The Story of Ruby Bridges

Coles, R. (2012). The story of Ruby Bridges.

Summary: Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first African American child to integrate a New Orleans school with this paperback reissue!
The year is 1960, and six-year-old Ruby Bridges and her family have recently moved from Mississippi to New Orleans in search of a better life. When a judge orders Ruby to attend first grade at William Frantz Elementary, an all-white school, Ruby must face angry mobs of parents who refuse to send their children to school with her. Told with Robert Coles' powerful narrative and dramatically illustrated by George Ford, Ruby's story of courage, faith, and hope is now available in this special 50th anniversary edition with an updated afterword!

Retrieved from: Amazon.com on November 25, 2019: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Ruby-Bridges-Special-Anniversary/dp/0439472261/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UPJPSYQX4TX7&keywords=the+story+of+ruby+bridges&qid=1574733217&sprefix=the+story+of+rub%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-1

Age level appropriate for this book: Kindergarten- 3^rd Grade

Justification: This book gives students an opportunity to learn not only about Ruby Bridges, but also about the history of segregation. It pairs nicely with the standard RI.3.2 (Identify and cite relevant implicit and explicit information from a summary to determine the central idea of a text.) The students could look at the book from two perspectives: learning about Ruby and learning about information. The students could determine what the main idea and key details would be of each, which would allow them to read biographies in two different ways. Knowing how to do this allows students to have a deeper understanding of the text and how to comprehend it in a beneficial way.

Review: The story of Ruby Bridges is a lovingly illustrated true story of Ruby Bridges. As a young 6 year old girl, growing up in the South during the days of the Civil Rights movement, Ruby was selected by the courts and ordered to attend the all white school of Franz Elementary School. Every morning became a variation of a frightening, degrading experience, with hordes of angry people lining the sidewalks, jeering, shouting insults and worse. How she handles this is what makes this book special, because she was a special girl. The illustrations add a special charm and perspective for both adults and children.

Retrieved from Goodreads.com on November 25, 2019: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14403.The_Story_of_Ruby_Bridges?from_search=true&qid=eehBMs8o0C&rank=1

Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare

Barretta, G. (2016). Lincoln and Kennedy: a pair to compare. New York: Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company.

Summary: President Abraham Lincoln grew up in a one-room log cabin. President John F. Kennedy was raised in the lap of luxury. One was a Republican and one a Democrat. They lived and served a hundred years apart.

Yet they had a number of things in common. Some were coincidental: having seven letters in their last names. Some were monumental: Lincoln's support for the abolitionist movement and Kennedy's support for the civil rights movement. They both lost a son while in office. And, of course, both were assassinated.

In this illuminating book, Gene Barretta offers an insightful portrait of two of our country's most famous presidents.

Retrieved from: Amazon.com on November 25, 2019: https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Kennedy-Compare-Gene-Barretta/dp/080509945X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=28OYVLY90DO0B&keywords=lincoln+and+kennedy+a+pair+to+compare&qid=1574732914&sprefix=lincoln+and+ken%2Caps%2C279&sr=8-1

Age level appropriate for this book: Grades 1-3

Justification: This book gives students a great opportunity to learn about two presidents at the same time. Because it is a book all about comparing, it would go great with the standard RI.3.5 (Identify and describe informational text structures, including comparison, cause/effect and problem/ solution structures, and describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text and how they contribute to the overall structure.) Each page of this book has comparisons about Lincoln and Kennedy. Students could create a compare/contrast chart about this book, determining things that Lincoln and Kennedy have in common and their differences. This is a great book to use when learning about comparing/contrasting, and to learn about two of our past presidents.

Review: Gr. 3-5. Gene Barretta's dual biography of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy provides a side-by-side comparison of the two leaders during similar moments throughout their lives. The stories are arranged roughly in chronological order, although specific dates are infrequently used. A timeline in the back-matter would have been useful, although the provided quotes, trivia, glossary, and sources are appreciated. The watercolor illustrations are bright, comedic, and visually appealing. While this title alone may not be enough for a biographical report, it could be used as a supplemental title to provide additional context.

Retrieved from Goodreads.com on November 25, 2019: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25774412-lincoln-and-kennedy