3.Literature+List

Erica Jacob's Literature List:
 1. //My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States// by Lee Bennett Hopkins This book contains about 50 different poems that focus on geography, climate, and other social studies themes. Some of the poems in the book are from historical figures’ perspectives. The time era of the poems is varied as well and represents different cultures and ethnicities. The pictures within the book are detailed and very well illustrated.  2. //The United States Region by Region// by Patricia Kummer The book is a non-fiction text and contains great photographs. The book describes each of the five different regions of the United States. The book contains information on climate, landforms, culture, and history for each region.  3. //Saguaro Moon//: //A Desert Journal// by Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini This is a fictional book about a girl named Megan who has just moved to Arizona and becomes friends with a Native American boy. The book describes some of the boy’s Native American history. The book also focuses on the geography and animals present in Arizona and the Southwest region. The illustrations in the book are watercolors and help students understand the different plants and animals present in the text.  4. //The Year of Miss Agnes// by Kirkpatrick Hill The story takes place in Alaska and is written from the perspective of a ten-year-old student. The story focuses on the student’s new teacher who has just moved to Alaska. Miss Agnes exposes the students to music and myths, and creates a fun learning environment. Miss Agnes also teaches the class about Alaska, the village life in Alaska, and about their culture. This book is great for teaching students about Alaska and the Western region.  5. //Friends from the Other Side// by Gloria Anzaldua The story is about a Mexican American girl named Prietita, who lives in Texas, and meets a young boy named Joaquin who has just illegally immigrated to the United States from Mexico. The story focuses on their friendship. It provides students with a story on immigration where they can relate to the characters. The book also provides great illustrations that represent Texas and the Southwest region of the United States.

Jessica Chitty's Literature List:


1) Title: READING RAINBOW : MY AMERICA: A POETRY ATLAS

Author: LeVar Burton and Lee Bennett Hopkins

Brief Summary: This book is a collection of poetry based on key places in the United States and about each region.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">2) Title: America the Beautiful

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Author: Katharine Lee Bates

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Brief Summary: This book is about the song America the Beautiful. Katharine wrote this book based upon all of the places she was describing when she wrote this song. This book is excellent because at the end it gives the locations and a description of where they are located and what they are.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">3) Title: Hello, Florida!

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Author: Heather Tomasello

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Brief Summary: This book goes through the main landmarks of Florida and gives the name of the city. This is seems elementary but could help students brake down the state of Florida in more detail.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">4) Title: The Watsons go to Birmingham

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Brief Summary: This book is an excellent multicultural source for children. It is about a family who takes a road trip to Birmingham. Through this book you are able to see different cultures and perspectives from one region to the next.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Farrah Alikh's Literature List:


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Title:__** Harriet Tubman: Leading the Way to Freedom

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Author:__** Laurie Calkhoven

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Summary:__** This book is about Harriet Tubman. It is a biography of her life and her contributions to slavery. It begins by explaining her life as a child in slavery and later how she was able to help other slaves escape to the north to freedom through the efforts of the Underground Railroad. I think this book would be great for kids to learn more about someone who lived a part of history they simply cant imagine. It also connects with our cultural studies because it shows them how African Americans lived, the way of life they grew accustomed too and showed where they stood in this time frame and what they were going to do about it!


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Title:__** San Francisco: A Photographic Tour

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Illustrator:__** Carol M. Highsmith and Ted Landphair

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Summary:__** This book is simply a book of photographs of San Francisco, California. I feel this helps the students see how culture is different in all parts of the states. They are use to seeing the geographic features of Florida and only the places they visited. This book allows them to see how geography correlates to culture and how different climates and geographical features influence buildings, dress, and way of life in that area.


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Title:__** Washington D.C.: A Photographic Celebration

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Author:__** Courage Books (Every Photograph was taken by a different photographer)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Summary:__** The book starts off by giving you a little insight to the history behind Washington D.C. It explains the geography, the concept of the capital city and how Thomas Jefferson was the inspirer for the look of the capital. The pictures here are exquisite. I feel the images are able to give a look at the architecture and how it is inspired by all of the different individuals that live there. It exhibits the monuments, the memories of all of the different events that took place in our country, the people, their dress and how we have so many individual cultures that make up our communities. They show images of china town and how that culture is oriented in the city. Along with images of Adams-Morgan which is named the most ethnically diverse neighborhood, and it shows all of the international contributions to that area and the residents that reside there. I think it really helps children pull out the culture they never thought to look for before.


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Title:__** Moy Moy

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Author:__** Leo Politi

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Summary:__** This is a fictional story about a Chinese girl who lives in Los Angeles and how she participates in the celebration of Chinese New Year. Everyone on her street loves her and watches her play with her toy bee as she comes down the street. Her brothers at school learn how to read and write and later end up surprising her with a card that they made in class that says Happy New Year Moy Moy. The book tells of how the children prepare for the celebration and we are able to see through Leo’s beautiful illustrations the children’s lion dance and the dragon parade. I think this is a really cute book that can help students realize how different cultures practice their beliefs in the United States, even today.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Alyssa Larr's Literature List:

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">1. Navajo wedding day : a Dine marriage ceremony / by Eleanor Schick. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">I found this book at the Orange County Public Library. It’s a story about a young girl who attends the cousin of her best friend’s wedding. She ends up learning a lot about the traditions, cultures and customs of the Navajo Indians living in the Southwest region of the United States.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">2. Watching desert wildlife / by Jim Arnosky <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">This book is all about the wildlife found in the southwest. I think children will enjoy reading this book because of the vivid pictures. Also, they can compare what they find in our live in Florida to what is found in the American Southwest.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">3. Finding Susie : by Sandra Day O'Connor ; illustrated by Tom Pohrt <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">This is my favorite book out of all of the books I found. This is about a young girl who really wants a pet to keep her company. Her parents allow her to take after wild pets from the desert. Each time she takes care of a pet, she realizes that it will be happier in its natural habitat and she sets it free.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">4. Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest/ Gerald McDermott <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">This book is about a troublemaker Coyote who decides he wants to fly with the crows. He quickly realizes that he doesn’t have the capability of flying and it ends in a disaster for him. He plummets down and his tail catches on fire, which is still black to this day.