Book Post #40- Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed the Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh

Sibert Award Winner 2007

Thimmesh, C. (2006). Team Moon: how 400,00 people landed Apollo 11 on the moon. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co..

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh is a wonderful book that tells the story of how we came to land on the moon.  From the challenge by President Kennedy to have man landing on the moon before the decade was over to the seamstress that sewed the space suits to the engineers that developed the heat shields- it was a group effort!  There were many worries and concerns throughout the process, but there was success in the end.  The author uses transcripts and quotes from archives along with pictures to help tell the story.  This book could be used when studying about the moon in science or when studying about the 1960's in social studies.

Book Post #39- Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman

Freedman, R. (2005). Children of the Great Depression. New York: Clarion Books.

Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman is a heart wrenching book with pictures, diaries, letters, and memoirs documenting the time during the Great Depression.  The young people were faced with many challenges such as:  parents who lost their jobs, having little or no money, having little or no food, terrible dust storms, and closed schools.  Even though times were tough, they did try to find some joy in playing their favorite games, listening to their favorite radio stations, or going to the movies.  This book would be a great resource to use when studying the Great Depression.

Book Post #38- Who's Saying What in Jamestown, Thomas Savage? by Jean Fritz

Fritz, J. (2007). Who's saying what in Jamestown, Thomas Savage? G.P. Putnam's Sons: New York, NY.

Who's Saying What in Jamestown, Thomas Savage? by Jean Fritz was published in time to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement.  She follows the life of young Thomas Savage who comes to Jamestown and lives with the Indians to learn their language. Pocahontas teaches him and he becomes an interpreter until trouble arises between the Colonists and Indians.  He is torn and doesn't want to choose sides.  What will he do?  Jean Fritz has several historical books for children.  Social Studies teachers could use this book in class when learning about Jamestown.

Book Post #37- A Faraway Island by Annika Thor translated by Linda Schenck

Batchelder Award 2010

Thor, A., & Schenck, L. (2009). A faraway island. New York: Delacorte Press.

A Faraway Island by Annika Thor and translated from Swedish by Linda Schenck is a story of two sisters from Vienna that are sent to live in Sweden to escape the Nazis.  Nellie seems to do well.  She learns Swedish fairly quickly and lives with a nice family.  Stephie, on the other hand, doesn't learn Swedish as quickly and lives with a critical old woman.  She worries about her parents and whether she will see them again.  She finds herself bullied at school and struggles feeling like an outcast.  This book could be used to support Social Studies classes when learning about WWII.

Book Post #36- Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White

Newbery Honor Award 1997

White, R. (1996). Belle Prater's boy. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux.

Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White takes place in Coal Station, Virginia.  Woodrow comes to live with his grandparents when his mother disappears.  Gypsy, his cousin lives next door and wants to know what Woodrow thinks happened to his mother.  Woodrow seems to accept that his mother is gone, but Gypsy struggles to deal with the death of her father.  They become friends and share adventures with Blind Benny, help with the annual Debutante Garden Party, have a wienie roast, and eventually they both deal with their loss.  There is a sequel to this book called The Search for Belle Prater.