LS5603: Fantasy 3—“The Arrival" By Shaun Tan

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY

Tan, Shaun. The Arrival. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2006. ISBN 978-0-439-89529-3

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
This wordless graphic novel follows an immigrant traveling from one fantastical land to another (albeit one that seems less dangerous). He arrives alone, leaving his family in his country. He searches for work and meets people that help him in his new life.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS characters, plot, setting, theme, style, authenticity

            Although people say that a picture is worth a thousand words, it can be difficult to establish a character’s personality or explain their motives with no words at all, especially in a way that moves a story along, but this poses no problem to Shaun Tan, who introduces characters with personality and clear actions throughout the book, many complete with backstory.

            The setting is very fantastical, with otherworldly creatures and sights. All the writing is in a script that is not an alphabet on Earth, which neither the main character nor the reader can read, which helps immerse the reader in how the character feels. The whole book is done in either sepia tone or black and white (for flashbacks) which makes it feel like one is going through an old photo album.  

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

·         From School Library Journal: "  Young readers will be fascinated by the strange new world the artist creates, complete with floating elevators and unusual creatures, but may not realize the depth of meaning or understand what the man's journey symbolizes. More sophisticated readers, however, will grasp the sense of strangeness and find themselves participating in the man's experiences. They will linger over the details in the beautiful sepia pictures and will likely pick up the book to pore over it again and again."

·         From Booklist: " Soft brushstrokes and grand Art Deco–style architecture evoke a time long ago, but the story's immediacy and fantasy elements will appeal even to readers younger than the target audience, though they may miss many of the complexities. Filled with subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form."

5.     CONNECTIONS

Other graphic novels by Shaun Tan:

Tales From Outer Suburbia ISBN 978-0545055871

Rules of Summer ISBN 978-0545639125

Lost and Found ISBN 978-0545229241

Other graphic novels that are somewhat fantastical in nature and are not what one would expect

Flight, volumes 1-8, (various artists and authors--anthology) volume 1 ISBN: 978-0345496362

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi (anthology) ISBN 978-1419700095

The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen ISBN 978-1595827982

  

Activity: 24 Hour Comic Book Day

Once a year, the comic community holds a “24 hour comic book day,” a challenge similar to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write a novel in a month; 24 Hour Comic Book Day is a challenge to write a 24 page comic in 24 hours. Many comic book stores sponsor the day and a place for artists and writers to stay for 24 hours while they work on creations. While this might not be feasible for a school or library, a similar challenge can be put out to groups of students; to create their own comic. Comics like The Arrival or the short story comics of Flight are great introductions for students to show that there are more varieties of comics than just Batman and Calvin and Hobbes  and can encourage new ideas. The official page for 24 Hour Comic Book Day is http://www.24hourcomicsday.com/

LS5603: Fantasy 2—“The Scorpio Races" By Maggie Stiefvater

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY
Stiefvater, Maggie. The Scorpio Races. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2013. ISBN 978-0545224918

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
            On the island of Thisby, once a year, there is a race with capaill uisce, carnivorous water horses, a deadly race where all compete for the esteem and prize of winning. There are two main characters—Sean, a young man who owns nothing but has a gift with the water horses and has won three races prior to this one, and Puck Connolly, a girl who has never even watched the races but enters to keep her family together. The story follows their lives over the month of November, when capaill uisce are taken from the sea and trained for the race, and how the water horses profoundly affect the path both their lives are on.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS characters, plot, setting, theme, style, authenticity

            The characters are somewhat uninspired but they have distinct personalities. Puck, like many girls in YA fiction, is deeply stubborn, gets angry and defensive about things she’s passionate about (like her family when under fire), is pretty—but not in a way that most people notice, and not particularly to herself--, has a connection with horses, and garners the main male protagonists attention through no real effort on her part. She also has a problem with authority figures, which is basically a trope in YA fiction. There is nothing wrong with any of these personality traits, other than they make Puck interchangeable with so many other YA heroines. On the bright side, she will no doubt be someone teen girls can empathize with. Sean is talk, dark, brooding, and handsome, and does everything a male counterpart should do. He is deeply mysterious, and loves horses. His world revolves around horses.

            The plot is straightforward—horses need to be trained, and there are difficulties. Problems in Puck’s family intensifies the situation. As long as one doesn’t think too much about what is going on, like why don’t people have better fences after hundreds of years of capaill uisce attacks during two months of the year, especially when they kill off people in the night, is a question left unanswered. It really seems like Thisby needs more engineers and not horse riders. It is, I suppose, a nice enough story, and a light read. While the danger aspect is kept up throughout the entire book and makes for an intense read, there aren’t any deep prevailing themes that will make the reader think once the book is put down. Not that all books need to be thinking books, but this book has been set next to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I expected a little more substance, when in reality it seems closer to Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. A romance with horses.

            This fantastical book will certainly appeal to those who love animals, particularly horses. It seems to skew towards a female demographic for readers, though male readers would also enjoy the danger and the thoughts of stoic Sean. It seems like a slightly more grown-up horse book compared to the ones meant for children. If horses do not hold that mystical sway over the reader to begin with that they seem to for so many girls, it might not be the best read.

It was well-written, and Stiefvater does an excellent job of world-building for the water-horse mythos, something that is not common enough for readers to understand without a lot of exposition, yet she does it in a way that feels effortless and is engaging to the reader.
4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

·         From School Library Journal: "Upon the sea-battered and wind-swept isle of Thisby, fall brings the famed and feared capaill uisce, or water horses, and with them, death . . . The author takes great liberties with the Celtic myth, but the result is marvelous.."

·         From Booklist: "A book with cross-appeal to lovers of fantasy, horse stories, romance, and action-adventure, this seems to have a shot at being a YA blockbuster."

5.     CONNECTIONS

Other books by Maggie Stiefvater

• The Raven Cycle
• The Raven Boys
• The Shiver Trilogy
• The Gathering of Faerie series

LS5603: Fantasy 1—“The Graveyard Book" By Neil Gaiman

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-053092-1

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
In the darkness of the night, the assassin Jack comes to put an untimely end to a family. Despite his careful planning, one of the family, a boy barely old enough to be a toddler, escapes the murderer's clutches and finds himself in a graveyard. Like all graveyards, it's full of dead people and their ghosts. However, these ghosts do something very unusual; after finding out what happened to the boy's family, they decide to raise him in the graveyard. As the boy grows, the only living one among his family of dead people, he gains supernatural powers to help him deal with the dangers of the graveyard and the inevitable return of Jack. 

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Graveyard Book's characters are memorable by their very nature of being so different. The book spans about 12 years, and many characters come and go, but even the minor characters have distinct personalities, often given by the time period they died in. Many of the characters speak with different accents according to the time they died, which helps distinguish the many ghosts the main character interacts with. Bod, the main character, seems to be a very different main character, almost otherwordly because of his upbringing, but teens will empathize with his feelings of loneliness and not belonging.
Unlike many traditional fantasy books where the call is obvious and the quest spelled out, Gaiman's book meanders down the plot. It reminds me of the movie Spirited Away by Miyazaki; the journey is one that all people take through coming of age, not by an actual quest. It might seem slow at first to a reader, but it moves faster as Bod starts growing older.
The setting, like Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson series, is on our own world, if our world had magic in it. The theme of family is strong throughout the book, and the struggles of growing up are universal. This book may seem a little daunting for younger readers, as Gaiman is not afraid of using bigger words when appropriate. 

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Newbery Medal winner
• Carnegie Medal winner
• Hugo Award winner for Best Novel
• From School Library Journal: "Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family."
• From Booklist: "This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages. Grades 6-10."

5.     CONNECTIONS
Other children and YA books by Neil Gaiman:

• The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel: Vol. 1 ISBN 978-0062194817
• Coraline ISBN 978-0380807345
• M is for Magic ISBN 978-0061186479
• Stardust ISBN 978-0061689246
• Fortunately Milk ISBN 978-0062224088
• Please note that Neil Gaiman also does a great deal of novels meant for adults and is possibly most famous for his graphic novel series, Sandman. While an excellent series, plese don't assume that just because it's a graphic novel it is appropriate for children. Sandman is meant for mature readers and while I do not discourage teens from reading it, please be aware it was not meant for teens and has a corresponding amount of adult material in it.

LS5603: Historical Fiction 3—“Between Shades of Grey” by Ruta Sepetys

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. New York: Philomel Books, 2011. ISBN 978-0-399-25412-3

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
Fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and her little brother are woken up in the middle of the night by the NKVD, the Soviet secret police, and are taken from their home in Lithuania to a work camp hundreds of miles away. While trying to fight for her life against hunger, disease, the elements, and Soviet officers, Lina chronicles her journey in her art, leaving traces of herself behind so that her father can find them again.   

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS characters, plot, setting, theme, style, authenticity
            Lina is an interesting heroine. She has a fiery spirit and is a very normal teenager, one who has not been privy to most of the political discussions her parents have had. She is stubborn and quick to draw conclusions about the world around her, which causes her heartache at least once and often it lets the reader be ahead of her in the curve of understanding what’s happening around her; the reader, unmired in emotion can figure out the pieces before she can, as she keeps herself behind by jumping to wrong conclusions because of her emotions. However, her emotional point of view is a great thing because it lets the reader feel and understand how Lina feels as she goes through her trials and tribulations.

            As yet another World War II book, it sets itself apart by being about another part of the war that often gets overlooked, at least in American classrooms: the people whose lives were forever changed because of Josef Stalin and Soviet Russia. Sepetys, in her author’s note, talks about how her grandfather was a Lithuanian military officer who had many family members who were deported and had tragedies befall them like the characters of this book. She took two trips to Lithuania and interviewed and researched the time period. Almost all the characters in the book are fictional though, except for one that shows up at the end of the book, but the experiences that happened in this book were a reality that many faced.

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

·         New York Times  notable book

·         An international bestseller

·         A Carnegie Medal Nominee

·         From The Washington Post: “Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both.”

·         From Booklist: " Sepetys, the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, estimates that the Baltic States lost more than one-third of their populations during the Russian genocide. Though many continue to deny this happened, Sepetys' beautifully written and deeply felt novel proves the reality is otherwise. Hers is an important book that deserves the widest possible readership. Grades 7-12"

5.     CONNECTIONS
Other books about work camps and the Soviet regime in WWII

• The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia by Esther Hautzig
• Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

Further resources about Gulag/Russian work camps

• http://gulaghistory.org/nps/onlineexhibit/stalin/work.php
• http://www.dpcamps.org/russianpow.html
• http://www.gendercide.org/case_soviet.html
• http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v21/v21n1p39_michaels.html

Note: most of these sites are very text-heavy and would come off as boring unless doing an actual history project. But they are a good place to start for information. Making a game of it (like a digital information-based scavenger hunt) could be a way to possibly help make that information more digestible for teenagers.

LS5603: Historical Fiction 2—“Eyes of the Emperor” by Graham Salisbury

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY
Salisbury, Graham. Eyes of the Emperor. New York: Random House, 2005. ISBN 978-0-440-22956-8

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
            Eddy Okubo, an American boy whose parents are Japanese-American, lies about his age to join the army during World War II. However, soon after his enlistment, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, and all those with Japanese heritage are looked on with suspicion.   

            Eddy and a few of his army friends (also Japanese-American) are asked to join a top secret research project. The project? The army wants to train dogs to hunt and kill Japanese, and they need people to practice on. Eddy and his friends struggle with patriotism and loyalty against a system that saw them the same as the enemy.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS characters, plot, setting, theme, style, authenticity
            The plot and the characters come to life on the page. This book would be an excellent choice for reluctant male readers especially; there is action and camaraderie and the entire book carries an undercurrent of tenseness, whether from the attack on Pearl Harbor, Eddy’s strained relationship with his father, or the very difficult jobs they are assigned to do. Salisbury brings his characters to life with banter and very human moments set against a backdrop of the world seeming to turn upside down for the characters.

            Even though the main characters are fictional, some of the side characters are named and based off of the soldiers who actually went through this research project. Some of the scenes in fact actually happened, and the places the characters visit can still be visited today (though one of the islands is now private property). Salisbury, in his author’s note, mentions he was able to interview several of the soldiers from this incident and notes that this is one of the first time dogs were used in the military.

            Often modules and time taken to talk about WWII in classrooms revolves around Europe and what happened there, especially in regards to the atrocities that were done to the Jews. Most students have read Anne Frank’s Diary, possibly Number the Stars by Louis Lowry as well. While this is to be lauded, it is important to remember the events that happened on U.S. soil as well. Although Japanese internment camps were not Auschwitz, they are not a bright point in our history and yet must still be remembered so it does not happen again. Books like Eyes of the Emperor make an engaging way to start that conversation.  

                                                                     

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

•  From School Library Journal: " The immediacy of the writing allows readers to imagine themselves as one of the boys. A story with huge implications for observers of current events." 
• From Booklist:  “The cruel training, the vicious prejudice from many officers, the camaraderie among the soldiers, and the mixed-up news from family bring a view of American history seldom told and open up the meanings of homeland and patriotism.”

5.     CONNECTIONS
Other books by Graham Salisbury

• Hunt for the Bamboo Rat (Prisoners of the Empire) ISBN 978-0375842665
• Under the Blood-Red Sun ISBN 978-0440411390
• Night of the Howling Dogs, ISBN 978-0545176354

 Other materials about Japanese Internment Camps

• http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/ - this is a documentary about six Americans who were in camps as childrens and their personal journey. Includes links to the documentary, the behinds the scenes, and resources for teachers.
• http://amhistory.si.edu/ourstory/activities/internment/ contains a link of recommended books about life in internment camps. It also has a “food” activity so that students can recreate some of the food ate at internment camps such as “Spam Musubi” or “Weenie Royale”
• http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/exhibits/ww2/threat/internment.htm contains information about daily life and how camps were organized. 

LS5603: Historical Fiction 1—“One Crazy Summer” by Rita Williams Garcia

There are more awards on that cover than people!

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY
Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York: Harper Collins, 2010. ISBN 978-0-06-076088-5

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
Delphine, only 11 years old, and her two younger sisters visit their estranged mother in Oakland, California in the turbulent summer of 1968. They spend a month with their mother, a poet, who left them  years ago who wishes they weren’t there, and who sends them to a Black Panther summer camp.   

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS characters, plot, setting, theme, style, authenticity
            Delphine makes for a very pragmatic and sensible main character. Unlike her younger sisters, both prone to overacting and vying for attention, she considers herself someone who has a “plain face and plain words.” Her plain voice, as she calls it, makes the book a straightforward, compelling read when combined with her apt assessments of the world and her wry sense of humor. As the oldest in the family, she has had the majority of the burden of responsibility at her feet since her mother left, and the whole book is shadowed with concerns about her sister and not becoming a “grand Negro spectacle” while being in public. Williams-Garcia does an excellent job of not making this into a book of history and dates—the history is merely a backdrop to the concerns Delphine has. And while most teenagers have never had to worry about going to a rally that could end up dangerous, taking care of younger siblings, having a name that gets made fun of, or even liking boys is something many can relate to.

Although none of the characters in the book are real, the events that are talked about in the Black Panther summer camp and the people they talk about were. For example, Bobby Hutton, or “lil’Bobby” as they call him in the book, was a sixteen-year old Black Panther who was shot more than twelve times by police after he surrendered and had stripped to his underwear to prove he was not armed. In the book, there are newspaper articles and a rally held in his name.

The time period is one that has very few YA books written about it, as it is still recently enough in history that many people who lived through it are still alive. However, for children who read this book (appropriate for grades 4-7), it’s often a history that gets very little time in school—most schools discuss the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, but the Black Panther movement, which happened at the same time, receives very little discussion. It’s also written a little simpler than many other books about the same subject that are meant for high school students, making it an excellent book for readers in middle school. Even for an unfamiliar setting, readers will recognize the famous names thrown around to give a sense of time, such as Muhammad Ali or JFK.

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

·         Newbery Honor Book

·         Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction

·         Coretta Scot King Award

·         National Book Award Finalist

·         New York Times bestselling author

·         From School Library Journal: "Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility. With memorable characters (all three girls have engaging, strong voices) and a powerful story, this is a book well worth reading and rereading." 

·         From Booklist: " Regimented, responsible, strong-willed Delphine narrates in an unforgettable voice, but each of the sisters emerges as a distinct, memorable character, whose hard-won, tenuous connections with their mother build to an aching, triumphant conclusion. Set during a pivotal moment in African American history, this vibrant novel shows the subtle ways that political movements affect personal lives; but just as memorable is the finely drawn, universal story of children reclaiming a reluctant parent’s love."

5.     CONNECTIONS
Other books by Rita Williams-Garcia

Like Sisters on the Homefront ISBN978-0140385618

Every Time a Rainbow Dies ISBN 978-0688162450

No Laughter Here ISBN 978-0064409926

P.S. Be Eleven ISBN 978-0061938627 (sequel to One Crazy Summer)

Other books about the civil rights movement in the 1950s-1960s

Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals, ISBN 978-1416928827

The Lions of Little Rock by Krisin Levine ISBN 978-0142424353

The Rock and the River by Kekla Bagoon ISBN 978-1416978039

Fire in the Streets by Kekla Magoon, ISBN 978-1442422315

LS5603: Nonfiction3 -- Hitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Hitler Youth: Growing Up In Hitler’s Shadow. Scholastic Inc: New York. 2005. ISBN 0-439-35378-3

2.     PLOT SUMMARY

In a time when poverty and unemployment in Germany were at an all-time high after World War I, the youth of Germany were looking for someone to give them hope and to make their country great again. Many of them found what they were looking for in a rising political leader, Adolf Hitler, and fervently followed his ideals. These young adults joined the Hitler Youth and gained prominence in their communities because of it. However, as the National Socialist Party, the Nazis, grew into greater power, they began to ask more and more of their youth, to the point where they sent boys as young as ten were recruited to help in the army.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Susan Bartoletti had the opportunity of going and interviewing many people by phone, e-mail, or letters, so many of her quotes are straight from personal interviews she conducted with those who were affected by World War II. These interviews also let her sometimes access personal photographs, which greatly enhance the book and give faces to the many names that are mentioned throughout the pages.

Each of her quotes is sourced, and her bibliography is not only extensive, but broken down into section by subject with notations for entries that would be of particular interest to young readers for further reading.

In its narrative, Bartoletti effortlessly weaves facts with a fast moving narrative that keeps the reader involved. She includes many stories about specific children, highlighting their successes and struggles, making the fight more personal to the reader.

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

From School Library Journal: “Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth, or Hitlerjugend, in 1926. With a focus on the years between 1933 and the end of the war in 1945, Bartoletti explains the roles that millions of boys and girls unwittingly played in the horrors of the Third Reich. […] Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has.”

From Booklist:  “Bartoletti draws on oral histories, diaries, letters, and her own extensive interviews with Holocaust survivors, Hitler Youth, resisters, and bystanders to tell the history from the viewpoints of people who were there. […] The handsome book design, with black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will draw in readers and help spark deep discussion, which will extend beyond the Holocaust curriculum. The extensive back matter is a part of the gripping narrative.” 

5.     CONNECTIONS

Honestly, this would be a great book to read as additional reading when learning about the Holocaust and/or World War II. While there are dozens of stories about the Holocaust and the tragedies that happened there, there are not as many about the Germans and what happened to the people who were German citizens. It is an interesting perspective to see, and would be great supplement material to another book.

Additional Activities: Lesser Known Histories of WWII

The Germans weren’t the only ones who treated the “enemy” poorly. While America didn’t commit crimes against humanity or starve their prisoners to death, they did create Japanese internment camps that were supposed to hold Americans that had Japanese ancestry. Have students read books about this lesser known part of WWII: http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/Japanese-Internment-Camps.html

WWII: American Advertising for WWII.

Germany wasn’t the only one to use propaganda in the war. America also enjoyed a good amount of propaganda. Even Superman had comics that were fairly racist and heavy on the propaganda (http://img.moonbuggy.org/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/). Why do you think this sort of thing is used, even today?

LS5603: Nonfiction2- The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fleming, Candace. The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia. Schwartz & Wade Books: New York. 2014. ISBN 978-0-375-86782-8

2.     PLOT SUMMARY

Did Anastasia survive the murder of the Romanovs? Did the holy man Rasputin survive multiple assassination attempts only to die of hypothermia? How did the royal family live in the last years before being toppled by the Bolsheviks? All these questions and more are answered in Candace Fleming’s book about the Romanovs and Russia. Fleming weaves the lives of the Romanovs with the growing unrest and political upheaval in Russia to create an unbiased but compelling view of Russia during the fall of Imperial Russia. Starting with Tsar Alexander II (Anastasia’s great-grandfather) to set the scene, and moving to the last Romanovs, the narrative goes into depth about an area of the world that is not often covered in traditional history books in America.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Family Romanov contains a copious amount of notes. Her bibliography, notes, and index sections are over 30 pages long. Her sources are all primary sources from biographies, journals, and notes from the time period. She also accounts for every single quote in the book in the notes section with which primary source it came from. For help researchers or those interested in further reading, she also included a page about online sources that have authenticated information about the Romanovs and Russia. These pages are also a good place to find more pictures of the Romanov family, as the pictures are the one thing this book seems to have skimped on.

The only disappointment with this book is that the pictures are done in a more traditional way—all together in two sections, making mini-photobooks in the book, instead of spread out throughout the story to illustrate particular instance. However, even though this layout is not the most ideal way to insert pictures to help the narrative, it is still good that the book contains many pictures of the royal family and of Russians.

Besides the unintuitive picture layout, the rest of the book is organized smoothly. Following a chronological time period, it narrates the Romanovs lives, often from journals or from those close to the royal family. Uniquely, it also has excerpts (offset by another color background) about living conditions for the common man at the same time in Russia, which gives a great deal of insight into the class divide that eventually brought about the end of Imperial rule. It acknowledges that one cannot discuss the Romanovs without also discussing the common people and the substandard living conditions they had to endure.

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Junior Library Guild selection

From The Horn Book- “Fleming has outdone herself with this riveting work of narrative nonfiction that appeals to the imagination as much as the intellect. Her focus here is not just the Romanovs, the last imperial family of Russia, but the Revolutionary leaders and common people as well.”

From Kirkus Reviews – “It’s an astounding and complex story, and Fleming lays it neatly out for readers unfamiliar with the context. […] Award-winning author Fleming crafts an exciting narrative from this complicated history and its intriguing personalities. It is full of rich details about the Romanovs, insights into figures such as Vladimir Lenin and firsthand accounts from ordinary Russians affected by the tumultuous events.”

5.     CONNECTIONS

Other non-fiction books by Candace Fleming:

• The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum by Candance Fleming and Ray Fenwick, ISBN 0375841970
• Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart, ISBN 0375841989
• The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary, ISBN 0375836187
• Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Remarkable Life, ISBN 0689865449
• Ben Franklin’s Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman’s Life, ISBN 0689835493

 Follow-up activities

How royalty lives/lived is something of constant fascination to everyone.  Even today, news about the royal family in England makes headlines on a regular basis. Although America never had a royal family, most other (older) countries do. What are those royal families like? Are they still around today? Have your students research other royal families. Did these other families end up the same way? If not, how did they stave off political upheaval? Are there other families who had similar ends (like the French)?

Royals who are still in power today:

• England: Elizabeth II, Queen
• Saudi Arabia: Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, King and Prime Minister
• Kuwait: Sabah Ahmed al-Sabah, Emir
• Qatar: Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Emir
• United Arab Emirates: Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Emir of Abu Dhabi
• Swaziland: King Mswati III, Ngwenyama
• Brunei: Sir Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan and Prime Minister
• Oman: Sultan Qaboos bin Said, King
• Bahrain: Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa
• Jordan: King Abdullah II
• Morocco: King Mohammad VI
• The Vatican: Pope Francis

Monarchs with some political power reside in Monaco, Thailand, Liechtenstein, Tonga, and Bhutan.

Monarchs who are ceremonial now: Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Spain, Greenland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Lesotho, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Japan

Most other countries, like Russia, had monarchs at some point but have since been deposed. These can also be used, as they have much in common with the former Russian government. 

References

Dewey, Caitlin & Max Fisher. Meet the world's other 25 royal families. Washington Post. July 22, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/07/22/meet-the-worlds-other-25-royal-families/ 

LS5603: Nonfiction1-- An American Plague by Jim Murphy

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY
Murphy, Jim. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. New York: Clarion Books, 2003. ISBN 0-395-77608-2

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
In 1793 a fever swept through Philadelphia, causing a panicked mass exodus, stopping Congress for months (Congress met at Philadelphia at the time), and killing thousands by the time it was done. No one knew the cause, only the symptoms. At first, it presented as a normal fever--chills, shakes, but then it took a turn for the worse. The skin and eyeballs turned yellow and the patient began to bleed internally and vomit black blood. Doctors prescribed everything from doses of mercury and aggressive blood-letting to tea and chicken broth. Jim Murphy's book takes the reader on a journey following the rise and fall of yellow fever to present day, where it remains a menace even for modern medicine.  

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Jim Murphy manages to successfully put an incredible amount of facts into a narrative format, making the reading more enjoyable for teens. His layout of his sources at the end of the book is a little unusual--instead of citing each quote and fact, he lists his sources according to subject and, for  many of them, he comments on what is in the source. While this makes it so that a reader trying to verify quotes would find their job difficult, a reader who wanted additional reading has a long, annotated list of books, magazines, articles, and collections to peruse. 

The book is put together in a narrative fashion and follows the events fairly chronologically. Not only does it talk about the disease, the "breakthroughs" in cures during the time, and the heroes that appeared to help, but it also spends a surprising amount of time talking about how the fever influenced politics both then and how it influenced policies that still affect us today. The last chapter in fact jumps the reader from 1793 though the next two centuries to modern day, leaving the reader in a fairly sober state of mind as they are reminded that yellow fever still has no cure.The design and style makes it an obvious book for young adults. Pictures are included occasionally for flavor, though it looks like Murphy had trouble with pictures as there were very few people keeping records during the plague, much less drawing pictures of the area. Because of this, many of the pictures are from other plagues, and the similarities are mentioned in the captions. Murphy does try to give pictures of as many people as possible mentioned though, to give a face to names given, which is nice. Overall it is a great example of a successful informative book that makes history interesting without giving up the facts. 

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
• James Madison Book Award
• National Book Award Finalist
• Orbis Pictus Award
• Newbery Honor Book
• From School Library Journal: "Murphy chronicles this frightening time with solid research and a flair for weaving facts into fascinating stories, beginning with the fever's emergence on August 3, when a young French sailor died in Richard Denny's boardinghouse on North Water Street. As church bells rang more and more often, it became horrifyingly clear that the de facto capital was being ravaged by an unknown killer. Largely unsung heroes emerged, most notably the Free African Society, whose members were mistakenly assumed to be immune and volunteered en masse to perform nursing and custodial care for the dying." 
• From Booklist: "History, science, politics, and public health come together in this dramatic account of the disastrous yellow fever epidemic that hit the nation's capital more than 200 years ago. Drawing on firsthand accounts, medical and non-medical, Murphy re-creates the fear and panic in the infected city, the social conditions that caused the disease to spread, and the arguments about causes and cures."

5.     CONNECTIONS
Other books by Jim Murphy:
·         Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America ISBN 0590673106
·         The Great Fire, ISBN 0439203074
·         Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting, ISBN 0545130492

 Follow-up activitiesHave the students do research on another disease, preferably one that’s caused epidemics on at least the scale of yellow fever. Have them compare and contrast the diseases. Which are curable today? Do any of them have vaccines? What are their causes? This can be easiliy tied into lessons about hygiene, the importance of sewage systems, information about various pests and bugs.Examples of other diseases
·         Typhoid
·         Smallpox
·         Bubonic plague (the black plague)
·         Measles
·         Malaria
·         Influenza
·         Cholera
·         HIV/AIDS
·         SARS
·         Ebola
·         Dengue fever
·         Mumps