The Devil's Arithmetic

The Devil's Arithmetic 

Author: Jane Yolen 

Grade Level: 7-8

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Awards: National Jewish Book Award

Summary: This book is about a girl named Hannah Stern.  Hannah is a Jewish girl living in New York during the Passover Seder.  During this time, all of Hannah's family is home to celebrate this important time of year for their faith.  While they are over, Hannah keeps getting frustrated with her grandparent's constant talk of what life use to be like for them during WWII.  During this celebration, Hannah is tasked to open the door in hopes of seeing the prophet Elijah.  When she opens the door, Hannah is transported to Poland in 1942.  She doesn't know anyone around her, but they all seem to know her and call her Chaya.  They are soon taken to a concentration camp.  It is here where Hannah witnesses events that took place in the concentration camps.  The more time Hannah spends in the camp, the more she forgets her life as Hannah.  One fateful day, a Nazi soldier chooses three girls to send to their death.  Hannah is the only one he decides to spare.  Instead of saving her own life, she offers herself in the place of Rivka.  As Hannah is led to her death, darkness surrounds her.  She is then back in her New York home awaiting the arrival of prophet Elijah.  Back at the dinner table, Hannah's aunt Eva asks if she is okay.  Noticing the tattoo on her aunts arm, Hannah asks about it.  She soon finds out that Rivka was her aunt Eva.  Hannah then tells her aunt what happened when she opened the door for the prophet Elijah, an event that changed her life and saved her aunt's.

Evaluation: I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  The story is told in a way that makes reader feel as though they are there experiencing what the character is experiencing.  I plan to have this in my classroom because I think it is a book students need to be exposed to.

I put the readability between seventh and eighth grade.  Even though younger grades could read the text itself, I think the themes would be difficult for them to understand.  Even with older students, they will need some exposure to the vocabulary before they read this book. 

I plan to use this text during the Holocaust unit in my classroom.  Even though I may not have this book as a whole-class book club, I want students to have access to this book in my classroom.  The book gives a lot of information about what it might have been like for someone inside a concentration camp during the Holocaust.  This book could then be used to teach point-of-view and perspective.  

The Book Thief

The Book Thief 

Author: Markus Zusak 

Grade Level: 7-8

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Awards: Kathleen Mitchell Award, National Jewish Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, Indies Choice Book Award for Children's Literature 

Summary: The narrator, Death, tells the story of a young girl named Liesel.  Liesel, her mother, and brother were on a train to another area of Germany to receive help during WWII.  After Liesel's brother dies on the train ride, her and her mother stop somewhere to bury him.  When they bury him, Liesel steals her first book.  Once they arrive in Munich, Liesel is forced to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann.  As the war is getting worse, life in Germany also gets worse.  Liesel steals another book by saving it from the pile of books the Nazi's were burning.  Around this time, the Hubermann family take on the danger of hiding a Jew in their home.  Throughout the story, Liesel not only learns to read and write, but she learns that unexpected people can become like family.  At the end, Hans, Rosa, and Rudy all die after an air raid comes for their neighborhood.  Liesel is left alone, again, forced to say goodbye to those she had come to love.  Two years later, Liesel reunites with the Jew the hid and remain close friends until his death.  Death does come for Liesel, but not until after she lived a long life.

Evaluation: This was such a good book.  I read through this book with a group of students in one of my education courses.  This book led to a lot of great discussions in that group.  During my student teaching, I have found that this book is very popular among eight graders (I can see why!).  Almost all of the students I've talked to have loved this book.  Some have even said it's among their top favorite books.  That being said, I plan to have this book in my classroom.

The readability is between seventh and eighth grade.  The subject matter in this book may be difficult to read for younger students because it takes place during WWII when the Nazi's took over Germany.  Because seventh and eighth graders should have already had some exposure to this subject, they should be old enough to understand the themes in this book.

Because most schools require eighth grade ELA teachers to cover the Holocaust, this book would be a powerful additional read to present to the students.  If your school does not require you read through a particular book (the school I'm at requires us to read through Night as a class), I highly recommend using this one.  You could use this book as a guide to create a timeline of events during WWII.

These Hands

These Hands 

Author: Margaret H. Manson
Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Grade Level: 3-5

Genre: Historical Fiction

Awards: Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text 

Summary: In this book, a grandfather is showing his grandson, Joseph, all the things that his hands can do.  He can tie shoes, play piano, shuffle cards, and play baseball.  He then begins to tell his grandson what his hands used to not be able to do.  His hands couldn't touch bread in the factory because of his skin color.  So, he joined hands with others, made signs, and raised his voice.  Now, no matter a persons skin color, they can touch the dough in the factory. 

Evaluation: I think the illustrations in this work are amazing.  I love how this book tells about a dark time in our country's history in a way that can be better understood by younger students.  This is definitely a book I will use in my future classroom. 

The readability is between third and fifth grade.  The text in this book includes simpler vocabulary and uses repetition about what the grandfather's hands can do.  Even though the book is talking about a topic that might be difficult for younger readers to understand, the book describes it in an understandable way.

One way I can use this book in my future classroom is when we come across texts that deal with racism.  I think this book will be an impactful addition to that subject.  I also think this book could open up good conversations.  Even in its simplicity, this book can help spark deeper conversations about our country and what racism looked like years ago and compare it to what it looks like now.  This book could then lead to a compare and contrast writing assignment. 

Henry's Freedom Box

Henry's Freedom Box 

Author: Ellen Levine 

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson 

Grade Level: 3-5

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Awards: Caldecott Medal 

Summary: This book follows the story of Henry.  Henry is torn away from his family at a young age and is forced to work as a slave in a warehouse.  He gets older and soon marries a young woman and has several children.  Sadly, Henry's family is torn away from him when they are sold in a slave market.  Determined to find reunite with his family, Henry ships himself to the North in a shipping box.  After this long, tiresome journey, Henry is finally free.

Evaluation: The retelling of this story is impactful, not only in the way Ellen Levine writes the story, but in the illustrations by Kadir Nelson.  I plan to use this in my classroom because it is a powerful work.  I think middle school students would be moved by the story and how the emotions are presented in the illustrations. 

The grade appropriateness is between third and fifth grade.  There might be some vocabulary words that will be unfamiliar to younger readers.  That being said, this could be a story to introduce after you've had the chance to go over that time in our country's history to help build a knowledge of some of those vocabulary words. 

I could read this book to my middle school students when they begin to come across slavery in their textbook readings.  This would be a powerful book to show them the great links many people went through in order to be free.  This book could then lead into a writing reflection time. 

The War That Saved My Like

The War That Saved My Like

Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 

Grade Level: 3-8
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: Newbery Honor

Summary: Ada Smith is a young girl growing up during the time of World War II.  Being born with a clubfoot, it is near impossible for Ada to walk without assistance.  Being seen as a nuisance, Ada's mother confines her to their small apartment window to view the outside world she will never be apart of.  Because of the war, Ada leaves London with her brother Jamie.  While most children are being sent away to save their life, Ada leaves in order to be free of her mother's abuse.  It is during this time Ada and Jamie are taken in by Miss Susan Smith.  While staying with Miss Smith, Ada and Jamie's lives change.  Ada makes friends, rides a horse named Butter, learns to read, and catches a German spy.  When Ada and Jamie's mother shows up to take them back to London, they are both terrified and heartbroken.  One night, Ada stands up and breaks free of her mother's grasp and decides to leave with Jamie.  Before they were able to leave, bombs were dropped in London.  Surviving, they are reconnected with Susan, expectant for a better tomorrow.

Evaluation: The moment I began reading this, I was hooked.  This book puts the perspective of the war in the eyes of a young girl who has faced a very difficult life.  I plan on using this book in my future classroom.  I believe students will be able to connect with Ada in unexpecting ways.

The age appropriateness is between grades three and eight.  While the subject matter of World War II is intense, this book teaches it in a relatable way for young readers.  It helps paint what life was like for someone their age.

One way I can use this book is during the Holocaust/World War II  reading unit.  This can be a book students can choose from for the Holocaust/World War II book club.  Students can focus on "voice" and "perspective."