The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses

by Paul Goble
Bradbury Press ( 1978)
Interest Level: Grade 3+
Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner

Genre Category: Multicultural Literature
Book Type: Picture Book

Summary: A young Native American girl loves her horses. She has a special affinity for them and they, in turn, follow her willingly. One afternoon, a thunderstorm sweeps through her village and the girl and the horses are swept along with it. By the end of the storm, the girl and the horses find themselves in the mountains with the wild horses, where the girl finally finds her true home.

Online Connections:
1. Learn more about the art of Paul Goble at http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/goble_paul.html.
2. Paul Goble was born in England, but he has developed strong ties to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Learn more about this amazing transplant at http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/HarperChildrens/Kids/AuthorsAndIllustrators/ContributorDetail.aspx?CId=20771.

Book Connections
1. Jingle Dancer by Cynthia L. Smith
2. Moonstick, the seasons of the Sioux by Eve Bunting

Keywords: Horses, Native Americans, thunderstorms, wild horses, South Dakota

Chicken Boy

by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Aladdin Paperbacks (2005)

Interest Level: Middle School

Awards or honors: Starred Review in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal

Category: Young Adult

Type: Novel

Summary: Tobin McCauley has been having a rough time at home and at school. It is not until his seventh grade year when he makes a friend in Henry and begins to raise chickens as a class project that he begins to come out of his shell and find out who he really is. A diverse company of characters adds color to this story. The ending is upbeat and hopeful. Good read.

Online Connections:

1. Learn more about this author and her books by visiting her website at http://www.francesdowell.com/.

2. Learn more about raising chickens in your own backyard at http://www.backyardchickens.com/

Book Connections:

1. Dovey Coe by Frances O'Roark Dowell

2. The Fairest Fowl: portraits of championship chickens by Tamara Staples (photographer), Ira Glass (essays), Christa Velba (text)

Keywords: chickens, self-esteem, middle school, dysfunctional family, family problems, school, friendship

The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker

by Cynthia DeFelice

Farrar Straus Giroux (1996)

Interest Level: grades 5+

Category: Historical Fiction

Type: Novel

Summary: In 1849, Tuberculosis, or consumption, rages through the countryside leaving Lucas Whitaker an orphan. Feeling guilty for not being able to save his mother's life, Lucas goes to work for Doc Beecher. Even the doctor is at a loss as to how to stop the disease from killing people. Is Lucas willing to try a voodoo cure to save lives or will he be able to find some other way to help the people in his community?

Online Connections:

1. Author's website: http://www.cynthiadefelice.com/

2. To learn more about Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, the Dutch tradesman who discovered bacteria, visit: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/leeuwenhoek.html

Book Connections:

1. Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman

2. The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Keywords: Orphans, tuberculosis, consumption, superstition, apprentices, medicine, doctors, cleanliness, New England, apothecary

The SOS File

by Betsy Byars
Henry Holt and Co. (2004)
Interest Level: grades 3-5

Category: Contemporary Fiction
Type: Novel

Summary: Mr Magro asks his students to write about the biggest challenges they have faced in their lives and then to read them out loud to the class. Some of the stories are funny, others are heartwrenching, but each is an emergency in itself.

Online Connections:
1. Author's website: http://www.betsybyars.com/
2. Learn more about the author at http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=3960

Book Connections:
1. My Dog, My Hero by Betsy Byars
2. The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman

Keywords: Emergencies, schools, fictional biographies,

Good Queen Bess: The story of Elizabeth I of England

by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema
Four Winds Press (1990)
Interest Level: Grades 5 up
Awards and Honors: ALA Notable Book; Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Honor Book for Non-Fiction; IRA Teacher's Choices; Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award, Ten Best Books; Parents' Magazine Best Kids Books; American Bookseller Pick of the Lists; Booklist Editor's Choice; Upper Midwest Booksellers' Association, Booksellers' Choice; Notable Children's Books in the Field of Social Studies; The Library of Congress Recommended Books For Children; nominee for the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Alabama Emphasis on Reading Award, the Kentucky Bluegrass Award, the Kansas William Allen White Children's Book Award; starred reviews, Booklist, Horn Book.

Genre Category: Biography
Book Type: Picture book

Summary: The life of Elizabeth I is a fascinating study of a neglected child raised in intrigue and danger who goes on to become one of the most important rulers in her time (if not for centuries to come). This picture book fits a lot of information into a small space. Stanley combines British history with biographical information about Queen Elizabeth without getting bogged down in the minutae that signified life at court during her day.

Online Connections:
1. Author's page: http://www.dianestanley.com/
2. Learn more about Queen Elizabeth I at http://www.elizabethi.org/

Book Connections:
1. Bard of Avon: The story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley
2. Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544 by Kathryn Lasky

Keywords: Queens, Kings, Henry VIII, Great Britain

Earthquakes

by Seymour Simon

Morrow Junior Books (1991)

Interest Level: Grades 3-5

Category: Nonfiction

Type: Picture book

Summary: Simon explains in clear language what an earthquake is, how and where they occur, how they can be predicted, and how much damage can be caused by one. Wonderful graphics and photos illustrate the text.

Online connections:

1. Visit the author's webpage at http://www.seymoursimon.com/.

2. Visit the Smithsonian online at http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/.

Book Connections:

1. Hurricanes by Seymour Simon

2. Tornadoes by Seymour Simon

Keywords: Earthquakes, natural disasters, nonfiction, plate techtonics, geology, faults, San Andreas Fault Line,.

The Talking Eggs: A folktale from the American South

by Robert D. San Souci
Dial Books for Young Readers (1989)
Interest Level: Grades 2-5
Awards and Honors: Caldecott Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Award

Genre Category: Folk Tale
Book Type: Picture Book

Summary:
A poor woman and her two daughters, Rose and Blanche, live on an old farm in the South. Rose is kind and thoughtful, while her mother and sister are hateful and unkind. One day, while fetching water from the well, Rose meets an old woman and gives her a drink of water from the well. The old woman repays her kindness with jewels, clothing, and other fine things. When her mother sees all the things Rose has been given, she sends Blanche out to do the same. Unfortunately, Blanche is not as nice as Rose and her rewards are quite different.

Online Connections:
1. Visit the author's website and learn more about him@ http://www.rsansouci.com/
2. Learn more about the author and his works@ http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=1738

Book Connections:
1. The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin
2. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

Keywords: Folktales, Creole, magic, sisters, mothers, daughters, American South, Louisiana