Book picks similar to
Brave Bear and the Ghosts: A Sioux Legend by Gloria Dominic
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picture-book
history
folktales
Hitler's Canary
Sandi Toksvig - 2005
'Why aren't you doing something? Do you know what the British are calling us? Hitler's canary! I've heard it on the radio, on the BBC. They say he has us in a cage and we just sit and sing any tune he wants.'"Bamse's family are theater people. They don't get involved in politics. "it had nothing to do with us," Bamse tells us. Yet now he must decide: should he take his father's advice and not stir up trouble? Or should he follow his brother into the Resistance and take part in the most demanding role of his life?
Imogene's Antlers
David Small - 1985
Imogene, the cook, and the kitchen maid, however, make the best of things, finding unusual uses for Imogene's new horns. Meanwhile, the problem appears to be solved when Imogene awakes the next morning antler-free. But the family (and the reader) are in for a surprise when Imogene comes down to breakfast.
Calico Captive
Elizabeth George Speare - 1957
Young Miriam Willard, on a day that had promised new happiness, finds herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War. It is a harrowing march north. Miriam can only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream to be crossed. At the end of the trail waits a life of hard work and, perhaps, even a life of slavery. Mingled with her thoughts of Phineas Whitney, her sweetheart on his way to Harvard, is the crying of her sister’s baby, Captive, born on the trail. Miriam and her companions finally reach Montreal, a city of shifting loyalties filled with the intrigue of war, and here, by a sudden twist of fortune, Miriam meets the prominent Du Quesne family, who introduce her to a life she has never imagined. Based on an actual narrative diary published in 1807, Calico Captive skillfully reenacts an absorbing facet of history.
John Henry
Julius Lester - 1994
It's a deadly contest of man-vs-machine written with such power that this African-American folk hero becomes as awesome as a force of nature, yet as familiar as an older brother. Pinkney's stunning art shows John Henry's energy bursting from nature. Full color.
Pocahontas
Ingri d'Aulaire - 1946
When the Natives judge the white man's magic as evil, John Smith is condemned to death - only the intervention of Pocahontas saves his life and a tentative friendship is established between Pocahontas's tribe and the new colonists. The King of England sends a crown, rich robes and a royal bed to honor Powhatan and he is pleased, but the white man's insistence that the Indians give them corn to sustain them through the long winters threatens their tenuous relationship. Pocahontas's ultimate marriage to John Rolfe, the birth of their son, their voyage to England and presentation to the King and Queen is the stuff of fairy tales except that it is one of the great true stories of America's earliest days. 46pg
Cowardly Clyde
Bill Peet - 1979
For a war horse, Clyde is an abysmal coward, but he finally decides that even if he isn't brave, he can at least act bravely.
The Dark
Lemony Snicket - 2013
The dark is not afraid of Laszlo. Laszlo lives in a house. The dark lives in the basement. One night, the dark comes upstairs to Laszlo's room, and Laszlo goes down to the basement.This is the story of how Laszlo stops being afraid of the dark.
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad
Ellen Levine - 2007
Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. Henry grows up and marries, but he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday -- his first day of freedom.
Stone Soup
Jon J. Muth - 2003
Embittered and suspicious from the war, the people hide their food and close their windows tight. That is, until the clever strangers suggest making a soup from stones. Intrigued by the idea, everyone brings what they have until-- together, they have made a feast fit for a king! In this inspiring story about the strength people possess when they work together, Muth takes a simple, beloved tale and adds his own fresh twist.
Let Me Finish!
Minh Lê - 2016
And as it turns out, the boy is quickly approaching a surprise ending of his own! Maybe he should have listened to the animals after all. . . . This silly, timeless picturebook with a clever meta twist introduces debut author Minh L 's witty text and Isabel Roxas's eye-catching illustrations.
I Am a Story
Dan Yaccarino - 2016
It’s always been around, making us happy, sad, excited, or scared and bringing people together. With simple text and delightful illustrations, Dan Yaccarino reminds us of the power of story.
Stone Soup
Marcia Brown - 1947
The story, about three hungry soldiers who outwit the greedy inhabitants of a village into providing them with a feast, is based on an old French tale.
Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport
Marjorie Weinman Sharmat - 1980
After all, out West nobody plays baseball because they're too busy chasing buffaloes, and you have to ride a horse to school even if you don't know how, and you can't sit down because of the cactus. But his parents are moving West, and they say he has to go, too. Once there, however, the boy doesn't meet the Gila monsters he expected. And on the ride to his new home (by taxi, not horse) he discovers the West is neither as different nor as bad as he'd imagined.Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Byron Barton share a keen sense of the ridiculous and a compassionate understanding of a child's anxieties. Together they have created a perceptive, exuberantly funny picture book that will have children in all parts of the country laughing away their own fears about new experiences.
Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman
Nikki Grimes - 1998
In an era when Jim Crow laws and segregation were a way of life, it was not easy to survive. Bessie didn't let that stop her. Although she was only 11 when the Wright brothers took their historic flight, she vowed to become the first African -American female pilot. Her sturdy faith and determination helped her overcome obstacles of poverty, racism, and gender discrimination. Innovatively told through a series of monologues.
The Children of the King
Sonya Hartnett - 2012
Cecily and Jeremy have been sent to live with their uncle Peregrine in the English countryside, safe from the war, along with a young refugee named May. But when Cecily and May find two mysterious boys hiding in the ruins of a nearby castle, an extraordinary adventure begins.