Friday's Featured: Chasing Lincoln's Killer

When I start looking for books, I use many different resources.  Amazon is great for book recommendations based on my purchases.  I found a really helpful resource through Facebook called We Are Teachers Reading based off of We Are Teachers.  They not only do book reviews and suggestions but they talk about all sorts of topics related to teaching reading.

I particularly like blogs by librarians.  They know books!  Being a member of the International Literacy Association also helps.  They have a conference every year.  My dream is to one day attend, but sadly, my school corporation won't approve out of state travel.  I found today's book browsing the bookstacks of Barnes and Noble.

Today's book is Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson.

Image credit: Scholastic

A Personal Connection
Everyone knows, or at least is familiar with the story of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.  John Wilkes Booth committed the crime and was later shot.  Others were involved in plotting the assassination, though.  Other government officials were almost assassinated as well.

I vividly remember reading a book in grade school that was not about the assassination, but it made me interested in Lincoln's death.  The book was The World's Most Famous Ghosts by Daniel Cohen.  Lincoln's ghost train was one of the chapters.  That book increased my interest in not only Lincoln's assassination, but the Civil War as well.

When I saw Swanson's book, I picked it up and leafed through it.  The book captured me right away.  It was filled with pictures and original source material that really added depth to the story.  I thought I knew what happened those days in April of 1865, but I didn't.

The Author
James L. Swanson wrote Chasing Lincoln's Killer  in 2009.  He earned a degree in history from the University of Chicago and writes adult nonfiction in addition to young adult nonfiction.  His book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer is the basis for Chasing Lincoln's Killer.

The Story
The tale is not new, but aspects of it are new.  Swanson follows John Wilkes Booth from the moment he decides to assassinate the president to his ending moments when he is killed, but that is not all.  Swanson also includes what happens to the other conspirators and almost victims.  The end of the book is like a "where are they now," describing what happened to the survivors.

My Thoughts
Swanson makes history fascinating.  His writing style is not dry.  I actually read this book in one sitting and learned a lot of facts I didn't already know about Lincoln's assassination and John Wilkes Booth.

What I like:
Superb writing
Primary sources and photographs
Heavily researched
Riveting readability

Recommended ages:
12 years and up (maybe 10 years if the student is passionate about history)

Friday's Featured: The True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

One of my passions is reading and recommending young adult literature to students.  Well, not just students, young adult literature is for everyone.  So, every Friday I will review a book that I have read.  Let's call it Friday's Featured.  I will share the story (without giving the ending away, of course), recommend ages, and include my personal feelings about the book.  Sometimes I might share a related book I intend to read.  As I share books, please feel free to leave a comment about your reaction to them.  I would love to hear your opinion.

The first book is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

Image credit: PBS

A Personal Connection
Every reader likes to see themselves in the books they read and I am no exception.  Even though I was adopted as a young child, my parents encouraged me to learn about my heritage, Cherokee Indian.  I became fascinated with this tribe and read several nonfiction books, especially about Sequoyah, the man who invented the Cherokee language Syllabary.

When I was about 14, we took a family vacation to the capital of the Eastern band of Cherokees, Cherokee, North Carolina.  We visited the museum and living village, and attended the outdoor drama Unto These Hills.  I was in heaven.  The Cherokee Museum and Heritage Center had a bookstore where I was able to find books that included Cherokee characters.  Before this, I did not find many fiction books with Native American characters.

The Author
In 2007, Sherman Alexie, a well-known Native American poet and author, published his award winning book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian reservation in Washington.  Alexie also wrote and co-produced the movie Smoke Signals.

The Story
The main character, Junior, lives in poverty on a reservations with his alcoholic parents.  Sadly, this is very common on the reservation.  Junior has dreams of leaving and breaking this cycle.  In his freshman geometry class, he discovers his textbook had been his mother's.  He become extremely frustrated.  Just one more thing demonstrating the extreme poverty of the reservation and school that continues to use out of date textbooks (over 30 years old).

After throwing the book and having a heart-to-heart talk with his teacher, Junior wants a better life for himself.  He does not want to end up like his parents or their parents, and so on, so he decides to enroll in the rich white high school 22 miles away.

My Thoughts
This is one of my all-time favorite books.  I highly recommend this book and consider it a must-read, especially for people looking for stories with diverse characters.  The next Native American book I want to read is I am Apache by Tanya Landman.

What I like:
Humor
Great writing
Illustrations support story
Tale of hope
Diverse characters

Recommended ages:
15 years and up - use of bad language and sexual references

Making the First Connection

I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, and I always knew I wanted to be a reading teacher to help students love reading like me.  I earned a Master's Degree of Secondary Education in reading and began teaching a reading class at a local middle school.  The students I taught did not love it as I did at their age.

I needed to find a way to put the right book in a student's hand that would start them on the path to becoming a lifelong reader.  Through education, extra literacy training, and an ingrained love of reading, I had success with my students.

One year, the results of the Scholastic Reading Inventory (now called simply Reading Inventory), showed a young man in my class was reading below grade level.  I discussed his likes and dislikes, then provided him with multiple books to try.  I taught different reading strategies and encouraged him to keep a reading journal.  At the end of that school year, his reading level increased by seven years.  When I saw him again as a student at the career center, I learned he still loved to read and even mentioned the book he was currently reading.

Now I teach English to high school juniors and seniors.  The students come from fourteen different sending schools to attend various career-based programs.  My focus is to help similar students who "hate to read" or "don't have time to read" to find and develop a passion for reading.

I read a lot of young adult fiction and fantasy in order to provide the right books for students.  In addition, as a member of the International Literacy Association, I continue to keep up to date with literacy research and build my skills to be the best teacher I can be.

This blog will provide parents and teachers with reviews of young adult books and literacy strategies based upon research that support teaching reading in a secondary setting.

Teachers and parents, feel free to leave comments or ask questions about reviews or research.  I would enjoy hearing other opinions, especially about the books.