Texas way, a boy named Charles Hardin Holley was born. He was named after his granddaddy Charles and his granddaddy Hardin. From the first moment, though, his mama called him Buddy. Buddy Holly.

That Buddy could shoot marbles with the best, hit homers in the red dirt, and pelt cans with his slingshot. But come sixth grade, when Buddy met up with a guitar, he never let it go. Later Buddy heard a new sound -- part country, part gospel, and part blues -- and got even more fired up. Hot-diggity! It was the birth of rock 'n' roll."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.annebustard.com/guides.html

T is for Texas

T is for Texas

Written by: Anne Bustard

"Join in this photographic celebration of Texas from A to Z. T is for Texas is a picture book to be shared with easy-to-read text and instructional photographs in full color."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.annebustard.com/guides.html

Tumbleweed Tom on the Texas Trail

Tumbleweed Tom on the Texas Trail

Written by: Jackie Hopkins
Illustrated by: Kay Salem

"A cowboy named Tumbleweed Tom travels around Texas picking up a souvenir from different parts of the state. By the end of the trail ride, Tom's wagon is full of Texas symbols and landmarks. This book was written as a teaching tool for Texas teachers and is recommended by the Social Studies Center for Education Development."

Publishers Description


Online Resources:
http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/texaslinks.htm