“It‘s so unfair,‘ said Bruno. ‘I don‘t see why I have to be stuck over here on this side of the fence where there‘s no one to talk to and no one to play with and you get to have dozens of friends and are probably playing for hours every day. I‘ll have to speak to Father about it.“

This book would be good to read with 5th through high school students. It shows the dark reality of those who lived through the Holocaust. This book would be best read as lit circles followed by class discussions. Having class discussions will encourage students to connect to how some people are treated in today's society. It would be important to have students research how groups today are being mistreated and discriminated against.

This book was told in the time of World War II in Nazi Germany. It shares the story of two boys, one is the son of a Nazi and the other is a Jewish boy who is in a concentration camp. The story goes to show the friendship between the two young boys as they try to survive the devastation of WWII. The book helps the reader understand how severe the differences in how people were treated between Jewish people and German people.

This book would be great for students who have a love for art. It would give them a good role model who has had to face adversity and still followed his dreams.

The book follows the life of Horace Pippin and how he followed his love of art throughout his life. The book is told in a third-person point of view and describes how he faces adversity throughout his life. At the end of the book, there is a quick historical note that gives more detail about Horace's life as well as includes resources that the author got the information from.

“Ella listened and comforted them - brought toothbrushes and soap to their cells. She advised them - lift as you climb“

The book would be a good read when discussing the Civil Rights movement. When teaching about MLK teachers could also read this book to shine light on the people who helped make a change but may not be learned about in history books.

The book tells about the life of Ella Baker. She fought for the rights of African Americans as she gave speeches and helped the people standing with her. The story is told from the 3rd person's point of view and describes each stage of her life. The illustrations add effect to the story and help the reader feel the emotions of Ella Baker.

This book would be a good read for students in first through fourth grade. It is an easy read and keeps students engaged. This could be used as a research topic or a person to look up to.

The book follows the life of Ashima Shiraishi a rock climbing champion. It is told in first person - like Ashima is telling the story herself. It has very colorful illustrations that add details to the words. The book explains the thinking of the rock-climbing champion.

“Could someone her age learn to read? She didn't know, but by God, she was going to try“

This book would be great to use with all ages. It gives an important message that you can do amazing things and always be learning even in your older years of life. It is never too late to follow your dreams.

The book tells of Mary Walker's life as she was born in 1848 and lived through slavery, being freed from slavery, all the way to attending school and learning to read at age 116. The book is told from a 3rd person perspective. The illustrations add detail and emotion to the story of Mary Walker. At the beginning and end of the book there are real life pictures of Mary throughout her life.

“ But just because the army gave an order didn't mean that everyone respected it. Jack would soon learn that first hand“

The book would be great to use with students ranging from first to fifth grade. It could be used for an autobiography report on Jackie Robinson's life.

The book is a story about the life of Jackie Robinson. The book begins when Jackie is a young boy and follows him throughout his life. The book is written in a third-person point of view. It has an engaging story-like flow with colorful, descriptive illustrations. At the end of the book there is a timeline of Jackie's life and a list the resources where the information was found.

“Turns out, it was a North Hill tradition started by Grandpop after a fourteen-year-old black boy named Emmett Till was killed for whistling at a white woman when Grandpop was younger.”

I believe this book would be appropriate and enjoyable for upper elementary students, Reynolds' vivid writing style and the Virginia setting make this book both enjoyable and thought-provoking, making it a great choice for young readers looking for a meaningful and entertaining story.

Genie and Ernie are two brother that must adjust to the environmental differences while they move with their grandparents into a rural area from Brooklyn New York. It is a captivating read for its engaging characters, themes of coming of age and bravery, and the exploration of family secrets. It offers readers a relatable journey of self-discovery and growth, wrapped in a mystery that keeps them eagerly turning the pages.

“Fry Bread is us,
we are still here
elder and young
Friend and neighbor.“

This book would be a good introduction to learning about Native Americans and some of their traditions. Students could make reports about different foods or traditions that are special to their own families.

Fry Bread is a story about how fry bread is made and connects families within the Native American community. It describes the different symbols that the bread reminds the author of and those symbols help the reader connect to the story. It describes how the families had to create new recipes because of the land they were losing. It acknowledged the many Native American tribes that were in America. Many representations in this book to help kids.

The book would be best to read with 3rd grade and up but could be read with younger grades. I think it could be difficult for younger students to get the full understanding but they can relate to the book and the facts that it gives. This book would be good to use in a science or math class. The authors note help adds to how the author found the information within the book.

The book reviews facts about the Earth and stars. It names the number of stars in our sky, as well as how many breaths you breathe in a year or all the crazy numbers that make up the world. The facts are simple and concise for easy reading and understanding. It compares numbers and uses pictures so it is easier for the reader to comprehend. It makes note that the book every day it is changing. The pictures are simple and aid with understanding.

This is a great book to use with students from first grade and up. It opens up a lot of variety for different conversations about different topics (Cleopatra, Slavery, Science/research). This book would be great to use in science or social studies. I think it is aa great book because it helps encourage children to stay curious.

The book reviews the evolution of the color blue. It begins with the time of Cleopatra grinding up rocks and coloring from snails. It explained how different religions and artists use blue as a symbol of the heavens or religious items. The book is easy to follow due to its story-like flow and the illustrations that use a variety of blues with other softer colors.

This book would be great when discussing the life cycle of bees or a great start to have students researching an insect that might be a pollinator. This book could be read to grades first through high school. It is a perfect example of a science-related children's book that feels like a story while reviewing facts.

The book follows the life of a newborn honeybee. It reviews the different job that a honeybee might have throughout their lives and how their body grows in the different stages. Readers can understand how busy a little bee can be by the carefully chosen wording as well as the very detailed illustrations. At the end of the book, there is a diagram of a honeybee that shows each part of the body and description. It also has how to help bees.

This book would be great to read with students in first all the way up to adulthood. It could be used in science or social studies class and you could read specific pages to match a specific topic. You could read the book and have students research the different landscapes of the Grand Canyon or have students research another national park.

The book is a beautiful non-fiction book that describes every detail, stage, and fact about the Grand Canyon in an interesting and engaging way. I think this book would be good to use from first grade through adulthood. It gives facts in a child-friendly, story-like fashion that is not too over bearing for young readers. The illustrations feel like you are actually there and help bring the words to life.

“My earlier childhood was not accompanied by any particularly outstanding events unless one counts the fact that I survived“

This book would be good to read with fourth and eighth graders. It could be fun for students to read all or some of the books and then compare the book to the movie Anastasia. Students could look into the facts and decide if the movie is true to the real story.

This book is a deep dive into the Romanov family and the stages in their lives in Russia. The book is broken into 4 parts with individual chapters and letters from different members of the Romanov community (family, friends, etc.) The book has a family tree and a map of Russia to help readers understand. The book is set up like a normal book, and there is a dark part to symbolize the personal letters.

This book would be good for the ages of first grade through eighth grade. If reading with younger students, you will need to have a guiding discussion to help them understand what they are reading. This would be good for social studies or science when explaining weather or historical events.

This book is about the blizzard that stuck states from Virginia to Maine in 1888. The book is broken into chapters that go through the timeline of events starting chapter 1 with explaining the peoples' disbelief for the dangerous storm and the skies as it approached. The book uses copies of real-life pictures from the time and dates of the storm. Using real life photos engages the reader to understand what life was like at the time of the storm.

“By accident Joe and Bob had invented a totally new color.“

This book would be great to use with students in second through fifth grade. This would be a good book to read in science class before an investigation of colors or ultraviolet light / light itself.

The book was about the invention of what we know today as neon colors. It described the two brothers Bob and Joe and how they used their differences to the best of their abilities. The book has simple illustrations that keep the reader engaged. As the progress of the invention, the reader can notice the use of more neon colors until the final invention. The book is about the science behind neon colors.

It crawls two or three feet,
then the day is done,
for the mud-snail.

-Gomei

This book would be good to show children when teaching about different languages or discussing the format of Haikus.

The book is a whole poetry book that has Haiku poems. Each poem is in English and Japanese text, which I found to be very interesting. Each poem has a little descriptor at the bottom of the page that gives more background or another way of thinking about the poem.

There is no man who wouldn't be scared stiff.
Petrified indeed, I must have your head
stone-hearted monster!