Tag: Nonfiction

Discussion Guide: Don’t Look Back

Don’t Look Back: A Memoir of War, Survival, and My Journey from Sudan to America
By Achut Deng and Keely Hutton
Ages 12-18
On Sale Now!

In this propulsive memoir from Achut Deng and Keely Hutton, inspired by a harrowing New York Times article, Don’t Look Back tells a powerful story showing both the ugliness and the beauty of humanity, and the power of not giving up.

I want life.

After a deadly attack in South Sudan left six-year-old Achut Deng without a family, she lived in refugee camps for ten years, until a refugee relocation program gave her the opportunity to move to the United States. When asked why she should be given a chance to leave the camp, Achut simply told the interviewer: I want life.

But the chance at starting a new life in a new country came with a different set of challenges. Some of them equally deadly. Taught by the strong women in her life not to look back, Achut kept moving forward, overcoming one obstacle after another, facing each day with hope and faith in her future. Yet, just as Achut began to think of the US as her home, a tie to her old life resurfaced, and for the first time, she had no choice but to remember her past.

Download the discussion guide for Don’t Look Back here!

Click below to watch a video of Achut and Keely talking about the message behind Don’t Look Back.

Find out more about THE LOST YEAR HERE→

Teacher’s Guide: Anzu the Great Listener!

Anzu the Great Listener
By Benson Shum
Ages 4-8
On Sale Now!

In this follow-up to Anzu the Great Kaiju, created by Walt Disney Studios animator Benson Shum, we follow sweet and well-intentioned Anzu as he learns a valuable lesson about patience and empathy in the face of sadness—perfect for fans of The Rabbit Listened.

Anzu the kaiju loves to tend to his bonsai.

Whenever he feels overwhelmed or unsettled, it helps him pause and reminds him to just . . . breathe.

One day, when Anzu hears crying in the distance, he’s eager to help! The flower-power that makes his bonsai bloom has a way of making others smile.

But when Anzu’s flowers seem to lose their power, hurting more than they help, he’s not sure where to turn—until he remembers some valuable lessons he learned from his bonsai tree.

In Anzu the Great Listener, creator and Walt Disney Studios animator Benson Shum illustrates the importance of patience, empathy, and above all, taking the time to listen.

DOWNLOAD THE ANZU THE GREAT LISTENER TEACHER’S GUIDE HERE→

Teacher’s Guide: Himawari House

Himawari House
By Harmony Becker
Ages 14-18
On Sale Now

A young adult graphic novel about three foreign exchange students and the pleasures, and difficulties, of adjusting to living in Japan.

Living in a new country is no walk in the park—Nao, Hyejung, and Tina can all attest to that. The three of them became fast friends through living together in the Himawari House in Tokyo and attending the same Japanese cram school. Nao came to Japan to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, while Hyejung and Tina came to find freedom and their own paths. Though each of them has her own motivations and challenges, they all deal with language barriers, being a fish out of water, self discovery, love, and family.

Download the teacher’s guide for Himawari House here!

Find out more about Himawari House HERE→

Teacher’s Guide: The Lost Year

The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine
By Katherine Marsh
Ages 10-14
On Sale January 17

From the author of Nowhere Boy – called “a resistance novel for our times” by The New York Times – comes a brilliant middle-grade survival story that traces a harrowing family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine that devastated Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s.

Thirteen-year-old Matthew is miserable. His journalist dad is stuck overseas indefinitely, and his mom has moved in his one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother to ride out the pandemic, adding to his stress and isolation.

But when Matthew finds a tattered black-and-white photo in his great-grandmother’s belongings, he discovers a clue to a hidden chapter of her past, one that will lead to a life-shattering family secret. Set in alternating timelines that connect the present-day to the 1930s and the US to the USSR, Katherine Marsh’s latest novel sheds fresh light on the Holodomor – the horrific famine that killed millions of Ukrainians, and which the Soviet government covered up for decades.

An incredibly timely, page-turning story of family, survival, and sacrifice, inspired by Marsh’s own family history, The Lost Year is perfect for fans of Ruta Sepetys’ Between Shades of Gray and Alan Gratz’s Refugee.

Download the teacher’s guide for The Lost Year here!

Find out more about THE LOST YEAR HERE→

Phillip Hoose Teacher’s Guides

Download the teacher’s guides for these must-read nonfiction books by Philip Hoose,
perfect for your classroom library!

Phillip Hoose is an award-winning author of books, essays, stories, songs and articles. Although he first wrote for adults, he turned his attention to children and young adults in part to keep up with his own daughters.

His newest book, Duet: Our Journey in Song with the Northern Mockingbird, is story of the impactful partnership between humans and mockingbirds, both scientifically and culturally over the centuries. His book Claudette Colvin won a National Book Award and a Newbery Honor. He is also the author of It’s Our World, Too!; The Race to Save the Lord God Bird; The Boys Who Challenged Hitler; and We Were There, Too!, a National Book Award finalist, and Attucks! He has received a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, a Christopher Award, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and multiple Robert F. Sibert Honor Awards, among numerous honors.

Download teacher’s guides here →

Discussion Guide: We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride

We Are All So Good at Smiling
by Amber McBride
Ages 14-17
On Sale 1/10/2023
ISBN: 9781250780386

They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.

Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.

They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.

The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years.

Download the We Are All So Good at Smiling discussion guide here!

Praise for We Are All So Good at Smiling

“The choice of verse to tell this absorbing story is a strong one; readers are drawn along by the intense and vivid imagery, and the depictions of clinical depression, guilt, and grief are visceral. McBride explores the impact of the intersection between Blackness and mental illness … and the difficulties of two unusual young people finding refuge through friendship from the pressures the world exerts on them. Whimsy’s practice of Hoodoo and the empowerment she receives from the magic inside and around her help her contend with her depression and unravel her grief without negating a brutal, yet ultimately hopeful, reality. ..Important messages uniquely delivered.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“McBride makes exceptional use of the verse novel format, with some poems reading almost as detailed and descriptive prose, while other entries are just a few judiciously chosen lines that make readers slow down and work a bit to parse out full meaning.” —Bulletin of the Center of Children’s Books, starred review

“Raw and poignant and promising hope, even when it seems there is no way out… promises hope.” —Shelf Awareness

“McBride’s lush free-verse poetry creates a vibrant world teetering between the real and the magical, but the images and atmosphere act as background to serious issues … Although the subject matter is heavy, the book serves as a reminder that, as sorrow and loss come for everyone, no one is alone. Back matter addresses mental health and expands on the story’s elements from fairy tales and folklore.” —The Horn Book

Teacher’s Guide: She Sang for India

She Sang for India: How M.S. Subbulakshmi Used Her Voice for Change by Suma Subramaniam; illustrated by Shreya Gupta
Ages 4-8
On Sale Now!

A picture book biography about M.S. Subbulakshmi, a powerful Indian singer who advocated for justice and peace through song.

Before M.S. Subbulakshmi was a famous Carnatic singer and the first Indian woman to perform at the United Nations, she was a young girl with a prodigious voice.

But Subbulakshmi was not free to sing everywhere. In early 1900s India, girls were not allowed to perform for the public. So Subbulakshmi busted barriers to sing at small festivals. Eventually, she broke tradition to record her first album. She did not stop here. At Gandhi’s request, Subbulakshmi sang for India’s freedom. Her fascinating odyssey stretched across borders, and soon she was no longer just a young prodigy. She was a woman who changed the world.

Download the She Sang for India teacher’s guide here!

Teacher’s Guide: Call Him Jack

Call Him Jack: The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter
By Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long
Ages 10-14
On Sale Now!

An enthralling, eye-opening portrayal of this barrier-breaking American hero as a lifelong, relentlessly proud fighter for Black justice and civil rights.

According to Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson was “a sit-inner before the sit-ins, a freedom rider before the Freedom Rides.” According to Hank Aaron, Robinson was a leader of the Black Power movement before there was a Black Power movement. According to his wife, Rachel Robinson, he was always Jack, not Jackie—the diminutive form of his name bestowed on him in college by white sports writers. And throughout his whole life, Jack Robinson was a fighter for justice, an advocate for equality, and an inspiration beyond just baseball.

From prominent Robinson scholars Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long comes Call Him Jack, an exciting biography that recovers the real person behind the legend, reanimating this famed figure’s legacy for new generations, widening our focus from the sportsman to the man as a whole, and deepening our appreciation for his achievements on the playing field in the process.

Download the Call Him Jack teacher’s guide here!

Find out more about CALL HIM JACK here →

Stories to share with your community on Juneteenth and beyond

On June 19, 1865 in Galveston, TX, enslaved African Americans were finally informed of their freedom, despite the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation two years prior. Juneteenth is also referred to as “Freedom Day”, “Emancipation Day”, and “Juneteenth Independence Day.” The first celebrations of Juneteenth were about honoring former enslaved people. Today celebrations of Juneteenth consist of gathering with family, BBQs, parades, festivals, beauty contests, and other celebratory events to remember the lives of their enslaved ancestors.

For those who would like to learn more, we recommend reading “Juneteenth: The Growth of an African-American Holiday” and “So You Want to Learn About Juneteenth?”

Learn more about these books →