Westward Journeys contains three stories focusing on the American westward expansion, including the Oregon Trail and the Oklahoma Land Run. In Minnow and Rose, Rose and her family are traveling with a wagon train heading west on the Oregon Trail. When she encounters Minnow, a young native girl, their meeting has life-changing results for both cultures. The Oklahoma Land Run is the topic in Pappy's Handkerchief. When Moses and his family hear of free farmland out in Oklahoma, they head west to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning their own land. After a difficult wagon trip, they arrive at the staging point for the Oklahoma Land Run. In A Book for Black-Eyed Susan, Cora's family is faced with tragedy during their journey on the Oregon Trail. When Cora learns she is to be separated from her baby sister, she creates a memento of their journey together.
In 1926, 12-year-old Fu Lee lives with his grandparents in a small village in China. He lives with his grandparents because his parents are dead. It is a difficult life but made easier by the love Lee shares with his grandparents. But now Lee must leave all that he knows. Before his parents died, they spent all of their money buying a "paper son slot" for Lee to go to America. Being a "paper son" means pretending to be the son of a family already in America. If he goes, he will have the chance for a better life. But first he must pass the test at Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco. Only then will he be allowed to live with his new family. If Lee makes even a single mistake, he could be sent back to China. Lee knows his grandparents want a better life for him. He can't let them down.
It's bad enough being the new kid, but as a freshman, Jimmy finds school less enjoyable than many of his classmates. Standing 5'5" and weighing 187 pounds, he's subjected to a daily barrage of taunts and torments. His only sources of comfort are his family, his youth group, and his favorite foods. When his English teacher assigns a journal as a writing project, Jimmy chronicles not only his struggles but also his aspirations - to lose weight and win the girl of his dreams. Inspired by a true story and told in first-person journal entries, The Fat Boy Chronicles brings to life the pain and isolation felt by many overweight teenagers as they try to find their way in a world obsessed with outward beauty.
This title provides information on Coal as a source of energy. It highlights the positives and negatives of coal and discusses clean coal technology.
Following a student conducting research, the reader learns about the history of natural gas, how we use it today, and how we may use natural gas in the future.
Following a student conducting research, the reader learns about nuclear power as an energy source. This exciting title covers the history of nuclear power, its pros and cons, how we use nuclear power today, and how we may use it in the future.
The ability to use the scientific method is key to carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks. In this book, readers in real-world situations are tasked with following clues and using the scientific method to find out what happens as animals approach extinction. Informational text presents evidence and facts in the form of clues and side-bar details to help children develop critical thinking skills. A summary of the situation is included to show how each chapter contributes to the whole and for a solid understanding of the topic.
This book relays the factual details of the Dust Bowl through multiple accounts of the event. Readers learn details from the point of view of an Oklahoma farmer, a migrant farm worker, and a government journalist. This book offers opportunities to compare and contrast various narrative perspectives in the text while gathering and analyzing information about an historical event.
This book relays the factual details of the Montgomery Bus Boycott through multiple accounts of the event. Readers learn details from the point of view of a civil rights activist, a church leader, and an opponent of the boycott. This book offers opportunities to compare and contrast various narrative perspectives in the text while gathering and analyzing information about an historical event.
This book relays the factual details of the War of 1812. The narrative provides multiple accounts of the event, and readers learn details from the point of view of a U.S. Soldier, a British soldier, and a privateer working on the side of the U.S. This book offers opportunities to compare and contrast various perspectives in a text while gathering and analyzing information about an historical event.
This book relays the factual details of the story of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The narrative provides multiple accounts of the event, and readers learn details through the point of view of a fireman fighting fires and rescuing others, a girl whose home is destroyed, and a resident of Chinatown. The text offers opportunities to compare and contrast various perspectives in the text while gathering and analyzing information about a historical event.
This book relays the factual details of the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. The narrative provides multiple accounts of the event, and readers learn details through the point of view of a teenage girl worker, a New York socialite, and a responding fireman. The text offers opportunities to compare and contrast various perspectives in the text while gathering and analyzing information about a historical event.
This book relays the factual details of the Great Depression in the United States during the 1930s. The narrative provides multiple accounts of the event, and readers learn details through the point of view of a government worker, a Civilian Conservation Corps worker, and a young daughter of an unemployed banker. The text offers opportunities to compare and contrast various perspectives in the text while gathering and analyzing information about a historical event.
This book relays the factual details of the U.S. homefront during World War II. The narrative provides multiple accounts of the event, and readers learn details through the point of view of a female bomber plant worker, an African-American worker, and a Japanese-American business owner. The text offers opportunities to compare and contrast various perspectives in the text while gathering and analyzing information about a historical event.
This book relays the factual details of immigration through the Angel Island station, which is near San Francisco, California. The narrative provides multiple accounts of the event, and readers learn details through the point of view of a male Chinese immigrant, a Chinese woman coming to join her immigrant husband, and a missionary woman trying to help Chinese immigrants. The text offers opportunities to compare and contrast various perspectives in the text while gathering and analyzing information about a historical event.
This book relays the factual details of the Battle of Bull Run that took place during the U.S. Civil War. The narrative provides multiple accounts of the event, and readers learn details through the point of view of a Union soldier, a Confederate captain, and a Washington newspaper reporter. The text offers opportunities to compare and contrast various perspectives in the text while gathering and analyzing information about an historical event.
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared all Confederate slaves to be free. Because the order only applied to Southern states that the Union did not control, few slaves benefited immediately. However, many see the historic document as a key turning point in the U.S. Civil War and in the movement to abolish slavery.
The first enslaved Africans landed in North America in 1619 to begin a life of forced, unpaid labor, harsh living conditions, and cruel treatment. The Southern economy grew dependent on slave labor, and the terrible institution was not abolished until after the American Civil War. Although slavery ended almost 150 years ago in the United States, its legacies of racism, prejudice, and the struggle for equal treatment persist today.
Sojourner Truth was born into slavery. Freed before its abolition, she dedicated her life to speaking out against inequality in all forms. She became one of the nation's foremost abolitionists and an important women's-rights advocate.
Muhammad Ali is one of America's most well-known athletes. From the time he was a young boy, Ali has been devoted to fighting racism in and out of the boxing ring. Later in his life, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but despite his illness he has not ceased to stand up for what he believes.
Throughout her life, Mary McLeod Bethune worked tirelessly to increase women's opportunities, from education to the military to the right to vote. Her activism led her to the White House as a consultant for several presidents. There, she helped advance important civil rights agendas.
Marian Anderson broke through discrimination and racism to become one of the greatest classical singers of all time. Her exceptional talent allowed her to travel to many countries to perform, showing the world firsthand that the color of one's skin does not determine one's talent or inner strength.
Madam C. J. Walker's skill as a businesswoman and desire to create products for black women drove her to become the first black female millionaire. While improving women's lives with her products, she employed women as sales agents and hair culturists, all while giving back to her community.
Born into slavery, Frederick Douglass was struck by the unfairness and cruelty of slave life and escaped as a young man to the North. A skilled speaker and writer of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass became a fierce fighter for the end of slavery and later led the early civil rights movement.
Eighteenth-century inventor and astronomer Benjamin Banneker was widely known and respected in his time. Most of what he knew, he taught himself. His letter to Thomas Jefferson asked the future president to reconsider his racial prejudices. Later, abolitionists would use Banneker as proof that people of any race can be equally intelligent.
