Alte Veste Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 On the (very) short (WWII exclusive) list so far... Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Houston and James Houston Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible...on Schindler's List by Leon Leyson The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neil Bascomb The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin We love books like this here. I want lots on hand, and we have a fabulous library. Next year I will have a 6th grade DS, a 4th grade (mature for her age, and very early birthday for her grade) DD, and a 3rd grade DS (who is an "advanced listener" but I like to limit his exposure to gruesome and exceptionally detailed unsettling content). Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 AVA, we like the same thing. I have gone through all the award winning books for NZ, Australia, UK, and USA; sorted by topic; and made this list! Any my library did not have, I bought. And they are all awesome! Enjoy, Ruth in NZModern HistoryInventionsThe Wright Brothers: How they Invented the Airplane by Russel FreedmanLife in the Victorian eraBlack Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850 by Susan Campbell BartolettiFlesh and Blood so Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin 10+Shutting out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York (1880-1920) by Deborah Hopkinson 11+ExplorationLost Photographs of Captain ScottAmelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace FlemingThe Impossible Rescue: The True Story of an Amazing Arctic Adventure by Martin Sandler 10+Reaching the Summit: Sir Edmund Hillary's Story by Alexa JohnstonTrapped: how the world rescues 33 miners from 2,000 feet below the Chilean Desert by Marc Aronson 10+WW1The War to End all Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman 12+Between the WarsBootleg: Murder Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition by Karen Blumenthal 12+Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 by Karen Blumenthal 12+Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl by Albert Marrin 9+WW2Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration by Joanne Oppenheim 11+Bomb: The Race to Build – and Steal-- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin 10+Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust, Doreen Rappaport 10+The Good Fight: How WW2 was Won by Stephen Ambrose 11+Frontier of Dreams: The Weight of the World WarsDiary of a Kiwi Soldier in WW2 by Cecil CoughlanSecret Armies: Spies, CounterspiesHitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow 12+AsiaPyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle GFloor- Graphic NovelBurma Chronicles by Guy Delisle GFloor-Graphic NovelShenzhen: A Travelogue from China by Guy Delisle GFloor-Graphic NovelEnvironmentalismBlack Gold: The Story of Oil in our lives by Albert Marin 12+Civil RightsAfter Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Non-violent Resistance Perry O'Brien 11+They Call themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti 12+Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom by Sue Macy 10+Cold WarWhen the Wall Came Down: The Berlin Wall and the Fall of Soviet Communism by Schmemann 11+TechnologySteve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different by Karen BlumenthalTeam Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Thimmesh 10+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 That is a great list! Thanks Ruth! I am all ears for more. We do American history separate from world, so I am particularly interested in international selections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Cheaper by the Dozen Belles on Their Toes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Maybe a simplified version of The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom? I don't introduce the Holocaust until very late elementary, though. Perhaps some biographies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Cheaper by the Dozen Belles on Their Toes Oh, thanks! I didn't know there was a sequel to Cheaper! Maybe a simplified version of The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom? I don't introduce the Holocaust until very late elementary, though. Perhaps some biographies? Is there a kids' version? I will look. Definitely biographies. I am checking out scads in an effort to find the best ones. I am unreasonably picky. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I think you have my history list for Moderns, but I asked Shannon which had been her absolute favorite NF for this year, and here's her list: You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? – Jean Fritz (6.4) Immigrant Kids – Russell Freedman (6.9) A Day of Pleasure – Isaac Singer (6.0) Marie Curie’s Search for Radium – Beverley Birch Amelia Lost – Candace Fleming (6.6) Bylines: A Photobiography of Nellie Bly (7.5) The Great Depression: The Jazz Age, Prohibition & the Great Depression – Jane Bingham Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl – Albert Marrin (7.4) Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow The Story of the Van Trapp Family Singers – Maria Van Trapp Farewell to Manzanar When the Wall Came Down: The Berlin Wall and the Fall of Soviet Communism – Schmemann Rosa Parks, My Story – Rosa Parks Dancing to Freedom: The True Story of Mao’s Last Dancer – Li Cunxin Black Gold - The Story of Oil in Our Lives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Kennedy Assassinated! The World Mourns: A Reporter's Story ~ Wilborn Hampton Parallel Journeys ~ Eleanor Ayer (WWII) Attack on Pearl Harbor ~ Tanaka September 11, 2001: Attack on New York City ~ Wilborn Hampton Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 ~ Blumenthal 10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War ~ Caputo Thirty Seconds over Tokyo ~ Capt. Ted W. Lawson (one of my favorites when I was 12) ~ Landmark Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution ~ Ji-li Jiang China's Long March: 6,000 Miles of Danger ~ Jean Fritz Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York 1880-1924 ~ Hopkinson Sovietrek: A Journey by Bicycle Across Russia ~ Buettner (OK, not exactly history but very good) *Somehow I missed the ages of your children when I was reading your OP, so some of these may not be appropriate. I would second a suggestion upthread of the old Landmark Books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 I think you have my history list for Moderns, but I asked Shannon which had been her absolute favorite NF for this year, and here's her list: You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? – Jean Fritz (6.4) Immigrant Kids – Russell Freedman (6.9) A Day of Pleasure – Isaac Singer (6.0) Marie Curie’s Search for Radium – Beverley Birch Amelia Lost – Candace Fleming (6.6) Bylines: A Photobiography of Nellie Bly (7.5) The Great Depression: The Jazz Age, Prohibition & the Great Depression – Jane Bingham Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl – Albert Marrin (7.4) Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow The Story of the Van Trapp Family Singers – Maria Van Trapp Farewell to Manzanar When the Wall Came Down: The Berlin Wall and the Fall of Soviet Communism – Schmemann Rosa Parks, My Story – Rosa Parks Dancing to Freedom: The True Story of Mao’s Last Dancer – Li Cunxin Black Gold - The Story of Oil in Our Lives Yes, I have the print out of your plans in my research stack (which is steadily growing) but wanted all input before I start sifting. :D Kennedy Assassinated! The World Mourns: A Reporter's Story ~ Wilborn Hampton Parallel Journeys ~ Eleanor Ayer (WWII) Attack on Pearl Harbor ~ Tanaka September 11, 2001: Attack on New York City ~ Wilborn Hampton Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 ~ Blumenthal 10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War ~ Caputo Thirty Seconds over Tokyo ~ Capt. Ted W. Lawson (one of my favorites when I was 12) ~ Landmark Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution ~ Ji-li Jiang China's Long March: 6,000 Miles of Danger ~ Jean Fritz Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York 1880-1924 ~ Hopkinson Sovietrek: A Journey by Bicycle Across Russia ~ Buettner (OK, not exactly history but very good) *Somehow I missed the ages of your children when I was reading your OP, so some of these may not be appropriate. I would second a suggestion upthread of the old Landmark Books. Thanks! I like a range. I can assign some to older, some to younger, however it works out. Plus, I like to read them myself. I'm giving myself the history education I never had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Wonderful, thanks so much. I've been trying to make lists here as well so I'm anxious to go through these. I see Bomb at the top of your first list and ds LOVED that book so I'm hoping our tastes are similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Hmm, I wonder if anyone has made a similar list for early American history? I believe we will be studying that next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 soror, re Early American history, I really enjoyed The Real Revolution. It taught me things about the Am Rev I had never heard. Quite readable. A Lion to Guard Us and Sarah Whitcher's Story are supposed to be true stories told in an engaging way, but IDK if that's the sort you have in mind, and I haven't read them myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsH Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 No Anne frank on the list? Subbing to use as I plan next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I do NOT like Anne Frank. I have substituted the autobiography, Endless Steppe. It is written by a older woman remembering her childhood in a Russian Siberian camp. She was a survivor. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 Wonderful, thanks so much. I've been trying to make lists here as well so I'm anxious to go through these. I see Bomb at the top of your first list and ds LOVED that book so I'm hoping our tastes are similar. Yes, Bomb was such a great, suspenseful read! Spot on for Sheinkin's target age. I saw your thread seeking American history titles and wish I could help more, but we did American when DS was in 1st & 2nd, then won't hit it again until he is in 7th and 8th. Obviously we cover some American history in our world history rotation, but I try to keep our supplementary reading more international. I'm about to do a major bookshelf rearrangement though, and if I see any must-reads for your kids' ages, I'll post them. ETA: Also, this thread was not showing up under "my content" which led me to miss posts for several days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Following Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Subbing …. Ruth's list is a treasure. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Yes, Bomb was such a great, suspenseful read! Spot on for Sheinkin's target age. I saw your thread seeking American history titles and wish I could help more, but we did American when DS was in 1st & 2nd, then won't hit it again until he is in 7th and 8th. Obviously we cover some American history in our world history rotation, but I try to keep our supplementary reading more international. I'm about to do a major bookshelf rearrangement though, and if I see any must-reads for your kids' ages, I'll post them. ETA: Also, this thread was not showing up under "my content" which led me to miss posts for several days. I just finished (I hope) my order for Am. History, I should post it here. I have a mix of longer picture books, good non-fic and some classics. I looked and looked at lists here and followed recs on Amazon. I especially followed any of Sheinkin and Freedman's books. I've probably been a little too optimistic in what we can finish in a year, it seems not unlikely that it will take us 2. I'm mostly aiming at my upcoming 5th grader but I've thrown in some shorter titles that are good for my dd in 2nd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 yes, do post it, soror! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I just finished (I hope) my order for Am. History, I should post it here. I have a mix of longer picture books, good non-fic and some classics. I looked and looked at lists here and followed recs on Amazon. I especially followed any of Sheinkin and Freedman's books. I've probably been a little too optimistic in what we can finish in a year, it seems not unlikely that it will take us 2. I'm mostly aiming at my upcoming 5th grader but I've thrown in some shorter titles that are good for my dd in 2nd.. Yes do post it here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Good lists. Others: Titanic: The Watch That Ends The Night Dust Bowl: The Worst Hard Time WWII: Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow (Susan Bartoletti) Snow Treasure (might be a little young for the oldest child, but excellent for the younger children- WWII) Navajo Code Talkers (Nathan Aaseng) Cold War: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Awesome thread. A bunch of excellent looking ones I didn't know. And all the ones I could think of did get named! We also just finished Bomb last week. So good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Well- I'm still working on organizing everything and fwiw my books are on the lower age range for the most part, as I said I'm trying to get a mix for ds and some for dd. Anyway, this is the very rough draft and I'll have to leave it at that for now as I have to get ready for a camping trip and stop destructo baby from finishing off the house. I thought I had all the major areas covered but I might have some holes, some books I already have here and some are still coming so it is hard for me to organize it all yet. I see in my list here that I'm way short on WWI, I thought I had at least some but I cannot find any titles right now. I left off most of the shorter picture books I'm using and fiction since the post refers to non-fiction. Pre- Exploration Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491-Mann (Companion book for kids) Native American- Only the Names Remain- (Trail of Tears) Life and Death of Crazy Horse- Freedman Indian Chiefs- Freedman A Boy Called Slow (story of sitting bull), Squanto's Journey- Bruchac (picture books) The True Story of Pocahontas (as told by her people) - 168p Rev War- King George What's His Problem - Sheinkin Washington at Valley Forge- Freedman (gr 4-8) West Exp- Which Way to the Wild West- Sheinkin How we Crossed the West- Lewis and Clark (gr- 3-7 48 p) Civil War Two Miserable Presidents- Sheinkin The Boys War- Union and Confederate Soldiers (the war told through original notes and sources etc gr. 4-6 128 p.) Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas- Freedman WW1 Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood (A World War I Tale) WW2- Code Talkers Beyond Courage Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow The Boy on the Wooden Box Cold War- When the Wall Came Down The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (picture book) Civil Rights Freedom Walkers- Montgomery Bus Boycott (gr 5-8 114 p.) Port Chicago 50 (WW2/CR) Through My Eyes- Ruby Bridges When Marian Sang (picture book) Women's Suffrage- Elizabeth Leads the Way (picture book) With Courage and Cloth Biographies- Alexander Hamilton- The Outsider Fritz Sacajawea Crossing the Continent- 5th + 110 p Amelia Lost Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt- Fritz The Story of George Washington Carver Lincoln- Landmark Eleanor Roosevelt- Life of Discovery Child Labor- Children at Work- Crusade Against Child Labor Depression- Children of the Great Depression Dustbowl- Years of Dust- Marrin Out of the Dust - Hesse Chicago Fire Fire- Murphy Inventors and Discoveries Electric Ben The Boy Invented the TV Robert Fulton From Submarine to Steamboat Team Apollo; How 40,000 Landed on the Moon The Wright Brothers: how they invented the Airplane- Freedman Dr. Jenner and the Speckled Monster eta 4/27- more titles for Native Americans- I was torn on what all to list as I'm not sure all will meet the qualifications of the OP. I'm going ahead and listing titles I've found that, seem to be from what I can tell from reviews and previews, engaging, informative, and accurate non-fiction books. Also, I noticed that this was in the k-8 section and not Logic Stage so I decided to leave the picture books I have listed. 4/30- adding more WW1, Cold War and WW2 titles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 The Great Fire is excellent, as is The Great Influenza (they aren't related, just similar titles). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iona Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 The journey that saved curious George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Ack, I just lost a giant post :( I've been searching through various authors and noticed several mentioned above have many, many history books. Let me see if I can remember the main ones: Albert Marrin- Mostly 12+ Years of Dust, Dr. Jenner and the Speckled Monster, Black Gold the Story of Oil, etc Steve Sheinkin- 10+ Bomb (bomb), Two Miserable Presidents (Civil War), Notorious Benedict etc. Nathan Hale 8+ Big Bad Iron Clad (civil war), Donner Dinner Party (westward expansion), Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood (WWI) etc Russell Freedman- 10+ Numerous award winning history books, Wright Brothers, Immigrant Kids, Lincoln a Photobiography, Children at Work, Eleanor Roosevelt, The War to End all Wars Karen Blumenthal- Six Days in October (stock market crash), Bootleg (prohibition), Let Me Play (title IX), Steve Jobs, Sam Walton Marc Aronson- Sugar Changed the World (slavery), Trapped (Chilean miners), etc Wilborn Hampton- Kennedy Assassinated, September 11, War in the Middle East Guy Delisle- Graphic Novels - Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, Burma Chronicles, Jerusalem, Shenzen: A Travelogue from China Joseph Bruchac- Several books related to Native Americans, non-fic picture books- ex- A Boy Named Slow(Sitting Bull) and books about traditional NA tales (The First Strawberries) as well as books for older kids, like Code Talker Susan Campbell Bartoletti- Black Potatoes (Irish famine), Hitler Youth, They Called Themselves the KKK, KIds on Strike, Growing Up in Coal Country, Several Dear America books Candace Fleming- Amelia Lost, The Lincolns, Our Elanor, Ben Franklin's Almanac, The Great and Only Barnum Jim Murphy-8+ Fire (Chicago fire), Truce (WWI), An American Plague (yellow fever), Blizzard: The Storm that Changed America, Numerous history books and Dear America books, What a Women Ought to Be and Do (Jim Crow- civil rights) several books related to TX history Doreen Rappaport - Beyond Courage( jewish resistance to Holocaust), Several books about slavery, many wonderful biographical award winning picture books- MLK, Helen Keller, Teddy Roosevelt, Eleanor, JFK, Dirt on their Skirts (women baseball players during war) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I just wanted to mention that Shannon is reading Black Gold: The Story of Oil in our Lives by Albert Marrin. This is coming at the end of a year of modern history, including a short study of the middle east specifically and the "war on terror" and recent events. She agrees that it's probably the most important book she's read this year, really pulling together a lot of the historical events she's studied. Anyway, I first heard about this book from Ruth in NZ and wanted to give it a plug for others studying the modern era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I just wanted to mention that Shannon is reading Black Gold: The Story of Oil in our Lives by Albert Marrin. This is coming at the end of a year of modern history, including a short study of the middle east specifically and the "war on terror" and recent events. She agrees that it's probably the most important book she's read this year, really pulling together a lot of the historical events she's studied. Anyway, I first heard about this book from Ruth in NZ and wanted to give it a plug for others studying the modern era. Do you think a 10 yr old could read and understand this well? Ds would be about 10.5 when we get to this book (assuming plans work out)? I'm really interested in this book and Sugar Changed the World because they seem to really weave all the info together in a way I'm not seeing in other places? Can those who have read these chime in, I'd love to use these but I don't want to pick something over his head. He generally understands well and does great with higher level books but we've not done near as much with non-fiction. I'm considering doing them both as read alouds but I'm just so unsure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Well, it's not an easy read by any means. Partly this is because the topic is challenging - both the fact that it's covering aspects of war and of environmental damage, these are heavy topics, so I'd keep close tabs on him while he's reading, or just do it as a read aloud. That would probably be ideal in retrospect. We discuss it briefly every day, with a bigger discussion planned for today when she finishes it. I can't say she enjoys the book, she finds the content thought-provoking and troubling, but she finds it important and worth reading. The AR book level is 8.2, if that helps. That's higher than some of the other nf she's read this year. Marrin's stuff tends to be on the 6th-8th AR level, as does Russell Freedman's. I'd definitely say they are middle grade level reading, not elementary level. But you know best for your kid,of course. ETA: I'm getting this for her to read as a follow-up, to end on a more upbeat note: http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Environment-Stories-Helping-Protect/dp/081186779X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thanks Rose for the thoughts. I'm thinking perhaps I'll get them to read myself as I'm interested in them, then if I think he is ready we can do them as read-alouds, otherwise they will provide some good talking points for our discussions on these topics and I can take it as deep as he is able to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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