Orbis Pictus Award

Freedman, Russell. Children of the great depression. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007. Print.

Genre: Non-fiction - Narrative Non-Fiction

Because the Great Depression seems far removed from today’s children, it is easier to teach them from a youngster’s view. What did children of the 1930’s experience? What were their thoughts?

This book is best used for upper elementary – first in large group and then, smaller groups to absorb the details.

Text-to-self connections make history lessons more relevant. After reading this book, I would ask students to begin journaling their stories for their own grandchildren of the future.

Brimner, L. D. Birmingham sunday. Honesdale, PA: Calkins Creek Books, 2010. Print.

Genre: Non-fiction - Narrative Non-Fiction

In 1963, racial bombings in Birmingham were frequent but rarely deadly until Sunday, September 15. Four children, all girls, were killed in this bombing. The public was so outraged that it helped propel the adoption of the Civil Rights Act. The book uses historical documents in a scrapbook format to tell the story.

Children often find history books to be dry but this book uses text, photographs, song lyrics, and more to make the lesson meaningful and interesting.

This book is best used for upper elementary – first in large group and then, smaller groups to absorb the details.

Using the children’s biographies gives the history lesson more impact and I would expect my students to create an “All About Me” foldable, giving facts about the bombing victims.

Balloons over Broadway

Genre: Non-Fiction - Biography

Tony Sarg develops his love of marionettes into puppets for Macy’s department store window. The window displays are so successful that Macy’s asks Sarg to produce more.  He then invents a new type of marionette, on a grand scale,  for the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Children are drawn to the bright colors, large letters, and subject matter of parades and puppetry. The mixed media adds interest to the illustrations. The illustrations include sketches, collages, diagrams, maps, horizontal and vertical pages, newspaper clippings, and photographs to tell the story of Tony Sarg.

This book could be used in a social studies or art lesson but the illustrations are best absorbed in small groups.

I would have students create a self-portrait parade balloon. What do you want others to see when they look at you? What are your best features?

Orbis Pictus Award