Historical Fiction

Number the Stars by Louis Lowry was an amazing book, I absolutely loved this book because I am really interested in the Holocaust and everything from that time period. I had a hard time putting this book down. One thing that I really liked about this novel is that at the end, the author tells the reader how much of the book is actually true. I was surprised by the amount of things that were really true in this story.

The main character in this story is Annemarie Johansen. She is ten years old and she lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. Annemarie has a little sister Kirsti, and her best friend is Ellen Rosen. During this time, the Nazi Germans had occupied Copenhagen. Ellen and her family were Jewish, so they had to go into hiding. Annemarie's family helped the Rosens get to Sweden where they would be safe from the German Nazis. 

 The author did a really great job describing the things that the characters went through. I think that students would definitely be able to envision what the characters are doing in their heads. Because of this, I would have the students illustrate a couple scenes from the book. Another activity that students could do with this book is compare and contrast how life was back then to how life is now. 

The second book I read for historical fiction was Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe. This was a very short story about the life of Jean Michel Basquiat. This book had a lot of really good information about the artist, as well as great illustrations. I really liked this book because it can be used with any grade level. The pictures would keep the younger students entertained and interested and the information would be great for older students conducting research. 

If I were using this book with younger students, I would have them try to recreate a piece of Jean Michel Basquiat's artworks. Throughout the book, it was stated that his artwork was far from perfect, the colors did not stay in the lines, but it was always beautiful. I think that is an important message for younger students to hear. Their work does not have to be perfect to be beautiful. I think that I would use the same task for older students, but I might add a research component to the assignment, 

Questions to consider: 

●      How will the book help students understand history?

●      What misconceptions might come up as students read the book?

Mystery Books

 I read was The Invisible Island by Ron Roy. This book is full of adventure and excitement, so I think that elementary students would really enjoy it. The three main characters in the A to Z Mysteries series are Dink, Ruth Rose, and Joshua. In this particular story, the three children go on a picnic on Squaw Island and they end up finding a one hundred dollar bill. They turn the money into the police, and they end up going back to the island. The children eventually find a cave full of counterfeit money, and they help the police catch the counterfeiters. 

This would be a great book for students who are interested in mysteries. Since it is part of a series, I might even have a unit all about the A to Z Mysteries books. For this book, I would have the students illustrate a picture of Squaw Island so we could see how different people visualize the text differently. There are endless possibilities to activities for this book. 

I would definitely recommend this book for elementary students. I think that it gives them the opportunity to use their imaginations and visualize the mystery. I remember reading this series when I was in elementary school, and I would always try to get my family to act the books out with me. I would love to see my future students put together a little skit or play that was based off this book. 

I also read was Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This book is probably more appropriate for upper elementary students or middle school students. There are quite a few difficult words in the text. This book definitely keeps the reader on edge, and it is hard to put down. The main character, Bethany, is dropped off at a complete stranger's house (which turns out to be her aunt). While staying with her aunt, Bethany finds out that her whole life has been some sort of lie to her. She finds out that before she was born her older sister, Elizabeth, passed away in a car accident. Her dad saved Elizabeth's cells in order to make a clone, and Bethany was the only clone that survived. Her parents dropped her off at her aunts house and went into hiding because they thought that a prisoner that got released was after them for money. All the man really wanted was his son because he thought that Bethany's father had made a clone of him instead of Elizabeth. 

There are also endless possibilities for activities with this book. I think I would definitely have my students write in a journal from Bethany's viewpoint. It would be really interesting to see how each of my students would react to finding out that they were a clone of an older sibling. I would probably read the first few chapters of this book aloud to my students, then I would let them read in small groups, partners, or independently. This book would also be a great book to read aloud to the class every day. When I was in elementary school, my third grade teacher read Goosebumps books to us everyday. This book would definitely keep the students interested. 

Questions to consider: 

How might you use the genre of mysteries in your primary classroom? Intermediate and upper elementary/MS?

How does the genre of "mystery" overlap with other genres?