Book picks similar to
Katie's Trunk by Ann Turner
genre-historical-fiction
historical-fiction
format-picture-book
topic-family
Roanoke, the Lost Colony: An Unsolved Mystery from History
Jane Yolen - 2003
After bringing many men, women, and children to the new land, White went back to England to gather supplies for the long winter. But when he finally returned to the fort almost three years later, he found that all of the colonists had vanished. The only signs of life left were the letters CRO carved into a tree and the word CROATOAN carved into one of the fort's posts. Some people think that the Spanish army captured the colonists; some people think that the local native people murdered them; others think that the colonists went off to live with the native people and start a new life. Still others think that the colonists tried to sail home to England and were lost at sea. No one knows for sure. Become a detective as you read this true story, study the clues, and try to figure out the fate of the lost colony of Roanoke. The Unsolved Mystery from History series is written by acclaimed author Jane Yolen and former private investigator Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple. Read carefully and check your clues. You might be the first to solve a puzzle that has baffled people for years.
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky
Faith Ringgold - 1992
in full color. Cassie, who flew above New York in Tar Beach, soars into the sky once more. This time, she and her brother Be Be meet a train full of people, and Be Be joins them. But the train departs before Cassie can climb aboard. With Harriet Tubman as her guide, Cassie retraces the steps escaping slaves took on the real Underground Railroad and is finally reunited with her brother at the story's end.
Toliver's Secret
Esther Wood Brady - 1976
Disguised as a boy, she manages to smuggle a message to General George Washington.
Let the Children March
Monica Clark-Robinson - 2018
Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world.
George Washington's Socks
Elvira Woodruff - 1991
Through encounters with Hessian soldiers, revolutionaries, and even George Washington himself, Matthew, Quentin, Hooter, Tony, and Katie watch history unfold before their eyes as they see first-hand, the grim realities of war and the cost of freedom.
Stories of the Pilgrims
Margaret B. Pumphrey - 1910
The Brewster children and other Pilgrim boys and girls are the center of interest. A wonderful book to read aloud in the weeks before Thanksgiving. Suitable for ages 6 and up.
The Dot
Peter H. Reynolds - 2003
Reynolds entices even the stubbornly uncreative among us to make a mark -- and follow where it takes us.Her teacher smiled. "Just make a mark and see where it takes you."Art class is over, but Vashti is sitting glued to her chair in front of a blank piece of paper. The words of her teacher are a gentle invitation to express herself. But Vashti can't draw - she's no artist. To prove her point, Vashti jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. "There!" she says.That one little dot marks the beginning of Vashti's journey of surprise and self-discovery. That special moment is the core of Peter H. Reynolds's delicate fable about the creative spirit in all of us.
Love in the Library
Maggie Tokuda-Hall - 2022
But to fall in love in a place like Minidoka, a place built to make people feel like they weren’t human—that was miraculous.After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Tama is sent to live in a War Relocation Center in the desert. All Japanese Americans from the West Coast—elderly people, children, babies—now live in prison camps like Minidoka. To be who she is has become a crime, it seems, and Tama doesn’t know when or if she will ever leave. Trying not to think of the life she once had, she works in the camp’s tiny library, taking solace in pages bursting with color and light, love and fairness. And she isn’t the only one. George waits each morning by the door, his arms piled with books checked out the day before. As their friendship grows, Tama wonders: Can anyone possibly read so much? Is she the reason George comes to the library every day? Beautifully illustrated and complete with an afterword, back matter, and a photo of the real Tama and George—the author’s grandparents—Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s elegant love story for readers of all ages sheds light on a shameful chapter of American history.
The Boy on Fairfield Street
Kathleen Krull - 2001
This is the first picture book biography of Dr. Seuss, written especially for his young fans who want to know what made him tick. The animals in the zoo that his father ran and his fondness for drawing them, the injustices he suffered as the child of German immigrants, and his inherent sense of humor all fed into the imagination of this boy. He was a square peg in a round hole until he found that he could make a living doing exactly what he pleased—doodling and writing funny things about the world as he saw it.The last section of the book outlines the important events in his adult life. In addition to the evocative paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, the book is profusely decorated with art from Dr. Seuss books.
The House That Jane Built: A Story about Jane Addams
Tanya Lee Stone - 2015
She wanted to live right in the middle of the roughest, poorest communities and create a place where people could go to find food, work, and help. In 1889, she bought a house in a run-down Chicago neighborhood and turned it into a settlement home, adding on playgrounds, kindergartens, and a public bath. By 1907, Hull House included thirteen buildings. And by the early 1920s, more than 9,000 people visited Jane's home each week. An inspiration to all, Jane Addams continues to be a role model to girls and women of all ages.This title has Common Core connections.
I Love My Purse
Belle Demont - 2017
One day, he decides to take it to school. First his father, then his friends, and even the crossing guard question him about his strange choice. After all, boys don t carry purses. They point out that they, too, have things they like, but that doesn t mean they go out in public wearing them. But Charlie isn t deterred. Before long, his unselfconscious determination to carry a purse starts to affect those around him. His father puts on his favorite, though unconventional, Hawaiian shirt to go to work; his friend Charlotte paints her face, and the crossing guard wears a pair of sparkly shoes. Thanks to Charlie, everyone around him realizes that it isn t always necessary to conform to societal norms. It s more important to be true to yourself. With its humorous, energetic illustrations, this book is ideal as a read-aloud or as a text for emerging readers. It can also be used as a starting point for a discussion about gender roles."
The Borrowed House
Hilda van Stockum - 1975
"So, you're falsifying papers?" said Janna. "You belong to the Dutch Resistance." She looked at him curiously. The boy shrugged his shoulders. "You could call it that. I'm just helping the van Arkels rescue innocent people from certain death. They need these identification papers and food cards to keep alive. If you betray me, all these people will either starve or be forced to give themselves up to be sent to the gas chambers of a concentration camp." "Gas chambers?" Janna looked at the boy with horror. "You mean ... they are killed?" The book looked sternly at her. "Do you think," he said, "that Germany is sending Jews to a nice vacation spa, or to pretty villages with geraniums in the windows? That's what they told us at first, though in Holland we never believed it."
Never Forgotten
Patricia C. McKissack - 2011
This gorgeous picture book by Newbery Honor winner Patricia C. McKissack and two-time Caldecott Medal-winning husband-and-wife team Leo and Diane Dillon is sure to become a treasured keepsake for African American families. Set in West Africa, this a lyrical story-in-verse is about a young black boy who is kidnapped and sold into slavery, and his father who is left behind to mourn the loss of his son. Here's a beautiful, powerful, truly unforgettable story about family, memory, and freedom.
Greatest Skating Race: A World War II Story from the Netherlands
Louise Borden - 2004
This is why I know you'll succeed in this important task. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't know it could be done." In 1941 Piet, a young Dutch boy from Sluis, gets the assignment of a lifetime: He must skate along the frozen canals of the Netherlands and across the Belgian border, in order to guide two neighborhood children to their aunt's house in Brugge, where the children will remain for the duration of World War II. Their father has been taken by German soldiers, and the children are no longer safe in Sluis -- but the journey with Piet, past soldiers and enemies, is fraught with danger.Along the treacherous path to Belgium the three children skate using every bit of speed, courage, and strength they can muster. All the time they try to appear like innocent schoolchildren simply out for a skate, for if the German soldiers discover their escape plan, the children will be in grave trouble. During the journey Piet thinks about his hero, Pim Mulier -- the first person to ever skate the Elfstedentocht, the famous and prestigious Eleven Towns Race that takes place in his country. For years Piet has dreamed of proving that he is a skater as brave and strong as Pim Mulier -- but he had never imagined that his test would fall under such dangerous circumstances.Louise Borden's moving text captures all the tension, excitement, and fear that comes with Piet's mission, while Niki Daly's evocative illustrations bring the children and their perilous journey into vivid focus.
The Undefeated
Kwame Alexander - 2019
It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present.