Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - a little bit of US History 9.28.16


Every Wednesday I join Alyson Beecher from kidlitfrenzy and other
kidlit bloggers to share wonderful nonfiction picture books.
The intention of today's blog is to give educational professionals
new nonfiction reading material and ideas to use 
with students to promote a love of reading nonfiction materials.


Teaching US History, presidents, or history of women's right to vote?  Here's a mix of everything!


Presidents:

Grover Cleveland, Again! by Ken Burns
Grover Cleveland, Again!:  A Treasury of American Presidents
by Ken Burns
Fantastic compendium of American presidents.  A must have in classrooms and libraries.  
I really enjoyed how Burns added more interesting facts than those we already know about each president.


US History (also books that feed this Hamilnerd's heart!):
Thanks to other bloggers for these books! 

Revolutionary Friends by Selene Castrovilla
Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette
by Selene Castrovilla
Lafayette is one of my favorite characters in "Hamilton", so I was thrilled to hear about this book!  This was not a picture book about Lafayette's life, but focused really one the friendship between him and Washington.  Beginning when they met and then going over some key events, I was surprised to learn how close Washington and Lafayette became - almost a father-son relationship.
Great back matter - includes historical places to visit that celebrate Washington/Lafayette.

Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud
Worst of Friends
by Suxanne Tripp Jurmain
Another favorite character from "Hamilton" is Thomas Jefferson (probably because the same actor plays Lafayette in Act 1 and then Jefferson in Act 2).  This book was sure to entertain me.  John Adams doesn't have a huge part in "Hamilton", so it was interesting to learn more about him through this picture book.  
So often we require students to do presidential reports/research.  It seems to be the same information that is added, so this book would be a welcome relief of information.
Some liberties were definitely taken in the artwork - playing in a tub, lifestyle choices - that should be discussed with young readers about factual information vs artist interpretation.

Diana's White House Garden by Elisa Carbone
Diana's White House Garden by Elisa Carbone
Child-friendly story about a young girl who helped with the war effort during World War II and helped plant a Victory Garden at the White House.  Fun stories about her time living in the White House will appeal to young readers.

Women's Suffrage

Miss Paul and the President by Dean   Robbins
Miss Paul and the President 
by Dean Robbins
A lot of picture book biographies are being published about the women's suffrage movement.  It took many strong women to fight for our right to vote!
This book is about Alice Paul and her tenacity to convince Woodrow Wilson to change the law to allow votes for women.

Happy reading!

3 comments:

  1. I've read the Worst of Friends, but not the others, still! All must reads, I agree. Thanks, Michele. I didn't realize that the Grover Cleveland title had more than about Cleveland.

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  2. I haven't seen Miss Paul and the President before - looks delightful, I hope I can get my hands on a copy!

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  3. I haven't seen Miss Paul and the President before, either. Just suggested my library purchase it, based on your suggestion.
    I was amused that several of the covers had similar layouts--people leaning toward each other, or leaning against each other. That's what politics ultimately is, two people working things out!

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