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Historical Fiction

January 11, 2022 by Mary Ann Cappiello

Exploring Language, Leadership, Love, and More: Teaching Ideas for The Beatryce Prophecy

This hopeful story of language, leadership, and love has so much to offer readers as an independent read, a whole class read aloud, or a book club exploration. Our weary, virus-laden world needs the goodness and joy this book conjures. “What does, then, change the world?....Love, and also stories” (p. 247).

November 2, 2020 by Grace Enriquez

Navigating Family, Middle School, and the Universe in We Dream of Space

Set in January 1986 against the countdown to the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger, this coming-of-age novel by Newbery Award-winning author Erin Entrada Kelly tells the story of a family searching for something to bring their orbits into alignment with their dreams and with one another before disaster strikes.

March 25, 2020 by Mary Ann Cappiello

Using Online Museum Resources for Literacy Learning

Whether you are a K-12 teacher trying to support students online or a parent, grandparent, or family or community member trying to support learning for a range of students and ages during this period of disruption, we hope you can find these resources interesting and engaging, and these simple protocols helpful.

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More Recent Posts

Shedding Light on 20th Century Termination and Relocation Efforts with Indian No More

January 21, 2020 by Mary Ann Cappiello

Ideal for explorations of family, friendship, and identity, the impact of federal policies generationally on Native Americans, and the process by which we claim our own identities, Indian No More will linger in the hearts and minds of readers.

Exploring Race, Class, and School Integration with The Long Ride

January 13, 2020 by Mary Ann Cappiello

For independent and curricular explorations, The Long Ride offers readers a snapshot of a girl, a city, and a country trying to forge a new identity and a foundation for the future.

Exploring Women’s History and Gender Perspectives through Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc

March 4, 2019 by Mary Ann Cappiello

Ideal for verse novel genre study, an exploration of the power of poetry, historical fiction genre study, an examination of the lives of women in medieval Europe, and more, Voices has much to offer mature tween and teen readers and their teachers.

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2019 Coretta Scott King Honor Book: The Parker Inheritance

February 11, 2019 by Grace Enriquez

Winner of a 2019 Coretta Scott King Author Honor, The Parker Inheritance is a part historical fiction novel, part puzzle mystery full of masterful plot twists and clever riddles. Set in three distinct and alternating time periods, Author Varian Johnson weaves a mystery across time, place, and generations that captivates with every chapter.

The Night Diary

June 11, 2018 by Mary Ann Cappiello

The Night Diary Written by Veera Hiranandani Published by Dial Books for Young Readers, 2018 ISBN: 9780735228511 Grades 4- 8 Book Review “Wasn’t independence from the British supposed to free us? We’ve never been less free” (p. 194). So observes twelve-year-old Nisha, the protagonist of Veera Hiranandani’s gorgeous historical novel that offers contemporary readers a […]

Rebound

April 30, 2018 by Katie Cunningham

Rebound Written by Kwame Alexander and Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile Published in 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Grades 4-8 ISBN: 978-0-544-86813-7   Book Review In this much-anticipated prequel to his Newbery-winning novel The Crossover, Kwame Alexander draws from similar themes and the rhythm of basketball to transport readers back in time to 1988 with another […]

Bronze and Sunflower

May 15, 2017 by Mary Ann Cappiello

Guest blogger Fang Jia jointly authored this week’s entry with Mary Ann. In China, Fang teaches Chinese language and literature. Currently, she studies Curriculum and Instruction at Boston College. Bronze and Sunflower Written by Cao Wenxuan, translated by Helen Wang, illustrated by Meilo So Published by Candlewick Press, 2017 Originally published in Mandarin, 2005 ISBN: […]

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