Tag: Nonfiction

Educator’s Guide: My Selma: a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement by Willie Mae Brown

Educator’s Guide: My Selma: a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement by Willie Mae Brown

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My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement
By Willie Mae Brown
Ages 10-14
On Sale Now!

Combining family stories of the everyday and the extraordinary as seen through the eyes of her twelve-year-old self, Willie Mae Brown gives readers an unforgettable portrayal of her coming of age in a town at the crossroads of history.

As the civil rights movement and the fight for voter rights unfold in Selma, Alabama, many things happen inside and outside the Brown family’s home that do not have anything to do with the landmark 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Yet the famous outrages which unfold on that span form an inescapable backdrop in this collection of stories. In one, Willie Mae takes it upon herself to offer summer babysitting services to a glamorous single white mother—a secret she keeps from her parents that unravels with shocking results. In another, Willie Mae reluctantly joins her mother at a church rally, and is forever changed after hearing Martin Luther King Jr. deliver a defiant speech in spite of a court injunction.

Infused with the vernacular of her Southern upbringing, My Selma captures the voice and vision of a fascinating young person—perspicacious, impetuous, resourceful, and even mystical in her ways of seeing the world around her—who gifts us with a loving portrayal of her hometown while also delivering a no-holds-barred indictment of the time and place.

Download the educator’s guide for My Selma here!
DOWNLOAD MY SELMA eDUCATORS GUIDE HERE→

Educator’s Guide: Torpedoed by Deborah Heiligman

Educator’s Guide: Torpedoed by Deborah Heiligman

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Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of ‘The Children’s Ship’ by Deborah Heiligman

From award-winning author Deborah Heiligman comes Torpedoed, a true account of the attack and sinking of the passenger ship SS City of Benares, which was evacuating children from England during WWII.

Amid the constant rain of German bombs and the escalating violence of World War II, British parents by the thousands chose to send their children out of the country: the wealthy, independently; the poor, through a government relocation program called CORB. In September 1940, passenger liner SS City of Benares set sail for Canada with one hundred children on board.

When the war ships escorting the Benares departed, a German submarine torpedoed what became known as the Children’s Ship. Out of tragedy, ordinary people became heroes. This is their story.

DOWNLOAD THE TEACHER’S GUIDE HERE →

Educator’s Guide: The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

Educator’s Guide: The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

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The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
By Dashka Slater
Ages 12-18
On Sale Now!

Dashka Slater’s The 57 Bus, a riveting nonfiction book for teens about race, class, gender, crime, and punishment, tells the true story of an agender teen who was set on fire by another teen while riding a bus in Oakland, California.

A New York Times Bestseller
Stonewall Book Award Winner—Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist

One teenager in a skirt.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.

If it weren’t for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one.

Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.

Download The 57 Bus educator’s guide here →

Educator’s Guide: The Sun Does Shine (Young Readers Edition)

Educator’s Guide: The Sun Does Shine (Young Readers Edition)

Educator’s Guide: The Sun Does Shine (Young Readers Edition)

The Sun Does Shine (Young Readers Edition)
By Anthony Ray Hinton
with Lara Love Hardin and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Ages 10 to 14
On Sale Now!

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year

The Sun Does Shine is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times, now adapted for younger readers, with a revised foreword by Just Mercy author Bryan Stevenson.

In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only 29 years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free.

But with a criminal justice system with the cards stacked against Black men, Hinton was sentenced to death . He spent his first three years on Death Row in despairing silence angry and full of hatred for all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.

With themes both timely and timeless, Hinton’s memoir tells his dramatic 30-year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy.

DOWNLOAD THE SUN DOES SHINE EDUCATORS GUIDE HERE→

Discussion Guide: Don’t Look Back

Discussion Guide: Don’t Look Back

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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!

Teacher’s Guide: Anzu the Great Listener!

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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

Teacher’s Guide: Himawari House

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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

Teacher’s Guide: The Lost Year

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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!

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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 →