The Unbreakable Code

The Unbreakable Code by Sara Hoagland Hunter is a children's story book about growing up as a Navajo Native American. John, the little boy doesn't want to go to his English school, but his grandfather sits down with him and tells him about his past. The grandfather didn't want to go to English school either, but it ended up changing his life. He was one of the Navajo's who volunteered for the US Marine Corps after Pearl Harbor was bombed. The Grandfather helped create the code and talked about how he faught in the Pacific Front. It helped John value his language more.

I would definitely use this book to help introduce WWII, or the Code Talkers or even a unit on Navajo Indians. Secondary students could benefit from a children's book and the illustrations in here are GREAT!

Christmas in the Trenches

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon is a children's book based on a true historical event. The book starts out on Christmas night after all the presents are opened and dinner is finished. Thomas Tolliver asks his grandfather about his favorite Christmas. Thomas’ grandfather tells him about Christmas in 1914 when he was a soldier during the Great War. He describes life in the trenches and how both sides knew there would be no end to the fighting just because it was Christmas. On Christmas night everything was very silent for the soldiers when the German’s began singing Silent Night on the opposite side of no mans land. German soldiers came closer and soon enough all of the soldiers were trading small gifts with one another but eventually they had to go back to their own trenches.

Although this is a picture book, I believe it can be used for students in older grades as well. The book comes with a CD disc with music, which is aweseome. The teacher I was student teaching with last fall spoke of the Chrsitmas in the Trenches and played some music from the era as well.

Copper Sun

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper is a book told from the perspective of a 15 year old African girl named Amari. When pale strangers enter her village, broughten there by a neighboring tribe, the village welcomes them and celebrates as is the custom. Confusion strikes when these pale people begin murdering those who are unfit and capturing the strongest villagers. While her whole family is slaughtered, Amari is beaten, whipped, and taken aboard a ship. Amari realizes she will never return to Africa. Cramped, beaten, and raped aboard the ship Amari is forced to witness horrors she could have never imagined. Once in America, she is sold to a plantation owner as a present for his son's 16th birthday. Survival and escape are the only things Amari dreams of, along with the other slaves on the plantation.

I could not put this book down once I started reading it. It is heart wrenching and vivid with details. The book gives the perpestive of the slave trade through a young girls eyes, which would captivate any reader and hold their attention. I would use this in conjuction with a unit on slavery. The students could read this to get true insight as to what a slave had to endure while serving their master. I recommend everyone puts this on their summer reading list!

Tree Girl

They call Gabriela Tree Gril. Gabi climbs trees to be within reach of the eagles and watch the sun rise into an empty sky. She is at home among the outsretched branches of Guatemalan forests. Then one day from the safety of a tree, Gabi witneses the sights and sounds of an unspeakable massacre. She vows to be Tree Gril no more and joins the hordes of refugees struggling to reach the Mexican border. She has lost her whole family; her entire village has been wiped out. This novel is great for the high school level and allows students the opportunity to learn about a country that is often overlooked.

Podcast from The Boy in Striped Pajamas

An excerpt of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, as read by Ashley.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a story told from the perspective of a nine-year-old boy named Bruno. Bruno and his family live in Berlin until the government promotes his father to Commandant and instructs the family that they will be moving. Bruno’s family moves to a place called “Out-With”, as he pronounces it. Bruno does not like his new home but is intrigued by the people he sees outside his window; all wearing striped pajamas and living inside a fence. Bruno has no idea why these people are there or why they are all wearing striped pajamas, but figures it must be some sort of village. While exploring, Bruno finds the fence and discovers a boy about his age named Shmuel. The two become friends and Shmuel never explains why he is on that side of the fence, other than the fact that the soldiers hate him and his people. Bruno comes to the fence everyday to meet Shmuel and can’t understand why they can’t play together. The story tells of the horrors of the holocaust and innocence of children. The ending will surely touch any reader’s heart.

I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in the Holocaust and would teach it in conjuction with a unit on World War II.

Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy

Disposable People is a powerful awakening on the reality of slavery's existence in our modern world. His investigation of conditions in Mauritania, Brazil, Thailand, Pakistan, and India reveals the tragic emergence of a "new slavery," one that is intricately linked to a global economy. Bales explains the difference between this "new slavery" and Trans-Atlantic slavery. I would suggest using excerpts from this book. It is a good book to offer students at the high school level insight into a world that many thought had ended more than a hundred years ago.

To find out more or what you can do, go to the following website,

http://www.freetheslaves.net/

Navajo Code Talkers

Navajo Code Talkers by Nathan Aaseng is a big favorite of mine. I feel that this topic is just lightly brushed over in history classes and the Navajo weren’t given as much credit as they deserved for their sacrifices during World War II. This book is a compelling story of how the young men risked their lives for their country. The book opens with a little bit of background knowledge about the Navajo and their legendary struggle to keep their land, and the reason they shy away from white people. It also goes on to explain how Kit Carson and his crew wanted to stamp the Navajo language out of the people, but years later the US Marines needed them and used the Navajo to create an unbreakable code that the Japanese have yet to unlock. The story also unfolds and shows how they went through the basic training, and how they worked together to create and interpret the code, as well as some of the battle experiences. Some of the neat things for students that this book contains are the pictures. There are sporadically pictures about Navajo Marines working on message or creating codes. This would be a wonderful addition to any classroom in grades 6-8 and it would give kids a better understanding of US history.

A Rumor of War

A Rumor of War by Phillip Caputo is a a personal memoir about the Veitnam War. This is a heartwarming and educational novel about the horrors of what men experienced. Phil starts out by saying in the prologue “This book does not pretend to be history. …. In a general sense, it is simply a story about war, about the things men do in war and the things war does to them.” And so he goes on for 346 pages to talk about his personal struggles, losses, and experiences during our nation’s longest conflict. Caputo was one of the first men to enter the war, and he was also one of the last men to leave. His novel captures so many images and events from the war that it simply blows your mind. When he left school he entered the Marine Corps and was sent directly to Vietnam to fight in the rice paddies. Some of the men he went to training with and got sent over with were among the first to die and that really rattled him. By the end of the novel you can feel the desperation and humiliation radiating out of him which is a very powerful thing.

I would use this novel to teach about the devastation that was faced by many US soldiers at home and over seas. I would use it as a read aloud.

The Kommandant's Girl

The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff is one of my favorite books. It is a great piece of historical fiction.

Emma, the main character in the book is a young Jewish woman, who has only been married to her husband, Jacob, for three weeks when Nazi’s begin to occupy Poland. Jacob is forced to go into hiding leaving Emma in a Jewish ghetto. The resistance movement in Poland is strong and they help Emma sneak out of Poland to live with Jacob’s Catholic cousin, Kyrisa. Emma takes with her a young Jewish boy, whose looks are not those typical of a Jewish person. As part of the plan to get Emma out she takes on a new identity, Anna Lipowski. Kyrisa is part of the resistance movement but has to keep up appearances and therefore holds dinner parties for many who are Nazi’s or support them. Emma (now Anna) is introduced at a party to Nazi Kommadant Richwalder. The Kommadant really likes Emma and asks her to come work for him in his office as his personal assistant. Emma agrees only to help gather information that will further help the resistance movement. Throughout the book Emma becomes more involved with the Kommadant in the hopes of gathering information.

While I'm not sure if I would teach it, it is a book I would definitely recommend to any student in 11th or 12th grade.

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.

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!

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is the first book written by Khaled Hosseini. It explores the story of two young boys at the invasion of the communist Soviet Union. The reader takes an emotional ride with these two boys who experience a cultural/ societal change in Afghanistan.

This book is great for the boys in your classroom through an easily relatable male point of view novel. There are so many options for English/ Social collaborative projects!

Milkweed

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli is a touching, emotional book that touches high schoolers. Misha Pulsudski is an orphan who has a sort of big brother who looks out for him and "tells him about his family". Misha and Uri live in Warsaw and survive by stealing and sleeping where ever they can find an abandoned building. They spend quite a bit of time with a larger group of orphans, but that proves to not always be a great for the boys.

Misha is a gypsy who eventually decides he's going to pretend to be Jewish and moves into the Ghetto with his friend Janina's family. While living with this family he teaches Janina to steal and they sneak out of the Ghetto wall together every night. This books gives readers an up close experience with what it would have been like to live in the Ghetto and how hard it was to survive.

Night

Night by Elie Wiesel is a book about his experiences in Auschwitz, a concentration during World War II. The book follows Wiesel and his dad as they are taken away to a concentration camp, with details about the harsh experiences they experienced. Elie and his dad are separated from his mom and sisters and they feel lucky to just have one another. Elie feels he is living a nightmare and discusses the dehumanizing process of the camps.

This book is rather short but is full of vivid recollections from the Holocaust. The novel is at an 8.7 grade level, but could be used from 8th grade and up. I would use it as a supplementary material to teach the Holocaust.

Code Talker

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac, is an easy read for multiple grade levels.Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the US effort, sending messages back & forth in an unbreakable code in the Navajo native language. Perfect for US history in discussing US involvement in WWII.

We are All Born Free

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assemble on December 10, 1948. It was developed as a result of the horrors of World War II. Its purpose was to state and protect the rights of all people around the world.

We are all Born Free: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures celebrates each declaration with amazing illustrations by a number of artists. This book has many educational opportunities for a variety of levels. Just some topic ideas include, World War II, Holocaust, human rights violations, Cold War, etc. The possibilities are truly endless.

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a gripping novel that follows the life of young men in Germany during World War I. Paul, the main character, and his other college friends are urged to join the fight for their fatherland from their college professor. The boys decide to join and quickly realize war isn't as fun as they imagined it would be. The novel shows the boys as they lose members of their platoon and also their innocence. It follows both their physical and emotional stresses during the war and how they cope with civilian life after they have experienced the war.

Interestingly, Remarque was a veteran of WWI. All of his books were banned in the 1930s in Germany because of their anti-war message. All Quiet on the Western Front was publicly burned by the Nazi's as well.

Any teaching ideas with this? I used the movie in my global 10 class during student teaching but the book is beautifully written, with great detail.

Brothers in Hope: the Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan

Brothers in Hope: the Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan is a picture book dedicated to telling the true story of young Garang, who was about 8 years old when his Sudanese village was brutally attacked and his family torn apart. Author, Mary Williams, and illustrator R. Gregory Christie take you on Garang's story both in powerful words and beautiful illustrations.
This picture book is a great book to bridge the gap of your struggling readers with your more advanced readers.

A Diary of an Iraqi Girl

Diary of an Iraqi Girl offers great insight into the personal life of a young girl during the invasion of the United States. It provides a personal account of life in Iraq and how the US's invasion affected daily life for those living in Iraq during the time.
Perfect for many different interdisciplinary activities. Because her blog is public, students have the opportunity to interact with Hadia, providing an authentic audience for writing assignments! English dream right?? Social Studies could use bits and pieces of her diary in a unit on terrorism to provide insight to how life was affected by the US in Iraq.

Princess: A True Story of life behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

Jean P. Sasson's interview with a Saudi princess brings readers into the life of a woman in a society that views the female gender as a second class citizen. Sultana, a granddaughter of the Saudi king, is a caged woman held captive in luxurious mansions, controlled by her father, then their husbands and in some instances, sons.
As a result of this novel's vocabulary, it would be suggested to use it at AP levels or higher grade levels. Again it screams interdisciplinary!!

Why?

Nikolai Popov's, wordless, thought provoking tale about a frog who sits peacefully on a rock smelling a flower and a mouse who aggressively snatches the flower away. The absurdity of aggression and the inevitable consequences of the violence that occurs, teaches ys the ugliness of war and that there are no winners.

Perfect to discuss any historical moment of war. Some that come to mind, World War II, Cold War, War on Terrorism, etc. Perfect for younger grade levels as well as high schoolers. Great writing assignments come to mind especially since this book is wordless.

First They Killed My Father

Written by Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father takes a reader into Cambodia during the time of Pol Pot. At the age of 5 her family if forced out of their home, and forced to work on collective farms with little food and the fear of found out. Loung Ung's book is a powerful inside look at genocide and it horrific effects.
A great book for 10/ 11 grade, both social studies and english teachers could use this for content in both areas.

The Postcard

The novel, The Postcard, is a great novel written by a woman in Pennsylvania, Beverly Lewis, about an Amish community. The community has been through so much, but they have to struggle through so much more when disaster strikes.

Rachel, a beautiful Amish woman has everything she could want in life, a loving husband with 2 kids and one on the way. Life is perfect. One day on the way to market a bad accident happens killing everyone but Annie, her daughter. Two years later a workaholic NY reporter comes to stay at Rachel's parents Bed N Breakfast. For the few days he's there he seems drawn to Rachel with her kind spirit, blind eyes and fun loving daughter. Something happens that brings the two closer, but both adults know their lives are too different to be more than acquaintances.

My neighbors are Amish, so when I was student teaching some of my students picked up me talking about it. I brought in pictures of them building a barn and their houses. When I assigned a book project for my 10th and 11th graders to complete, I suggested this author to my students and several of the girls loved her books.

The Things They Carried

The novel, The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien is a great Vietnam novel. The book is told from Tim's perspective but the book is actually fictional. O'Brien combines memories and stories to create this novel.

The novel tells of a platoon sent to fight in the Vietnam war. Set up in different stories for each chapter, O'Brien re-tells the tangible things the soldiers carried (rations, radios, ammunition, etc.) but also the things they carried inside them (guilt, anger, sorrow, and more) The young men who were drafted into the war quickly lost their innocence and found it hard to adjust to life after the war.

This novel has an ELP level of 9.0, suitable for 9th grade and up. The Vietnam war is something that is important for student's to read about. I feel that O'Brien's novel would be a great way to integrate the harsh realities of war into a classroom.

O'Brien has wrote numerous other books, although this is the only one I have read.

Has anyone else read any others?

Number the Stars

The Novel Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is set in Copenhagen, Denmark in the year 1943. The novel follows the life of Annemarie Johansen and her best friend, Ellen Rosen (who is Jewish). The girls are about ten years old and constantly remember how life was before the war. In 1943, life is much harder in Copenhagen. The soldiers are filled with Nazi soldiers and there are food shortages.

The Jews living in Denmark discover through the work of the resistance movement that they are going to be "relocated." To help protect the Rosen's, the Johansen's allow Ellen to live with them and pose as their deceased daughter. They also help Ellen's parents escape.

The Johansen's know it isn't safe for them to stay at their home long, so they go to visit their uncle. This is part of the plan to help the Rosen's (and other Jews) escape to Sweden. During this time, Annemarie must go on a dangerous mission to help save the life of her best friend.

When using Number the Stars in the classroom, the link between the reality of WWII and the novel are quite accurate. I think student's would benefit from this novel by understanding that it was not just the Jews in Germany that were targeted by the Nazi's.

I think this novel could be used to discuss human rights violations, as well as discrimination. There are many ways to integrate this novel into an English or Social Studies classroom. The novel is a 5.1 grade level, but I think it would interest students in higher grades as well.

Teaching ideas for the novel!