Elijah of Buxton

Elijah of Buxton

Written by: Christopher Paul Curtis

"The first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit, Elijah is best known in his hometown as the boy who threw up on Frederick Douglass. (Not on purpose, of course — he was just a baby then!)

But things change when a former slave calling himself the Right Reverend Zephariah W. Connerly the Third steals money from Elijah's friend Mr. Leroy, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the south. Elijah joins Mr. Leroy on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the disreputable preacher, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled — a life from which he'll always be free, if he can find the courage to go back home."

Scholastic Press

Web Resources:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=31083_type=Book_typeId=4743

My Brother Sam is Dead

My Brother Sam is Dead

Written by: James Collier & Christopher Collier

"All his life, Tim Meeker has looked up to his brother Sam. Sam's smart and brave -- and is now a part of the American Revolution. Not everyone in town wants to be a part of the rebellion. Most are supporters of the British -- including Tim and Sam's father. With the war soon raging, Tim know he'll have to make a choice -- between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats . . . and between his brother and his father."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.historyofredding.com/HRmbsd.htm
http://www.create.cett.msstate.edu/create/classroom/lplan_view.asp?articleID=196

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Written by: Elizabeth G. Speare

"Orphaned Kit Tyler, raised on the island of Barbados, is an outsider in her relatives’ stern Puritan community in Massachusetts colony. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond. But when Kit’s friendship with the “witch” is discovered, she herself is accused of witchcraft."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://www.create.cett.msstate.edu/create/classroom/lplan_view.asp?articleID=121
http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/Childrens_Literature/CHL0228.html

A Single Shard

A Single Shard

Written by: Linda Sue Park

"Set in 12th century Korea, this is the story of Tree-ear who lives under a bridge with his disabled older friend Crane-man. Tree-ear becomes fascinated with the potter's craft and longs to create celadon ceramics. However pottery is a trade passed on from father to son and Tree-ear is an orphan. He works long and hard hoping to become an apprentice."

Publishers Description

Online Resources:
http://eduscapes.com/newbery/02a.htm