The Levitical Readings and Reactions

  Title- Freedom Summer  Author/Retold- Deborah Wiles Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue Genre- Coretta Scott King  Grade level- 1st Grade-3rd Grade The story begins with the narrator and his black friend, John Henry. They are very close friends and do a lot together during the summer time. They swim in a creek together. They both can’t go tot he then pool because only white people can go to the pool. They go to town for an ice pop. Joe could enter the store but John Henry couldn’t. Joe’s mother and father tell him that everyone of any color can go to he store, pool, etc. Joe told John Henry and they decided to both go to the pool and jump of the high dive together. When they got to the pool, they saw workers fill up the pool with tar. John wanted to go the pool and he was upset and joe finally understood why his friend was upset. He wanted to see this life they way his friend did. They decided to go get a popsicle and they both entered the shop together.  This book is a great representa

Title- A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers Author/Retold- Nancy Willard Illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen Genre- Newbery Medal Grade level- 3rd Grade-5th Grade Awards- Caldecott Medal This book is a collection of poems that takes the reader on a tour of William Blake’s inn. One of the poems starts off by introducing the inn and how the inn is owned by William Blake. It talks about all the beasts that were tamed and how many stars he has named. They also talk about the two dragons that bake and brew things for him. The poem also talks about two angels that clean his featherbeds and create snowmen in honor of William Blake. The last poem of the book is about their journey coming to a close and how they have to back to real life. The narrator says good bye to the friends they made and reminisce on the memories they had. They tell travelers if they go to an inn where rabbits make your bed and dragons bake your bread, give their love to W

Title- The Funny Little Woman  Author/Retold- Arlene Mosel Illustrated by Blair Lent Grade level- 3rd Grade-5th Grade Awards- Caldecott Medal The story begins with a lady who has a funny laugh and she is making dumplings. One day, one of her dumplings fell in a hole in her house and she tried to get it. A hole 8n her house opened and she and the dumpling fell through the hole. She landed in a big room with many statues. She went to one of the statues and asked where her dumpling went. The statue said it passed by a couple of minutes ago. The statue also warned her not to go down the road cause the wicked oni is down there. She laughed and she said that she’s not scared of any oni. Other statues along the path have the same warning and again she laughed and wasn’t scared. Oni smelled the human and grabbed the lady and brought her back to his tribe of other oni. They said they won’t hurt her if she cooked for them. The oni had a magical ladle that made multiple bowls of rice from one gra

Title- Houseboat Mystery   Author/Retold- Gertrude Chandler Warner Narrated by Tim Gregory Genre- audiobook  Grade level- 2nd through 6th The Aldin children are bored during summer and they decide to go on a drive. They take a chance on a road they have never gone down and they see a houseboat. They are so interested in it, they rent it for a couple of weeks. When they are leaving to prepare for the adventure, a mysterious black car drives very fast by them. On their trip, they see this car and the mysterious everywhere they land with the houseboat. Along each stop mysterious thing keep happening such as an expensive case goes missing, someone breaks into their houseboat and steals their clock, and they see someone spying on their boat. They also figure out that people along each route are getting extorted by someone, but they don’t know who. One day on their houseboat, they find the missing vase in the fire sand box. They set a trap with the police on the house boat and they catch the

Title- The Price of Pioneer Journey  Author/Retold- Barbra M. Lined Illustrated by N/A Genre- nonfiction/biography  Grade level- 1st through 3rd grade The book begins with people leaving for the west for a better life. Most settlers went on the Oregon Trail. The Oregon trail started in 2 cities, St. Joseph and Independence. The book talks about certain types of foods, animals, and supplies they brought on their trip to the west. The Oregon trail is filled with many rivers that they had cross by either bridge or ferry. In the middle of the trail, setters could buy supplies at Ft. Laramine before heading through the Rocky Mountains. The end of the trail would end in Oregon City where people could start their new life in the west. This is a great book that combines two subjects, history and math. Throughout the book, they would talk about how much something back then might have cost and they practice adding and subtracting in historical setting. The book also has a glossary for the bolder

  Title- Expanding a nation, Cause and Effects Of the Louisiana Purchase Author/Retold- Elizabeth Raum  Illustrated by N/A Genre- nonfiction/biography  Grade level- 2nd through 6th grade The book starts off with what we’re the causes of the Louisiana Purchase. The first is that the United States needed a river route. The US couldn’t use Mississippi because it was in the territory owned by the French. The second cause was that France took control of Louisiana from the Spanish and the US were afraid that the French would take control of US trade routes. The third and fourth causes were that Saint-Dominique was overrun and they didn’t need Louisiana to support it anymore, and Napoleon needed cash because they had to keep the fighting the British in Europe and they needed money to support them. The US and France finally came to an agreement and France sold the land to the US and congress approved the purachase. There were multiple effects that happened after the Louisiana Purchase. The fir

Title- Michelangelo, His Life and Art Author/Retold- Charles G. Quill Illustrated by N/A Genre- nonfiction/biography  Grade level- 3rd through 7th grade The biography starts with Michelangelo and his childhood life in Florence, Italy. Michelangelo was a alive in the time of the Renaissance. Michelangelo was very interested in statues and started to carve his own out of marble. Lorenzo de Medici saw that Michelangelo was talented and invited him to live in his palace and learn about art and history. Michelangelo then moved to Rome and started making art that made him famous such as the Pieta. Then he created one of his master pieces called David in Florence. One of Michelangelo greatest works was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel called frescoes. Some of Michelangelo greatest pieces of architecture were the tomb of Pope Julius the Second and the Dome of St. Peter. One of his last art pieces was the Florentine Pieta which was his won grave. He died in 1564 at the age of 89. This

Title- Shaka, King of the Zulus Author/Retold- Diane Stanley, Peter Vennema Illustrated by Diane Stanley  Genre- nonfiction/biography  Grade level- 3rd through 7th grade The story starts off with the legendary king Shaka as a child. He liked to watch the cattle in the field. One day, a wild dog came and killed one of the sheep while Shaka was on duty. His father was very angry. Her mother stood up to protect her son and his mother was outcasted from the tribe. From that point on the children would make fun of Shaka and his mother would comfort him. Then a great famine came across the land. His mother and himself settled in another tribe. He found new friends in this new tribe and he grew up strong. He even killed a leopard and the tribe praised him. Shaka begin to train as a warrior and Shaka helped to develop a new weapon. Shaka used his weapon when he fought as a champion for his tribe and won. Shaka began to his own men into battle and the leader of his tribe made Shaka the new chie

  Title- The Story of Napoleon  Author/Retold- L. Du Garde Peach Illustrated by John Kenney  Genre- nonfiction/biography  Grade level- 7th grade-12th grade The story begins Napoleon being born in Corsica, France. He was sent to military school and was bullied in school because he was poor. Napoleon had an amazing memory and has a skill for military strategy. He became a sub-lieutenant of an artillery regiment and then promoted to captain. His home island was in a revolt and they sent him to stop it. He helped his family leave the island and gave them a home in France. The French Revolution started and Napoleon helped to get back a  port. After winning the port, Napoleon was promoted to brigadier and was put into many other campaigns. He came back to France and had to put down an armed revolt. He was made a general and married Josephine de Beauharnais. He started a new campaign in Italy and helped refill the French treasury. They were still at war with Britain and they were fighting all