Ann Warren TurnerRecensioni

The diary of Sarah Nita, a thirteen-year old Navajo girl, which describes the Navajos' forced 400-mile walk from their ancestral homeland to Fort Sumner in 1864.

Beginner Reader

Independent Reading Level: Grades 2-4
Awards: 2007-2008 GA Picture book Nominee

READING LEVEL: 3.6 AR POINTS: 4

Sam White, the oldest of two sons of a pioneer family, tells the story of their travel from Kentucky to the Dakota Territory nine years after the Civil War, in 1874.

They left behind grandparents and good friends in search of a better life. The government was issuing 160-acres of land free to new settlers, as long as they planted 10-acres, built a house, and stayed for 5 years. The White's first year corn crop, along with everyone elses around them, including surrounding states, were wiped out by a grasshopper plaque. They borrowed money for the first time in their lives for seeds and supplies to try again the following year, but others left defeated.

I didn't think this was very well written, even for elementary aged kids. The author just jumps right into characters in the first sentence with no introductions. I'm a grown ass adult and was lost on what was going on and who was who for a chapter or two. The story later flowed a little better, but the author's got a strange way of wording her sentences which often left me with the question of...wait... what did I just read? And had to read it again.
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The grasshopper plague, was a real thing and occurred from 1873 to 1877, every summer destroying crops and eating pretty much everything in sight, from Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Iowa.

You won't find here a carefully researched academic book on comparative ethnology with many references to relevant literature: much of that is sacrificed to the narrative.
You also won't find an intriguing collection of short stories: much of the pathos and enjoyment in the reading is sacrificed to the repetition of common motives that appear in different cultures.

Yet, the book is intriguing. One closes it with a mixture of light-heartedness (from the well-written stories from interesting perspectives and the general cuteness of the baby theme) and subtle disgust (from certain rituals/ideas).
But most of all, what is there to learn when the author points out the many ways in which we still live by the same age-old rituals, even if we don't know anymore what they mean?

Unfolding in a series of exquisite narrative poems, Learning to Swim is a haunting story about a tragic summer in a young girl's life. With startling power, it juxtaposes the beautiful summer Annie is supposed to have -- picking blueberries with her mother, playing with her brothers, learning to swim with her father -- with the terrible secret she is forced to harbor. For under the pretense of reading to her, an older boy in the neighborhood is molesting her. Joy Stuart.

: I read this as an adult last year, and was delighted at how swept back in time I felt. These books tend to have writing styles I really connect with. I grew up with this series, I'd say. This year, though, a month ago, I read "A Broken Flute," edited by Doris Seale. It's a critique of portrayals of Native Americans in childrens' media, and this book was one of the many examined. The review pointed out that this book is in no way historically accurate, and detailed why. I was stunned, ashamed I didn't know, and I so readily believed historical fiction without doing research of my own. This book takes place during an event that has negative effects to this day, and still hurts a lot of people. The author should have done far, far more research in order to portray such with the sensitivity it deserved. Better yet, this should have been written by someone of the community. This book, even last year, was one I planned to read only once. If I find out the Mary Driscoll one was also historically inaccurate, or the Oregon Trail one, I will be even sadder and more ashamed. Those were my two favorites, but I like nearly two dozen others. I'm doing a reread of the ones I liked, and will do more research on those time periods so I can know what really happened.

Saw the cover for this while looking over the new books on the library website and got hit with such a wave of nostalgia. Listened to the audio book when I was a kid and loved it and it still holds up. Just a sweet good story that makes me happy. Also randomly pro dog adoption. Better than Toy Story for toys alive feelings.

Sarah Nita's diary, gives the reader a view of how hard reality was for those who had to follow the path of the Long Walk. This is a great read for middle school students because it talks about more mature ideas but it's still important to be able to understand other's backgrounds without being biased.

This book is written in the fiery and eloquent voice of Sojourner Truth herself, and tells the remarkable true story of how former slave Isabella Baumfree transformed herself into the preacher and orator Sojourner Truth, an iconic figure of the abolitionist and women's rights movements.

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Katie's Trunk is set in America during the Revolutionary War. The threat of violence and even death is implied for Katie and her entire family. When Katie's father warns of rebels coming toward the family's home, Katie's mother rushes the family to hide in the woods. Katie fears that the family's treasured possessions will be stolen or destroyed by te men, so she runs back to the house. At the last minute, Katie hides in a trunk without the men seeing her. While searching for valuables, the men open the trunk and Katie is almost revealed. Katie's life is spared thanks to an old friend amongst the men who closes calls the men away before they all leave. Again, I find some historical significance in the setting, but I did not enjoy this story. Some of the text was not easy for me read to myself and I can imagine that my students would have a difficult time staying engaged while listening to this story. Lastly, I did not feel that this story was complete. Instead, I felt as if this was a chapter in a much longer chapter book or noval.

I enjoyed that this book was written from the perspective of a young girl of that time in history. While reading the story, I couldn't help but to imagine myself at that age going through similar situations. The strong emotions associated with a young child's lack of understanding of such a serious topic such as slavery is palpable while reading this book. Beautiful illustrations accompany this text in the form of balck and white sketches.

follow alongside a young man's perspective in 1776. Only a child, his view of the politics and the events of the time was different than many adults of that time. It is nice to look through the eyes of a child's wonder and the open-mindedness that goes along with that. While the history that runs through this book is significant, I do feel that some background information may be necessary to supplement this book in order for children to make since of it.

Sojourner Truth was a slave who ran away in search of freedom, determined to make a change and speak out for the rights of African Americans. She traveled all around the states speaking what she felt in her heart was the right thing, unafraid of the consequences and challenges she would face as a result. The illustrations throughout this book are beautiful, they fit the text so perfectly and it really adds to the mood the author is trying to convey. The story of Sojourner Truth’s courage and determination despite the evil she was faced with is inspiring and eye-opening.The story is told as if Sojourner Truth is speaking to you perosnally which makes the book interesting and allows the reader to feel as if they are connecting with her personally. I would definitely read this book again and to my future students so they can learn about Sojourner Truth and hopefully have their eyes opened to where we as a world have come from and the people we have to thank for where we are today.

I have to say I was somewhat creeped out by this book. There is a nominally humorous conceit -- a fox says "let's have so-and-so for breakfast"; do they mean, invite them to have breakfast with us, or let's eat them? Carnivorous humor. But watching it played out with the little kids politely telling their neighbor to get his mama, so they can politely try to trick her into the pot, the oven, etc. It was a little creepier than the usual fox/wolf trying to eat a pig / chicken / whatever story. [return][return]On top of that mild creepiness I was outright irked by the patriarchal language, which was just weird: The father was clearly giving orders, it was described as the father's house, and there were a lot of other little linguistic gestures to patriarchy. [return][return]Can't recommend it. Read "Goldilocks" instead!½

Presented as a grandmother telling her granddaughter the story of her life, this book gives us a peek at the lifeways of the Navajo while also presenting the truth of the suffering they endured from the political decisions made in distant Washington DC. Of course, Sarah Nita has no idea of the reasons why the Army was rounding up her people, nor why they were made to walk for months in mid-winter. We read her thoughts, her attention to her younger sister, her knowledge of how to survive when they walked on their own to find relatives, her yearning for her mother, the care given the two girls by another Navajo family, how supportive of each other the walkers were.
The writing was a pleasure to read. Simple sentences carrying profound thoughts, revealing important events in our country's history.
I read this aloud to my blind son and he remembers and talks about Sarah Nita and her dog Silver Cloud.
black & white photos at the end of the book show us Navajo of that era and the landscape where they lived.½

"We are enemies. We can never be neighbors." "Love Thy Neighbor, the Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson" by Ann Turner tells the difficulties young Prudence and her family endured right before the Revolutionary War. Prudence and her family were Tories or supporters of King George of England, while most were Patriots or those who opposed King George & wanted to pursue their independence. Slowly the townspeople who were Patriots began to turn their backs on those who were Tories. When it became impossible for Tories to stay, many families including Prudence's fled to Boston, Massachusetts to ensure their safety.

"We are enemies. We can never be neighbors." "Love Thy Neighbor, the Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson" by Ann Turner tells the difficulties young Prudence and her family endured right before the Revolutionary War. Prudence and her family were Tories or supporters of King George of England, while most were Patriots or those who opposed King George & wanted to pursue their independence. Slowly the townspeople who were Patriots began to turn their backs on those who were Tories. When it became impossible for Tories to stay, many families including Prudence's fled to Boston, Massachusetts to ensure their safety.

Excellent book about a young boy and the horrors of the Civil War. Although the book is recommended for children 4-8, I don’t think the subject matter is appropriate for very young children. I would wait to share this book until the American Civil War is taught in school, certainly no earlier than third grade.

The value of picture books should not be ignored for older children and teens. I think this book would be appropriate for middle or high school students, also. The emotional impact of war is a lesson for everyone.

An inspiring book about succeeding as an ex-slave, this book shares the life of Ms. Isabelle Baumfree. She first shares her horrifying experiences of slavery, her escape from slavery, then losing and demanding back her son. The book then goes into how God spoke to her and gave her the courage to preach to even those she was terrified of, a group of rowdy white men. It was through the power and love of God that she gave herself a new name Sojourner Truth. She felt this name fit her because she was a traveler preaching God's truth.
I loved this book because of Sojourner Truth's inspiration to overcome even the hardest of times to see the power and love of God. I think this is a great book for young children, though it should be read after the children have knowledge about slavery. The book shows that anyone, even in extreme circumstances can send powerful messages to everyone without fear stopping them.

This story was set in the summer of 1776, which was towards the end of the Revolutionary War. The art in this book was very colorful and realistic. Mr. Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia and stayed at a lodge owned by Ned's mom. Ned was young and didn't know much about the war, so Mr. Jefferson taught him about freedom and why they were fighting Britian. Ned saw mr. Jefferson writing all the time and always wondered what he was writing about. One day the Declaration of Independence was read aloud in the square and Ned found out that, that was what he was writing all those nights. Ned learns a lot over the summer and realizes that he was wrong in the beginning for not wanting to fight for freedom. I love how much Ned grows in this story.

A marshland becomes a battlefield, becomes a farm, becomes a neighborhood, becomes a town. And through it all is Heron.

I had no idea what drummer boys duties in the Civil War. The book also informed me how much drummer boys struggle mentally during war.

You can add this book with a lesson about the different roles in the military during the Civil War. You can also use this book to show the children the perspective that the drummer boy had on the the Civil War.