Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

Author/Illustrator: Deborah Hopkinson/James Ransome
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: None
Grade Level: 2nd-4th

This book is about a young girl named Clara who was sold into slavery and separated from her mother. She was working in the fields with a young boy named Jack. An older woman who was a seamstress took the role as her aunt. She told her she'd never survive if she didn't take care of herself. Her aunt taught her how to be a seamstress so she would be able to go work in the big house. The white lady in the big house loved her work and invited her to be a seamstress. As Clara worked in the big house she overhear people talking about escaping through the underground railroad. She decided she would too. She saved all the scraps from sewing and over months sewed together a quilt that looked as a map would all the way to Canada, Freedom. Once finished her and Jack set out to escape, they picked up her mother along the way and made it to freedom.

This book is great for upper elementary students because the structure is suitable for them. I would use this book in my class when covering a social studies topic of the underground railroad. I could have students draw their own map of the quilt.

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, their lives and dreams

Author/Illustrator: Ashley Bryan
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: None
Grade Level: 3rd-5th

This book is about 11 slaves from the 1800s. In the beginning you will see all eleven slaves and the price that they can be bought for. Throughout the book will be each slaves story. They will tell what their job is and on the following page what they dream to be/have one day. The author of this book was given documents of slaves and she chose eleven of the slaves and made them come to life with what she thought they were like.

This book has a lot of words and paragraphs and is structured for upper elementary students. I would use this book in my classroom when talking about slavery. I could use it to have students research famous slaves and create there own article like in this book.

Freedom School, Yes!

Author/Illustrator: Amy Littlesugar/Floyd Cooper
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: None
Grade Level: 2nd-5th

 A young girl named Jolie awoke when a brick flew threw her window. This wouldn't have happened if her mom had not volunteered to house a freedom school teacher. These teachers were as young as 18 coming to teach children about who they are and their history. Everyone is Jolie's community was against this except her mom. Few children attended the classes at first. Within the first few days people had burned the church down because they did not want this white lady teaching them. However, this did not stop them. The classes got bigger and they decided to rebuild the church and the new freedom school. Jolie grew to love school and took an interest in a mathematician who loved stars as much as Jolie did. As the community began to accept the freedom teacher more people attended the school and got involved. Jolie's uncle shared something special with her, a medal. He was awarded a medal for saving the life of a white man at war. He states that though he saved a white man he is still not allowed to sit next to one. He tells Jolie, "You all got to grow up and change that."

This is a great read. The print on the pages are small and there are a lot of character so I think this book would be best fit for student from second grade to fifth. If I used this book in my classroom I would use it to teach students about civil rights. This book was set in the 1960s in Mississippi when civil rights were still not granted to black people.

John, Paul, George & Ben

Author/Illustrator: Lane Smith
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: None
Grade Level: Kindergarten-1st

This book is about to young lives of John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, and Ben Franklin. Oh, and Thomas Jefferson. These historical figures have all done something great in their adulthood and left footprints in history. This book is a comical read about how they came to be who they are and why they might have done the things they did. For example at the beginning of every school year when they were asked to write their names on the board Jon would always write it so big it could be seen from outer space. This is similar to how he signed another very important document.

I would definitely use this book in my classroom if I was teaching younger elementary students. I would use it to introduce some of our greatest historical figures. This book could be used as a read aloud before beginning a social studies lesson.

Just Like Josh Gibson

Author/Illustrator: Angela Johnson/Beth Peck
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: None
Grade Level: 1st-4th

This book is about overcoming challenges and people who are always telling you no. A young girl who loved baseball was not allowed to play the game because she was a girl. In the 40s girls didn't play boy sports. She knew the ins and out of baseball. She attended every game and every practice. Sometimes they would let her join in on a practice, but never a game. One day during a game Danny fell and got injured. They all turned to this young girl to step up to the plate. She hit a home run that won the game. This book outlines the challenges she faced to play the sport she loved just like Josh Gibsons. Josh Gibson was one of the best negro league baseball players who never made it to the majors.

This book would be great for students anywhere from 1st grade to 4th. I could use this book to teach students to overcome challenges and to never give up just like the young girl in the story. This is also a great read for girls who love sports. Most girls think that sports books are only for boys, but this one has a different perspective.