Mama Played Baseball

Author: David A. Adler

Illustrator: Chris O'Leary

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade level: K-3

Amy's dad is away at war. While he is away at war her mother has to be able to work to provide for their family. She takes a job on a professional baseball team. At first she doesn't understand why her mother would be playing baseball but as she watched how hard she worked and how good she was she would end up being the one who cheers the loudest in the entire stadium. Amy starts to work on a surprise for her father for when he returns from war. In the end Amy's mother tells her that she's gong to take her somewhere as a surprise. She thinks that they are going to a game since her mother has her uniform on but instead she takes her to the base where her dad is returning home from war. They both tell each other they like their uniforms when they see each other. 

This book can be used to talk about WWII. It can also be used to teach about women's rights and how they changed over the years. We could also learn about technology since there are technological things that are talked about in the book. 

The illustrations in the book are very lightly colored and perfectly drawn for the time period. It is detailed to where you can tell when this took place. 

Child of the Civil Rights Movement

Author: Paula Young Shelton

Illustrator: Raul Colon 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade level: K-3

A little girl named Paula who lives in New York grew up following Jim Crow Laws. One day they were watching tv a story appeared and it was about freedom riders. Paula's parents wanted to immediately do something to help protest the Jim Crow Laws. They moved to Georgia instantly. While living there they are denied access into things just based on the color of their skin and Paula never understood why. She would cry every time that they would be denied access. She soon would be surrounded by her uncle Martin Luther King Jr and many others protesting against Jim Crow Laws. She talks about different things that happened in order to eventually pass the Voting Rights Acts. 

This book can be used to teach about the civil rights movement. There is a lot of information in this book about the movement and is in the viewpoint of a child. This book can relate to students on a personal level since it is in the viewpoint of a young child. It can teach lessons about racism and segregation. 

The illustrations are very colorful depictions of what it was like to be black during that time period. It showcases emotions as well as detailed things to illustrate the time period this was taking place. The blurred edges of the illustrations give it the feel of a memory which it is a child's memory. 

Red Kits, Blue Kit

Author: Ji-li Jiang

Illustrator: Greg Ruth

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade level: K-3

Tai Chan likes to fly kites with his father. He flies a red kite. His father flies a blue kite. They fly their kites together all the time with a sense of freedom while he tells him stories. Then one day Japanese soldiers come to their town and ransack it. They take his father to a labor camp and Tai Chan is left in the care of his grandmother. The son and father still fly their kites so they can be free together despite being far away not not exactly free. In the end he returns to his son and they are free again together. 

This story can be used in the classroom to teach a child to be thankful for what they have. It also can be used to teach children about what it was like when China was invaded by Japanese soldiers and put them into labor camps and separated their families. 

The illustrations are beautiful and brightly colored. The kits are the only things that are brightly colored. Everything else is a kind of dull color of dim browns in order for the kites to pop out to the readers. They are layered showing lots of different views. You can see the different action going on in the background of the war. 

Back of the Bus

Author: Aaron Reynolds

Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade level: K-4

A small boy plays with his marbles on a long bus ride. He heard angry voices and kept asking his mom if they had done something wrong. The bus pulled up and their were police all over. He witnesses Rosa Parks refuse to get up from her seat. He witnesses her being taken away to jail. This was a story in the viewpoint of a child.

This story can be used to learn about the Civil rights movement. It can also be used to teach a lesson about racism and what it was like for children during that time period. Learning about segregation as well. 

The illustrations are beautiful and detailed realistic paintings. It is perfect for the view of a child and portrays emotions through the artwork. 

Baseball Saved Us

Author: Ken Mochizuki

Illustrator: Dom Lee

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade level: K-4

Award: Washington State Book Award

There is a boy who is nicknamed Shorty because of his size. Shorty and his family are taken to an interment camp. Shorty's dad decided that it was time to build a baseball field. The community is all for the sport in order to boost moral. Shorty is not very good but he practice a lot and eventually gets much better. He is motivated by one of the guards that sits and watches him. Shorty is faced with many racial slurs, negative comments, and bullying for his Japanese nature. In the end he is up to bat again in a game winning situation. He tunes out the heckling and he comes up big for his team in the end and wins. 

This book can be used to talk about how the Japanese were treated during WWI. This can be used to learn about how racism is bad and how they were treated during this time. 

The illustrations are very interesting. They are mostly dark colors to represent how depressing and how dark and dreary their time is. Each page is differently occupied with the illustrations. Some pages occupy the whole page and some have white borders. Some even cover a two page spread. The illustrator used beeswax on paper scratching out images and adding oil and paint for color. 

Separate is Never Equal

Author/Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade level: K-3

Award: Pura Belpre Award

Sylvia was placed in a Mexican school rather than a white only school based on her ethnic background. They realized that she was being given a second class education compared to those in the white schools. They decide to appeal the schools placement and the racism is exposed because they told her they would teach her how to speak english even though she speaks perfect english. Her parent's took the battle all the way to court and encouraged other hispanic families facing similar situations to stand up and do something as well. 

This book can be used to talk about the civil rights movement. It also can be used to discuss racism. It also can be an introduction to learning about the Brown Vs. Board of education. 

The illustrations are folk art. The color scheme is more dark and the illustration fill the page. They don't do a good job of showing exactly what the characters are feeling. In a book about discrimination I believe the characters should be shown how they are feeling within the illustrations. 

Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving

Author/Illustrator: Kimberly and James Dean

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade level: K-3

Pete the cat is in a thanksgiving school play. He recounts the story of the first thanksgiving. He recounts about the pilgrims and their journey. He talks about how he befriended the Indians and how they came to have the first thanksgiving. At the end of the story Pete and his sibling and mom are all going around saying what they are each thankful for. 

This story can be used to recount the story of thanksgiving. It can be read during thanksgiving time and can be used to make fun thanksgiving themed activities. 

The illustrations are very fun and colorful. They look to be as if children drew them. This is a lift the flap book. Their is an array of different color schemes used in this book. 

The Wall

Author: Eve Bunting

Illustrator: Ronald Himler

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade level: K-3

A young boy and his father visit the Vietnamese Veterans Memorial building in Washington D.C. This is not an ordinary sight seeing visit. They are looking for the boys grandfather's name on the wall. The boy notices different types of people approaching the wall leaving different kinds of momentos. They finally find the name and they quietly stand in front of it to mourn the great loss. He tells the boy that he is very proud that his fathers name is on the wall. 

This book would be perfect to learn about the Vietnam war. It can be used as kind of an introduction to learning about the war. it can also be used to teach about what a solider is and what they do in war. 

The illustrations are beautiful. They are somber dark paintings that represent the grief and the reverence the book is supposed to convey.  

Players in Pigtails

Author: Shana Corey 

Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbons

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade level: K-4

Katie Casey doesn't like to do the normal things a woman would do like cooking, sewing, etc. She would rather play baseball. Many people make comments to her that baseball is not for girls and she should just stick to ballet. Baseball started to change because during WWII boys were drafted into the war and there was no time for baseball. Then the owner of the Chicago Cubs questions that if women can work in factories and the work force, then they should be able to play baseball as well. At first his ideas aren't received well but eventually he finds ways to convince the public that it is a good idea. 

This book is perfect to teach about women rights. This could also be used during a WWII lesson as well. There is a lot of good vocabulary throughout the book as well for a vocal or spelling lesson. 

The illustrations were very stiff. They are colorful and semi realistic. There isn't much movement in them. There are many different details that hint that the time period is during WWII. 

A Storm Called Katrina

Author: Myron Uhlberg

Illustrator: Colin Bootman

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Grade Level: K-3

This is a story of a 10 year old boy who lived in New Orleans when hurricane Katrina hit. When the storm hits nobody is worried about it at all until it starts to worsen. Since they were not prepared, there was no time to gather up any of their belongings except his horn. They find a piece of floating porch and Louis and his mother climb aboard while his dad pushes them safely along. On the way they saw a lot of disturbing images. They make it to the super dome and they lose his father. Louis has to prove he is a big boy and help find his father. 

This book can be used in the classroom to talk about natural disasters. It also can be used to talk about hurricane Katrina and it's affects on history. It can also be used during black history month. 

The illustrations are beautiful. They are extremely realistic and the coloring and details are amazing. They are oil paintings. There is a combination of light and dark in his images.