Princess Sultana's Daughters

Jean Sasson's sequel in the Princess triology, Princess Sultana's Daughters is an exhilerating sequel. Sasson takes the reader through a journey of fundamentalism, mental illness as well as the gender inferiority Sultana and her daughters face as a female. The detail of the Muslim Hajj is eye opening, as well as an increased same sex relationships as a result of the restrictions placed on mix gender relationships.
There are many opportunities for learning in this book just as Sasson's first book in the Princess triology. Please check it out!!! SOOOOOOO GOOOD!!!!

Until We Meet Again

Until we Meet Again: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Holocaust by Michael Korenbilt and Kathleen Janger follows two Jewish Families during the Holocaust in Germany. The Korenbilts son, Meyer, and the Nagelsztajins, daughter, Manya are deeply in love. Both families plan and prepare for where to hide when the Nazi’s come for the deportation of the Jews. Each family has a different idea and in a last minute decision Manya decides to join the Korenbilts along with her younger brother, Chaim. The novel follows Meyer and Manya as they hide and eventually travel from concentration camp to concentration camp, doing all they can to stay alive. The two are eventually separated and it is their love for each other that keeps them fighting to stay alive. I won't ruin the ending but it is a great book!

This isn't your typical book about the Holocaust and its vivid details are sure to engage readers.

I'm a Stranger Here Myself

I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to American After 20 Years Away is a collection of vignettes written by Bill Bryson. Bryson, an American who lived in the UK for two decades, wrote this humorous collection of stories after his long-awaited return to the U.S. The stories light heartedly comment on a number of aspects of American culture, including dental floss and the justice system.

While Bryon's work surely cannot be accounted as history, his commentary on modern America cannot be ignored. I believe this would be a good choice in a high school social studies room because it would get students thinking about the country we live in.

In the English classroom, we don't typically read a lot of humor writing. This would be a good place to start! Furthermore, this book provides a great model and inspiration to get students writing.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen's works are noted for their dry commentary on life in England during the late 1700's and early 1800's. That said, they are a great option for both the English and Social Studies classrooms because they are an example of incredible literature as well as a critique of society.

In my opinion, some of Austen's best works are Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey. Each novel contains an intriguing love story centered around the mixed-up romantic ways of the period. Austen was also privy to the political climate of the time period, which she makes clear in her novels as well.

One problem with Austen's novels is that she is a "love her or hate her" kind of author. I think that male students would have a difficult time getting into her novels, which are always told from a female perspective.

Many of Austen's novels have also been made into films. The recent Pride and Prejudice film starring Colin Firth and Keira Knightley is especially good! 

The Crucible

Arthur Miller's famous drama The Crucible is a well-known work on the topic of the Salem Witch Trials. Miller's play, which was written during McCarthyism and the Red Scare, is an allegory based in Massachusetts, 1690's.

The Crucible is an obvious choice in the English classroom, as it is a great choice for American drama. In the Social Studies classroom, The Crucible is a great way to talk about events of hysteria in history!

A great text that connects to this play is Margaret Attwood's poem "Half-Hanged Mary," which tells the story of Mary Webster, who was hanged for being a witch in Puritan Massachusetts. Interestingly, though...she survived the hanging and lived another 14 years!

The film version of The Crucible is also really recent and very well-done. I caution showing it mid-reading, however, because the director does take some liberties!

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a mesmerizing book. I picked this up during Spring Break and found that I couldn't put it down. This novel has quickly become my favorite book!

Jacob Jankowski is a college senior attending Cornell University during the Great Depression. About one week before final exams start Jacob gets horrible news: his parents died in a horrible car accident. When he returns home to pick up the pieces he finds there are no pieces, the bank has foreclosed on his parents house and his dad's veterinary business. So now Jacob feels like he has no future; the business he has was supposed to come home and take over doesn't exist anymore. He returns back to college to write his final exams, but ends up walking out of the exam and not writing the exam. After he leaves he continues walking and walking and eventually jumps on board a train that is going by next to him. He soon finds out that he has jumped on board a circus train. From that moment on his life is changed forever. The book continues on to tell about his adventures and all of the wonderful friends that he made including Camel, Marlena and Walter.

This is a very advanced book. It has some graphic content so I'm hesitant to teach it. An eleventh grader read it and recommended it to me, but I would probably use this in a 12th grade classroom or an AP classroom.

This novel is being turned into a movie and is due out sometime this year. I look forward to watching it!

Mississippi Trial, 1955

Chris Crowe's first novel, Mississippi Trial, 1955 is a fictionalized account of the Emmitt Till case of Money, Mississippi.

This novel is rated for grade levels 6 through 8 yet may be appropriate for older students as well.

I am currently teaching Nobel-prize winning author Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon to International Baccalaureate seniors. They were really intrigued by the case and when we talked about the history of it were appalled and interested at the same time.

In the social studies classroom (especially the middle school one), this is a great way to introduce the impact of segregation and racism in the south. This is a particularly good novel because it is told from the point of view of a white teenager who disagrees with the racism he is forced to live in.