Madeline And The Cats Of Rome
John Bemelmans. 2008. This story is a twist on the classic Madeline stories where she travels from Paris to Rome and the illustrations show all of the historical landmarks of Rome. A little Italian girl steals her camera and Madeline teaches her that stealing is wrong. This is a story that shares a theme across cultures.
Rubric Score: 13/15
Curriculum Matches: Character, Geography, Culture
Resources to Teach: Friendship and Character: http://www.goodcharacter.com/BCBC/Friendship.html
www.rome-tour.co.uk/spanish_steps.htm
Rubric Score: 13/15
Curriculum Matches: Character, Geography, Culture
Resources to Teach: Friendship and Character: http://www.goodcharacter.com/BCBC/Friendship.html
www.rome-tour.co.uk/spanish_steps.htm
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging
Louise Rennison, 1999. Fourteen year old Georgia Nicolson shares the trials and tribulations of growing up with a three year old little sister, embarrassing parents, and a cat with frequent leg-shredding “Call of the Wild” episodes, while still trying to impress her love interest, known as the Sex God. She shares humorous episodes she and her friends partake in, while speaking through her diary in English slang, which she explains in her glossary at the back of the book. Georgia speaks with a voice similar to Bridget Jones, bursting with humor.
Total Score: 13/15
Curriculum Matches: England, Teenage Life, Friendships, Growing Up
Resources to Teach: Click here to read more from Georgia. Click here to learn more about Louise Rennison. Click here to learn more about England and view pictures.
Total Score: 13/15
Curriculum Matches: England, Teenage Life, Friendships, Growing Up
Resources to Teach: Click here to read more from Georgia. Click here to learn more about Louise Rennison. Click here to learn more about England and view pictures.
Snow Treasure
Marie McSwigan. 2004. This story takes place in 1940 in a Norwegian village where a group of children slip $9,000,000 worth of their country’s gold hidden on their sleds, past German Nazi guards who would have seized it for Germany. The story is about their adventure to protect their countries money during WWII. This story is based on true events. This book is a chapter book for 3rd grade and up.
Rubric Score: 14/15
Curriculum Match: WWII, Heroism, Adversity
Resources to Teach: To preview the book click here.
http://www.catholicauthors.com/mcswigan.html for a short biography of the author
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107851.html for information on Norway
Rubric Score: 14/15
Curriculum Match: WWII, Heroism, Adversity
Resources to Teach: To preview the book click here.
http://www.catholicauthors.com/mcswigan.html for a short biography of the author
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107851.html for information on Norway
Hitler Youth
Susan Campbell Bartoletti. This is an award winning nonfiction book discussing the rise of the Hitler Youth Organization in Germany. It follows a number of children and young adults and their response to the propaganda calling for youth to rise up and join the organization. This book is a researched account of both sides of the movement.
Rubric: 15/15
Resources to teach:
Information and photos about the Hitler Youth Organization
www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/index.html
www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/hitleryouth.html
Video of Hitler Youth
www.metacafe.com/watch/939516/hitler_youth
Excerpts from the History Channel's "Hitler's children or Hitler's Youth"
www.crossroad.to/Quotes/Education/HitlerYouth.html
Rubric: 15/15
Resources to teach:
Information and photos about the Hitler Youth Organization
www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/index.html
www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/hitleryouth.html
Video of Hitler Youth
www.metacafe.com/watch/939516/hitler_youth
Excerpts from the History Channel's "Hitler's children or Hitler's Youth"
www.crossroad.to/Quotes/Education/HitlerYouth.html
The Unfinished Angel
Sharon Creech, 2009. This book is filled with humor. The story takes place in a tiny village high in the Swiss Alps. A hilarious and sassy unnamed Angel who has a great vocabulary has been leading the same ordinary life for a long time. Until Zola, a determined American girl, who wears three skirts at the same time, arrives in the village. Soon the two collide and the village begins to wake up! Zola is a girl on a mission and Angel has been without one for quite a long time. Readers will wish they too could live in the village with these quirky characters. This is a great read aloud to share!
Resources to teach:
To learn more about the author visit: http://www.sharoncreech.com/novels/18.asp
Resources to teach:
To learn more about the author visit: http://www.sharoncreech.com/novels/18.asp
Days of the Blackbird
Tomie DePaola. 1997. This story is about a Duke and his daughter who live in Northern Italy. The Duke becomes ill and a beautiful white song bird stays to sing to him during the cold days of winter. The white bird stays warm by perching in the chimney and it is no longer white, but a black bird! The book is a folktale explaining "the days of the black bird" which are the three coldest days of winter. Tomie DePaola has written and illustrated over 200 books and has earned the Caldecott, Newberry and other awards. He lives in New Hampshire.
Rubric Score: 14/15
Curriculum Match: Genres, Heritage, Culture of Italy
Resources to Teach: www.initaly.com History of the Area
www.shroud.com The Shroud of Turin
www.rubberslippersinitaly.com Retold the Folktale
Rubric Score: 14/15
Curriculum Match: Genres, Heritage, Culture of Italy
Resources to Teach: www.initaly.com History of the Area
www.shroud.com The Shroud of Turin
www.rubberslippersinitaly.com Retold the Folktale
All But My Life
Gerda Weissmann Klein. All But My Life is an account of Gerda Weismann Klein’s experiences of the Holocaust. The year is 1945 and Gerda, along with four thousand other women begin their journey from a labor camp in Germany to Czechoslovakia. The story dipcits what it was to be a young girl in the midst of a war that forced her to lose her family and almost her life. It has been described as a sensitive and disturbing story all wrapped in to one.
Rating: 15/15
Curriculum Matches: Holocaust, religion, World War II
Other Resources:
-for a good resource for students to learn more about the Holocaust click here: http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/
-for great sites to allow children to explore the Jewish religion, memorable people and events within the religion click here: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/womentoc.html
-click here to use a website that allows children to venture in to what life would have been like during the Holocaust: http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/pages/webholocausje1.html
Rating: 15/15
Curriculum Matches: Holocaust, religion, World War II
Other Resources:
-for a good resource for students to learn more about the Holocaust click here: http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/
-for great sites to allow children to explore the Jewish religion, memorable people and events within the religion click here: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/womentoc.html
-click here to use a website that allows children to venture in to what life would have been like during the Holocaust: http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/pages/webholocausje1.html
Night
Night by Elie Wiesel is the true narrative of a young Jewish boy sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp and later Buchenwald. While confronting the worst evil found in man, Elie witnesses the death of his family and his innocence. This gripping account of the personal nightmare experienced by millions of Jews during the Holocaust. While dealing with disturbing content, the account is written so that it is easy to understand and appropriate for adolescent readers.
Rating: 15/15
Curriculum Matches: Holocaust, WWII, World Religions, Language Arts
Additional Information:
For information about Wiesel’s current humanitarian efforts click here.
For more information about the Auschwitz concentration camp, click here and here.
For more information about the Holocaust, visit the Holocaust Museum website.
Click below to view a teacher-created lesson plan on this book.
Rating: 15/15
Curriculum Matches: Holocaust, WWII, World Religions, Language Arts
Additional Information:
For information about Wiesel’s current humanitarian efforts click here.
For more information about the Auschwitz concentration camp, click here and here.
For more information about the Holocaust, visit the Holocaust Museum website.
Click below to view a teacher-created lesson plan on this book.
| europe_lesson_plan.doc |
Belinda in Paris
Amy Young. 2005. This story is a a ballerina who arrives in Paris to perform but her ballet shoes were lost on the trip! She then goes on a wild adventure through Paris trying to find someone to make her some shoes! She encounters three Parisians who are willing to help her if she does something for them. The story marks many traditions of the Parisian culture.
Rubric Score: 13/15
Curriculum Match: Geography, Culture, famous landmarks
Resources to Teach: www.amyoungart.com
www.ehow.com.about_5095385_ballet-shoes.html
Rubric Score: 13/15
Curriculum Match: Geography, Culture, famous landmarks
Resources to Teach: www.amyoungart.com
www.ehow.com.about_5095385_ballet-shoes.html
The Cat Who Walked Across France
Kate Banks. 2004. This story is about a cat whose owner dies. The cat decides to walk across France. The book displays beautiful painted pictures of the landscape of France and famous landmarks. Kate Banks was born and raised in Maine and she is currently living in France. She attended Welsley College and earned a Master’s Degree from Columbia in History.
Rubric Score: 14/15
Curriculum matches: Geography, Grieving, Culture
Resources to Teach: http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/parisattractions.htm
Rubric Score: 14/15
Curriculum matches: Geography, Grieving, Culture
Resources to Teach: http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/parisattractions.htm
Elisabeth
Claire A. Nivola. 1997. This story is a true story about the author’s mother when she was a child. She lived in Germany and they were a Jewish family at the time of the onset of World War II. She had a favorite doll from childhood and when her family was uprooted to escape to America, her doll was left behind. When she grew older and had a family of her own, her daughter wanted a doll. She knew that she had to get her a doll that was just as perfect as Elisabeth. This story is a great story that shares a culture but also connects all cultures with the hardship of leaving things you love behind.
Rubric Score: 15/15
Curruculum Match: Holocaust, WWII, Moving to a new place
Resources to Teach: www.holocaustsurvivors.org/
http://www.papertigers.org/interviews/archived_interviews/cnivola.html
Check out a teacher created lesson plan for this book here
Rubric Score: 15/15
Curruculum Match: Holocaust, WWII, Moving to a new place
Resources to Teach: www.holocaustsurvivors.org/
http://www.papertigers.org/interviews/archived_interviews/cnivola.html
Check out a teacher created lesson plan for this book here
| lesson_plan_for_elisabeth_by_claire_a.docx |
