FIRST Quarter Reading Recommendations

My Brother Sam Is Dead

Author(s): Collier, James L.; Collier, Christopher Grade Level(s): 6-8

Publisher: Scholastic Publication Date: 1989 (Original Copyright: 1974)

Illustrator: Translator:

Genre(s): Fiction, Historical Fiction Classification(s):

Culture(s): Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s): Newbery Honor

Series:

Annotation: The Meeker family is torn apart during the American Revolutionary War when one son joins the rebel forces and the rest of the family try to remain neutral in a divided town.

And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?

Author(s): Fritz, Jean Grade Level(s): 3-5, 6-8

Publisher: Paper Star Publication Date: 1996 (Original Copyright: 1973)

Illustrator: Margot Tomes Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s): Read Aloud

Culture(s): Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s):

Series:

Annotation: Readers learn about Paul Revere's midnight ride to Lexington to warn the colonists that the British were coming and also that he made false teeth, silver spoons, church bells, and many other fascinating things. The book is available in paperback only. It has curriculum connections to fifth- and eighth-grade history/social science. Others titles in the series include YOU WANT WOMEN TO VOTE, LIZZIE STANTON?; WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA, BEN FRANKLIN?; WHERE WAS PATRICK HENRY ON THE 29th OF MAY?; WHY DON'T YOU GET A HORSE, SAM ADAMS?

James Printer: A Novel of Rebellion

Author(s): Jacobs, Paul Samuel Grade Level(s): 3-5, 6-8

Publisher: Scholastic Publication Date: 1997

Illustrator: Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s):

Culture(s): Native American Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s):

Series:

Annotation: The courageous story of James Printer, a Nipmuch Indian from Massachusetts, is told through the voice of young Bartholomew Green. James, raised by the English after his mother's death, becomes a printer's apprentice. When conflicts break out between the white settlers and the local Indian tribes, James is forced to demonstrate his loyalties. The language and characters' attitudes reflect life in the 1670s.

Trouble's Daughter: The Story of Susanna Hutchinson, Indian Captive

Author(s): Kirkpatrick, Katherine Grade Level(s): 6-8

Publisher: Delacorte Press Publication Date: 1998

Illustrator: Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s):

Culture(s): Native American Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s):

Series:

Annotation: In 1633 when Susanna is nine years old, the Lenape Indians massacre her family and take her captive. Despite the massacre, the Lenape treat Susanna well and she grows to love them. The story explores the role of women in colonial and Native American society. An author's note and a list of Lenape words are included.

Witch of Blackbird Pond, The

Author(s): Speare, Elizabeth George Grade Level(s): 6-8

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Publication Date: 2001 (Original Copyright: 1958)

Illustrator: Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s): Classic

Culture(s): Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s): Newbery Winner

Series:

Annotation: Kit Tyler leaves Barbados to visit Puritan relatives in colonial Connecticut. There she befriends a "witch" named Hannah; Kit is later accused of witchcraft herself and is brought to trial. The selection connects to U.S. history/social science for the eighth grade.

Encounter

Author(s): Yolen, Jane Grade Level(s): 3-5, 6-8

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Publication Date: 1992

Illustrator: David Shannon Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s): Picture Book

Culture(s): Native American Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s):

Series:

Annotation: An imagined encounter between a young Taino boy of San Salvador and Christopher Columbus and his crew is presented in this book. The young boy describes the strange appearance of the creatures from the "great-sailed canoes" and tries to warn his people against welcoming them. The dramatic acrylic paintings help to convey the consequences of embracing other cultures at the expense of one's own. The author's and illustrator's notes offer historical perspectives.

The Last of the Mohicans

Author(s): Cooper, James Fenimore Grade Level(s): young adult

Publisher: Barns and Noble Books Date: 1992

Illustrator: Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s): Classic

Culture(s): Native American Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s):

Series: Barns and Noble Classics

During the fierce French and Indian wars, an adroit scout named Hawkeye and his companion Chingachgook weave through the spectacular and dangerous wilderness of upstate New York, fighting to save the beautiful Munro sisters from the Huron renegade Magua. The Last of the Mohicans is the most popular of James Fenimore Cooper’s five Leatherstocking Tales. With its death-defying chases and teeth-clenching suspense, this American classic established many archetypes of American frontier fiction.

The Slave Dancer

Author(s): Fox, Paula Grade Level(s): 12 and up

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Date: 1990

Illustrator: Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s): Classic

Culture(s): Middle Passage – Slave Trade Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s): Newbery Award

Series: Barns and Noble Classics

Jessie Bollier often played his fife to earn a few pennies down by the New Orleans docks. One afternoon a sailor asked him to pipe a tune, and that evening Jessie was kidnapped and dumped aboard The Moonlight, a slave ship, where a hateful duty awaited him. He was to play music so the slaves could "dance" to keep their muscles strong, their bodies profitable. Jessie was sickened by the thought of taking part in the business of trading rum and tobacco for blacks and then selling the ones who survived the frightful sea voyage from Africa. But to the men of the ship a "slave dancer" was necessary to ensure their share of the profit. They did not heed the horrors that every day grew more vivid, more inescapable to Jessie. Yet , even after four months of fear, calculated torture, and hazardous sailing with a degraded crew, Jessie was to face a final horror that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

April Morning

Author(s): Fast, Howard Grade Level(s): young adult

Publisher: Bantam Books, Inc. Date: 1970

Illustrator: Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s): Young Adult

Culture(s): Revolutionary War Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s):

Series:

When you read this novel about April 19, 1775, you will see the British redcoats marching in a solid column through your town. Your hands will be sweating and you will shake a little as you grip your musket because never have you shot with the aim of killing a man. But you will shoot, and shoot again and again while your shoulder aches from your musket's kick and the tight, disciplined red column bleeds and wavers and breaks and you begin to shout at the top of your lungs because you are there, at the birth of freedom—you're a veteran of the Battle of Lexington, and you've helped whip the King's best soldiers...

"Invites comparison with Crane's Red Badge Of Courage... I think this is an even better book."— The New York Times

Jump Ship to Freedom

Author(s): Collier, James Lincoln & Christopher Grade Level(s): 12 and up

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Date: 1986

Illustrator: Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s): Young Adult

Culture(s): Middle Passage – Slave Trade Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s):

Series: Arabus Family Saga Series

Young Daniel Arabus and his mother are slaves in the house of Captain Ivers of Stratford, Connecticut. By law they should be free, since Daniel's father fought in the Revolutionary army and earned enough in soldiers' notes to buy his family's freedom. But now Daniel's father is dead, and Mrs. Ivers has taken the notes from his mother. When Daniel bravely steals the notes back, a furious Captain Ivers forces him aboard a ship bound for the West Indies—and certain slavery. Even if Daniel can manage to jump ship in New York, will he be able to travel the long and dangerous road to freedom?

Sign of the Beaver

Author(s): Speare, Elizabeth George Grade Level(s): 12 and up

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Date: 1984

Illustrator: Translator:

Genre(s): Historical Fiction Classification(s): Young Adult

Culture(s): Native American Language(s): English

Curriculum: History/Social Science

Award(s): Newbery Honor & Scott O’Dell Award

Series:

Left alone in the Maine wilderness, while his father returns south to get the rest of the family, 12-year old Matt is charged with protecting his family's new property and log cabin. While awaiting his family's return, Matt faces many challenges. Thanks to a Native American chief and his grandson, Matt learns survival skills. More importantly, he discovers friendship and develops an appreciation for another cultu